Renewal | Mother's Day

In this teaching, Pastor Rich Leland takes us to Revelation for a surprising look at where this is all heading.

Transcript

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Senior Pastor Derek and his wife Emily are on a week's vacation. We wish them well, and they'll be back next week. We're glad that you're here on this Mother's Day. Mother's Day is a day that we set aside to thank God for the women who have nurtured and taught and guided and loved us. So to all the mothers and grandmothers and surrogate mothers and spiritual mothers and mentors, we we honor you this day. We celebrate the grace of God that shines through your lives, especially today when so much around us seems to be lost in the fog. You know, living on Nantucket often makes us feel as though we're lost in the fog. We're known for those low rolling clouds that sweep across the island so frequently and make it almost impossible to see even across the street. We become the famed gray lady in reality. But you know, fog isn't the only thing that can cloud our vision. Sometimes it's it's the darkness of night when everything around us seems extremely bleak. Sometimes it's a storm that can cloud our vision. When we're going through just hellish pain or struggle personally. Sometimes what clouds our vision is our own inner confusion when we just don't seem to know which way to turn. In those foggy moments, our perception of life changes because of what we see and cannot see. There's something that interferes from between our receptors and what is actually out there in reality. But finally, when the fog lifts and the storm clears and the sun rises, then we can see what was there all along. The Apostle Paul describes it this way: now we see through a dark glass, a glass darkly, I think the old King James has it. What he's saying is, now we see through a foggy window. But the time is coming when we will see clearly. A lot of the impediments present in life today that seem to mess up our abilities to actually see God in our world. We live in a mixed-up, chaotic time when life often seems unhinged. Maybe it's just me and you don't have that same perception, but I think many of us perhaps share that sense. Personal suffering or political divisions or nations at war, or maybe we've been wronged personally in some way, and we're we're struggling, trying to bring ourselves to a point of forgiveness, and we can't seem to make it. Or maybe we're the ones who have wronged somebody else and we can't bring ourselves to even ask for forgiveness. Everything seems a little bit distorted today. It's difficult to see an end to it. Find ourselves, when these things happen, often bending toward discouragement or feeling of helplessness. There's a Bible passage regarding the future that I think helps us see the present a little bit more clearly. So we're going to take a break from Pastor Derek's journey through the book of Acts, and we're going to go to the last book of the Bible for a few minutes this morning. Fifty miles off the western coast of Turkey, in the Aegean Sea, lies the tiny island of Patmos. Patmos is only one-sixth the size of Nantucket. Gives you an idea of where the elderly Apostle John was sent by the Roman government, exile there, because of his testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. So we find John exiled there while on the island of Patmos. John received a vision for the ages from God. And he was told to write what he saw. He began that writing by labeling his vision, the revelation from Jesus Christ. And in highly figurative language, God's Spirit, speaking to John, blows away the fog to reveal a coming, good, true, beautiful world. And he describes the renewal of the entire created order. This is the coming new heaven and new earth that the prophets of the Old Testament and many of the writers in the New Testament refer to. So let's turn to John's account. If you have your Bible, it's easy to find this account. Just start at the back end of your Bible, the final book, the book of Revelation, the next to the last chapter, chapter 21. You could find it in your Bible app. And beginning in verse 9 of Revelation chapter 21. John writes, An angel said to me, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain, great and high, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. You see what John is doing here, he's painting the picture of the ultimate home of the people of God, the people Christ has redeemed from all nations. Jesus is here pictured as the Lamb because he is the one who gave himself as a sacrifice for us so that we could be forgiven children of God. We are seen here in this picture as the bride of Christ, speaking of the intimacy of the relationship that we have now through Jesus with the God of the ages. Then in beginning in verse 22, John describes what he saw and just as important, what he did not see. He writes, I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor to it. On no day will the gates, its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful and deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Now this picture that John writes, recording his vision, is loaded with symbolic language. But one thing is clear. Things will certainly be different then than they are now. Christ will restore this planet and clean up the mess we have made. C.S. Lewis captures the difference between now and then in his novel The Last Battle. He writes, all our life in this world and all our adventures are only the cover and title page. At last will begin chapter one of the great story which no one has ever read, which goes on forever, and which in which every chapter is better than the one before. Let's follow John's vision as he turns the page from the present to the future, revealing the new Jerusalem. And you know, the really wild thing about all of this is that you and I, by God's grace, are going to be a part of it. We are going to experience what John is writing about. God reveals here five realities that lie beyond our present foggy perceptions. And here's the key thought to keep in mind as we quickly go through these five. While we may long for his coming now, God has placed us in the present for a purpose. What are these five coming realities? What do they tell us about our present life? How do they blow away some of the fog that we feel mired in? The first reality, the first coming reality, is the kingdom's new creation will fulfill our longing for God. Listen again to verse 22. John writes, I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. If we were to walk into first century Jerusalem before 70 AD, we would see in the heart of Jerusalem the magnificent temple. Listen to this description of the temple. The first century Jerusalem temple was the epitome of beauty. Herod's temple was famed for its breathtaking beauty, described by historian Josephus as appearing like a mountain covered in snow due to its gleaming white marble and gold plating. Specially dazzling in the sun with golden decorations like a royal crown on its roof, making a truly majestic spectacle of white stone, gold, and ornate carvings, a marvel of architecture that drew awe from all who saw it. I'll refrain from comparing it to the Oval Office. Magnificent, beautiful, beyond all description. But the temple was far more than the place of eye-popping splendor. It was the place where people could meet God. And if you and I were to wander into Jerusalem at that time, being Gentiles, we would be allowed into the outer court of the temple. If you were a Jew, you'd be able to move beyond the outer court to the inner court, where Jewish men and women would be able to gather as they brought their sacrifices to God. Then there is a court even further in, which only the priests and the Levites could enter. And they were the ones who in that place actually offered the sacrifices upon the altar. But as we peer around the corner, we can see in that inner courtyard there's a building divided into two parts. And as we step into the first part of that building, we enter what is called the holy place. Only priests, descendants of Aaron, could go into that place. But then there's a curtain. And beyond that curtain, in Old Testament days, was the Ark of the Covenant. This was the place where once a year only the high priest was allowed to enter. And he would sprinkle some blood of an animal on that holy ark of the covenant. And it was in that place that God said, He is meeting his people. And when that blood was was sprinkled on that ark, God said, I cover your sins with the blood of this sacrifice. And all the people gathered in the inner court and the outer court and the and the court of the Gentiles, all the people would with joy shout thanksgiving and hallelujah to the Lord. The writer of Hebrews describes how Jesus fulfilled the temple work. Day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties again and again. He offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. They can cover them, but not fully take them away. But when this priest, Jesus, had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. It is finished. You know, no matter how much people in the days of the temple wanted to see God, they could never really see Him. Throughout time, people of every status have yearned to see God. We've tried all kinds of efforts of spiritual striving ourselves to get closer to God. As the deer pants for the streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. But friends, we cannot yet see God. Because we are only seeing God through a foggy window right now. But John's revelation assures us the day is coming that the splendor of the temple will be exceeded, and the search to see God will be ended forever. Where do we see God today? How can we get close to seeing God as we await that future day? Second Corinthians chapter 4, Paul writes, God made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Jesus. So we see God's glory whenever we look at Jesus. So we look for Jesus. Primarily we look for Jesus in his word. Read the Gospels, read the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you'll see the face of Jesus. And as doing as you do so, you'll you'll get close to seeing God. While our unimaginable sight of God in all of his fullness awaits his new creation, let's intentionally step towards seeing Jesus in life today. That's the first reality. We will see him. It's the second reality that John reveals, a future reality. When Christ returns, God will reward our search for truth. Verse 23: the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light. And the lamb is its lamp. The sun and the moon gave people in the first century light. They couldn't plug into the electric grid in order to get light. It was primarily dependent on nature. We were use the word light today in a variety of different ways to mean coming to a full understanding, to really understanding the truth. We speak about being enlightened, or we speak about seeing the light. Light dawns. The quest for truth isn't only for philosophers or scientists or academics. Every human being, every one of us, really yearns for truth. But we need to be careful. Because this innate yearning for truth can can sometimes lead us the wrong way if we have blinders on. Because we just want to get the inside information. We want to know what's really going on behind the scenes. And that moves us in that direction. So be be careful of being sucked into the trap of our algorithms where we just see the same story over and over and go deeper and deeper with blinders on. God tells us that the day is coming when the light of God's truth will shine so brightly that there'll be no need for the sun. God's Lamb, Jesus, will enlighten everything. And while ultimate light lies in our future, we can step toward the light today. And God's word, the Bible, is truth. Jesus said to his Father in heaven, your word is truth. Jesus said, I'm not only the way and the life, he said, I am the truth. But there are other aspects of God's truth that may be discovered in his world as well. We should be challenged by Augustine's reminder, wherever truth may be found, it belongs to the Master. Wherever we find truth, I mean real truth. When there's a new scientific discovery, as God's children, we shouldn't be afraid of it. We should rejoice. We're learning more about the God of creation and the creation of God. If something is really true, it's part of God's truth. In every arena of our learning and experience, be unafraid to step toward truth. The third picture John gives us of a coming reality that has relevance for us today. Verse 24 says the nations will walk by God's light. He doesn't say only one nation or a few of his specially chosen nations. All the nations will walk by his light. The citizens of every nation, of course, have loyalty to their nation, to their own culture and their own values, their own goals, their own light. So we live in a world of wars. In many ways, the history of nations is a history of cultural or subcultural loyalties and biases masquerading as patriotism. God announces to John that the Time is coming when all nations will be governed according to the single, brilliant, and unifying light of God's kingdom. So today, let's remember the body of Christ is transnational. Now, national patriotism certainly has its place. But as Jesus followers, perhaps some of our nationalistic ego needs reevaluating in what light of what God says about all nations. They're all his, all of them, every one. Every nation will look beyond itself in that day to God's light. Every nation. Cultural superiority will evaporate in that day when God fulfills his kingdom. But we can step toward appreciating national and cultural differences today. So the next time our country or culture seeks to blind us to everything that God is doing in his entire world, in all the nations, we ought to remind ourselves as Christ's followers that the cultures are a relative. As Jesus followers, our supreme loyalty ought to be with the God of the nations. Loyalty to our nation is good, but there's only one kingdom that will last forever. We need to remember that. So, today let's step toward appreciating the reality that God is over all nations. Fourth, we're getting close to the last one. Number four, the fourth reality. In that coming day, God will correct our love affair with power. Listen to the end of verse 24. The kings of the earth, all of them, the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into God's kingdom. This world's whole perception of power tilts toward the elite over the weak. Our world is run by the wealthy, the powerful, the influential. And it was true in the first century when John was writing this. Exactly the same motivations and dangers. Those who rule often demand that splendor be brought to them. It was true during the days John received this revelation from John, from Jesus. This idolatry of kingly power is going to be turned upside down in God's kingdom when it fully comes. When the power brokers of this world finally relinquish all their perceived splendor, they'll relinquish it to God Himself. The kings of the earth will bring their splendor to him. They won't try to hold on to it themselves. They will relinquish it to God Almighty. So just maybe our concept of power and control needs a little reevaluating in light of what God says is going to come. Jesus, when speaking about the power of the wealthy, revealed that in his kingdom the last shall be first, turning upside down our concept. He defines, Jesus defines true power and greatness this way: whoever wants to become great must be your servant. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are pure in heart, the peacemakers. These are the ones Jesus elevates. This is Jesus' agenda that will be fulfilled in his kingdom. You see, Christ's total lordship still lies in our futures. But we can step toward Christ as our king today. So the next time we're tempted to bow before the idol of power, whether political or wealth or any other sort of power, next time we're tempted to do that, we ought to remember that the day is coming when all the egos and powers of this world will surrender their perceived accomplishments to him. Today we can inject kingdom values into our ego-driven quagmire by living as Christ's servants, servants of others, peacemakers. So let's stop, let's step toward recognizing and honoring God's throne and his dominion. Finally, God will rescue us from all of our stumbling in darkness and deceit. Verse 25, there will be no need for locked gates, because there will be no night there. In this fallen world, we struggle against not only fog, but against darkness. I've overcome it. Think of one point of darkness in today's world that just seems to rip at your heart. Something that grips you and bothers you deeply. What is one thing you could speak or do to shine the light and love of Jesus in that situation? Perhaps we could speak to someone who who is lonely. Speak to that person who is discouraged. Perhaps we could give food to our neighbor who may be hungry. Perhaps we could support that ministry that reaches out with the love of Jesus to bring God's light to the world around us. We can be lights in this world. That's what Jesus has called us to. Until Christ returns, we do stumble in the darkness and in the fog, but we can step toward God's light today. We've been looking at what this last book in the Bible reveals about God's ultimate grand story that lies beyond our lives today. It's the story beyond Lewis's title page and first chapter. It's the one that one day we'll experience to the full. Spectacular things are in our futures. But let's not just sit around waiting for them to happen. Looking back on this journey that we've been these last few minutes, our dream of seeing God will be fulfilled there. But we can step toward Jesus today. Our search for truth will be rewarded then, but we can step toward truth today. Our allegiance to our country and culture will be replaced then, but we can step toward appreciating the image of God in our neighbors, in our neighbors' culture today. Our love affair with power will be overturned then, but we can step toward Christ, our only King today. Finally, our fascination with darkness and deceit will end then. But we can push against the darkness now as we step toward Jesus today. May we long for what's coming in our futures. But remember, God has placed us in the present to live for Him. Lord, please help us to cut through the fog all around us by taking some of these simple steps to see you as you truly are. And may we follow you with our whole hearts through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.