Finally Home (Revelation 21-22:1-5)

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

All right. If you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn with me to the book of Revelation, chapter 21. We're concluding our series on the book of Revelation. We've been in the book of Revelation for this whole year. And next week we start Advent, and we'll be somewhat in Revelation. We're going to use it as a way to launch into Advent and our series, Heaven Breaks In. And I know I have been saying this the last couple weeks, but I just want to give you a roadmap for where we're going. You know, it's at Advent that we celebrate this amazing truth that hope breaks in. Joy breaks in, peace breaks in, love breaks in. And then on Christmas Eve, we're going to celebrate this truth that heaven, God with us, Emmanuel, breaks into our everyday life, into our darkest hours and our darkest moments. Heaven breaks in. And then next year, we're going to be in the book of Acts all year. And in the book of Acts, this is going to be the series Heaven breaks out. Heaven breaks in, and heaven breaks out. And I'm looking forward to it. Um but today we're going to be in Revelation 21, 22 to verse 5.

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And um I didn't plan this. I shared it with our um team huddle this morning, and I d I do feel like it's necessary for me to share it this moment.

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And um I just want to say thank you, Evan. If he's in the room, for not singing Fire Fall Down today. But it did say lead me through the fire, and so I was good with that one. But in all, but in all seriousness, here's why I I start with that, because I was sing, I was thinking about that on the way here. Praying, and um, you know, we just had this amazing citywide worship night last week. This room was full of people from several different churches worshiping God. The altar was full. It was an amazing night, and the general consensus was we need to do this again. And we do, we do need to do this again. And we were praying, fire fall down, fire fall down, and I was like, Do we know what we're asking for? Because having had my house pretty much burned down on Friday, and find myself displaced and looking at a transition and all that, I've learned a few things over the last couple days, and that when fire falls down, it costs you.

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It inconveniences you, it takes away comfort, and your old life is gone. So I was thinking about that this morning, and I thought that's what revival does too. So are we really ready to ask God for fire to fall down? Because it will take away our comfort, take away our convenience, it will cost you, and your old life, the old way of doing things, will be gone. So I want just to leave that with you.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Because I I don't think that it's an accident that God is speaking that to us, and so it's not just for us, church, it's what's happening all over the world right now. As revival is happening and revival fires are breaking out, there's a cost. It is uncomfortable, it will stretch you, it will inconvenience you, and your old way of doing things will cease. And so I still pray fire fall down. It's okay to sing that song, Devin. And so that was part one of my prayer. You know, I got extra time, but now I'm coming over from Costco area rather than just walking from the parsonage. So I got a little bit extra time to pray. So that was part one. And then part two was I was like, all right, Lord, I'm in Revelation 21. We're concluding Revelation. And so I go, what's the first point?

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And I feel like the Lord says, This is not our home. Okay.

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And I had in my mind the title of the sermon to be Make All Things New, because that's as we read it in a moment, that's what happens. And then God, clear as day, said, No, the sermon title is Finally Home. And I went, Really, God, really. So though there will be no tears in heaven, I cannot promise that I will not cry today. But I my first point before we get into our text this morning is this that this is not our home. Earth is not our home. And as we have been going through the book of Revelation, that is one of the largest, most clear truths, that there is heaven and then there is earth, and that we are strangers and exiles passing through. This is not our home. What burned down on Friday is not my home. This is not our home. And in Hebrews chapter 11, verses 13 to 16, I don't think it's on the screen, but I will read it for you this morning. And if you did not bring a Bible, I encourage you to grab a pew Bible or your Bible app. But in Hebrews 11, chapter 11, verse 13 to 16, this is often referred to as the hall of faith. It's one of the most moving and profound chapters in the Bible. And in the middle of it, there's this section of scripture that just popped this morning as I was driving here this morning. And in verse 13, this is what the writer of Hebrews says. He says, These all, talking about Moses and Abraham and the heroes of the faith of the Old Testament, he says, These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged, here it is, having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had the opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. And that's the truth this morning, and I feel it, obviously. I'm walking through this idea that my home is gone right now. And I was talking to our leadership cohort on Thursday night. We have a leadership cohort here. It's a 12-month discipleship program, and then we have a cohort to this Thursday night was our cohort one, and we were talking about leadership and the soul. How do we cultivate our soul? And um, we say something here at uh Vintage Church that in order for us to succeed as a church, we must abide to abound. Out of John 15, right? Our logo is an old vinezin uh vine, and we say, Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches apart from me, you can do nothing. And so we were talking about this. And another translation for that word abide is to make your home in. In other words, to abide in Christ is to make your home in Christ. So we were talking about this on Thursday night. And we were talking about how many of us have an emotional home or an emotional center other than Christ, meaning when life gets crazy, we just want that chocolate. We just need to go on Amazon and purchase something. We just need to go to work. We just need to clean. We just need to listen to music. We just need to be with our spouse, be with our family, be in our home. And we were talking about how all of those things are good things, but they're false things, meaning they cannot ultimately satisfy and they cannot ultimately fulfill all the promises that we need. And so we were talking about this, and um, and ultimately that we have to make our home in Christ. Well, wake up Friday morning, three, around three o'clock to a fire in our garage, and I am never been so thankful for smoke detectors. So you should go home right now, after church, check your batteries, make sure you have smoke detectors, because literally all seven of us were sleeping. It was around 3 a.m. My daughter Amara and I both kind of woke up and I was like, What is happening? What's this noise? And then Amara said, Dad, there's a fire. I think it's the smoke detectors. And so I found the fire. It started in the garage, and then thankfully we were all able to get out, and um, we did lose three of our animals, three of our cats, and so um, and and much of our possessions. But as we were just kind of dealing with everything, the Lord reminded me and he says, Make your home in me.

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Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

But um that's the truth, and so there's a few things that I want to talk through before we get to our text. And uh in this text in Hebrews chapter 11, uh, if you go to the next slide, it says, Have you acknowledged it? And I want to ask you that this morning. Have you acknowledged that this is not your home? Because I think sometimes we think this is our home. We think this is our place of comfort. But what it says here in the text is that those who God is not ashamed to call them Him their God is that they've acknowledged it. They've they've owned it, they've they've confessed it. They go, I'm this is not my home. There's that old, I think it's a Southern gospel song, This is not my home, I'm just a passing through. Another thing that we lost all of was our precious moments. Um, I don't know if you know what precious moments are, but they're these little figurines. And one of the figurines was, This is not my home, I'm just passing through. And it had this little guy in a car or something. This is not my home, I'm just passing through. Do you believe that? Have you acknowledged it? And then the next question that we see here in this text is not only have you acknowledged it, but do you speak and act like it? Do you speak like it? Do you live like it? Do you spend your time, treasure, and talent like it? Do you act like this is not your home? And I think the sad thing for me, my wife, my family, for all of us as Americans is oftentimes the the gut-wrenching truth is we we we so easily slip into this is our home. And this morning, if the Lord wants to speak anything to us, is this this is not your home. And then the second thing it says here in chapter 11, or the third thing is if you look at verse 15, it says, if they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had the opportunity to return. Here's the thing for many of us, we're on the fence. We're like, I know that heaven is my home, but the earth just feels so good. And what the image here is, is if you think about your old life, if you think about the earth, if you think about all of the creature comforts that we love so much, and that's what's always on your mind's attention and your heart's affection, then you will always have the opportunity to return to those creature comforts, to the quote unquote earth, your earthly home. But for those that long for their heavenly home, for those that are thinking about their heavenly home, life changes. And so again, like, Lord, why do you do this? As I'm thinking through this, he's like, burn the ships, and I go, enough with the burn and fire already, Lord. If you don't know that expression, it comes from uh when Hernan Cortez arrived in the New World in 1519. His men were anxious, the journey was long, the challenges unknown, and many were thinking about returning home. So Cortez issued a startling order. Burn the ships. Burn the ships. And as the flames rose, one message one message became clear. There's no going back. The only direction was forward. Committed commitment replaced, I can't read my writing. Another thing happened this morning was the ink ran out, and so I had to write my notes. Courage replaced fear. The future could no longer be behind them. It had to be ahead of them. And I I really too feel like for for at least for me and my family, it's a burn the ships moment. There's a lot of unknown for us. There's a lot of I don't know where I'm gonna stay in the new year. We have options, God's been so good. But it we're still figuring all that out. We're a big family. We're a lot. Um but what it says here is if you have been thinking about the land from which they had gone out, they would have had the opportunity to return. But as it is, they burn the ships, right? But as it is, they desire a better country. That is a heavenly one. And this is the most amazing thought for those that burn the ships, for those that acknowledge it, speak and live like it, and those that long for a better country, a better home. This is the promise, therefore. And if you've heard me say this or you've heard a preacher say this, it's somewhat cheesy, but it's true. When you see a therefore, you got to find out what it's there for. And so therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, which implies if you're on the fence, eh? If you're longing for the things of this earth, but if you burn the ships and you say, I've acknowledged it, I'm gonna speak and live like it, and I'm gonna long for a better country and a better home. God says, I'm not ashamed to call you. I'm not ashamed for them to call me. I'm gonna read it because I'm I'm still tired here. Um, therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God. Why? Because He has prepared for them a city, a better country, a forever home. That's the truth of the gospel. And I think we have to sit in that as Americans in this modern day. Because we live like this is our home, and this is not our home. God is not ashamed to be called their God. And so the next slide, I believe, it says, God has prepared a forever home for them. God has prepared a forever home. If you've ever adopted someone or been through that process or known someone, when they have their gotcha day, they often refer to it as you have found a forever home. And it's a nice idea. Their newfound family, they have a new place to live, it's their forever home. They were an orphan, they didn't have anywhere to go. Now they have a family, they have a forever home. But let me just share with you now: even that can change. Divorce happens, tragedy happens, cancer happens, right? So go ahead and call it your forever home. But our true forever home is what we're gonna read about in just a few moments in Revelations chapter 21 and 22, one through five. This is our forever home. I know for many of you here, you haven't been with us through the whole walk through Revelation, but in the book of Revelation, I just want to remind us as we prepare to read this last chapter. The book of Revelation was written to seven real churches. These seven real churches, some of them lost everything. They lost their family members, they lost their homes, they lost their jobs, their friends were thrown to the Colosseum and eaten by lions. Some of their friends they knew were hung up in Nero's gardens to be um human candles. These churches knew loss. And to those seven churches in modern-day Turkey or Asia Minor, these churches were told by the resurrected King Jesus that they were more than conquerors. And I can tell you, as someone who just experienced loss, I don't in my flesh feel like a more than conqueror. But by the gospel of Jesus Christ, because my home is not here, and because my eyes are fixed on heaven, and at the center of heaven is a slain lamb who is the lion of Judah, who with his life, death, and resurrection conquered sin, grave, and Satan, I can say I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus who loved me. And so can you. And so the book of Revelation was actually written to put steel in the spine of those seven churches. And for the church of all ages, while we navigate as exiles, strangers, and pilgrims in this land. That's the book of Revelation. As we have said over and over and over again, the book of Revelation is not a puzzle for tomorrow, it is a word for today. It is a word for today. And as they would have finished the book of Revelation and they saw the beast. Fall. They saw Satan and the false prophet fall and be cast into the lake of fire and the second death. And now they would get to chapter 21, and whoever was the messenger, whoever was the reader of the letter, began to say these words. I could only imagine the hope and the fire and the passion beginning to percolate in their heart. And so if you would, would you please stand for the reading of God's word? We're going to be in Revelations chapter 21. If you're willing and able, would you please stand for the reading of God's word? We stand because we believe that the word of God is given to us to equip us, encourage us, and empower us in our everyday life that we might make Jesus irresistible. This is the last chapter. Remember, there's seven kind of movements in the book of Revelation. There's seven, then I saws in this last act, and this is one of the last ones. In verse 21, verse 1, it says this Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And also he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. And the one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immortal, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke to me, saying, Come, and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 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, like a jasper, clearest crystal. It had a great high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed, and on the east three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates, and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies four square, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with its with his rod, twelve thousand stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall a hundred and forty-four cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass, and the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was Jasper, the second Sapphire, the third Agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth Carnolion, the seventh chrysalite, the eighth barrel, the ninth Tobas, the tenth Christophase, the eleventh Jacenth, and the twelfth Amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. And by its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations, but nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor any one who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, through the middle of the street of the city, also on either side of the river the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him, and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more, and they will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. Let's pray. Oh Jesus, thank you. Thank you for this picture of our forever home. Thank you, Jesus, for the splendor and the radiance. But at the heart of the city, at the heart of the home, is you. It's your presence. And the river of life and the trees of life all flow from the glory of God and the throne of God. And so I pray, Lord, that as we begin to unpack this a little this morning, that you would only whet our appetites so that we would no longer look to the things of this earth, but we would long for our heavenly home. And we would acknowledge this morning that we are simply strangers and aliens and exiles, sojourners in this world. But God has prepared a place that no eye has seen and no ear has heard. It is beyond our imagination and comprehension. But one day our faith will become sight, and we will see your face. I love tide pools. Like, you want to see me, my like inner child, come alive. Get me to tide pools. I will ask my family. I will just leave them in the dust in the parking lot. I'll start running on the tide pools and just hop rocking all over the place. That's my happy place. I love the tides, I love the ocean. And when I was reading this, I was like, what are you talking about? No more sea. It's not what it's meaning. It's not what it means. Um, what it means is that there will be no more chaos. Because if you've been tracking with us, chaos has always been a picture in the Bible of the sea. Because imagine back then when they didn't have you know depth finders and all of that, that the sea was so unpredictable. It was so raging and dark and gloomy. It was a place of darkness and demonic activity. Um, all the way back to the beginning in Genesis chapter one, where it says God hovered over the face of the deep. It's indicative of this chaotic waters. And out of chaos, God creates. Out of chaos, God creates order. But the the the this idea of the sea means that there's no more evil, there's no more chaos, there's no more darkness, there's no more bad days, there's no more wake up and a fire takes your home. There's no more wake up, get the call. I have cancer. There's no more divorce, there's no more pain and suffering, there's no more chaos. I don't know about you, but who come amen. Come, Lord, quickly, right? There will be no more chaos. But then we also see in our forever home, there will be no more tears. Now, I want to believe that there's gonna be happy tears, but really what it's saying is there's no more sadness, and one of the hardest things, and I I don't mean to use my last two days as an example in almost every illustration, but it just is what it is today because it's fresh. So I will say that one of the hardest things for me as a father was seeing my children after the fire and just letting it sit in that we're gonna lose not only their pets, but different things. That was and not being able to make it right. That was Bar Nun the hardest thing. I can't wait for the day where there's no more sadness, and there's no more tears. Tears of a lost loved one that's lost the cancer, tears of a hard heart that leads to a divorce. No more tears. No more tears, no more mental health problems, no more suicidal ideation, no more tears. The next thing that we see in the text is that there will be no more death.

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No more death.

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It says that right there in verse 4, he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. No more death. In this world, as Jesus said, we will have troubles. I look around this room and see many widows, many family members that have lost loved ones, young and old, those that have experienced miscarriage, stillbirths.

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My first funeral as a pastor was stillborn twins.

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I'll never forget burying two twins that had little caskets like this big.

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That was my first funeral.

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We just buried a beloved sister in Christ, Janice, a beloved friend. And I know some of you have loved ones that are facing imminent death.

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There's coming a day in our forever home where there will be no more death. And there will be no more pain.

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It says right after that. There will be death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. No more pain. As our aged bodies, I was feeling this these last couple days. I'm having to give a little bit extra love to our Doberman who has hip dysplasia and having to pick him up. And literally, we're on the third floor of a hotel. And so I have to pick up Loki, Big Doberman, put him in a cart and like bread of life style, cart him through the halls, into the elevator, down three flights, outside to the potty room, and then try and hope as I pick him up and put him on the grass that he, and then I'm like, my back. I am longing for the day, and some of you probably can relate. No more back pain, no more pinched nerves, right? No more headaches, no more pain. And then it says in our forever home, there will be no more darkness. Should have written down some markers here, but I think it's in chapter 22, verse five. Starting verse 4, it says, They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. No more darkness, no more evil. I think as we look around the world today, we can all see darkness, we can all see evil, but the great confidence of those in the new heavens and in the new earth is that all of evil, all of darkness has been cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. The dragon, the beast, the false prophet, the harlot, all of those that were marked by the beast. In other words, all false worshipers, all of them, all evil have been cast in a just, righteous way, and there will be no more darkness. And the light of God will be our lamp for all eternity. There will be no more darkness, and then it says that there will be no more curse. Look at verse three of chapter 22. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. You see, if I hadn't more time this morning, it could really be a whole nother sermon. But if you're newer to the faith or the Bible, hopefully everyone knows that the story starts in a garden. And in the garden there was a tree of life, and there were rivers, it was paradise, and the very heart of God was to dwell with Adam and Eve. It says that they walked together in the cool of the day, they had a relationship, and yet something happened. They chose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil rather than the tree of life, which, in other words, was I'm going to choose to have self-autonomy. I want to choose what is right and wrong outside of my relationship with God. I'm the captain of my own ship. And in that moment, everything broke. Because humanity in its finite creation could not hold wisdom and knowledge from an infinite God. And so we see this all the time when someone thinks that something is good, but ultimately it is evil, or when someone thinks something is evil, like eating your vegetables, but then it's good. Small example, but you get what I'm saying. We have a wisdom to ourselves that says this is good or this is evil, but that's the curse. The curse is that we trust in our own instinct and our own wisdom, that we are wise in our own eyes, and there is no fear of God before our eyes. That's what the psalmist said. And so this is why in the Proverbs it says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Why? Because the fear of the Lord puts God at the top, and it all cascades down from there. A fool says in his heart, there is no God. So the fool says, I can make my own decisions and my own wisdom, in my own intellect, and my own rational thinking. That's the curse. And so what happens is creation breaks and fractures and begins to brother against brother, cities implode. And just read the Old Testament, it gets dark fast. The curse begins to go. And we still feel this today. Now, the gospel says that Jesus became our curse on a tree so that he could rescue us from the curse. And so what we have now is what theologians call the already not yet. In other words, the kingdom is already here, but there's coming a day when it will be full and consummate. So we can experience blessing and freedom from the curse, but the curse will ultimately still impact us, right? Like unless Jesus comes, I'm going to die one day. But because of what happened at the cross and in the empty tomb, I don't have to fear death. That because the curse has been removed. But there is coming a day where the curse is consummate or fully dealt with, and there is nothing accursed anymore on this earth. And the garden becomes a garden city. And all of the pictures that we see in these last two chapters are all from the first two chapters in the book of Genesis. It is a complete picture. The bookends of the Bible are this creation, fall. And then it's redemption. And then the other end of the book is judgment, new creation. It's perfectly symmetrical. It's perfectly bookended because the story of God ends with a restoration of the whole heart and intention of God to create, which is to be with his sons and daughters for all eternity in our forever home. So there is no more chaos, no more tears, no more death, no more pain, no more darkness, and no more curse. We see the garden city, we see the church, the bride of Christ coming as a new Jerusalem, a city, a home where God will dwell with us for all eternity. And for some of you, you think heaven is somewhere else. Heaven is coming here. Our hope is an embodied future. The hope for you is that one day you will be able to high-five Jesus. You're not some baby in diapers with wings onto some cloud, strumming a harp. Stop looking at Looney Tunes for your vision of heaven. I'm serious because some of us were like, I just can't wait to fly away and get out of this. No, no, no. The whole point of the gospel is God is going to restore heaven and earth, that former things will pass away, and that we will have a new heavens and a new earth, that what was divorced in the garden will be reconciled, and the marriage supper of the Lamb will be once more, and heaven and earth will collide and be not separated any longer. And I don't have time, but I'll give you a 60 second snapshot here. So in all of scripture, what you see is heaven and earth and the garden were one. Heaven is God's space, earth is man's space. Simple way to think about it. What happened in Genesis 3 is when sin ruptures God's face and man's space, you get a divorce. But God loved us so much to pursue us. And so he began to reconcile or have temple spaces or tabernacle spaces or home spaces where man and God could relate and commune. And then the first place you see that is something like Jacob's ladder. Then you get the tabernacle. And it's fascinating that in the tabernacle in the wilderness, you have garden imagery, like the lampstand is representative of the tree of life. You get garden and edenic image all throughout the tabernacle. And then you get all of this edinic and garden language all throughout the temple. And then Jesus comes around, and the temple and the tabernacle were holy spaces. They were places where God and man could dwell together. But then you get Jesus coming on the scene. And this is why in the Christmas story they say, Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, because God is reconciled to man. Because Jesus comes on the scene, and John actually says, the author of Revelation says, Jesus tabernacled with us, made his home with us. And then Jesus would go on to say, destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days. What's he saying? He says, Hey, listen, the tabernacle that was pointing to something greater. The temple was pointing to something greater. And Jesus comes on the scene and says, I am the temple. I am the tabernacle. I am the home. I am your forever home. And so then at Pentecost, what happens? The Holy Spirit begins to dwell with us in real time. Jesus makes his home in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. But there's a day coming where this will be consummate and it will fill the earth. In Habakkuk, it says that there's a day coming where the knowledge of the glory of God will cover the sea as the waters cover the seas. That's coming. No more curse, no more darkness, no more pain, no more death, no more tears, no more chaos. This is our forever home. So as we land the plane this morning, the next question is who's invited? Who's invited? And there's two categories of people in this text that are invited. The first one is those who are thirsty. The thirsty are invited. It says it right there after him saying, He said to me, It is done. This is verse 8 or verse 6 in chapter 20 and 21. I am the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The imagery there is this. It says that man's two sins are that we have forsaken in Jeremiah, that we have forsaken the fountain of living water, and we have dug our own wells that do not hold water. They're idols. So here's what we're talking about. You know how I was talking about those false homes? Those are false gods, false idols, false wells. They're things that are good things that we make God things that become bad things. It's like something like family or an actual physical home. We make it our source of comfort and joy and peace and purpose, or something like family or our job or anything, and we make it our home. And then it doesn't satisfy. So we always find ourselves thirsty, always looking to be satisfied. And to the thirsty, to those that are not satisfied with the things of this earth, God says, Come. I have a fountain of living water that flows from the throne of God and the Lamb that will satisfy forever.

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Thirsty. Are you thirsty?

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If you're thirsty this morning, it says, I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. Without payment.

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Why is it free? Because Jesus paid it all with his very life.

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He died on the cross, gave his life out of love for us so that we could drink deeply from the fountain of living water once more. The thirsty are invited. The next category that we see in this text that are invited to this forever home are the conqueror, not the coward. The conquerors, not the cowards, are invited. If you look at verse 7 in chapter 21, it says, The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. But look at verse 8. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, the 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. This whole series is about being more than conquerors. And being a conqueror means that you are faithful to the very end. Despite all that may come your way in forms of persecution, rejection, hardship, trial, the pleasures of this world, the pain of this world, all of it will be coming your way. Will you keep your faith to the very end? If so, the Bible calls you a conqueror. And if you don't, the Bible calls you a coward. Can you go to the next slide? These were in Beale's commentary, and this is how he defines the word coward. He says, the cowardly and unbelieving are not just unbelievers in general, but more precisely those who have claimed to belong to the covenant church community, but who, driven by fear of humans rather than of God, have compromised in the face of persecution.

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Next slide.

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The visible community of faith who have turned back in the holy war with the world and have not been courageously faithful in the battle against the beast.

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In other words, it's an empty faith. It's an empty faith. And the first person not invited to the table is the coward on this list.

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The book of Revelation is intended to give you courage in the face of suffering, persecution, adversity, trial, difficulty, sickness, all the things. And remember that this was written to seven churches who were struggling more than we can even fathom. And what's so fascinating about these verses that we read this morning, every single promise that was given to them in the first three chapters are all fulfilled explicitly in these texts. Every promise to the seven churches is fulfilled in our forever home. Next slide. If you want to take a picture, um, I don't have time to go and get all the references, but here's the deal: every single promise, the promise of eating from the tree of life, the promise to be in the new temple, the promise to be part of the new Jerusalem, the promise of having God's name written on you, the promise of being written in the book of life, the promise of having white, bright garments of righteousness, the promise to be a bright luminary stone in the new heavens and new earth, the promise to reign with Christ, and the promise to not be a part of the second death and be in the lake of fire, all of those were promised to the first seven churches in the book of Revelation, to those who overcome. And how do you overcome? By your faith. Hold on to your faith. It's why Paul calls it the fight of faith. I run the race, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Keep the faith. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. How do you keep the faith? Will the book of Revelation have taught us anything? It is this keep your eyes on Jesus. That's the only way. In the face of loss, of mourning, of suffering, of persecution, the only way to run the race with perseverance, the only way to fight the fight is to keep your eyes on Jesus. That's the picture. That's how we overcome. But every promise to the seven churches is fulfilled in our forever home. And lastly, it says our forever home. It's not even the stuff. Our forever home is Jesus. We are going to be in his presence forever. And our faith will become sight. I want to read to you in closing 1 John chapter 3. Remember, John is the one who wrote the book of Revelation. And in 1 John, as we prepare for communion, I want to read this to us. 1 John chapter 3, it says, See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God. And so we are. Did you catch that? Now and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. When you have your hope in your forever home, you purify yourself. You make yourself ready because the detachments or the attachments to the things of this world begin to fade away in the light of his glory and grace. I feel it appropriate as the band begins to come up that we conclude our time together with an old song. Turn your eyes to Jesus. If you know it, sing along with me. But let's prepare for communion by reminding ourselves of this.

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Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look for in his wonderful and the things of grow strength in the more time turn your punish wonderful, and the things of grow stranged in the light of his glory and grace. Come Lord Jesus.

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Come even now, Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts as we partake of the table and we proclaim your death until you come. And we eat with you at the marriage supper of the Lamb and enjoy our forever home in the light of the glory of God for all eternity.