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Revelation chapter 21.

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And beginning at verse one,
then I saw a new heaven and a new

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earth.

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For the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and

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the sea was no more.

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And I saw the holy city, New
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven

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from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.

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And I heard a loud voice from
the throne saying, behold, the dwelling

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place of God is with man.

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He will dwell with him, and
they will be his people.

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And God himself will be with
them as their God.

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He will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and death shall

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be no more.

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Neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,

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for the former things have
passed away.

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And he who was seated on the
throne said, behold, I am making

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all things new also.

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He said, write this down, for
these words are trustworthy and true.

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And he said to me, it is done.

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I am the alpha and the omega,
the beginning and the end.

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To the thirsty I will give
from the spring of the water of life

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without payment.

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The one who conquers will have
this heritage, and I will be his

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God, and he will be my son.

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But as for the cowardly, the
faithless, the detestable, as for

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murderers, the sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and

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all liars, their portion will
be in the lake that burns with fire

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and sulfur, which is the
second death.

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Amen.

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This is the word of God as our
children were growing up.

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Makes them sound old.

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They're not.

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But as they were growing up
through those toddler years and learning

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to talk, there was one book
that they loved.

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All three of them, when asked
what bedtime story they wanted, selected

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a book called called you'd choose.

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U choose is an engaging book
that allows children to make up their

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own story with all of the
options that they present.

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There are thousands of
possibilities to tell a story.

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You can choose what clothes
you would wear or where you would

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go for shopping, or what
transport you would like to take.

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You get to choose your job,
you, your hobbies, and even the bed

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that you would get to sleep in.

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But it all starts with one
question, and that is what builds

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the story.

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And that question is, if you
could go anywhere, where would you

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go?

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And you're presented with this
picture of where's possible.

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So you could go to a sandy
beach with palm trees, or you could

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go to a desert with cactuses,
a large city or a small seaside town.

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You could go to a volcano or
waterfalls or mountains.

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And wherever you choose, then
you will allow the story to go.

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And the next page you turn
over was, well, what would you wear

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and so it all builds.

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And so for a young reader,
although it's not a story they read,

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they make their choices.

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But it all hinges on this question.

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If you could go anywhere,
where would you go?

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Now if we were all asked this
question, then we'd all have different

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answers.

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And maybe you look at that
picture and think, well, I wouldn't

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mind that little white sandy
beach with palm trees.

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Or maybe you're thinking, yep,
a good hike up those snow capped

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mountains would do me good.

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And all depends on our
preferences, our likes and our dislikes.

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We will opt to go to different places.

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Well, it's a good question
because it's a question that determines

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where the story goes.

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Let me rephrase the question
and ask you it in another way.

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Where do you want to go when
you die?

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And I think we would all have
the same answer and I could nearly

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count us down and in unison we
would all say, heaven.

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The that's where we want to go
when we die.

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Because we're here in a
building and as far as I look around

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and I can't really see
everyone, but I'm guessing the vast

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majority of us are here
because we believe in a heaven and

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a hell.

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We believe in a heaven to be
won and a hell to be lost.

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But as we know, not everyone
in the world believes in heaven.

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And ask an atheist where they
will go when they die and they will

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say nowhere.

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Because in their opinion,
there is nothing beyond this life

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in which we live.

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And I would say it takes a
great amount of faith to believe

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that.

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Ask someone from a Middle
Eastern spiritual background and

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they may say to a higher plane
of understanding that we simply go

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from one life to the next and
each time building on the knowledge

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that we can absorb and retain.

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Now, those who don't believe
in heaven will all have their own

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way of getting to where they
want to go.

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Even the atheist will have
their way of getting to nowhere.

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But if you want to go to
heaven, then you need to trust in

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Jesus Christ.

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And I hope that we all know
that you need to trust and you need

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to believe that his sacrifice
on Calvary's cross has been enough

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to satisfy God's wrath towards
your sin.

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Now, as we've made our way
through this book of revelation,

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this revelation that has been
given to John, we have seen sin's

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long reaching finger.

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Sin has allowed persecution of
the church.

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It's allowed for the death of
the martyrs.

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It's allowed for the evil that
wants to pull believers away from

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God.

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We have seen in the letters to
the Churches, how their hearts were

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being lured away.

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They were neither hot nor
cold, but look warm as they were

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lured away by the flash of
this world.

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And they were challenged to
wake up and pay attention to what

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really matters.

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And now, as we come to the
final two chapters of Revelation,

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we have a whole new perspective.

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And it is what we've been
waiting for.

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Because the book of Revelation
has been written for the church so

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that we would be aware of the
darkness and how sin filled the world

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around us is.

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And it's giving us a whole new
perspective of what the story has

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been so far.

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And it's what we've been
waiting for.

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After the defeat of the unholy
trinity of Satan, the dragon, the

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beast and the false prophet,
our attention is drawn to heaven.

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And there is good news from
the outset, because in verse one,

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John tells us, then I saw a
new heaven and a new earth.

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For the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away and the

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sea was no more.

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What John sees is newness.

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The decaying and rancid world
of punishment and destruction is

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gone.

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And a breath of fresh air
comes to him as he sees all that

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he has known before him pass away.

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And this includes the sea.

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Now, this doesn't mean that
there are no bodies of water in the

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new creation.

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The sea in Hebrew thought
stood for chaos.

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It stood for evil.

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We've known this as we've
thought about the disciples on the

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Sea of Galilee and the storm.

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We thought about it as we've
looked at the Jonah and what it meant

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for him to go to sea.

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The sea was the source of
hideous monsters.

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That this sea is no more means
nothing destructive, nothing deforming

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will be in the new creation.

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And the dwellers of this new
creation have nothing to fear.

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Then they will know peace.

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They will know freedom from evil.

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The old is gone and the new
has come.

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But this isn't a void.

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It's not a place where the
cartoonists would want us to think,

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oh, we're simply going to sit
around on clouds.

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That's not the case.

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Instead of the old creation,
John in verse two sees the new heaven

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and the new earth.

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And in this new creation we
see the birthing of a city, the New

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Jerusalem.

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In verse 2 he says, and I saw
the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming

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down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for for

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her husband.

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Isn't it interesting what we
read about Jerusalem here?

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The new Jerusalem?

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We are not going up to it.

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What does the text say?

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The new Jerusalem coming down.

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You see, there is a new heaven
and a new earth.

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This is something we need to
realize of what God is doing.

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He is creating what we've
known already, but what was fallen

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in sin, certainly by way of
this earth.

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You'll hear at least on two
more occasions of what God is doing

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here in the picture we're
given, it's Eden restored.

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And whenever you look
throughout Scripture and the signposts

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of what God was doing after
Genesis 3 with that flaming cherubim

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in front of the garden so that
Adam and Eve could not go back, what

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has he done in the tabernacle?

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Designed it like Eden, with
its colors and its beauty.

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But yes, with that big curtain
where inflamed was the cherubim saying,

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do not enter.

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And as the temple came, its
dimensions were those of what would

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be known as the dimensions of
Eden and its ratios.

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And again, a curtain with a
cherubim emblazoned, saying, no entry.

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Because God was getting his
people back.

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For Eden restored, going back
to what was always intended for God's

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people, that perfect world.

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And so this city now comes
down to us.

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Because the new creation that
dawn's is a city, a holy city of

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no unrighteousness, no evil
consecrated and dedicated to God,

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unlike any human city we know
in our present age or will ever know.

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Because it's a city that
stands in stark contrast to the city

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that we've known throughout
the book of Revelation to Babylon,

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described as that detestable prostitute.

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Because the city of God is
identified as the new Jerusalem,

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it's not the earthly
Jerusalem, but a transcendent one

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coming down to us from God.

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The earthly Jerusalem points
forward to a heavenly Jerusalem far

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surpassing the one located in Israel.

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Other New Testament writers
refer to Jerusalem in a similar way.

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Paul in Galatians, chapter 4
in verse 26, speaks of Jerusalem

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like this.

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But the Jerusalem above, free.

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And she is our mother.

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So Paul acknowledges that
there's another Jerusalem, a new

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Jerusalem.

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The author of the Book of
Hebrews refers to a heavenly Jerusalem

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in chapter 12 in verse 22.

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And a new and heavenly
Jerusalem is anticipated in the Old

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Testament.

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This heavenly city stands in
contrast, as we've said, to that

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city of Babylon, because that
city defaced the world and dehumanized

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others.

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But John also sees a familiar
image throughout Scripture to describe

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Jerusalem.

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She is described as a
beautiful bride adorned for her husband.

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And Isaiah anticipates what
John writes here about the city,

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because he writes in chapter
62 and verses 4 to 5, you shall no

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more be termed forsaken, and
your land shall no more be termed

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desolate, but you shall be
called My delight is in her and your

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land married.

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For the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.

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For as a young man marries a
young woman, so shall your sons marry

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you.

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And as the bridegroom rejoices
over the bride, so shall your God

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rejoice over you.

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As much as Isaiah is talking
about what's going to happen as they

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come back from exile, these
later chapters we understand to speak

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of a more prophetic beyond the
return of the exiles, pointing us

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to what God will do on the
last day, pointing us to our heavenly

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home.

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That's a beautiful thread
running through Scripture of what

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God will give us in this new creation.

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And John sees the fulfillment
of these prophecies here in Revelation

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21.

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But he just doesn't see so
often as we know in the Book of Revelation,

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John sees, but he also hears.

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And as we turn to verses three
and four, he hears a loud voice.

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And I heard a loud voice from
the throne saying, behold, the dwelling

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place of God is with man.

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He will dwell with them, and
they will be his people, and God

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himself will be with them as
their God.

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He will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and death shall

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be no more.

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Neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,

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for the former things have
passed away.

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And again we hear great news.

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For this loud voice from the
throne declares that God's dwelling

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is with human beings.

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00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:15,360
No longer is there separation
because of sin.

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00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,680
We are in his presence, and he
calls us his people.

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00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:21,850
And isn't it about time?

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00:14:22,730 --> 00:14:23,850
Aren't we weary?

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Aren't we tired of what's
there in the final part of this section

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where there won't be any more
tears, they'll be wiped away.

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00:14:34,330 --> 00:14:36,410
Death shall be no more.

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00:14:37,289 --> 00:14:38,930
Neither shall there be mourning.

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00:14:38,930 --> 00:14:43,010
There'll be no more crying,
there'll be no more pain, for the

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former things have passed away.

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00:14:47,620 --> 00:14:52,740
If this isn't good news for
you tonight, then you have a problem.

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00:14:53,860 --> 00:14:57,940
And that problem is you don't
have a full view of who Jesus is

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00:14:58,340 --> 00:15:01,580
and what he has achieved, nor
do you have a full understanding

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00:15:01,580 --> 00:15:05,540
of who God is and what he has
promised throughout Scripture.

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Because just as his covenant
promises throughout Scripture are

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00:15:09,260 --> 00:15:13,460
to us, he now tells us, and
John hears it, that he is with us

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as our God.

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And this is what makes us rejoice.

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God's very presence is with us.

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00:15:20,700 --> 00:15:24,300
And so our hearts should
rejoice to know that a moment is

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00:15:24,300 --> 00:15:30,020
coming when all will be made
new and all of the relationships

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00:15:30,020 --> 00:15:32,060
of Eden will be restored.

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Everything that was lost in
the fall will be restored before

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00:15:35,980 --> 00:15:36,460
God.

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00:15:36,940 --> 00:15:40,460
But the voice goes further and
highlights how different the new

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creation is here on earth.

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We suffer physically, we feel
pain and we know sorrow.

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Our hearts can grieve and we
can weep in deep sadness.

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But a day is coming when all
that will be gone forever.

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As the voice, which is God
himself, tells us, the former things

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have passed away with the
closing of chapter 20.

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00:16:01,220 --> 00:16:04,660
So the history of sin is
finished for God's people.

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They will no longer be
tempted, influenced, or feel the

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00:16:08,860 --> 00:16:10,500
pain and suffering of it.

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00:16:10,940 --> 00:16:13,980
And this is what Peter tells
us in second Peter 3 and verse 13.

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But according to his promise,
we are waiting for new heavens and

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00:16:17,660 --> 00:16:20,940
a new earth in which
righteousness dwells.

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00:16:21,660 --> 00:16:25,300
I read this verse as part of
my own quiet time this week, and

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00:16:25,300 --> 00:16:29,180
it was this paragraph that
struck me as to what the new creation

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00:16:29,180 --> 00:16:30,660
will be like now.

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00:16:30,660 --> 00:16:34,060
I don't know who the author
is, but let me read what they said.

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00:16:34,860 --> 00:16:38,300
The defining characteristic of
this new creation, Peter tells us,

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00:16:38,540 --> 00:16:40,860
is that righteousness dwells there.

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00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:45,180
In the present world,
righteousness is rare and under constant

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00:16:45,180 --> 00:16:45,500
attack.

289
00:16:46,140 --> 00:16:50,020
In the new heavens and the new
earth, righteousness will suffuse

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00:16:50,020 --> 00:16:50,380
everything.

291
00:16:51,100 --> 00:16:54,460
Sin will be gone, not merely restrained.

292
00:16:54,860 --> 00:16:58,980
The glorified people of God,
clothed in resurrection bodies, free

293
00:16:58,980 --> 00:17:03,500
from the corruption of the
fall, will live in perfect conformity

294
00:17:03,740 --> 00:17:06,220
to the will of their Creator.

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00:17:07,910 --> 00:17:10,470
I have to say that stuck with
me for the rest of the day, that

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00:17:10,470 --> 00:17:11,430
one paragraph.

297
00:17:12,310 --> 00:17:16,550
Isn't it a wonderful
understanding, as Peter tells us

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00:17:16,550 --> 00:17:21,510
here as well in second Peter,
of what John is now seeing and hearing

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00:17:22,710 --> 00:17:23,510
in heaven.

300
00:17:24,310 --> 00:17:29,750
It's a wonderful truth, and it
is truly such glorious hope to believe.

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00:17:30,550 --> 00:17:33,830
And verse five goes on to
assure us that it is God himself

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00:17:33,830 --> 00:17:38,840
who is working this there,
that we can trust it because it is

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00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:39,200
his.

304
00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,240
And John is commanded to write
these words down so that they're

305
00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:46,400
not forgotten, but are
preserved for future generations,

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00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,800
our generation, so that we too
can live in this great hope.

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00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,200
God tells John that what is
written here is true.

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00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:02,510
It's reliable, as is the case
with every word of God.

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00:18:03,630 --> 00:18:07,350
And as verses 1 to 5 have
announced the new creation, so the

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00:18:07,350 --> 00:18:11,470
second half of this passage,
verses 6 to 8, tells us who can enjoy

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00:18:11,630 --> 00:18:14,830
the new creation and who are
excluded from it.

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00:18:15,230 --> 00:18:19,470
In verse 6 we're told, and he
said to me, it is done.

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00:18:19,630 --> 00:18:23,150
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.

314
00:18:23,550 --> 00:18:26,830
To the thirsty I will give
from the spring of the water of life

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00:18:26,830 --> 00:18:28,110
without peace payment.

316
00:18:28,430 --> 00:18:32,510
God declares to John that all
is accomplished, history has come

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00:18:32,510 --> 00:18:33,110
to an end.

318
00:18:33,110 --> 00:18:35,630
Everything God has purposed
has been realized.

319
00:18:35,870 --> 00:18:37,550
And the new creation has come.

320
00:18:37,550 --> 00:18:38,350
It's dawned.

321
00:18:39,070 --> 00:18:43,230
God's purposes are realized
because he is the sovereign God.

322
00:18:43,629 --> 00:18:44,950
As he says of himself.

323
00:18:44,950 --> 00:18:47,870
He is the beginning and the
end, the Alpha and the Omega.

324
00:18:48,590 --> 00:18:52,350
He has always ruled and
reigned as the God of the universe.

325
00:18:52,750 --> 00:18:55,710
Things were never spinning out
of his control.

326
00:18:56,970 --> 00:18:59,810
And he declares that from the
very beginning, what the end will

327
00:18:59,810 --> 00:19:05,930
be, what are his purposes and
his plans, and they have never been

328
00:19:06,250 --> 00:19:07,130
frustrated.

329
00:19:11,690 --> 00:19:16,970
And so the joys of knowing God
and having him dwell in our midst

330
00:19:17,610 --> 00:19:19,490
belong to those who are thirsty.

331
00:19:19,490 --> 00:19:20,770
That's what he's saying here.

332
00:19:20,770 --> 00:19:23,850
To the thirsty, I will give
from the spring of living water.

333
00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:29,880
What we're given the image of
here is those who long to be satisfied

334
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:34,440
by God, satisfied with him
because they're tired of relying

335
00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,600
on themselves and on their
good works.

336
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,400
And what God tells us here is
that he freely quenches the spiritual

337
00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,360
thirst and the longing of
human beings.

338
00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:49,600
The water of life is a gift
that comes with the asking, and it's

339
00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:50,280
freely given.

340
00:19:51,460 --> 00:19:53,460
People don't have to work for it.

341
00:19:54,100 --> 00:19:57,180
They don't have to show
anything of themselves in any other

342
00:19:57,180 --> 00:19:58,780
way to make themselves worthy
of it.

343
00:19:58,780 --> 00:20:02,740
All they need to do is to
desire it, to want it, and to want

344
00:20:02,740 --> 00:20:04,340
it because of the One who
gives it.

345
00:20:04,900 --> 00:20:08,180
So those who seek the Lord for
living water that quenches their

346
00:20:08,180 --> 00:20:11,380
spiritual thirst will be found
in the new creation.

347
00:20:12,820 --> 00:20:17,630
But verse seven also uses the
word conquer to describe these people.

348
00:20:18,590 --> 00:20:21,870
The one who conquers will have
this heritage, and I will be his

349
00:20:21,870 --> 00:20:24,270
God, and he will be my son.

350
00:20:25,790 --> 00:20:28,190
If you've been following
along, and I know it's been quite

351
00:20:28,190 --> 00:20:31,510
a number of weeks and months,
but the theme of conquering is a

352
00:20:31,510 --> 00:20:34,190
major theme in Revelation.

353
00:20:34,510 --> 00:20:37,070
We saw this in the letter to
the Church in Ephesus in chapter

354
00:20:37,070 --> 00:20:39,470
two, and it's a theme that's
continued since then.

355
00:20:39,790 --> 00:20:43,150
And although conquering may
not have been the exact word used

356
00:20:43,230 --> 00:20:47,110
explicitly, we know that
there's a great sense of overcoming

357
00:20:47,110 --> 00:20:49,740
evil and to remain faithful to God.

358
00:20:49,740 --> 00:20:54,140
Therefore, conquering evil, so
those who have remained faithful

359
00:20:55,980 --> 00:20:59,020
are not fallen into the wicked
ways of the world, will be found

360
00:20:59,020 --> 00:21:01,100
amongst the membership of
God's people.

361
00:21:01,900 --> 00:21:04,780
Now, this should be a
challenge to believers.

362
00:21:05,580 --> 00:21:10,220
The challenge is that we must
stay the course of faith in Christ.

363
00:21:11,420 --> 00:21:14,580
And if we're honest, we can
often be tempted into the things

364
00:21:14,580 --> 00:21:17,470
of the world, the things of Satan.

365
00:21:17,630 --> 00:21:22,350
And he is becoming craftier in
how he will pull God's people into

366
00:21:22,350 --> 00:21:22,830
sin.

367
00:21:23,790 --> 00:21:25,150
We must be very aware.

368
00:21:25,230 --> 00:21:28,070
And again, going back to
Peter, the image that he presents

369
00:21:28,070 --> 00:21:32,070
to us is of one prowling
around, waiting on whom he may desire.

370
00:21:32,070 --> 00:21:33,470
And what is our response?

371
00:21:33,470 --> 00:21:37,790
To be simply resist him firm
in the faith, knowing that the same

372
00:21:37,870 --> 00:21:41,030
kinds of suffering are being
experienced by your brotherhood throughout

373
00:21:41,030 --> 00:21:42,960
the world, peter says.

374
00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:47,120
As we know the craftiness of
the Satan, as we know that he wants

375
00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:51,600
to pull us away, to make us
neither hot nor cold, to make us

376
00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:58,520
look warm, we are to resist
him, standing firm in the faith to

377
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:02,560
know fellowship with other
people as they experience the same

378
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,960
thing, encouraging one another
to keep with Christ so that our faith

379
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:08,910
does not become shipwreck.

380
00:22:09,870 --> 00:22:13,990
This is a stark warning and
challenge to us of how we are to

381
00:22:13,990 --> 00:22:16,110
respond to God and to stay the course.

382
00:22:17,390 --> 00:22:20,910
And as much as these verses
have been encouraging, and there's

383
00:22:20,910 --> 00:22:24,550
no doubt they're encouraging
to us, we come to verse eight, which

384
00:22:24,550 --> 00:22:26,190
is an even greater challenge.

385
00:22:27,550 --> 00:22:30,750
And perhaps we don't like the
words that we're about to read, but

386
00:22:30,830 --> 00:22:33,710
here they are, and God himself
has told us that they are true.

387
00:22:35,030 --> 00:22:40,630
But as for the cowardly, the
faithless, the detestable, as for

388
00:22:40,630 --> 00:22:47,190
murderers, the sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and

389
00:22:47,190 --> 00:22:52,310
all liars, their portion will
be in the lake that burns with fire

390
00:22:52,790 --> 00:22:56,150
and sulfur, which is the
second death.

391
00:22:58,310 --> 00:23:04,200
Those who fail to conquer, who
fail to be faithful unto the Lord,

392
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:09,040
and instead give themselves
over to evil, will be in the lake

393
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:14,480
burning with fire and sulfur,
a place that both chapters 19 and

394
00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:17,000
20 of Revelation have told us about.

395
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:22,360
And those who will be found
there will experience the second

396
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:22,840
death.

397
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,760
The first death of theirs is
the initial separation from God experienced

398
00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:31,010
by all those born into the
world as sons and daughters of Adam.

399
00:23:31,010 --> 00:23:35,010
The the second death, however,
is eternal separation from God, and

400
00:23:35,010 --> 00:23:37,890
there is no redemption or
salvation for those who experience

401
00:23:38,130 --> 00:23:39,010
the second death.

402
00:23:39,330 --> 00:23:41,810
They will be tormented forever.

403
00:23:42,610 --> 00:23:47,730
And so unbelievers are
excluded from the city for cowardice

404
00:23:47,970 --> 00:23:49,010
and unbelief.

405
00:23:49,570 --> 00:23:54,730
Cowardice expresses itself in
conforming to and following the beast

406
00:23:54,730 --> 00:23:58,140
instead of risking our life
for allegiance to Christ.

407
00:23:59,260 --> 00:24:02,940
Unbelief or unfaithfulness
means trusting in our own resources

408
00:24:03,260 --> 00:24:06,620
instead of staking our life on God.

409
00:24:07,500 --> 00:24:11,260
Murder and sexual immorality
also separate us from God.

410
00:24:11,740 --> 00:24:14,700
It's not as if these sins
automatically exclude anyone.

411
00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:18,820
The point is that one is
excluded by engaging in such sins

412
00:24:18,820 --> 00:24:20,940
instead of repenting and
turning from them.

413
00:24:21,500 --> 00:24:25,630
Sorcery or magic is regularly
condemned throughout Scripture as

414
00:24:25,630 --> 00:24:29,470
a way of trying to manipulate
circumstances to bring about desired

415
00:24:29,470 --> 00:24:31,910
ends instead of trusting in God.

416
00:24:32,870 --> 00:24:38,349
Idolatry, like sorcery, is the
rejection of God's Lordship liars

417
00:24:38,349 --> 00:24:42,910
do not trust God's provision
in their lives and so distort the

418
00:24:42,910 --> 00:24:46,150
truth to accomplish their own
desires and their schemes.

419
00:24:46,870 --> 00:24:50,090
And this is quite a list and
it's quite confronting.

420
00:24:50,890 --> 00:24:55,170
So if we're honest in our own
hearts, we can see ourselves and

421
00:24:55,170 --> 00:24:55,930
what is here.

422
00:24:57,370 --> 00:25:01,050
And maybe let me tease it out
for you to be wary of some things.

423
00:25:01,930 --> 00:25:06,130
Be wary of the people that you
associate with, where they're inviting

424
00:25:06,130 --> 00:25:10,250
you to, what they're wanting
you to go to, and what they're showing

425
00:25:10,250 --> 00:25:14,050
you or sharing with you on
social media, or the recommendations

426
00:25:14,050 --> 00:25:15,610
that they're giving you of
what to watch.

427
00:25:16,790 --> 00:25:20,630
Be very careful, for the devil
can have a foothold.

428
00:25:22,230 --> 00:25:27,270
Be careful of what we read,
particularly by way of horoscopes.

429
00:25:28,070 --> 00:25:32,309
We may think that it's just
idle fun, but it's not.

430
00:25:33,270 --> 00:25:37,670
Someone who has put those
together could be deemed under sorcery,

431
00:25:38,230 --> 00:25:42,790
wanting to determine what
future might be by reading something

432
00:25:43,810 --> 00:25:45,090
that they've made up of themselves.

433
00:25:46,930 --> 00:25:53,010
I would also want to caution
any use of financial gain that is

434
00:25:53,170 --> 00:25:56,530
contrary to the word of God,
such as gambling.

435
00:25:57,570 --> 00:26:01,810
We might think it is easy
money, but it burns a hole in our

436
00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:09,250
hearts as we begin to rely on
the 1 or 2, 5 or 10 or 20 pounds

437
00:26:09,250 --> 00:26:14,690
we spend, rather than trusting
in God to provide, as he's always

438
00:26:14,850 --> 00:26:15,970
said he would.

439
00:26:17,570 --> 00:26:23,090
This is what this looks like
in the real world, and we are to

440
00:26:23,090 --> 00:26:24,530
be warned.

441
00:26:28,050 --> 00:26:33,810
You see, as much as verse
eight is hard to read, it's real

442
00:26:35,090 --> 00:26:36,370
and it's all around us.

443
00:26:37,570 --> 00:26:41,130
And if we do not turn to
Christ, if we do not trust in him

444
00:26:41,130 --> 00:26:48,290
and him alone, then we will be
found with the cowardly and the faithless.

445
00:26:50,370 --> 00:26:55,970
And we will face a lost
eternity where there is no opportunity

446
00:26:56,530 --> 00:26:59,810
of redemption or salvation.

447
00:27:03,980 --> 00:27:08,980
As we finish this evening, let
me return to where we began and change

448
00:27:08,980 --> 00:27:13,500
the wording of that book that
our children love to look at.

449
00:27:14,860 --> 00:27:22,620
If you could go to heaven when
you die, do you really want to?

450
00:27:25,020 --> 00:27:29,180
Now, that might seem a strange
question, because obviously we would

451
00:27:29,180 --> 00:27:29,900
say yes.

452
00:27:31,550 --> 00:27:36,390
Well, where we began to answer
yes to that question to heaven is

453
00:27:36,390 --> 00:27:37,470
to trust in Jesus.

454
00:27:38,830 --> 00:27:41,630
And what does He Himself tell us?

455
00:27:42,910 --> 00:27:48,870
Not me, not one of the gospel
writers or one of the apostles, but

456
00:27:48,870 --> 00:27:52,910
Jesus himself, as recorded in
John's gospel, chapter 14 and verse

457
00:27:52,910 --> 00:27:53,230
6.

458
00:27:53,870 --> 00:27:56,930
Jesus says, I am the way, the
truth and the life.

459
00:27:57,490 --> 00:28:02,210
No one comes to the Father
except through me.

460
00:28:04,850 --> 00:28:10,130
If you could go to heaven when
you die, do you really want to?

461
00:28:11,170 --> 00:28:15,690
If the answer is yes, then the
only way is through Jesus, for He

462
00:28:15,690 --> 00:28:20,330
is the only way the only truth
and the only life to live contrary

463
00:28:20,330 --> 00:28:23,370
to him means that our answer
is no.

464
00:28:23,370 --> 00:28:26,810
For it is only a yes or no
answer to this question.

465
00:28:27,610 --> 00:28:32,010
And we are confronted tonight
with the glories of heaven and the

466
00:28:32,010 --> 00:28:33,610
realities of hell.

467
00:28:35,770 --> 00:28:41,930
When you lay your head on your
pillow this night, I wonder, do you

468
00:28:41,930 --> 00:28:45,970
have the assurance of Psalm 2
that you can rest completely in the

469
00:28:45,970 --> 00:28:49,380
Lord because you're certain of
your home in heaven?

470
00:28:50,740 --> 00:28:55,500
Or will you go to bed tonight
troubled, knowing that you can't

471
00:28:55,500 --> 00:28:59,300
lay your head on your pillow
in peace because you are not right

472
00:28:59,300 --> 00:29:00,100
with the Savior?

473
00:29:01,300 --> 00:29:03,860
Well, as we've said often
through this book of Revelation,

474
00:29:03,860 --> 00:29:09,820
while there is yet time, trust
in the Lord, so that as each of us

475
00:29:09,820 --> 00:29:15,190
lays our heads down this
night, we will rest assured of a

476
00:29:15,190 --> 00:29:19,950
home in heaven where there are
no more tears, for they are wiped

477
00:29:19,950 --> 00:29:20,190
away.

478
00:29:21,070 --> 00:29:23,310
Where there's no more
mourning, there's no more grief,

479
00:29:23,310 --> 00:29:25,150
there's no more sorrow,
there's no more pain.

480
00:29:26,910 --> 00:29:31,710
All things have passed away,
and all that is new will come.

481
00:29:33,150 --> 00:29:36,750
And trusting in Christ will be
yours forever.

482
00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:39,320
May it be so.

483
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:41,080
Let us pray.

484
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:42,920
Our Father God.

485
00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:48,120
It is glorious hope to trust
in Christ, to know that this night

486
00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:52,200
we can lay down our heads in
complete assurance of who you are,

487
00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:58,000
that no matter what comes our
way, we are redeemed by Christ and

488
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,560
we will be yours forever.

489
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:05,430
We pray against all attacks of
the evil one who would want to lure

490
00:30:05,430 --> 00:30:09,230
us away with the attractions
of this world, that they too will

491
00:30:09,230 --> 00:30:13,190
fade, as we've seen in
chapters 19 and 20 of this book.

492
00:30:14,310 --> 00:30:17,990
Father, may we eagerly await
the new heaven and the new earth.

493
00:30:18,710 --> 00:30:23,230
May we know what it means to
be counted among the redeemed, to

494
00:30:23,230 --> 00:30:27,510
have our name written in the
book of life, and to know for certain

495
00:30:27,590 --> 00:30:32,230
we will escape and avoid that
place where the cowardly and the

496
00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:37,590
faithless will be found in a
lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

497
00:30:38,710 --> 00:30:42,310
May we have wonderful
assurance of our salvation this night,

498
00:30:42,950 --> 00:30:46,310
that our glorious hope is
Christ and Him only.

499
00:30:47,510 --> 00:30:49,750
And we ask this in Jesus name.

500
00:30:50,470 --> 00:30:51,110
Amen.

501
00:30:57,730 --> 00:31:06,920
Sam.