1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,340 Well last week I had, I think the toughest assignment that could ever be 2 00:00:05,340 –> 00:00:10,720 given to a preacher to speak from the Bible about hell. And this week I have 3 00:00:10,720 –> 00:00:15,000 the greatest joy that could ever be given to a pastor and that is to speak 4 00:00:15,000 –> 00:00:23,240 to you from the Bible about heaven. In a strange way one finds oneself with a 5 00:00:23,320 –> 00:00:30,680 similar sense of overwhelming awe as hell is almost too awful to describe, 6 00:00:30,680 –> 00:00:38,200 heaven is almost too wonderful. It is beyond what we are able to truly 7 00:00:38,200 –> 00:00:43,060 comprehend and yet certain things are told to us and they are told to us 8 00:00:43,060 –> 00:00:49,200 because we need to lay hold of them. And to live in the light of them. Your future 9 00:00:49,200 –> 00:00:56,000 life will not be as it is now think of it this way your life today is a kind of 10 00:00:56,000 –> 00:01:02,000 middle life. That’s what it is. Because all of us are on the way either to 11 00:01:02,000 –> 00:01:07,580 something that is infinitely better or we are on the way to something that is 12 00:01:07,580 –> 00:01:13,440 infinitely worse. People sometimes in our culture like to talk about living your 13 00:01:14,120 –> 00:01:20,500 life now. Think about that living your best life now. That is only possible if 14 00:01:20,500 –> 00:01:25,339 you are going to hell. That is only possible if you’re going to hell. If hell 15 00:01:25,339 –> 00:01:32,599 is your future your best life is now better make the most of it. But if heaven 16 00:01:32,599 –> 00:01:38,120 is your future your best life is still to come my friend. For a person outside 17 00:01:38,720 –> 00:01:44,480 of Christ, this life is as good as it’s ever going to get. But for a person who 18 00:01:44,480 –> 00:01:49,680 is in Christ, your pain in this world is the only pain you will ever experience. 19 00:01:49,680 –> 00:01:54,559 Your struggles in this world are the only struggles you will ever endure. This 20 00:01:54,559 –> 00:02:02,760 is as tough as it gets for you because your future is absolutely glorious. Think 21 00:02:02,760 –> 00:02:10,460 of it this way, without Christ, without Christ, this world is as near as you’ll 22 00:02:10,460 –> 00:02:13,020 ever get to Heaven. It’s the best you’ll ever see. 23 00:02:13,020 –> 00:02:19,500 With Christ, this world is the closest you’ll ever get to hell. It’s the worst 24 00:02:19,500 –> 00:02:24,679 you’ll ever see because ahead of you lies that which is absolutely glorious 25 00:02:24,679 –> 00:02:30,199 and I want you to open your Bible with me at Revelation and chapter 7 so that 26 00:02:30,279 –> 00:02:34,580 we can look at it together. Now, just to remind you, as many of you know these 27 00:02:34,580 –> 00:02:39,779 things well already, the Apostle John, who penned this revelation that was given 28 00:02:39,779 –> 00:02:46,839 to him, was suffering in a brutal prison on an island called Padmas. And on a 29 00:02:46,839 –> 00:02:52,820 particular Sunday, he tells us that he was in the Spirit, that is God’s Spirit 30 00:02:52,820 –> 00:02:58,899 came upon him and the Spirit of God gave to him this glorious glimpse of heaven 31 00:02:59,059 –> 00:03:05,199 itself. God, as it were, pulled back the curtain for this man who was suffering 32 00:03:05,199 –> 00:03:12,380 so much and opened heaven itself. And God gave this revelation that John recorded 33 00:03:12,380 –> 00:03:18,059 as he saw it in the book, not only for this one man in his prison on Padmas, 34 00:03:18,059 –> 00:03:23,179 but he was told to write it down because God was giving this revelation for us, 35 00:03:23,259 –> 00:03:29,860 and that is why he has preserved it even for us today. So I want us to join John 36 00:03:29,860 –> 00:03:35,460 as we open the Bible and to look at what he saw. Verse 9 of Revelation, 37 00:03:35,460 –> 00:03:41,699 in Chapter 7, he saw a great multitude. After this I looked, and behold, 38 00:03:41,699 –> 00:03:45,940 a great multitude. Try and picture this now as John saw it. 39 00:03:45,940 –> 00:03:50,800 A great multitude and it’s so many that no one could number them, and they come, 40 00:03:50,800 –> 00:03:57,339 and see their faces, from every nation and from every tribe and from all peoples 41 00:03:57,339 –> 00:04:02,100 and from all languages. Now think about this. John must have 42 00:04:02,100 –> 00:04:09,300 felt so alone in that prison, one believer. And he has worked 43 00:04:09,300 –> 00:04:16,299 so hard in evangelism. He has labored for a long time in a church that was at Ephesus. 44 00:04:16,299 –> 00:04:19,579 That town where there was so much idolatry, so much resistance 45 00:04:19,579 –> 00:04:23,559 to the gospel, not easy to plant a church in Ephesus. And God did 46 00:04:23,559 –> 00:04:27,079 a great work. But after a time, you know, that the first love 47 00:04:27,079 –> 00:04:32,339 of the believers at Ephesus, it began to go cold. And so, here were Christians 48 00:04:32,339 –> 00:04:39,940 with a low spiritual temperature, and there’s so much to discourage John. 49 00:04:39,940 –> 00:04:44,739 And here he is on the island prison. This is the Alcatraz of the ancient 50 00:04:44,859 –> 00:04:50,480 world, folks, in prison on the island, and the risen 51 00:04:50,480 –> 00:04:54,540 Christ comes near to this man who has endured so much, 52 00:04:54,540 –> 00:04:56,339 and Christ is saying to him in effect, 53 00:04:56,339 –> 00:05:01,839 now, John, I’ve got something you have to see. You have to see this. 54 00:05:01,839 –> 00:05:05,880 And John looks, and what does he see? There is this vast crowd 55 00:05:05,880 –> 00:05:09,380 of people, he says that no one could number, and they come 56 00:05:09,459 –> 00:05:15,420 from every nation. Friend, if you are the only Christian 57 00:05:15,420 –> 00:05:22,779 in your family and you often feel alone, you need to see this. 58 00:05:22,779 –> 00:05:27,220 If God has made you a light in a very dark place, 59 00:05:27,220 –> 00:05:30,739 there are not so many Christians around you in your place of work or in 60 00:05:30,739 –> 00:05:35,739 your place of study, you really need to see this. 61 00:05:35,739 –> 00:05:38,339 If you have been laboring in the work of evangelism, 62 00:05:38,399 –> 00:05:42,920 laboring in the cause of mission and sometimes you get discouraged, 63 00:05:42,920 –> 00:05:50,940 you need to see this. This vast crowd. And where are they? 64 00:05:50,940 –> 00:05:54,119 They’re standing before the throne and before the Lamb. 65 00:05:54,119 –> 00:05:59,440 This vast multicultural crowd of people who’ve been redeemed by Christ 66 00:05:59,440 –> 00:06:04,559 through the gospel, they are in the presence of Jesus. 67 00:06:04,559 –> 00:06:07,720 And he sees something else. He notices that they are clothed 68 00:06:07,720 –> 00:06:13,799 in white robes, and they have palm branches in their hands. 69 00:06:13,799 –> 00:06:18,339 So, John is struck not only by how many they are, 70 00:06:18,339 –> 00:06:27,720 but he’s also struck by how clean they are, white robes, not a stain, 71 00:06:27,720 –> 00:06:32,200 not a hint of a spot on any single one of them. 72 00:06:32,200 –> 00:06:35,839 And they have palm branches which are the sign of joy and victory. 73 00:06:35,880 –> 00:06:39,519 So this is a scene of celebration. 74 00:06:39,519 –> 00:06:42,720 These people, we’re told verse 10, they’re crying out with a loud voice, 75 00:06:42,720 –> 00:06:47,679 they’re singing, they’re shouting, Salvation belongs to our God who sits 76 00:06:47,679 –> 00:06:51,279 on the throne and to the Lamb. 77 00:06:51,279 –> 00:06:54,619 And as John looks at this scene, and I hope you’re trying to picture 78 00:06:54,619 –> 00:06:59,320 in your own mind as you look at the Bible in this very moment, 79 00:06:59,320 –> 00:07:03,720 he sees at the center of this vast crowd that no one can number, 80 00:07:03,720 –> 00:07:07,519 he sees at the center the one who is called the Lamb of God, 81 00:07:07,519 –> 00:07:11,600 and His glory is inexpressible. 82 00:07:11,600 –> 00:07:14,760 And immediately around Him at the center of this great scene, 83 00:07:14,760 –> 00:07:19,260 there are the angels, and then there are elders, and then he 84 00:07:19,260 –> 00:07:22,019 tells us there are four living creatures. 85 00:07:22,019 –> 00:07:26,899 And all of them are caught up in the joy of this worship that rises 86 00:07:26,899 –> 00:07:29,559 from the vast crowd. 87 00:07:29,559 –> 00:07:35,779 And then suddenly out of the picture, one of the elders, 88 00:07:35,779 –> 00:07:38,779 close to Jesus, speaks to John. 89 00:07:38,779 –> 00:07:42,079 That must have taken him completely by surprise. 90 00:07:42,079 –> 00:07:46,239 You know, he’s watching, he’s spectating, he’s an observer. 91 00:07:46,239 –> 00:07:49,320 And then suddenly someone comes, out of the picture as it were, 92 00:07:49,320 –> 00:07:51,559 and speaks to John. 93 00:07:51,559 –> 00:07:54,279 And he asks him a question. 94 00:07:54,279 –> 00:08:02,500 And he says, who are these, clothed in white robes, 95 00:08:02,500 –> 00:08:05,019 and from where have they come? 96 00:08:05,019 –> 00:08:07,600 You get John’s sense of shock in that verse. 97 00:08:07,600 –> 00:08:09,920 He says one of the elders was speaking to me. 98 00:08:09,920 –> 00:08:12,760 I mean, as if I knew. 99 00:08:12,760 –> 00:08:16,079 And so John takes a page out of Ezekiel’s book. 100 00:08:16,079 –> 00:08:18,739 Do you remember in the story of Ezekiel in the Old Testament, 101 00:08:18,739 –> 00:08:22,480 God showed a vision to that man, a vision of dry bones 102 00:08:22,559 –> 00:08:25,239 and asked a question, can these bones live? 103 00:08:25,239 –> 00:08:28,720 And Ezekiel said, well God, you know. 104 00:08:28,720 –> 00:08:30,320 And so when John was asked the question, 105 00:08:30,320 –> 00:08:31,459 he does exactly the same. 106 00:08:31,459 –> 00:08:34,500 He takes a page out of Ezekiel’s book and verse 14 he says, 107 00:08:34,500 –> 00:08:36,880 sir, you know. 108 00:08:36,880 –> 00:08:42,099 And that leads the elder, who is right next to Jesus there, 109 00:08:42,099 –> 00:08:47,159 to become the voice that tells John and therefore tells us 110 00:08:47,159 –> 00:08:49,739 who these people are, who are in heaven. 111 00:08:49,919 –> 00:08:52,820 And that’s something we all desperately need to know 112 00:08:52,820 –> 00:08:57,340 and what their experience of heaven is actually like. 113 00:08:57,340 –> 00:09:01,320 And it’s all here for you in Revelation in chapter 7. 114 00:09:02,539 –> 00:09:04,219 Let’s look at the people in heaven. 115 00:09:04,219 –> 00:09:06,140 We learn two things about them. 116 00:09:06,140 –> 00:09:10,580 Here’s the first, that they have been crushed. 117 00:09:10,580 –> 00:09:12,900 That’s the first thing that John is told. 118 00:09:12,900 –> 00:09:14,099 Who are these people? 119 00:09:14,099 –> 00:09:15,880 They are people who have been crushed. 120 00:09:15,900 –> 00:09:18,460 They are the ones, the elder says, 121 00:09:18,460 –> 00:09:21,419 coming out of the great tribulation. 122 00:09:23,760 –> 00:09:26,200 Now, it may be that there is a reference here 123 00:09:26,200 –> 00:09:29,140 to seven years of tribulation 124 00:09:29,140 –> 00:09:31,659 that take place in the End Times. 125 00:09:32,659 –> 00:09:35,719 But it cannot possibly be limited to that 126 00:09:36,719 –> 00:09:39,780 because God’s people endure tribulation, 127 00:09:39,780 –> 00:09:42,900 trials, suffering, affliction in every generation. 128 00:09:42,900 –> 00:09:45,820 John was experiencing it while he saw the vision. 129 00:09:46,520 –> 00:09:49,700 Jesus said in John chapter 16, and verse 33, 130 00:09:49,700 –> 00:09:51,580 he said, while you are in this world, 131 00:09:51,580 –> 00:09:53,780 you will have tribulation. 132 00:09:53,780 –> 00:09:54,960 That’s what he said. 133 00:09:56,340 –> 00:09:58,859 Now, all of us know what it is to face trouble 134 00:09:58,859 –> 00:10:00,659 in this world. 135 00:10:00,659 –> 00:10:03,539 And therefore, this immediately connects with us. 136 00:10:03,539 –> 00:10:05,820 Here’s this crowd, and they’re full of joy. 137 00:10:05,820 –> 00:10:07,099 But the elder says to John, 138 00:10:07,099 –> 00:10:08,400 the first thing you need to know 139 00:10:08,400 –> 00:10:10,119 is that every one of them 140 00:10:10,119 –> 00:10:13,539 have come out of crushing experiences in life, 141 00:10:13,580 –> 00:10:16,619 just as you may be experiencing crushing things 142 00:10:16,619 –> 00:10:18,059 in your life today. 143 00:10:18,059 –> 00:10:19,299 They’ve been crushed. 144 00:10:21,179 –> 00:10:22,539 So important for us. 145 00:10:23,919 –> 00:10:26,179 Just in this one congregation, 146 00:10:26,179 –> 00:10:29,460 this one congregation, one church, 147 00:10:30,719 –> 00:10:32,000 in the last few weeks, 148 00:10:32,000 –> 00:10:35,140 we have wept with parents 149 00:10:35,140 –> 00:10:37,179 who have lost a six-year-old child. 150 00:10:39,500 –> 00:10:42,500 We have wept with a middle school and college student 151 00:10:43,820 –> 00:10:46,380 whose mother died after a cancer diagnosis 152 00:10:46,380 –> 00:10:47,820 just six months earlier. 153 00:10:49,460 –> 00:10:53,539 We’ve seen people in the prime of their life 154 00:10:53,539 –> 00:10:56,179 struck down with terminal cancers. 155 00:10:58,580 –> 00:10:59,820 And we ask the question, 156 00:10:59,820 –> 00:11:02,380 why is it that so many bad things seem to happen 157 00:11:02,380 –> 00:11:04,219 to so many good and wonderful people? 158 00:11:05,940 –> 00:11:08,719 And I cannot give you an answer to that question, 159 00:11:08,719 –> 00:11:13,140 but I can tell you that the most Godly people 160 00:11:13,159 –> 00:11:15,859 sometimes endure the most terrible suffering. 161 00:11:17,260 –> 00:11:22,260 Look at Jesus, utterly, unbearably crushed, 162 00:11:25,979 –> 00:11:27,340 the Holy Son of God. 163 00:11:30,239 –> 00:11:32,520 But Jesus is not in the crusher now. 164 00:11:33,719 –> 00:11:35,780 See, that’s what the Book of Revelation is about. 165 00:11:35,780 –> 00:11:39,659 Look, John, look at Jesus, not on the cross, 166 00:11:40,799 –> 00:11:42,859 not with nails through His hands 167 00:11:42,880 –> 00:11:44,780 but through His astronomic feet, 168 00:11:44,780 –> 00:11:47,239 He’s at the center, He’s on the throne 169 00:11:47,239 –> 00:11:49,520 and He’s sharing the joy of this vast, 170 00:11:49,520 –> 00:11:51,280 vast, vast company of people, 171 00:11:51,280 –> 00:11:53,520 He’s with them and they are with Him 172 00:11:54,739 –> 00:11:57,619 and every one of the people in this crowd in heaven, 173 00:11:57,619 –> 00:11:59,440 they’ve all been crushed 174 00:11:59,440 –> 00:12:01,419 but none of them are being crushed now. 175 00:12:02,979 –> 00:12:04,559 Now listen, you may be facing a time 176 00:12:04,559 –> 00:12:07,440 of great crushing in your life today 177 00:12:07,440 –> 00:12:09,840 and this is why you need the Book of Revelation. 178 00:12:10,739 –> 00:12:15,260 Some of you face responsibilities in your work 179 00:12:15,260 –> 00:12:17,200 that weigh heavy upon you. 180 00:12:18,239 –> 00:12:20,739 Other people don’t easily understand 181 00:12:20,739 –> 00:12:22,320 the weight that you carry. 182 00:12:23,619 –> 00:12:28,380 You feel sometimes like you are tied to a whipping post 183 00:12:28,380 –> 00:12:29,659 and it feels crushing. 184 00:12:31,679 –> 00:12:34,239 Some of you struggle with depression. 185 00:12:35,640 –> 00:12:37,080 You might be surprised to know 186 00:12:37,119 –> 00:12:40,119 how many others in the congregation share that with you. 187 00:12:41,320 –> 00:12:43,179 A darkness comes upon you 188 00:12:43,179 –> 00:12:46,599 and it just will not seem to lift. 189 00:12:47,640 –> 00:12:49,979 Your mind is always troubled. 190 00:12:50,900 –> 00:12:53,640 You feel crushed by the weight of this. 191 00:12:55,500 –> 00:12:56,340 Or some of you, 192 00:12:56,340 –> 00:13:00,520 you face great pain and great difficulties in your home, 193 00:13:00,520 –> 00:13:02,840 a husband, a wife, children. 194 00:13:03,960 –> 00:13:06,219 Home used to be the place for you 195 00:13:06,219 –> 00:13:07,500 where you would go and rest. 196 00:13:07,500 –> 00:13:10,580 Now, the only time you find rest is when you’re away. 197 00:13:12,500 –> 00:13:15,239 Look at this vast crowd of people in Heaven. 198 00:13:17,179 –> 00:13:19,400 All of them have been crushed. 199 00:13:19,400 –> 00:13:21,640 That’s the first thing the elder tells John. 200 00:13:23,280 –> 00:13:24,780 None of them are crushed now. 201 00:13:26,700 –> 00:13:29,520 All of them have come out of great tribulation. 202 00:13:30,739 –> 00:13:33,059 But they are now before the throne of God 203 00:13:33,059 –> 00:13:35,419 and they are singing and they’re full of joy 204 00:13:35,440 –> 00:13:38,320 and they are adoring the lamb. 205 00:13:40,059 –> 00:13:44,539 And one day, John, as you languish on the Isle of Patmos, 206 00:13:44,539 –> 00:13:45,520 you will be there, too. 207 00:13:45,520 –> 00:13:46,859 That’s the point, isn’t it? 208 00:13:48,380 –> 00:13:50,140 And one day, my friend, as you face 209 00:13:50,140 –> 00:13:51,840 that great pressure in your work, 210 00:13:51,840 –> 00:13:54,099 one day as you’re facing and enduring 211 00:13:54,099 –> 00:13:57,299 and honoring Christ through that great difficulty 212 00:13:57,299 –> 00:14:00,140 in your family, one day as you go on struggling 213 00:14:00,140 –> 00:14:02,780 through the darkness that you may have to bear for a time, 214 00:14:02,780 –> 00:14:04,679 one day you will be there, too. 215 00:14:06,239 –> 00:14:07,559 They been crushed. 216 00:14:08,840 –> 00:14:09,780 But look at them now. 217 00:14:11,900 –> 00:14:16,900 Here’s the second thing that John learns from the elder. 218 00:14:16,919 –> 00:14:19,179 Not only have they been crushed, 219 00:14:19,179 –> 00:14:21,979 but the people who are in the presence of Jesus there, 220 00:14:21,979 –> 00:14:23,119 they’ve been cleansed. 221 00:14:23,119 –> 00:14:24,619 Look at verse 14. 222 00:14:25,700 –> 00:14:29,440 They have washed their robes 223 00:14:30,440 –> 00:14:35,440 and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 224 00:14:36,840 –> 00:14:39,239 Here’s the second really important thing 225 00:14:39,239 –> 00:14:41,840 you need to know about people in heaven. 226 00:14:42,919 –> 00:14:46,619 They are all people who needed to be washed, 227 00:14:46,619 –> 00:14:48,280 every one of them. 228 00:14:48,280 –> 00:14:50,919 They’ve washed their robes. 229 00:14:50,919 –> 00:14:53,200 In other words, all of them came to a place 230 00:14:53,200 –> 00:14:54,940 of knowing and understanding 231 00:14:54,940 –> 00:14:59,940 that they needed in some way, shape or form to be washed. 232 00:15:00,219 –> 00:15:02,099 Now I try and connect this back to John 233 00:15:02,099 –> 00:15:03,539 on his island prison. 234 00:15:03,539 –> 00:15:08,539 He was confined to what would have been a grubby cell. 235 00:15:08,780 –> 00:15:10,460 And I don’t suppose for a moment 236 00:15:10,460 –> 00:15:14,140 that the Patmos Penitentiary had much of a laundry service. 237 00:15:14,140 –> 00:15:15,219 What do you think, eh? 238 00:15:16,219 –> 00:15:20,159 So what kind of clothes do you think that John was wearing 239 00:15:20,159 –> 00:15:22,080 as he saw this glorious vision 240 00:15:22,500 –> 00:15:24,880 and the brightness of this pure white 241 00:15:24,880 –> 00:15:28,679 in these robes that covered these folks from head to toe? 242 00:15:30,000 –> 00:15:32,479 And there John is in his own filthy clothes 243 00:15:32,479 –> 00:15:33,900 on a Sunday morning 244 00:15:33,900 –> 00:15:37,000 and God opens a glimpse of heaven to him 245 00:15:37,000 –> 00:15:38,960 and he sees the people of God 246 00:15:38,960 –> 00:15:41,400 and they’re dressed in this marvelous white, 247 00:15:41,400 –> 00:15:46,039 pure white, brilliant, pristine from top to toe. 248 00:15:47,619 –> 00:15:50,059 The robes of course speak of purity. 249 00:15:51,020 –> 00:15:53,979 And John sees and recognizes immediately 250 00:15:53,979 –> 00:15:54,820 as you will see, 251 00:15:54,820 –> 00:15:57,679 that this is saying there is not a hint of a stain 252 00:15:57,679 –> 00:16:01,039 on even one of these people in the presence of Jesus. 253 00:16:01,039 –> 00:16:02,979 And this is a marvelous picture 254 00:16:02,979 –> 00:16:06,340 of what Jesus Christ does for our souls. 255 00:16:08,380 –> 00:16:10,140 You see, our souls get stained, 256 00:16:10,140 –> 00:16:12,460 they get soiled, they get grubby. 257 00:16:13,780 –> 00:16:15,659 They get grubby in this world 258 00:16:15,659 –> 00:16:17,840 because of our sinful thoughts 259 00:16:18,739 –> 00:16:21,900 and because of our sinful deeds. 260 00:16:21,900 –> 00:16:26,900 And our souls get messed up in so many ways. 261 00:16:28,559 –> 00:16:30,400 And they make you feel, don’t they, 262 00:16:30,400 –> 00:16:34,239 like you really don’t belong in the presence of God? 263 00:16:36,099 –> 00:16:38,119 And you say in your more honest moments, 264 00:16:38,119 –> 00:16:39,400 though in this country 265 00:16:39,400 –> 00:16:41,760 so many fancy themselves in heaven, 266 00:16:41,760 –> 00:16:44,039 you say in your more honest moments, 267 00:16:44,039 –> 00:16:46,859 I find it difficult to think of myself there. 268 00:16:46,859 –> 00:16:48,179 I know my own heart. 269 00:16:50,140 –> 00:16:52,479 And here John sees these folks, 270 00:16:53,820 –> 00:16:55,320 and they’ve been washed. 271 00:16:56,460 –> 00:16:59,340 Notice how they have washed their robes 272 00:16:59,340 –> 00:17:02,940 and made them white in the blood of the lamb. 273 00:17:02,940 –> 00:17:04,959 This is very important. 274 00:17:04,959 –> 00:17:08,479 They did not wash their robes in the tribulation. 275 00:17:09,859 –> 00:17:10,939 See, think about this. 276 00:17:10,939 –> 00:17:12,060 Some people have the idea 277 00:17:12,060 –> 00:17:15,040 that suffering makes you pure and holy, you know. 278 00:17:15,119 –> 00:17:16,680 Suffering in and of itself 279 00:17:16,680 –> 00:17:18,760 doesn’t make anyone pure and holy. 280 00:17:18,760 –> 00:17:20,739 Suffering may bring out the best in you. 281 00:17:20,739 –> 00:17:23,020 Suffering may bring out the worst in you. 282 00:17:24,000 –> 00:17:26,640 Suffering sometimes can reveal hidden sins 283 00:17:26,640 –> 00:17:28,319 and secret resentments. 284 00:17:28,319 –> 00:17:30,880 They did not wash their robes in their own suffering. 285 00:17:30,880 –> 00:17:35,880 There’s nothing purifying about suffering in and of itself. 286 00:17:36,219 –> 00:17:38,520 No one gets perfect through pain. 287 00:17:40,300 –> 00:17:41,560 How did they wash their robes? 288 00:17:41,579 –> 00:17:45,760 They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. 289 00:17:45,760 –> 00:17:47,000 Now, what does that mean? 290 00:17:47,000 –> 00:17:51,439 Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Bible says, 291 00:17:51,439 –> 00:17:54,959 who takes away the sins of the world. 292 00:17:54,959 –> 00:17:58,959 And when he hung on that cross, his blood was shed. 293 00:17:59,979 –> 00:18:03,439 And when a person comes to Christ, 294 00:18:03,439 –> 00:18:05,719 as you could come to Jesus Christ today 295 00:18:05,719 –> 00:18:08,000 if you have not come already, 296 00:18:08,000 –> 00:18:10,959 when a person comes to Jesus Christ in faith 297 00:18:10,959 –> 00:18:14,280 and in repentance, the shed blood of Jesus 298 00:18:14,280 –> 00:18:17,760 gets applied to that person’s life 299 00:18:17,760 –> 00:18:19,920 and here in the miracle of God, 300 00:18:19,920 –> 00:18:24,000 the shed blood of Jesus will make you clean. 301 00:18:24,000 –> 00:18:26,079 That’s the promise of the Bible. 302 00:18:26,079 –> 00:18:28,560 Now, this is an extraordinary thing 303 00:18:28,560 –> 00:18:31,880 because blood normally stains, doesn’t it? 304 00:18:31,880 –> 00:18:34,760 I cut myself, blood stains. 305 00:18:34,760 –> 00:18:39,760 But this blood, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ 306 00:18:40,380 –> 00:18:44,540 cleanses from every stain. 307 00:18:45,479 –> 00:18:48,439 And these white robes then are a wonderful picture 308 00:18:48,439 –> 00:18:52,000 of the purity that will be yours in heaven, 309 00:18:52,000 –> 00:18:56,520 that belongs to every person who is in Jesus Christ. 310 00:18:56,520 –> 00:18:58,880 Right now when you come to faith in Jesus, 311 00:18:58,880 –> 00:19:01,000 the guilt of your sin is removed. 312 00:19:01,000 –> 00:19:03,040 That’s why there’s no condemnation for you. 313 00:19:03,040 –> 00:19:06,280 You don’t need to live in fear any longer. 314 00:19:06,280 –> 00:19:09,280 Right now, when you come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 315 00:19:09,280 –> 00:19:11,359 the power of sin is broken. 316 00:19:11,359 –> 00:19:13,459 Here’s what that means. 317 00:19:13,459 –> 00:19:15,839 There is no sin, there is no temptation 318 00:19:15,839 –> 00:19:17,540 that you cannot overcome 319 00:19:17,540 –> 00:19:19,640 with the help of the Holy Spirit this week. 320 00:19:20,599 –> 00:19:22,160 I’ll say that again. 321 00:19:22,160 –> 00:19:23,500 The power of sin is broken. 322 00:19:23,500 –> 00:19:25,400 What that means is this, 323 00:19:25,400 –> 00:19:27,479 there is no sin, there is no temptation 324 00:19:27,479 –> 00:19:29,239 that you cannot overcome 325 00:19:29,239 –> 00:19:31,719 by the power of the Holy Spirit this week. 326 00:19:33,599 –> 00:19:35,640 But friends, you don’t need 327 00:19:35,640 –> 00:19:37,760 to be a Christian for terribly long. 328 00:19:37,760 –> 00:19:41,199 You don’t even need to know yourself terribly well to know 329 00:19:41,199 –> 00:19:45,040 that sin itself remains present in every Christian 330 00:19:45,040 –> 00:19:47,239 throughout our life in this world, 331 00:19:48,900 –> 00:19:52,359 but not forever, not forever. 332 00:19:54,560 –> 00:19:56,239 We need to be washed. 333 00:19:57,920 –> 00:20:01,319 Now, who does the washing? 334 00:20:01,319 –> 00:20:02,560 Now, watch this in the Bible 335 00:20:02,560 –> 00:20:04,420 because the answer might surprise you. 336 00:20:04,420 –> 00:20:06,680 Who does the washing? 337 00:20:06,699 –> 00:20:09,119 The answer, we do. 338 00:20:09,119 –> 00:20:10,439 That’s the answer here. 339 00:20:12,160 –> 00:20:15,000 They have washed their robes. 340 00:20:16,020 –> 00:20:19,780 Now, of course, Christ is the one who washes the soul. 341 00:20:19,780 –> 00:20:21,500 Christ and his blood 342 00:20:21,500 –> 00:20:26,079 is the one by whom our souls are made clean, 343 00:20:26,079 –> 00:20:29,099 and the Bible speaks about how Christ washes us 344 00:20:29,099 –> 00:20:31,260 again and again and again, 345 00:20:31,260 –> 00:20:33,260 but here we’re told something else 346 00:20:33,260 –> 00:20:34,920 that all of us need to know. 347 00:20:35,760 –> 00:20:39,699 They have washed their robes. 348 00:20:40,719 –> 00:20:45,719 That means that everyone who is in heaven 349 00:20:45,760 –> 00:20:49,119 has done something about their condition. 350 00:20:50,359 –> 00:20:53,839 They saw that they needed to be washed. 351 00:20:53,839 –> 00:20:56,000 They realize that even at their best, 352 00:20:56,000 –> 00:20:57,579 their attempts at living a life 353 00:20:57,579 –> 00:20:59,040 that would be pleasing to God 354 00:20:59,040 –> 00:21:02,380 are not going to amount to very much more than filthy rags. 355 00:21:03,099 –> 00:21:06,260 They came to believe that Jesus is the Lamb of God 356 00:21:06,260 –> 00:21:08,180 who takes away the sin of the world, 357 00:21:08,180 –> 00:21:10,020 and the means by which he takes it away 358 00:21:10,020 –> 00:21:12,380 is through His shed blood being applied 359 00:21:12,380 –> 00:21:14,939 to a person who is bound to Him by faith. 360 00:21:14,939 –> 00:21:17,280 And therefore, they came to Him. 361 00:21:17,280 –> 00:21:19,119 They came to Him in all their guilt 362 00:21:19,119 –> 00:21:20,900 and they came to Him in repentance 363 00:21:20,900 –> 00:21:22,420 and they came to Him in faith, 364 00:21:22,420 –> 00:21:25,920 and they prayed like David prayed in Psalm 51. 365 00:21:25,920 –> 00:21:27,000 He said this, 366 00:21:27,040 –> 00:21:31,319 “‘Purge me and I shall be clean, 367 00:21:31,319 –> 00:21:35,939 “‘wash me and I will be whiter than snow.”‘ 368 00:21:36,780 –> 00:21:38,400 Now, here’s what John is discovering. 369 00:21:38,400 –> 00:21:40,280 Every person in heaven 370 00:21:41,540 –> 00:21:43,319 has come to Jesus Christ in that way. 371 00:21:43,319 –> 00:21:44,199 Which raises the question, 372 00:21:44,199 –> 00:21:46,459 have you come to Jesus Christ in this way? 373 00:21:48,119 –> 00:21:52,199 They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. 374 00:21:52,199 –> 00:21:53,859 That’s how they made their robes white. 375 00:21:53,859 –> 00:21:56,060 That’s why they’re in the presence of Jesus. 376 00:21:56,060 –> 00:21:58,500 They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. 377 00:21:58,500 –> 00:22:01,020 Is that something you have done or not? 378 00:22:02,760 –> 00:22:05,479 Now, at this point you must be clear 379 00:22:05,479 –> 00:22:06,719 and if you’re not clear, 380 00:22:06,719 –> 00:22:08,719 I plead with you to become clear 381 00:22:08,719 –> 00:22:10,680 by coming to Jesus Christ tonight. 382 00:22:12,459 –> 00:22:14,260 Is this something you have done? 383 00:22:15,839 –> 00:22:18,420 Have you come to see your own need of a savior? 384 00:22:19,479 –> 00:22:21,819 Have you come to recognize that Jesus Christ 385 00:22:21,819 –> 00:22:24,239 is the savior that you need? 386 00:22:25,199 –> 00:22:27,780 Have you come to Him in faith and in repentance 387 00:22:27,780 –> 00:22:30,280 and with whatever is in your life 388 00:22:31,319 –> 00:22:33,520 and asked Him to cleanse you, 389 00:22:34,619 –> 00:22:37,000 ask Him to make you His own. 390 00:22:38,479 –> 00:22:41,000 And is there the evidence in your life today 391 00:22:41,000 –> 00:22:42,199 that you have done this? 392 00:22:42,199 –> 00:22:44,459 Are you pursuing a holy life, 393 00:22:44,459 –> 00:22:47,119 which is the evidence that a person belongs to Jesus? 394 00:22:47,119 –> 00:22:48,540 Without that, what right have you got 395 00:22:48,540 –> 00:22:49,880 to claim that you’re His? 396 00:22:51,920 –> 00:22:53,880 My friend, don’t be passive 397 00:22:55,239 –> 00:22:58,260 because they washed their robes. 398 00:22:58,260 –> 00:23:00,859 They did not simply feel bad about themselves. 399 00:23:00,859 –> 00:23:01,680 They did something. 400 00:23:01,680 –> 00:23:03,020 They came to Jesus. 401 00:23:04,520 –> 00:23:06,680 Other people around you 402 00:23:08,000 –> 00:23:11,479 are washing their robes in the blood of Christ. 403 00:23:12,760 –> 00:23:15,920 Why not you? 404 00:23:15,920 –> 00:23:17,020 Why not you? 405 00:23:19,020 –> 00:23:21,380 They’ve been crushed, these people in Heaven, 406 00:23:22,260 –> 00:23:24,439 and they’ve been cleansed. 407 00:23:25,699 –> 00:23:27,180 So two things you need to know 408 00:23:27,180 –> 00:23:28,540 about the people in Heaven. 409 00:23:30,040 –> 00:23:32,699 And now they’re at home. 410 00:23:32,699 –> 00:23:35,020 Verse 15, he who sits on the throne 411 00:23:35,020 –> 00:23:38,800 will shelter them with his presence. 412 00:23:38,800 –> 00:23:42,060 They’re in the shelter and the shelter is God himself. 413 00:23:43,359 –> 00:23:47,380 God, as it were, spreads his wings over them 414 00:23:47,380 –> 00:23:48,920 so that they are included 415 00:23:48,920 –> 00:23:51,140 and they are under his fatherly care 416 00:23:51,739 –> 00:23:53,640 and his protection forever and forever. 417 00:23:53,640 –> 00:23:56,459 Literally this verse says God himself 418 00:23:56,459 –> 00:23:59,199 spreads his tent over them. 419 00:23:59,199 –> 00:24:01,140 Isn’t that a great picture? 420 00:24:01,140 –> 00:24:03,599 You go to the campsite and you spread out the tent 421 00:24:05,180 –> 00:24:08,400 and the tent comes over you. 422 00:24:08,400 –> 00:24:11,599 You are inside, you’re not outside, you’re included. 423 00:24:13,339 –> 00:24:17,560 Jesus said that Heaven is my father’s house 424 00:24:18,219 –> 00:24:23,219 and if God is your father then Heaven is your home. 425 00:24:23,880 –> 00:24:25,880 And there may be some times 426 00:24:25,880 –> 00:24:26,839 when you don’t feel at home on Earth. 427 00:24:26,839 –> 00:24:30,800 There are some folks don’t feel at home in their own bodies. 428 00:24:32,339 –> 00:24:35,479 I’ll tell you, if you have put your trust in Jesus Christ, 429 00:24:35,479 –> 00:24:37,000 you will be at home in Heaven. 430 00:24:38,619 –> 00:24:42,300 Some folks may find at times that they just don’t feel 431 00:24:42,300 –> 00:24:45,119 completely at home, even amounts other Christians. 432 00:24:46,119 –> 00:24:48,359 You wonder about that 433 00:24:48,359 –> 00:24:52,140 and I tell you if you’re in Jesus Christ 434 00:24:52,140 –> 00:24:53,880 you will be at home in Heaven. 435 00:24:53,900 –> 00:24:58,280 Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people 436 00:24:58,280 –> 00:25:02,060 and those who are washed in the blood of Christ 437 00:25:02,060 –> 00:25:07,359 will feel at home in His presence. 438 00:25:07,359 –> 00:25:10,160 So here are the people. 439 00:25:10,160 –> 00:25:14,520 And John says there’s a vast vast company of them. 440 00:25:15,339 –> 00:25:19,180 Now, what are they doing? 441 00:25:19,180 –> 00:25:21,300 What is this life? 442 00:25:21,300 –> 00:25:23,180 If you’re washed in the blood of Christ 443 00:25:23,180 –> 00:25:26,380 and you finally arrive in your Heavenly home, 444 00:25:26,380 –> 00:25:28,619 what can you anticipate there? 445 00:25:28,619 –> 00:25:32,119 Look at what it says, it’s marvelous. 446 00:25:32,119 –> 00:25:33,459 Just these three observations, 447 00:25:33,459 –> 00:25:37,579 number one, in Heaven you will serve God 448 00:25:37,579 –> 00:25:41,180 as you always wished you could. 449 00:25:41,180 –> 00:25:44,760 Verse 15, they are before the throne of God 450 00:25:45,800 –> 00:25:50,800 and they serve Him day and night in His temple. 451 00:25:54,199 –> 00:25:57,060 Friends, every Christian serves Christ. 452 00:25:58,599 –> 00:26:00,880 But no Christian serves Christ 453 00:26:00,880 –> 00:26:03,640 as we would want to serve Christ. 454 00:26:03,640 –> 00:26:05,939 Every Christian knows what it is to worship, 455 00:26:07,599 –> 00:26:09,800 but have you ever really worshiped 456 00:26:09,800 –> 00:26:11,359 as you would like to worship? 457 00:26:13,199 –> 00:26:17,439 Don’t you find that there is this great conflict within you? 458 00:26:17,439 –> 00:26:20,560 Don’t you find yourself at times asking, 459 00:26:20,560 –> 00:26:22,979 why is my heart so sluggish? 460 00:26:24,760 –> 00:26:27,180 Why is it that when the mercy and grace of God 461 00:26:27,180 –> 00:26:29,199 is poured out to me in such abundance 462 00:26:29,199 –> 00:26:32,520 that sometimes my response is so restrained, 463 00:26:32,520 –> 00:26:35,060 so calculating, why is that? 464 00:26:37,099 –> 00:26:38,939 You know that we find in this life 465 00:26:39,020 –> 00:26:42,060 a conflict within ourselves, and it’s always going on. 466 00:26:42,060 –> 00:26:46,380 The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 467 00:26:47,719 –> 00:26:50,699 And we throw ourselves into serving Christ 468 00:26:50,699 –> 00:26:53,319 and living for Christ, we get tired. 469 00:26:54,400 –> 00:26:56,060 We get discouraged. 470 00:26:57,140 –> 00:27:00,640 We get bogged down in our unsolved problems 471 00:27:00,640 –> 00:27:03,319 and in our unanswered questions. 472 00:27:04,300 –> 00:27:07,680 And we live below the level that even in our own hearts 473 00:27:07,680 –> 00:27:10,640 we would want to live for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ 474 00:27:10,640 –> 00:27:12,900 but it will not always be so. 475 00:27:13,859 –> 00:27:16,920 In heaven, you will serve God as you always wished 476 00:27:16,920 –> 00:27:19,599 you could look at it day and night, 477 00:27:19,599 –> 00:27:21,000 there’s no tiredness there. 478 00:27:23,479 –> 00:27:26,719 And here we go through seasons of feeling distant from God. 479 00:27:28,199 –> 00:27:30,780 We have times when we say, oh, I long for a new 480 00:27:30,780 –> 00:27:33,479 and a fresh experience, a fresh touch from God. 481 00:27:33,479 –> 00:27:37,160 But here in heaven, you will be before his throne 482 00:27:37,160 –> 00:27:40,119 and you will be with him and you will enjoy him 483 00:27:40,119 –> 00:27:41,579 and it will be forever. 484 00:27:43,959 –> 00:27:45,920 In heaven you will serve Christ 485 00:27:45,920 –> 00:27:47,680 as you always wished you could. 486 00:27:49,839 –> 00:27:53,000 Then notice this that in heaven, Christ will lead you 487 00:27:53,000 –> 00:27:55,300 into ever-increasing joy. 488 00:27:56,560 –> 00:27:59,339 I’ll try to take this in, look at what it says, verse 16, 489 00:27:59,339 –> 00:28:03,760 the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd 490 00:28:04,760 –> 00:28:09,560 and he will guide them into springs of living water. 491 00:28:11,640 –> 00:28:16,640 Now, you may think, well, heaven is a wonderful place 492 00:28:17,479 –> 00:28:21,599 where I’m going to discover all kinds of marvelous things. 493 00:28:21,599 –> 00:28:24,599 That’d be very reasonable for you to think that. 494 00:28:24,599 –> 00:28:29,619 John is saying to you, it’s much better than that 495 00:28:30,719 –> 00:28:33,400 because what’s missing in saying heaven is a wonderful place 496 00:28:33,560 –> 00:28:35,780 and I’m going to discover all kinds of wonderful things. 497 00:28:35,780 –> 00:28:38,119 What’s missing, or rather, who’s missing? 498 00:28:38,119 –> 00:28:39,680 Jesus. 499 00:28:39,680 –> 00:28:41,939 And you see, at the very center of the life of heaven, 500 00:28:41,939 –> 00:28:43,660 what John is telling us here, 501 00:28:43,660 –> 00:28:47,800 the Lamb himself will be their shepherd. 502 00:28:47,800 –> 00:28:51,260 The active involvement of your Lord Jesus Christ, 503 00:28:51,260 –> 00:28:55,540 who you trust and love and worship and serve right now, 504 00:28:55,540 –> 00:29:00,540 the active and imminent involvement of Christ in your life, 505 00:29:02,000 –> 00:29:03,239 he’s the shepherd. 506 00:29:04,079 –> 00:29:05,280 He’s your shepherd now if you belong to him, 507 00:29:05,280 –> 00:29:07,119 and he’ll be your shepherd forever. 508 00:29:08,420 –> 00:29:10,680 That’s why the people in heaven are never hungry. 509 00:29:10,680 –> 00:29:14,319 Verse 16, and He leads them, He feeds them. 510 00:29:16,079 –> 00:29:18,239 What Christ does for us on earth, 511 00:29:18,239 –> 00:29:21,199 He will do in new and wonderful and glorious ways in heaven. 512 00:29:21,199 –> 00:9:22,920 The Lamb will be their shepherd, 513 00:29:22,920 –> 00:29:24,160 and notice what it says, 514 00:29:24,160 –> 00:29:29,040 He guides them to springs of living water. 515 00:29:30,239 –> 00:29:33,160 In other words, the great joy of heaven will be 516 00:29:33,160 –> 00:29:35,760 that the Lord Jesus Himself will lead you 517 00:29:35,760 –> 00:29:37,800 into ever-increasing delight. 518 00:29:39,040 –> 00:29:41,000 He’ll lead you into it. 519 00:29:41,000 –> 00:29:42,760 So what is being described here 520 00:29:42,760 –> 00:29:45,420 is not a static kind of experience, 521 00:29:45,420 –> 00:29:47,400 but a living relationship 522 00:29:47,400 –> 00:29:50,599 and a life of ongoing, new fresh discovery. 523 00:29:50,599 –> 00:29:52,760 That’s why you can never be bored in heaven. 524 00:29:54,959 –> 00:29:57,819 Maybe you have found a place 525 00:29:57,819 –> 00:29:59,619 that you like to go for a vacation. 526 00:30:00,839 –> 00:30:02,359 Because you like it, you go back, 527 00:30:02,699 –> 00:30:03,439 and then you go back, 528 00:30:03,439 –> 00:30:04,300 and every year you go back, 529 00:30:04,300 –> 00:30:05,140 and 20 years later, 530 00:30:05,140 –> 00:30:06,599 you’re going back every year, 531 00:30:06,599 –> 00:30:08,199 and now you just about know everything 532 00:30:08,199 –> 00:30:09,680 that there is to know about that place. 533 00:30:09,680 –> 00:30:12,339 You still go back because you enjoy it. 534 00:30:12,339 –> 00:30:15,619 But there’s no restaurant that you’ve not been to, 535 00:30:15,619 –> 00:30:17,420 no shop you’ve not bought something, 536 00:30:18,400 –> 00:30:20,260 no hotel you’ve not stayed in. 537 00:30:22,500 –> 00:30:24,699 You will never get there in heaven. 538 00:30:26,839 –> 00:30:30,599 Heaven will be an infinite world of new discoveries, 539 00:30:30,640 –> 00:30:33,959 and Jesus Christ will unfold them to you. 540 00:30:36,199 –> 00:30:37,400 It’s into Thomas Boston, 541 00:30:37,400 –> 00:30:39,479 I have a couple quotes here that have helped me, 542 00:30:39,479 –> 00:30:43,439 and I want to give them to stretch your imagination 543 00:30:43,439 –> 00:30:47,579 in a biblical way today. 544 00:30:48,800 –> 00:30:51,479 Boston says the divine perfections, 545 00:30:51,479 –> 00:30:53,920 that’s all of the perfection of God, 546 00:30:53,920 –> 00:30:55,540 all that God is, 547 00:30:56,560 –> 00:30:59,599 will be an unbounded field 548 00:31:00,920 –> 00:31:05,079 in which the glorified shall walk eternally, 549 00:31:05,079 –> 00:31:07,280 seeing more and more of God 550 00:31:07,280 –> 00:31:10,540 since they can never come to the end of the infinite, 551 00:31:10,540 –> 00:31:14,760 they may bring their vessels to this ocean every moment 552 00:31:14,760 –> 00:31:16,800 and fill them with new waters. 553 00:31:16,800 –> 00:31:17,959 You see, that’s what it’s saying here. 554 00:31:17,959 –> 00:31:20,160 To springs of living water. 555 00:31:20,160 –> 00:31:23,160 I’m always in a fresh way 556 00:31:23,160 –> 00:31:25,839 experiencing the one God of the universe 557 00:31:25,839 –> 00:31:27,880 and yet like a spring of living water. 558 00:31:28,160 –> 00:31:30,020 Always fresh and always new. 559 00:31:32,000 –> 00:31:37,000 Donald MacLeod, who spent his life teaching in a seminary 560 00:31:39,000 –> 00:31:41,119 and noticed that there were a lot of Christians 561 00:31:41,119 –> 00:31:43,300 who seemed to have the idea 562 00:31:43,300 –> 00:31:46,760 that heaven was going to be a kind of eternal seminary 563 00:31:46,760 –> 00:31:50,640 where you did nothing but study books of theology. 564 00:31:50,640 –> 00:31:53,079 And just to help people get delivered 565 00:31:53,079 –> 00:31:55,920 from that kind of misconception, 566 00:31:55,959 –> 00:32:00,160 this great Bible teacher pointed to the Garden of Eden. 567 00:32:01,199 –> 00:32:05,839 And he says of the garden, it was no mere seminary. 568 00:32:05,839 –> 00:32:07,540 Think of this, the Garden of Eden. 569 00:32:08,439 –> 00:32:12,800 It offered scope for art and science 570 00:32:12,800 –> 00:32:15,400 and technology as well as theology. 571 00:32:16,380 –> 00:32:18,500 The same, he says, will doubtless be true 572 00:32:18,500 –> 00:32:19,780 of the world to come. 573 00:32:19,780 –> 00:32:23,380 Not only the creator, but the creation too 574 00:32:23,380 –> 00:32:26,339 will be an object of wonder to the redeemed. 575 00:32:26,339 –> 00:32:28,420 It will challenge their intellects. 576 00:32:28,420 –> 00:32:30,560 It will fire their imaginations. 577 00:32:30,560 –> 00:32:32,859 It will stimulate their industry. 578 00:32:32,859 –> 00:32:35,959 The scenario, he says, is a thrilling one, 579 00:32:35,959 –> 00:32:39,260 brilliant minds, powerful bodies, 580 00:32:39,260 –> 00:32:41,540 and a transformed universe. 581 00:32:42,479 –> 00:32:43,979 That’s what lies ahead of you. 582 00:32:45,280 –> 00:32:48,140 And this joy will go on increasing forever. 583 00:32:48,140 –> 00:32:49,339 You say, how is that possible? 584 00:32:49,339 –> 00:32:50,619 Well, just think about this. 585 00:32:50,619 –> 00:32:52,260 I can’t explain how it’s possible, 586 00:32:52,260 –> 00:32:54,300 but think about this. 587 00:32:54,300 –> 00:32:55,880 You take out a photograph album 588 00:32:55,880 –> 00:32:57,579 or you review your photographs there 589 00:32:57,579 –> 00:33:00,260 on your computer and you look at things 590 00:33:00,260 –> 00:33:02,859 that happened years ago and they were wonderful things. 591 00:33:02,859 –> 00:33:04,699 And even looking at the pictures of them, 592 00:33:04,699 –> 00:33:08,020 your memory is stirred and you still derive joy 593 00:33:08,020 –> 00:33:09,459 from things that happened a year ago 594 00:33:09,459 –> 00:33:11,479 or 10 years ago or 20 years ago. 595 00:33:11,479 –> 00:33:13,199 They’re part of the fund of joy 596 00:33:13,199 –> 00:33:15,520 that God has poured into the richness 597 00:33:15,520 –> 00:33:17,400 of your life here in this world. 598 00:33:18,040 –> 00:33:20,180 Now says Jonathan Edwards, 599 00:33:20,180 –> 00:33:23,479 do you think that it would be any less in heaven? 600 00:33:23,479 –> 00:33:27,300 There is an accumulation of ever-fresh discoveries 601 00:33:27,300 –> 00:33:30,079 of the joys and the glories of God 602 00:33:30,079 –> 00:33:31,479 and of his new creation, 603 00:33:31,479 –> 00:33:34,920 Jesus Christ leading you into ever-unfolding 604 00:33:34,920 –> 00:33:37,140 new delights of his glory. 605 00:33:37,140 –> 00:33:39,040 And Edwards asked this question. 606 00:33:39,040 –> 00:33:41,040 Think about what that will be like 607 00:33:41,040 –> 00:33:44,239 after a million, million ages. 608 00:33:44,239 –> 00:33:46,079 Cumulatively. 609 00:33:48,040 –> 00:33:48,839 And then I quote 610 00:33:49,939 –> 00:33:52,520 their knowledge will increase to eternity, 611 00:33:53,880 –> 00:33:56,400 and if their knowledge then their holiness 612 00:33:56,400 –> 00:33:59,180 for as they increase in the knowledge of God, 613 00:33:59,180 –> 00:34:02,040 they will see more of his beauty, 614 00:34:02,040 –> 00:34:03,760 and the more they see of his beauty, 615 00:34:03,760 –> 00:34:06,280 the more they will love him and the more they love God, 616 00:34:06,280 –> 00:34:08,520 the more delight and the more happiness 617 00:34:08,520 –> 00:34:10,020 they will have in him. 618 00:34:10,020 –> 00:34:11,340 You see what he’s describing? 619 00:34:11,340 –> 00:34:15,340 He is describing exponentially increasing joy. 620 00:34:17,540 –> 00:34:20,979 What will that be after a million, million ages? 621 00:34:23,639 –> 00:34:27,760 In heaven, you’ll serve God as you always wished you could. 622 00:34:29,800 –> 00:34:33,239 In heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, your shepherd 623 00:34:34,600 –> 00:34:36,800 will lead you into ever-increasing joy. 624 00:34:38,479 –> 00:34:40,000 And in heaven, lastly, 625 00:34:40,000 –> 00:34:43,500 all your wounds will finally be healed. 626 00:34:44,260 –> 00:34:49,260 Verse 17, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 627 00:34:51,379 –> 00:34:54,280 Every tear, you noticed that? 628 00:34:54,300 –> 00:34:57,439 That’s one word I underlined, 629 00:34:57,439 –> 00:34:59,600 you want to underline just about all the words 630 00:34:59,600 –> 00:35:02,199 in this passage, every tear. 631 00:35:02,199 –> 00:35:06,340 And literally, what this says is every tear 632 00:35:06,340 –> 00:35:09,739 out of their eye, as if not only were the tears 633 00:35:09,739 –> 00:35:12,260 being removed, but the ducts as well. 634 00:35:12,379 –> 00:35:14,719 The source that produces the tears 635 00:35:14,719 –> 00:35:17,080 is now being wiped out of their eyes. 636 00:35:17,080 –> 00:35:18,739 That’s why I say here in heaven, 637 00:35:18,739 –> 00:35:21,439 all your wounds will finally be healed. 638 00:35:21,439 –> 00:35:24,060 All that produces tears in this world, 639 00:35:25,300 –> 00:35:26,699 as far as you are concerned. 640 00:35:28,959 –> 00:35:31,100 The baggage that you carried 641 00:35:32,780 –> 00:35:35,600 and you sought to make progress by faith 642 00:35:35,600 –> 00:35:37,899 through your life in this world but in some sense, 643 00:35:37,899 –> 00:35:39,399 there was baggage that you carried 644 00:35:39,399 –> 00:35:42,239 and you never quite completely shook it off, 645 00:35:42,239 –> 00:35:44,800 no baggage there, it’s gone. 646 00:35:46,959 –> 00:35:49,300 The temptations that you battled, 647 00:35:51,000 –> 00:35:51,979 you made progress, 648 00:35:51,979 –> 00:35:53,760 sometimes you had great failures 649 00:35:53,760 –> 00:35:55,919 that caused you such disappointment, 650 00:35:57,479 –> 00:35:58,500 no battles now. 651 00:36:00,340 –> 00:36:02,219 The pain that you suffered, 652 00:36:04,040 –> 00:36:06,020 the questions you faced, 653 00:36:07,699 –> 00:36:08,979 and John sees the glory of heaven 654 00:36:08,979 –> 00:36:10,560 and the presence of Jesus 655 00:36:10,580 –> 00:36:12,600 and the glory of the new creation. 656 00:36:12,600 –> 00:36:15,899 But like a drumbeat alongside the description 657 00:36:15,899 –> 00:36:18,760 of that glory, you have in the Scriptures 658 00:36:18,760 –> 00:36:20,639 this almost relentless statement 659 00:36:20,639 –> 00:36:22,419 of what will not be there. 660 00:36:24,399 –> 00:36:27,580 No doe, no mourning, 661 00:36:28,439 –> 00:36:30,540 no sins to confess, 662 00:36:30,540 –> 00:36:32,399 no temptations to overcome, 663 00:36:32,399 –> 00:36:33,840 no sickness to suffer, 664 00:36:33,840 –> 00:36:36,040 no depression to bring darkness, 665 00:36:36,040 –> 00:36:37,500 no pain to endure, 666 00:36:37,500 –> 00:36:39,040 no crosses to carry, 667 00:36:39,040 –> 00:36:41,520 no fears for you to face, 668 00:36:41,520 –> 00:36:43,239 all your questions answered, 669 00:36:43,239 –> 00:36:44,979 all your doubts resolved, 670 00:36:44,979 –> 00:36:47,780 these people have been crushed, 671 00:36:47,780 –> 00:36:51,100 but look at them now, that’s the point, 672 00:36:51,100 –> 00:36:52,320 you look at them, 673 00:36:53,199 –> 00:36:54,780 because if you have been washed 674 00:36:54,780 –> 00:36:56,419 in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, 675 00:36:56,419 –> 00:36:59,760 it will not be long until you are there too. 676 00:36:59,760 –> 00:37:02,159 And that’s what gives you strength to endure 677 00:37:02,159 –> 00:37:04,659 when you’re stuck on an island prison 678 00:37:04,659 –> 00:37:07,639 or whatever it is that is the most crushing experience 679 00:37:07,659 –> 00:37:09,260 of your life today. 680 00:37:10,899 –> 00:37:15,899 God will wipe away all tears from your eyes also. 681 00:37:19,699 –> 00:37:21,280 Look at what lies ahead of you 682 00:37:23,300 –> 00:37:25,100 and it will help you to live today. 683 00:37:29,239 –> 00:37:30,739 Donald MacLeod, one more quote, 684 00:37:30,739 –> 00:37:34,159 reminds us that heaven is our Father’s house. 685 00:37:35,060 –> 00:37:38,199 And he says this, I found it helpful, 686 00:37:39,260 –> 00:37:42,659 what a grief it must be to God 687 00:37:42,659 –> 00:37:45,760 that’s so few of his children want to go home. 688 00:37:47,959 –> 00:37:50,939 Here we are in enemy territory 689 00:37:50,939 –> 00:37:53,600 amid the sufferings of the present time, 690 00:37:53,600 –> 00:37:56,679 beset by sin and seeing our Father’s name 691 00:37:56,679 –> 00:38:00,659 dishonored all around us, and yet we want to stay! 692 00:38:01,100 –> 00:38:05,379 He recalls Paul’s longing to depart 693 00:38:05,379 –> 00:38:07,459 and to be with Christ, which you remember 694 00:38:07,459 –> 00:38:10,219 he says in Philippians is better by far. 695 00:38:11,659 –> 00:38:15,080 And then Paul says, yet I gotta be building 696 00:38:15,080 –> 00:38:16,540 and I’ve gotta be ready as someone 697 00:38:16,540 –> 00:38:18,060 who’s been given responsibilities, 698 00:38:18,060 –> 00:38:20,080 as all of us have been given responsibilities 699 00:38:20,080 –> 00:38:21,899 by God in this world, I gotta be ready 700 00:38:21,899 –> 00:38:24,739 to stay and continue and to server the church 701 00:38:24,739 –> 00:38:27,560 until the day when He calls me home 702 00:38:27,560 –> 00:38:30,239 and Macleod says this surely is 703 00:38:30,239 –> 00:38:32,219 the healthy Christian attitude, 704 00:38:33,360 –> 00:38:35,879 willing to stay for the sake of the work 705 00:38:35,879 –> 00:38:39,419 still to be done but longing to get home, 706 00:38:41,399 –> 00:38:44,320 willing to stay for the sake of the work 707 00:38:44,320 –> 00:38:46,280 that still needs to be done, 708 00:38:46,280 –> 00:38:48,280 the work the God still has for you to do 709 00:38:49,439 –> 00:38:51,199 but in your heart of heart with the taste 710 00:38:51,199 –> 00:38:54,679 of heaven longing to be home 711 00:38:55,179 –> 00:38:59,979 serving Christ will be your great delight 712 00:38:59,979 –> 00:39:00,840 in heaven. 713 00:39:02,000 –> 00:39:06,060 So find joy by serving him now 714 00:39:07,919 –> 00:39:10,959 following Christ will lead you to springs 715 00:39:10,959 –> 00:39:12,840 of living water in heaven 716 00:39:13,879 –> 00:39:18,879 so find life by following Christ now. 717 00:39:20,199 –> 00:39:22,360 Christ will be the one who wipes 718 00:39:22,360 –> 00:39:24,419 every tear from your eye 719 00:39:25,639 –> 00:39:30,639 so find comfort by drawing near to Jesus Christ, now. 720 00:39:35,000 –> 00:39:40,000 Father, please help us to absorb just something 721 00:39:41,860 –> 00:39:45,239 of the glory that lies ahead of the redeemed 722 00:39:46,899 –> 00:39:49,239 for the sake of Jesus. 723 00:39:50,300 –> 00:39:54,139 In his name we pray and everyone said amen.