1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,180 Well last week I had, I think, the toughest assignment that can ever be given to a preacher 2 00:00:06,180 –> 00:00:12,680 to speak from the Bible about hell, and this week I have the greatest joy that could ever 3 00:00:12,680 –> 00:00:19,219 be given to a pastor and that is to speak to you from the Bible about heaven. 4 00:00:19,219 –> 00:00:27,000 In a strange way, one finds oneself with a similar sense of overwhelming awe as hell 5 00:00:27,000 –> 00:00:35,000 is almost too awful to describe, heaven is almost too wonderful. 6 00:00:35,000 –> 00:00:42,080 It is beyond what we are able to truly comprehend, and yet certain things are told to us, and 7 00:00:42,080 –> 00:00:48,580 they are told to us because we need to lay hold of them and to live in the light of them. 8 00:00:48,580 –> 00:00:53,000 Your future life will not be as it is now. 9 00:00:53,060 –> 00:00:59,700 Think of it this way, your life today is a kind of middle life – that’s what it is. 10 00:00:59,700 –> 00:01:05,480 Because all of us are on the way, either to something that is infinitely better, 11 00:01:05,480 –> 00:01:10,440 or we are on the way to something that is infinitely worse. 12 00:01:10,440 –> 00:01:15,599 People sometimes in our culture like to talk about living your best life now. 13 00:01:15,599 –> 00:01:19,239 Think about that, living your best life now. 14 00:01:19,239 –> 00:01:22,580 That is only possible if you are going to hell. 15 00:01:22,720 –> 00:01:24,739 That is only possible if you are going to hell. 16 00:01:24,739 –> 00:01:29,699 If hell is your future, your best life is now. 17 00:01:29,699 –> 00:01:31,879 Better make the most of it. 18 00:01:31,879 –> 00:01:37,260 But if heaven is your future, your best life is still to come my friend. 19 00:01:37,260 –> 00:01:43,339 For a person outside of Christ this life is as good as it’s ever going to get. 20 00:01:43,339 –> 00:01:46,300 But for a person who is in Christ, 21 00:01:46,300 –> 00:01:50,419 your pain in this world is the only pain you will ever experience. 22 00:01:50,739 –> 00:01:54,400 Your struggles in this world are the only struggles you will ever endure. 23 00:01:54,400 –> 00:01:58,199 This is as tough as it gets for you, 24 00:01:58,199 –> 00:02:02,779 because your future is absolutely glorious. 25 00:02:02,779 –> 00:02:04,879 Think of it this way. 26 00:02:04,879 –> 00:02:11,440 Without Christ, without Christ this world is as near as you’ll ever get to heaven. 27 00:02:11,440 –> 00:02:14,000 It’s the best you’ll ever see. 28 00:02:14,000 –> 00:02:19,179 With Christ, this world is the closest you’ll ever get to hell. 29 00:02:19,179 –> 00:02:21,279 It’s the worst you’ll ever see, 30 00:02:21,279 –> 00:02:25,539 because ahead of you lies that which is absolutely glorious, 31 00:02:25,539 –> 00:02:29,979 and I want you to open your Bible with me at Revelation and chapter 7 32 00:02:29,979 –> 00:02:32,740 so that we can look at it together. 33 00:02:32,740 –> 00:02:36,500 Now just to remind you, as many of you know these things well already, 34 00:02:36,500 –> 00:02:40,800 the Apostle John who penned this revelation that was given to him 35 00:02:40,800 –> 00:02:46,660 was suffering in a brutal prison on an island called Patmos. 36 00:02:46,699 –> 00:02:51,839 And on a particular Sunday, he tells us that he was in the Spirit. 37 00:02:51,839 –> 00:02:54,720 That is, God’s Spirit came upon him, 38 00:02:54,720 –> 00:03:00,139 and the Spirit of God gave to him this glorious glimpse of Heaven itself. 39 00:03:00,139 –> 00:03:03,179 God, as it were, pulled back the curtain 40 00:03:03,179 –> 00:03:06,080 for this man who was suffering so much 41 00:03:06,080 –> 00:03:09,500 and opened Heaven itself. 42 00:03:09,500 –> 00:03:14,339 And God gave this revelation that John recorded, as he saw it in the book, 43 00:03:14,339 –> 00:03:18,160 not only for this one man in his prison on Patmos. 44 00:03:18,160 –> 00:03:20,300 But he was told to write it down 45 00:03:20,300 –> 00:03:23,279 because God was giving this revelation for us. 46 00:03:23,279 –> 00:03:28,000 And that is why he has preserved it, even for us today. 47 00:03:28,000 –> 00:03:31,300 So I want us to join John as we open the Bible 48 00:03:31,300 –> 00:03:34,259 and to look at what he saw. 49 00:03:34,259 –> 00:03:36,500 Verse 9 of Revelation in chapter 7, 50 00:03:36,500 –> 00:03:38,160 he saw a great multitude. 51 00:03:38,220 –> 00:03:43,020 And after this I looked, and behold, a great multitude. 52 00:03:43,020 –> 00:03:45,899 Try and picture this now as John saw it. 53 00:03:45,899 –> 00:03:48,100 A great multitude, and it’s so many 54 00:03:48,100 –> 00:03:49,940 that no one could number them. 55 00:03:49,940 –> 00:03:53,600 And they come see their faces from every nation 56 00:03:53,600 –> 00:03:57,300 and from every tribe and from all peoples 57 00:03:57,300 –> 00:03:59,039 and from all languages. 58 00:04:00,419 –> 00:04:01,419 Now, think about this. 59 00:04:01,419 –> 00:04:06,419 John must have felt so alone in that prison, one believer. 60 00:04:08,300 –> 00:04:11,080 And he’s worked so hard in evangelism. 61 00:04:11,080 –> 00:04:13,100 He’s labored for a long time 62 00:04:13,100 –> 00:04:16,220 in the church that was at Ephesus, 63 00:04:16,220 –> 00:04:18,380 that town where there was so much idolatry, 64 00:04:18,380 –> 00:04:20,380 so much resistance to the gospel, 65 00:04:20,380 –> 00:04:22,940 not easy to plant a church in Ephesus. 66 00:04:22,940 –> 00:04:25,179 And God did a great work, but after a time, 67 00:04:25,179 –> 00:04:27,820 you know, that the first love of the believers 68 00:04:27,820 –> 00:04:30,279 at Ephesus, it began to go cold. 69 00:04:30,279 –> 00:04:32,239 And so here were Christians 70 00:04:32,239 –> 00:04:34,459 with a low spiritual temperature. 71 00:04:35,359 –> 00:04:38,739 And there’s so much to discourage John. 72 00:04:40,000 –> 00:04:42,440 And here he is on the island prison. 73 00:04:42,440 –> 00:04:46,160 This is the Alcatraz of the ancient world folks. 74 00:04:46,160 –> 00:04:49,619 In prison, on the island. 75 00:04:49,619 –> 00:04:52,559 And the risen Christ comes near to this man 76 00:04:52,559 –> 00:04:54,519 who has endured so much. 77 00:04:54,519 –> 00:04:56,440 And Christ is saying to him in effect, 78 00:04:56,440 –> 00:05:00,220 now John, I’ve got something you have to see. 79 00:05:00,220 –> 00:05:01,679 You have to see this. 80 00:05:01,679 –> 00:05:03,940 And John looks, and what does he see? 81 00:05:03,940 –> 00:05:06,579 There is this vast crowd of people, 82 00:05:06,579 –> 00:05:08,660 he says that no one could number. 83 00:05:08,660 –> 00:05:11,359 And they come from every nation. 84 00:05:13,140 –> 00:05:15,500 Friend, if you are the only Christian 85 00:05:15,500 –> 00:05:19,660 in your family, and you often feel alone, 86 00:05:19,660 –> 00:05:21,220 you need to see this. 87 00:05:22,700 –> 00:05:27,239 If God has made you a light in a very dark place 88 00:05:27,239 –> 00:05:29,459 there are not so many Christians around you 89 00:05:29,459 –> 00:05:32,140 in your place of work or in your place of study, 90 00:05:32,140 –> 00:05:34,739 you really need to see this. 91 00:05:35,679 –> 00:05:38,380 If you have been laboring in the work of evangelism, 92 00:05:38,380 –> 00:05:40,519 laboring in the cause of mission, 93 00:05:40,519 –> 00:05:42,779 and sometimes you get discouraged, 94 00:05:42,779 –> 00:05:45,940 you need to see this, 95 00:05:47,339 –> 00:05:48,820 this vast crowd. 96 00:05:49,980 –> 00:05:50,820 And where are they? 97 00:05:50,820 –> 00:05:52,760 They’re standing before the throne, 98 00:05:52,760 –> 00:05:54,019 and before the Lamb, 99 00:05:54,019 –> 00:05:57,859 this vast multicultural crowd of people 100 00:05:57,859 –> 00:06:00,540 who’ve been redeemed by Christ through the gospel, 101 00:06:00,540 –> 00:06:03,140 they are in the presence of Jesus. 102 00:06:04,399 –> 00:06:05,880 And he sees something else. 103 00:06:05,880 –> 00:06:09,200 He notices that they are clothed in white robes, 104 00:06:10,140 –> 00:06:12,859 and they have palm branches in their hands. 105 00:06:13,799 –> 00:06:17,459 So John is struck not only by how many they are, 106 00:06:18,359 –> 00:06:22,079 but he’s also struck by how clean they are. 107 00:06:22,980 –> 00:06:25,859 White robes, 108 00:06:25,859 –> 00:06:27,720 not a stain, 109 00:06:27,720 –> 00:06:32,160 not a hint of a spot on any single one of them. 110 00:06:32,160 –> 00:06:33,440 And they have palm branches, 111 00:06:33,440 –> 00:06:35,859 which are the sign of joy and victory. 112 00:06:35,859 –> 00:06:38,679 So this is a scene of celebration. 113 00:06:39,559 –> 00:06:40,980 These people, we’re told, verse 10, 114 00:06:40,980 –> 00:06:42,760 they’re crying out with a loud voice, 115 00:06:42,760 –> 00:06:44,320 they’re singing, they’re shouting, 116 00:06:44,320 –> 00:06:47,279 salvation belongs to our God, 117 00:06:47,279 –> 00:06:50,000 who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. 118 00:06:51,260 –> 00:06:53,079 And as John looks at this scene, 119 00:06:53,079 –> 00:06:56,040 and I hope you’re trying to picture it in your own mind, 120 00:06:56,040 –> 00:06:57,200 as you look at the bible 121 00:06:57,459 –> 00:06:58,600 in this very moment, 122 00:06:58,600 –> 00:07:01,880 he sees at the center of this vast crowd 123 00:07:01,880 –> 00:07:03,540 that no one can number, 124 00:07:03,540 –> 00:07:07,839 he sees at the center the one who is called the Lamb of God. 125 00:07:08,720 –> 00:07:11,440 And his glory is inexpressible. 126 00:07:11,440 –> 00:07:13,820 And immediately around him at the center 127 00:07:13,820 –> 00:07:16,320 of this great scene, there are the angels. 128 00:07:16,320 –> 00:07:18,700 And then there are elders. 129 00:07:18,700 –> 00:07:21,980 And then he tells us there are four living creatures. 130 00:07:21,980 –> 00:07:26,000 And all of them are caught up in the joy of this worship 131 00:07:26,000 –> 00:07:28,519 that rises from the vast crowd. 132 00:07:29,519 –> 00:07:33,500 And then suddenly out of the picture 133 00:07:34,359 –> 00:07:38,760 one of the elders close to Jesus speaks to John. 134 00:07:38,760 –> 00:07:42,119 That must have taken him completely by surprise. 135 00:07:42,119 –> 00:07:43,299 You know, he’s watching. 136 00:07:43,299 –> 00:07:44,359 He’s spectating. 137 00:07:44,359 –> 00:07:46,380 He’s an observer. 138 00:07:46,380 –> 00:07:48,720 And then suddenly someone comes out of the picture, 139 00:07:48,720 –> 00:07:51,519 as it were, and speaks to John. 140 00:07:51,559 –> 00:07:53,059 And he asks him a question. 141 00:07:54,200 –> 00:07:56,000 And he says, 142 00:07:56,880 –> 00:07:59,380 who are these, 143 00:07:59,380 –> 00:08:01,399 clothed in white robes, 144 00:08:02,500 –> 00:08:04,160 and from where have they come? 145 00:08:05,380 –> 00:08:07,579 You get John’s sense of shock in that verse. 146 00:08:07,579 –> 00:08:09,899 He says, one of the elders was speaking to me. 147 00:08:09,899 –> 00:08:11,239 I mean, as if I knew. 148 00:08:12,640 –> 00:08:16,100 And so John takes a page out of Ezekiel’s book. 149 00:08:16,100 –> 00:08:17,880 Do you remember in the story of Ezekiel 150 00:08:17,880 –> 00:08:20,839 in the Old Testament God showed a vision to that man, 151 00:08:21,040 –> 00:08:22,480 vision of dry bones, 152 00:08:22,480 –> 00:08:23,720 and asked a question. 153 00:08:23,720 –> 00:08:25,200 Can these bones live? 154 00:08:25,200 –> 00:08:28,760 And Ezekiel said, oh God, you know. 155 00:08:28,760 –> 00:08:30,299 And so when John was asked the question 156 00:08:30,299 –> 00:08:31,399 he does exactly the same. 157 00:08:31,399 –> 00:08:33,159 He takes a page out of Ezekiel’s book 158 00:08:33,159 –> 00:08:35,739 in verse 14 he says, sir, you know. 159 00:08:36,719 –> 00:08:38,440 And that leads the elder, 160 00:08:38,440 –> 00:08:42,059 who is right next to Jesus there, 161 00:08:42,059 –> 00:08:45,440 to become the voice that tells John 162 00:08:45,440 –> 00:08:48,859 and therefore tells us who these people are 163 00:08:48,859 –> 00:08:49,719 who are in heaven. 164 00:08:49,799 –> 00:08:52,820 And that’s something we all desperately need to know. 165 00:08:52,820 –> 00:08:57,340 And what that experience of heaven is actually like. 166 00:08:57,340 –> 00:09:01,340 And it’s all here for you in Revelation in chapter seven. 167 00:09:02,520 –> 00:09:04,239 Let’s look at the people in heaven. 168 00:09:04,239 –> 00:09:06,140 We learn two things about them. 169 00:09:06,140 –> 00:09:07,599 Here’s the first. 170 00:09:07,599 –> 00:09:10,599 That they have been crushed. 171 00:09:10,599 –> 00:09:12,900 That’s the first thing that John is told. 172 00:09:12,900 –> 00:09:14,080 Who are these people? 173 00:09:14,080 –> 00:09:15,880 They’re people who have been crushed. 174 00:09:15,880 –> 00:09:18,419 They are the ones the Elder says 175 00:09:18,419 –> 00:09:22,080 coming out of the Great Tribulation. 176 00:09:23,739 –> 00:09:26,159 Now it may be that there is a reference here 177 00:09:26,159 –> 00:09:29,119 to seven years of tribulation 178 00:09:29,119 –> 00:09:31,619 that take place in the end times. 179 00:09:32,640 –> 00:09:35,780 But it cannot possibly be limited to that. 180 00:09:36,719 –> 00:09:39,760 Because God’s people endure tribulation, 181 00:09:39,760 –> 00:09:42,919 trial, suffering, affliction in every generation. 182 00:09:42,919 –> 00:09:45,799 John was experiencing it while he saw the vision. 183 00:09:45,799 –> 00:09:49,659 Jesus said, in John chapter 16 in verse 33, 184 00:09:49,659 –> 00:09:51,599 he said, while you are in this world, 185 00:09:51,599 –> 00:09:55,000 you will have tribulation, that’s what he said. 186 00:09:56,340 –> 00:10:00,640 Now all of us know what it is to face trouble in this world. 187 00:10:00,640 –> 00:10:03,479 And therefore, this immediately connects with us. 188 00:10:03,479 –> 00:10:05,820 Here’s this crowd and they’re full of joy, 189 00:10:05,820 –> 00:10:07,080 but the Elder says to John, 190 00:10:07,080 –> 00:10:08,419 the first thing you need to know 191 00:10:08,419 –> 00:10:10,119 is that every one of them 192 00:10:10,119 –> 00:10:13,539 have come out of crushing experiences in life, 193 00:10:13,539 –> 00:10:16,619 just as you may be experiencing crushing things 194 00:10:16,619 –> 00:10:18,059 in your life today. 195 00:10:18,059 –> 00:10:19,280 They’ve been crushed. 196 00:10:21,539 –> 00:10:22,780 It’s so important for us. 197 00:10:23,940 –> 00:10:26,179 Just in this one congregation, 198 00:10:26,179 –> 00:10:29,440 this one congregation, one church, 199 00:10:31,099 –> 00:10:32,020 in the last few weeks, 200 00:10:32,020 –> 00:10:37,020 we have wept with parents who have lost a six year old child. 201 00:10:39,500 –> 00:10:42,940 We have wept with middle school and college students, 202 00:10:43,840 –> 00:10:46,400 whose mother died after a cancer diagnosed 203 00:10:46,400 –> 00:10:47,799 just six months earlier. 204 00:10:49,460 –> 00:10:53,539 We’ve seen people in the prime of their life 205 00:10:53,539 –> 00:10:56,179 struck down with terminal cancers. 206 00:10:58,619 –> 00:10:59,840 And we ask the question, 207 00:10:59,840 –> 00:11:02,380 why is it that so many bad things seem to happen 208 00:11:02,380 –> 00:11:04,239 to so many good and wonderful people. 209 00:11:05,979 –> 00:11:08,700 And I cannot give you an answer to that question, 210 00:11:08,700 –> 00:11:13,140 but I can tell you that the most Godly people 211 00:11:13,440 –> 00:11:15,880 sometimes endure the most terrible suffering. 212 00:11:17,260 –> 00:11:18,440 Look at Jesus. 213 00:11:19,940 –> 00:11:24,460 Utterly, unbearably crushed. 214 00:11:25,979 –> 00:11:27,340 The holy son of God. 215 00:11:30,239 –> 00:11:32,479 But Jesus is not in the crusher now. 216 00:11:33,739 –> 00:11:35,799 See that’s what the book of Revelation is about. 217 00:11:35,799 –> 00:11:38,520 Look John, look at Jesus. 218 00:11:38,520 –> 00:11:39,659 Not on the cross. 219 00:11:40,280 –> 00:11:44,859 Not with nails through his hands and through his feet. 220 00:11:44,859 –> 00:11:47,320 He’s at the center, he’s on the throne, 221 00:11:47,320 –> 00:11:49,979 and he’s sharing the joy of this vast, vast, 222 00:11:49,979 –> 00:11:51,340 vast company of people. 223 00:11:51,340 –> 00:11:53,440 He’s with them, and they are with him. 224 00:11:54,760 –> 00:11:57,700 And every one of the people in this crowd in heaven 225 00:11:57,700 –> 00:11:59,479 they’ve all been crushed, 226 00:11:59,479 –> 00:12:01,500 but none of them are being crushed now. 227 00:12:03,059 –> 00:12:04,619 Now listen you may be facing a time 228 00:12:04,619 –> 00:12:07,500 of great crushing in your life today. 229 00:12:07,500 –> 00:12:09,900 And this is why you need the book of Revelation. 230 00:12:11,419 –> 00:12:15,299 Some of you face responsibilities in your work 231 00:12:15,299 –> 00:12:17,239 that weigh heavy upon you. 232 00:12:18,260 –> 00:12:20,739 Other people don’t easily understand 233 00:12:20,739 –> 00:12:22,299 the weight that you carry. 234 00:12:23,599 –> 00:12:28,380 You feel sometimes like you are tied to a whipping post 235 00:12:28,380 –> 00:12:29,659 and it feels crushing. 236 00:12:31,719 –> 00:12:34,239 Some of you struggle with depression. 237 00:12:34,900 –> 00:12:37,880 You might be surprised to know how many others 238 00:12:37,880 –> 00:12:40,059 in the congregation share that with you. 239 00:12:41,260 –> 00:12:46,260 A darkness comes upon you and it just will not seem to lift. 240 00:12:47,599 –> 00:12:50,280 Your mind is always troubled, 241 00:12:50,280 –> 00:12:53,659 you feel crushed by the weight of this. 242 00:12:55,460 –> 00:12:57,659 For some of you face great pain 243 00:12:57,659 –> 00:13:00,479 and great difficulties in your home. 244 00:13:00,479 –> 00:13:02,780 A husband, a wife, children. 245 00:13:02,780 –> 00:13:06,179 Home used to be the place for you 246 00:13:06,179 –> 00:13:07,460 where you would go and rest, 247 00:13:07,460 –> 00:13:10,440 now the only time you find rest is when you’re awake. 248 00:13:12,460 –> 00:13:15,219 Look at this vast crowd of people in heaven. 249 00:13:17,140 –> 00:13:19,380 All of them have been crushed, 250 00:13:19,380 –> 00:13:21,580 that’s the first thing the elder tells John. 251 00:13:22,580 –> 00:13:24,760 None of them are crushed now. 252 00:13:26,640 –> 00:13:29,799 All of them have come out of great tribulation. 253 00:13:30,719 –> 00:13:33,020 But they are now before the throne of God 254 00:13:33,020 –> 00:13:35,400 and they’re singing, and they’re full of joy, 255 00:13:35,400 –> 00:13:38,280 and they are adoring the lamb. 256 00:13:40,039 –> 00:13:44,479 And one day, John, as you languish on the isle of Patmos, 257 00:13:44,479 –> 00:13:45,500 you will be there too. 258 00:13:45,500 –> 00:13:46,840 That’s the point, isn’t it? 259 00:13:48,440 –> 00:13:49,299 And one day, my friend, 260 00:13:49,299 –> 00:13:51,799 as you face that great pressure in your work, 261 00:13:51,799 –> 00:13:54,080 one day as you’re facing and enduring 262 00:13:54,080 –> 00:13:57,280 and honoring Christ through that great difficulty 263 00:13:57,320 –> 00:14:00,119 in your family, one day as you go on struggling 264 00:14:00,119 –> 00:14:02,780 through the darkness that you may have to bear for a time, 265 00:14:02,780 –> 00:14:04,700 one day you will be there too. 266 00:14:06,599 –> 00:14:10,320 They’ve been crushed, but look at them now. 267 00:14:12,059 –> 00:14:16,900 Here’s the second thing that John learns from the elder. 268 00:14:16,900 –> 00:14:18,640 Not only have they been crushed, 269 00:14:19,479 –> 00:14:21,700 but the people who are in the presence of Jesus, 270 00:14:21,700 –> 00:14:23,320 they’ve been cleansed. 271 00:14:23,320 –> 00:14:24,599 Look at verse 14. 272 00:14:25,599 –> 00:14:29,359 They have washed their robes 273 00:14:30,479 –> 00:14:35,440 and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 274 00:14:36,760 –> 00:14:39,179 Now here’s the second really important thing 275 00:14:39,179 –> 00:14:41,799 you need to know about people in heaven. 276 00:14:42,880 –> 00:14:46,559 They are all people who needed to be washed. 277 00:14:46,559 –> 00:14:48,219 Every one of them. 278 00:14:48,219 –> 00:14:50,840 They’ve washed their robes. 279 00:14:50,840 –> 00:14:53,119 In other words, all of them came to a place 280 00:14:53,179 –> 00:14:56,440 of knowing and understanding that they needed 281 00:14:56,440 –> 00:15:00,200 in some way, shape or form to be washed. 282 00:15:00,200 –> 00:15:02,080 Now I try and connect this back to John 283 00:15:02,080 –> 00:15:03,479 on his island prison. 284 00:15:03,479 –> 00:15:08,479 He was confined to what would have been a grubby cell. 285 00:15:08,719 –> 00:15:10,400 And I don’t suppose for a moment 286 00:15:10,400 –> 00:15:14,099 that the Patmos Penitentiary had much of a laundry service. 287 00:15:14,099 –> 00:15:15,200 What do you think eh? 288 00:15:16,200 –> 00:15:18,400 So what kind of clothes do you think that John 289 00:15:18,400 –> 00:15:22,239 was wearing as he saw this glorious vision 290 00:15:22,340 –> 00:15:24,799 in the brightness of this pure white 291 00:15:24,799 –> 00:15:27,280 and these robes that covered these folks 292 00:15:27,280 –> 00:15:29,340 from head to toe. 293 00:15:29,340 –> 00:15:32,460 And there John is in his own filthy clothes 294 00:15:32,460 –> 00:15:33,659 on a Sunday morning. 295 00:15:33,659 –> 00:15:36,940 And God opens a glimpse of heaven to him. 296 00:15:36,940 –> 00:15:38,900 And he sees the people of God 297 00:15:38,900 –> 00:15:41,340 and they’re dressed in this marvelous white, 298 00:15:41,340 –> 00:15:46,020 pure white, brilliant, pristine from top to toe. 299 00:15:47,780 –> 00:15:50,020 The robes of course speak of purity. 300 00:15:50,859 –> 00:15:53,919 John sees and recognizes immediately 301 00:15:53,919 –> 00:15:55,599 as you will see that this is saying 302 00:15:55,599 –> 00:15:57,640 there is not a hint of a stain 303 00:15:57,640 –> 00:16:01,000 on even one of these people in the presence of Jesus. 304 00:16:01,000 –> 00:16:02,960 And this is a marvelous picture 305 00:16:02,960 –> 00:16:06,340 of what Jesus Christ does for our souls. 306 00:16:08,200 –> 00:16:10,119 See, our souls get stained. 307 00:16:10,119 –> 00:16:11,200 They get soiled. 308 00:16:11,200 –> 00:16:12,419 They get grubby. 309 00:16:13,760 –> 00:16:15,640 They get grubby in this world 310 00:16:15,640 –> 00:16:18,359 because of our sinful thoughts 311 00:16:18,760 –> 00:16:21,919 and because of our sinful deeds 312 00:16:21,919 –> 00:16:26,960 and our souls get messed up in so many ways. 313 00:16:28,580 –> 00:16:30,419 And they make you feel, don’t they, 314 00:16:30,419 –> 00:16:34,299 like you really don’t belong in the presence of God. 315 00:16:35,760 –> 00:16:38,179 And you say in your more honest moments, 316 00:16:38,179 –> 00:16:41,820 though in this country so many fancy themselves in heaven, 317 00:16:41,820 –> 00:16:44,080 you say in your more honest moments, 318 00:16:44,080 –> 00:16:46,900 I find it difficult to think of myself there. 319 00:16:46,900 –> 00:16:48,280 I know my own heart. 320 00:16:48,979 –> 00:16:52,479 And here John sees these folks, 321 00:16:53,859 –> 00:16:55,359 and they’ve been washed. 322 00:16:56,520 –> 00:16:59,380 Notice how they have washed their robes 323 00:16:59,380 –> 00:17:03,000 and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 324 00:17:03,000 –> 00:17:05,000 This is very important. 325 00:17:05,000 –> 00:17:08,540 They did not wash their robes in the tribulation. 326 00:17:09,920 –> 00:17:11,839 See, think about this, some people of the idea 327 00:17:11,839 –> 00:17:14,160 that suffering makes you pure and holy. 328 00:17:15,079 –> 00:17:16,680 Suffering in and of itself 329 00:17:16,680 –> 00:17:18,719 doesn’t make anyone pure and holy. 330 00:17:18,719 –> 00:17:20,719 Suffering may bring out the best in you. 331 00:17:20,719 –> 00:17:22,939 Suffering may bring out the worst in you. 332 00:17:23,959 –> 00:17:26,560 Suffering sometimes can reveal hidden sins 333 00:17:26,560 –> 00:17:28,260 and secret resentments. 334 00:17:28,260 –> 00:17:30,819 They did not wash their robes in their own suffering. 335 00:17:30,819 –> 00:17:35,819 There’s nothing purifying about suffering in and of itself. 336 00:17:36,199 –> 00:17:38,500 No one gets perfect through pain. 337 00:17:40,280 –> 00:17:41,520 How did they wash their robes? 338 00:17:41,520 –> 00:17:45,680 They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. 339 00:17:45,760 –> 00:17:46,959 Now what does that mean? 340 00:17:46,959 –> 00:17:51,420 Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Bible says, 341 00:17:51,420 –> 00:17:54,959 who takes away the sins of the world. 342 00:17:54,959 –> 00:17:59,959 And when He hung on that cross, His blood was shed. 343 00:18:00,160 –> 00:18:03,040 And when a person comes to Christ, 344 00:18:03,040 –> 00:18:05,719 as you could come to Jesus Christ today 345 00:18:05,719 –> 00:18:08,000 if you have not come already, 346 00:18:08,000 –> 00:18:10,920 when a person comes to Jesus Christ in faith 347 00:18:10,939 –> 00:18:14,280 and in repentance, the shed blood of Jesus 348 00:18:14,280 –> 00:18:17,760 gets applied to that person’s life 349 00:18:17,760 –> 00:18:19,920 and here in the miracle of God, 350 00:18:19,920 –> 00:18:24,000 the shed blood of Jesus will make you clean. 351 00:18:24,000 –> 00:18:26,099 That’s the promise of the Bible. 352 00:18:26,099 –> 00:18:28,560 Now this is an extraordinary thing 353 00:18:28,560 –> 00:18:31,880 because blood normally stains, doesn’t it? 354 00:18:31,880 –> 00:18:35,599 I cut myself, blood stains. 355 00:18:35,599 –> 00:18:40,319 But this blood, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ 356 00:18:40,380 –> 00:18:44,479 cleanses from every stain. 357 00:18:45,400 –> 00:18:48,400 And these white robes then are a wonderful picture 358 00:18:48,400 –> 00:18:51,979 of the purity that will be yours in heaven, 359 00:18:51,979 –> 00:18:56,520 that belongs to every person who is in Jesus Christ. 360 00:18:56,520 –> 00:18:58,880 Right now when you come to faith in Jesus, 361 00:18:58,880 –> 00:19:01,000 the guilt of your sin is removed. 362 00:19:01,000 –> 00:19:03,040 That’s why there’s no condemnation for you. 363 00:19:03,040 –> 00:19:05,359 You don’t need to live in fear any longer. 364 00:19:06,260 –> 00:19:09,280 Right now when you come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 365 00:19:09,300 –> 00:19:11,400 the power of sin is broken. 366 00:19:11,400 –> 00:19:13,459 Here’s what that means. 367 00:19:13,459 –> 00:19:14,380 There is no sin. 368 00:19:14,380 –> 00:19:17,520 There is no temptation that you cannot overcome 369 00:19:17,520 –> 00:19:19,640 with the help of the Holy Spirit this week. 370 00:19:20,599 –> 00:19:22,140 I’ll say that again. 371 00:19:22,140 –> 00:19:23,479 The power of sin is broken. 372 00:19:23,479 –> 00:19:25,420 What that means is this. 373 00:19:25,420 –> 00:19:27,459 There is no sin, there is no temptation 374 00:19:27,459 –> 00:19:29,219 that you cannot overcome 375 00:19:29,219 –> 00:19:31,699 by the power of the Holy Spirit this week. 376 00:19:33,599 –> 00:19:36,380 But friends, you don’t need to be a Christian 377 00:19:36,380 –> 00:19:38,500 for terribly long and you don’t even need 378 00:19:38,540 –> 00:19:41,140 to know yourself terribly well to know 379 00:19:41,140 –> 00:19:43,380 that sin itself remains present 380 00:19:43,380 –> 00:19:47,239 in every Christian throughout our life in this world, 381 00:19:48,839 –> 00:19:52,319 but not forever, not forever. 382 00:19:54,540 –> 00:19:56,280 We need to be washed. 383 00:19:57,880 –> 00:20:01,300 Now, who does the washing? 384 00:20:01,300 –> 00:20:02,500 Now, watch this in the Bible 385 00:20:02,500 –> 00:20:04,300 because the answer might surprise you. 386 00:20:04,300 –> 00:20:06,619 Who does the washing? 387 00:20:06,640 –> 00:20:09,140 Answer, we do. 388 00:20:09,140 –> 00:20:10,420 That’s the answer here. 389 00:20:12,160 –> 00:20:15,020 They have washed their robes. 390 00:20:16,020 –> 00:20:19,780 Now, of course, Christ is the one who washes the soul. 391 00:20:19,780 –> 00:20:21,500 Christ and his blood 392 00:20:21,500 –> 00:20:26,079 is the one by whom our souls are made clean. 393 00:20:26,079 –> 00:20:29,099 And the Bible speaks about how Christ washes us 394 00:20:29,099 –> 00:20:31,260 again, and again, and again. 395 00:20:31,260 –> 00:20:33,260 But here we’re told something else 396 00:20:33,260 –> 00:20:35,760 that all of us need to know. 397 00:20:35,780 –> 00:20:39,660 They have washed their robes. 398 00:20:40,719 –> 00:20:45,719 That means that everyone who is in heaven 399 00:20:45,719 –> 00:20:49,060 has done something about their condition. 400 00:20:50,359 –> 00:20:53,859 They saw that they needed to be washed. 401 00:20:53,859 –> 00:20:56,040 They realized that even at their best, 402 00:20:56,040 –> 00:20:57,579 that attempts at living a life 403 00:20:57,579 –> 00:20:59,040 that would be pleasing to God 404 00:20:59,040 –> 00:21:02,359 are not going to amount to very much more than filthy rags. 405 00:21:03,359 –> 00:21:06,319 They came to believe that Jesus is the lamb of God 406 00:21:06,319 –> 00:21:08,199 who takes away the sin of the world 407 00:21:08,199 –> 00:21:10,060 and the means by which he takes it away 408 00:21:10,060 –> 00:21:11,319 is through his shed blood 409 00:21:11,319 –> 00:21:13,160 being applied to a person 410 00:21:13,160 –> 00:21:15,000 who is buying to him by faith. 411 00:21:15,000 –> 00:21:17,319 And therefore they came to him. 412 00:21:17,319 –> 00:21:19,160 They came to him in all their guilt 413 00:21:19,160 –> 00:21:20,939 and they came to him in repentance 414 00:21:20,939 –> 00:21:22,459 and they came to him in faith 415 00:21:22,459 –> 00:21:25,959 and they prayed like David prayed in Psalm 51. 416 00:21:25,959 –> 00:21:26,979 He said this, 417 00:21:26,979 –> 00:21:31,380 “‘Purge me and I shall be clean. 418 00:21:31,459 –> 00:21:35,699 Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.’” 419 00:21:36,780 –> 00:21:38,439 Now here’s what John is discovering. 420 00:21:38,439 –> 00:21:40,300 Every person in heaven 421 00:21:41,540 –> 00:21:43,339 has come to Jesus Christ in that way 422 00:21:43,339 –> 00:21:44,380 which raises the question 423 00:21:44,380 –> 00:21:46,500 have you come to Jesus Christ in this way? 424 00:21:48,140 –> 00:21:52,180 They washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. 425 00:21:52,180 –> 00:21:53,819 That’s how they made the robes white. 426 00:21:53,819 –> 00:21:56,060 That’s why they’re in the presence of Jesus. 427 00:21:56,060 –> 00:21:58,500 They washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. 428 00:21:58,500 –> 00:22:00,979 Is that something you have done or not? 429 00:22:02,339 –> 00:22:05,579 Now at this point you must be clear. 430 00:22:05,579 –> 00:22:07,300 And if you’re not clear I plead 431 00:22:07,300 –> 00:22:11,020 with you to become clear by coming to Jesus Christ tonight. 432 00:22:12,459 –> 00:22:14,380 Is this something you have done? 433 00:22:15,819 –> 00:22:18,380 Have you come to see your own need of a savior? 434 00:22:19,459 –> 00:22:21,459 Have you come to recognize that Jesus Christ 435 00:22:21,459 –> 00:22:24,280 is the savior that you need? 436 00:22:25,180 –> 00:22:27,780 Have you come to Him in faith and in repentance 437 00:22:27,780 –> 00:22:30,280 and with whatever is in your life? 438 00:22:31,280 –> 00:22:33,500 And asked Him to cleanse you? 439 00:22:34,660 –> 00:22:37,040 Asked Him to make you His own. 440 00:22:38,439 –> 00:22:40,599 And is there the evidence in your life 441 00:22:40,599 –> 00:22:42,180 today that you have done this? 442 00:22:42,180 –> 00:22:44,439 Are you pursuing a holy life, 443 00:22:44,439 –> 00:22:47,079 which is the evidence that a person belongs to Jesus? 444 00:22:47,079 –> 00:22:48,479 Without that, what right have you got 445 00:22:48,479 –> 00:22:49,859 to claim that you’re His? 446 00:22:51,880 –> 00:22:53,979 My friend, don’t be passive. 447 00:22:55,479 –> 00:22:58,219 They washed their robes. 448 00:22:58,239 –> 00:23:00,859 They did not simply feel bad about themselves, 449 00:23:00,859 –> 00:23:03,060 they did something, they came to Jesus. 450 00:23:04,540 –> 00:23:06,699 Other people around you 451 00:23:08,000 –> 00:23:11,479 are washing their robes in the blood of Christ. 452 00:23:12,739 –> 00:23:15,939 Why not you? 453 00:23:15,939 –> 00:23:17,020 Why not you? 454 00:23:19,000 –> 00:23:21,359 They’ve been crushed, these people in heaven. 455 00:23:23,020 –> 00:23:24,439 And they’ve been cleansed. 456 00:23:26,060 –> 00:23:27,180 It’s the two things you need to know 457 00:23:27,219 –> 00:23:28,579 about the people in heaven. 458 00:23:30,020 –> 00:23:33,359 And now they’re at home, verse 15. 459 00:23:33,359 –> 00:23:35,000 He who sits on the throne 460 00:23:35,000 –> 00:23:38,739 will shelter them with his presence. 461 00:23:38,739 –> 00:23:39,839 They’re in the shelter, 462 00:23:39,839 –> 00:23:42,079 and the shelter is God himself. 463 00:23:43,339 –> 00:23:47,359 God, as it were, spreads his wings over them 464 00:23:47,359 –> 00:23:48,880 so that they are included 465 00:23:48,880 –> 00:23:51,079 and they are under his fatherly care 466 00:23:51,079 –> 00:23:53,599 and his protection forever and forever. 467 00:23:53,599 –> 00:23:55,280 Literally, this verse says, 468 00:23:55,280 –> 00:23:59,160 God himself spreads his tent over them. 469 00:23:59,160 –> 00:24:01,060 Isn’t that a great picture? 470 00:24:01,060 –> 00:24:03,900 You go to the campsite and you spread out the tent 471 00:24:05,119 –> 00:24:08,359 and the tent comes over you. 472 00:24:08,359 –> 00:24:10,359 You are inside, you are not outside. 473 00:24:10,359 –> 00:24:11,540 You’re included. 474 00:24:13,280 –> 00:24:17,640 Jesus said that heaven is my father’s house. 475 00:24:18,959 –> 00:24:23,060 And if God is your father, then heaven is your home. 476 00:24:24,000 –> 00:24:25,839 And there maybe some times 477 00:24:25,839 –> 00:24:27,560 when you don’t feel at home on earth. 478 00:24:27,560 –> 00:24:30,780 There are some folks don’t feel at home in their own bodies. 479 00:24:32,280 –> 00:24:35,439 I’ll tell you, if you have put your trust in Jesus Christ, 480 00:24:35,439 –> 00:24:36,939 you will be at home in heaven. 481 00:24:38,239 –> 00:24:40,319 Some folks may find at times 482 00:24:40,319 –> 00:24:43,219 that they just don’t feel completely at home, 483 00:24:43,219 –> 00:24:44,680 even amongst other Christians. 484 00:24:46,979 –> 00:24:50,859 You wonder about that and tell you 485 00:24:51,219 –> 00:24:52,180 if you’re in Jesus Christ, 486 00:24:52,180 –> 00:24:53,920 you will be at home in heaven. 487 00:24:54,979 –> 00:24:58,420 Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. 488 00:24:59,420 –> 00:25:02,060 And those who are washed in the blood of Christ 489 00:25:03,060 –> 00:25:07,020 will feel at home in his presence. 490 00:25:08,939 –> 00:25:10,079 So here are the people. 491 00:25:11,420 –> 00:25:14,380 John says, there’s a vast, vast company of them. 492 00:25:16,619 –> 00:25:18,119 Now, what are they doing? 493 00:25:19,020 –> 00:25:20,520 What is this life? 494 00:25:21,199 –> 00:25:23,260 If you’re washed in the blood of Christ 495 00:25:23,260 –> 00:25:26,020 and you finally arrive in your heavenly home, 496 00:25:26,020 –> 00:25:28,439 what can you anticipate there? 497 00:25:28,439 –> 00:25:30,699 Now, look at what it says, it’s marvelous. 498 00:25:31,739 –> 00:25:33,359 There’s these three observations. 499 00:25:33,359 –> 00:25:37,540 Number one, in heaven, you will serve God 500 00:25:37,540 –> 00:25:39,900 as you always wished you could. 501 00:25:40,939 –> 00:25:44,780 Verse 15, they are before the throne of God 502 00:25:45,780 –> 00:25:50,780 and they serve him day and night in his presence. 503 00:25:50,900 –> 00:25:52,660 That is temple. 504 00:25:54,180 –> 00:25:57,060 Friends, every Christian serves Christ, 505 00:25:58,579 –> 00:26:00,819 but no Christian serves Christ 506 00:26:00,819 –> 00:26:03,599 as we would want to serve Christ. 507 00:26:03,599 –> 00:26:05,859 Every Christian knows what it is to worship, 508 00:26:07,540 –> 00:26:09,760 but have you ever really worshiped 509 00:26:09,760 –> 00:26:11,140 as you would like to worship? 510 00:26:13,160 –> 00:26:17,420 Don’t you find that there is this great conflict within you? 511 00:26:17,420 –> 00:26:20,540 Don’t you find yourself at times asking, 512 00:26:20,540 –> 00:26:23,319 why is my heart so sluggish? 513 00:26:24,760 –> 00:26:27,180 Why is it that when the mercy and grace of God 514 00:26:27,180 –> 00:26:29,219 is poured out to me in such abundance 515 00:26:29,219 –> 00:26:32,500 that sometimes my response is so restrained, 516 00:26:32,500 –> 00:26:34,060 so calculating? 517 00:26:34,060 –> 00:26:35,020 Why is that? 518 00:26:37,099 –> 00:26:38,939 We know that we find in this life 519 00:26:38,939 –> 00:26:42,060 a conflict within ourselves, and it’s always going on. 520 00:26:42,060 –> 00:26:46,420 The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 521 00:26:47,420 –> 00:26:50,680 And we throw ourselves into serving Christ 522 00:26:50,680 –> 00:26:51,780 and living for Christ. 523 00:26:51,780 –> 00:26:53,260 We get tired. 524 00:26:54,380 –> 00:26:56,020 We get discouraged. 525 00:26:57,099 –> 00:27:00,599 We get bogged down in our unsolved problems 526 00:27:00,599 –> 00:27:03,300 and in our unanswered questions. 527 00:27:04,260 –> 00:27:07,640 And we live below the level that even in our hearts 528 00:27:07,640 –> 00:27:09,140 we would want to live for the glory 529 00:27:09,140 –> 00:27:10,579 of the Lord Jesus Christ, 530 00:27:10,579 –> 00:27:12,939 but it will not always be so. 531 00:27:13,859 –> 00:27:15,660 In Heaven you will serve God 532 00:27:15,699 –> 00:27:17,219 as you always wished you could. 533 00:27:17,219 –> 00:27:21,459 Look at it, day and night, there’s no tiredness there! 534 00:27:23,479 –> 00:27:26,900 And here we go through seasons of feeling distant from God. 535 00:27:28,180 –> 00:27:29,640 We have times when we say, oh, 536 00:27:29,640 –> 00:27:32,060 I long for a new and a fresh experience, 537 00:27:32,060 –> 00:27:33,479 a fresh touch from God, 538 00:27:33,479 –> 00:27:37,180 but here in Heaven, you will be before His throne 539 00:27:37,180 –> 00:27:40,140 and you will be with Him and you will enjoy Him 540 00:27:40,140 –> 00:27:41,660 and it will be forever. 541 00:27:42,520 –> 00:27:45,900 In Heaven you will serve Christ 542 00:27:45,900 –> 00:27:47,760 as you always wished you could. 543 00:27:49,839 –> 00:27:51,560 And then notice this, that in Heaven, 544 00:27:51,560 –> 00:27:55,280 Christ will lead you into ever increasing joy 545 00:27:56,579 –> 00:27:59,359 Try to take this in, look at what it says, verse 16. 546 00:27:59,880 –> 00:28:03,739 The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd 547 00:28:04,859 –> 00:28:09,579 and He will guide them into springs of living water, 548 00:28:11,699 –> 00:28:13,099 now, you may think, 549 00:28:14,280 –> 00:28:17,560 well, Heaven is a wonderful place 550 00:28:17,560 –> 00:28:21,640 where I am going to discover all kinds of marvelous things. 551 00:28:21,640 –> 00:28:24,680 That’d be very reasonable for you to think that. 552 00:28:24,680 –> 00:28:29,680 John is saying to you, it’s much better than that 553 00:28:30,800 –> 00:28:32,319 because what’s missing in saying 554 00:28:32,319 –> 00:28:33,479 Heaven is a wonderful place 555 00:28:33,479 –> 00:28:35,800 and I’m going to discover all kinds of wonderful things? 556 00:28:35,800 –> 00:28:38,119 What’s missing and rather who’s missing. 557 00:28:38,119 –> 00:28:39,680 Jesus. 558 00:28:39,680 –> 00:28:41,959 And you see at the very center of the life of Heaven, 559 00:28:41,959 –> 00:28:43,660 what John is telling us here, 560 00:28:43,660 –> 00:28:47,800 the lamb himself will be their shepherd. 561 00:28:47,800 –> 00:28:51,280 The active involvement of your Lord Jesus Christ 562 00:28:51,280 –> 00:28:55,540 who you trust and love and worship and serve right now 563 00:28:55,540 –> 00:29:00,540 the active and immanent involvement of Christ in your life. 564 00:29:02,000 –> 00:29:03,239 He’s the shepherd. 565 00:29:03,239 –> 00:29:05,280 He’s your shepherd now if you belong to him 566 00:29:05,280 –> 00:29:07,020 and he’ll be your shepherd forever. 567 00:29:08,020 –> 00:29:10,719 That’s why the people in Heaven are never hungry, 568 00:29:10,719 –> 00:29:14,359 verse 16, and he leads them, he feeds them. 569 00:29:16,119 –> 00:29:18,260 What Christ does for us on earth, 570 00:29:18,260 –> 00:29:19,699 he will do in new and wonderful 571 00:29:19,699 –> 00:29:21,219 and glorious ways in Heaven. 572 00:29:21,219 –> 00:29:22,900 The lamb will be their shepherd 573 00:29:22,900 –> 00:29:24,160 and notice what it says, 574 00:29:24,160 –> 00:29:29,020 he guides them to springs of living water. 575 00:29:30,260 –> 00:29:33,140 In other words, the great joy of Heaven will be 576 00:29:33,140 –> 00:29:35,800 that the Lord Jesus himself will lead you 577 00:29:35,800 –> 00:29:37,699 into ever increasing delight. 578 00:29:39,119 –> 00:29:41,040 He’ll lead you into it. 579 00:29:41,040 –> 00:29:42,760 So what is being described here 580 00:29:42,760 –> 00:29:45,459 is not a static kind of experience, 581 00:29:45,459 –> 00:29:48,239 but a living relationship and a life 582 00:29:48,239 –> 00:29:50,640 of ongoing new fresh discovery. 583 00:29:50,640 –> 00:29:52,839 That’s why you can never be bored in Heaven. 584 00:29:55,000 –> 00:29:57,839 Maybe you have found a place 585 00:29:57,839 –> 00:29:59,599 that you like to go for a vacation, 586 00:30:00,859 –> 00:30:01,800 and because you like it, 587 00:30:01,800 –> 00:30:03,160 you go back and then you go back 588 00:30:03,160 –> 00:30:04,219 and every year you go back 589 00:30:04,280 –> 00:30:06,619 and 20 years later you’ve gone back every year 590 00:30:06,619 –> 00:30:08,199 and now you just about know everything 591 00:30:08,199 –> 00:30:09,660 that there is to know about that place. 592 00:30:09,660 –> 00:30:12,280 You still go back because you enjoy it, 593 00:30:12,280 –> 00:30:15,579 but there’s no restaurant that you’ve not been to, 594 00:30:15,579 –> 00:30:17,439 no shop you’ve not bought something, 595 00:30:18,380 –> 00:30:20,239 no hotel you’ve not stayed in, 596 00:30:22,500 –> 00:30:24,719 you will never get there in Heaven. 597 00:30:26,859 –> 00:30:30,619 Heaven will be an infinite world of new discoveries 598 00:30:30,619 –> 00:30:33,959 and Jesus Christ will unfold them to you. 599 00:30:34,219 –> 00:30:37,880 In St. Thomas Boston, I have a couple 600 00:30:37,880 –> 00:30:39,479 of quotes here that have helped me 601 00:30:39,479 –> 00:30:43,459 and I want to give them to stretch your imagination 602 00:30:43,459 –> 00:30:47,619 in a biblical way today. 603 00:30:48,819 –> 00:30:51,479 Boston says, the divine perfections, 604 00:30:51,479 –> 00:30:53,939 that’s all of the perfection of God, 605 00:30:53,939 –> 00:30:58,939 all that God is, will be an unbounded field 606 00:30:58,979 –> 00:31:03,880 in which the glorified shall walk eternally 607 00:31:03,880 –> 00:31:07,979 seeing more and more of God since they can 608 00:31:07,979 –> 00:31:10,520 never come to the end of the infinite, 609 00:31:10,520 –> 00:31:13,380 they may bring their vessels to this ocean 610 00:31:13,380 –> 00:31:16,760 every moment and fill them with new waters. 611 00:31:16,760 –> 00:31:18,020 You see, that’s what it’s saying here, 612 00:31:18,020 –> 00:31:19,699 to springs of living water. 613 00:31:19,699 –> 00:31:22,439 I’m always in a fresh way, 614 00:31:22,439 –> 00:31:25,400 experiencing the one God of the universe 615 00:31:25,400 –> 00:31:27,780 and yet like a spring of living water, 616 00:31:28,079 –> 00:31:30,180 always fresh and always new. 617 00:31:31,939 –> 00:31:36,939 Donald McLeod who spent his life teaching in a seminary 618 00:31:39,000 –> 00:31:41,099 and noticed that there were a lot of Christians 619 00:31:41,099 –> 00:31:44,099 who seemed to have the idea that heaven 620 00:31:44,099 –> 00:31:46,780 was going to be a kind of eternal seminary 621 00:31:46,780 –> 00:31:50,640 where you did nothing but study books of theology, 622 00:31:50,640 –> 00:31:53,060 and just to help people get delivered 623 00:31:53,060 –> 00:31:55,920 from that kind of misconception, 624 00:31:55,920 –> 00:32:00,140 this great Bible teacher pointed to the Garden of Eden, 625 00:32:01,160 –> 00:32:05,800 and he says of the garden, it was no mere seminary. 626 00:32:05,800 –> 00:32:07,520 Think of this, the Garden of Eden. 627 00:32:08,420 –> 00:32:12,760 It offered scope for art and science 628 00:32:12,760 –> 00:32:15,380 and technology as well as theology. 629 00:32:16,359 –> 00:32:18,459 The same he says will doubtless be true 630 00:32:18,459 –> 00:32:19,760 of the world to come. 631 00:32:19,760 –> 00:32:23,339 Not only the creator but the creation, too, 632 00:32:23,339 –> 00:32:26,300 will be an object of wonder to the redeemed. 633 00:32:26,300 –> 00:32:28,380 It will challenge their intellects. 634 00:32:28,380 –> 00:32:30,520 It will fire their imaginations. 635 00:32:30,520 –> 00:32:32,819 It will stimulate their industry. 636 00:32:32,819 –> 00:32:35,939 The scenario, he says, is a thrilling one, 637 00:32:35,939 –> 00:32:39,219 brilliant minds, powerful bodies, 638 00:32:39,219 –> 00:32:43,819 and a transformed universe, that’s what lies ahead of you, 639 00:32:45,219 –> 00:32:48,119 and this joy will go on increasing forever. 640 00:32:48,119 –> 00:32:49,319 You say, how is that possible? 641 00:32:49,319 –> 00:32:50,579 Well, just think about this, 642 00:32:50,579 –> 00:32:52,239 I can’t explain how it’s possible 643 00:32:52,239 –> 00:32:54,280 But think about this, 644 00:32:54,280 –> 00:32:55,859 you take out a photograph album 645 00:32:55,859 –> 00:32:59,319 or you review your photographs there on your computer, 646 00:32:59,319 –> 00:33:01,380 and you look at things that happened years ago 647 00:33:01,380 –> 00:33:02,900 and they were wonderful things 648 00:33:02,900 –> 00:33:04,719 and even looking at the pictures of them, 649 00:33:04,719 –> 00:33:08,020 your memory is stirred and you still derive joy 650 00:33:08,020 –> 00:33:09,439 from things that happened a year ago 651 00:33:09,439 –> 00:33:11,479 or 10 years ago or 20 years ago. 652 00:33:11,479 –> 00:33:13,199 They’re part of the fund of joy 653 00:33:13,199 –> 00:33:16,060 that God has poured into the richness of your life 654 00:33:16,060 –> 00:33:17,420 here in this world. 655 00:33:18,939 –> 00:33:20,160 Now, says Jonathan Edwards, 656 00:33:20,160 –> 00:33:23,060 do you think that it would be any less in heaven? 657 00:33:23,060 –> 00:33:27,300 There is an accumulation of ever-fresh discoveries 658 00:33:27,300 –> 00:33:30,099 of the joys and the glories of God 659 00:33:30,099 –> 00:33:31,819 and of his new creation, 660 00:33:31,819 –> 00:33:33,459 Jesus Christ leading you 661 00:33:33,459 –> 00:33:37,020 into ever-unfolding new delights of his glory. 662 00:33:37,020 –> 00:33:39,000 And Edwards asked this question, 663 00:33:39,000 –> 00:33:41,020 think about what that will be like 664 00:33:41,020 –> 00:33:46,020 after a million million ages, cumulatively. 665 00:33:48,000 –> 00:33:49,000 Then I quote, 666 00:33:49,920 –> 00:33:52,420 their knowledge will increase to eternity 667 00:33:53,719 –> 00:33:56,400 and if their knowledge, then their holiness. 668 00:33:56,400 –> 00:33:59,160 For as they increase in the knowledge of God, 669 00:33:59,160 –> 00:34:02,000 they will see more of his beauty. 670 00:34:02,000 –> 00:34:03,739 And the more they see of his beauty, 671 00:34:03,739 –> 00:34:05,040 the more they will love him 672 00:34:05,040 –> 00:34:06,239 and the more they love God, 673 00:34:06,239 –> 00:34:08,500 the more delight and the more happiness 674 00:34:08,500 –> 00:34:10,000 they will have in him. 675 00:34:10,000 –> 00:34:11,320 You see what he is describing? 676 00:34:11,320 –> 00:34:15,300 He is describing exponentially increasing joy. 677 00:34:15,719 –> 00:34:19,879 What will that be after a million, million ages. 678 00:34:21,820 –> 00:34:26,000 In heaven, you will serve God as you always wished you could. 679 00:34:28,080 –> 00:34:32,080 In heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, your shepherd, 680 00:34:32,979 –> 00:34:36,219 will lead you into ever increasing joy. 681 00:34:37,399 –> 00:34:40,260 And in heaven lastly, all your wounds 682 00:34:40,260 –> 00:34:42,159 will finally be healed. 683 00:34:42,600 –> 00:34:44,040 Finally be healed. 684 00:34:45,959 –> 00:34:50,919 Verse 17, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 685 00:34:52,179 –> 00:34:54,219 Every tear. 686 00:34:54,219 –> 00:34:55,219 Notice that. 687 00:34:56,719 –> 00:34:58,860 There’s one word I underlined, 688 00:34:58,860 –> 00:35:00,540 you want to underline just about all the words 689 00:35:00,540 –> 00:35:02,979 in this passage, every tear. 690 00:35:03,820 –> 00:35:07,100 And literally what this says is every tear 691 00:35:07,100 –> 00:35:10,620 out of their eye as if not only were the tears 692 00:35:10,659 –> 00:35:12,120 in the ducts as well 693 00:35:12,120 –> 00:35:14,699 that the source that produces the tears 694 00:35:14,699 –> 00:35:17,040 is now being wiped out of their eyes. 695 00:35:17,040 –> 00:35:18,679 That’s why I say here in heaven, 696 00:35:18,679 –> 00:35:21,399 all your wounds will finally be healed. 697 00:35:21,399 –> 00:35:23,939 All that produces tears in this world 698 00:35:25,260 –> 00:35:26,620 as far as you’re concerned. 699 00:35:28,919 –> 00:35:31,100 The baggage that you carried 700 00:35:32,739 –> 00:35:35,560 and you sought to make progress by faith 701 00:35:35,560 –> 00:35:36,820 through your life in this world 702 00:35:36,820 –> 00:35:39,360 but in some sense there was baggage that you carried 703 00:35:39,979 –> 00:35:42,239 and you never quite completely shook it off, 704 00:35:42,239 –> 00:35:44,100 no baggage there. 705 00:35:44,100 –> 00:35:44,939 It’s gone. 706 00:35:46,919 –> 00:35:49,479 The temptations that you battled, 707 00:35:50,979 –> 00:35:53,739 you made progress, sometimes you had great failures 708 00:35:53,739 –> 00:35:55,919 that caused you such disappointment, 709 00:35:57,459 –> 00:35:58,540 no battles now. 710 00:36:00,340 –> 00:36:02,260 The pain that you suffered, 711 00:36:04,000 –> 00:36:06,040 the questions you faced. 712 00:36:07,739 –> 00:36:09,280 And John sees the glory of heaven 713 00:36:09,300 –> 00:36:12,639 and the presence of Jesus and the glory of the new creation 714 00:36:12,639 –> 00:36:15,919 but like a drumbeat alongside the description 715 00:36:15,919 –> 00:36:18,800 of that glory you have in the scriptures 716 00:36:18,800 –> 00:36:22,199 this almost relentless statement of what will not be there. 717 00:36:24,439 –> 00:36:29,439 No death, no mourning, no sins to confess, 718 00:36:30,580 –> 00:36:33,879 no temptations to overcome, no sickness to suffer, 719 00:36:33,879 –> 00:36:36,040 no depression to bring darkness, 720 00:36:36,040 –> 00:36:39,100 no pain to endure, no crosses to carry, 721 00:36:39,100 –> 00:36:41,580 no fears for you to face. 722 00:36:41,580 –> 00:36:43,260 All your questions answered, 723 00:36:43,260 –> 00:36:45,040 all your doubts resolved, 724 00:36:45,040 –> 00:36:46,939 these people have been crushed 725 00:36:47,820 –> 00:36:51,139 but look at them now, that’s the point. 726 00:36:51,139 –> 00:36:54,399 You look at them because if you have been 727 00:36:54,399 –> 00:36:56,459 washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ 728 00:36:56,459 –> 00:36:59,780 it will not be long until you are there too 729 00:36:59,780 –> 00:37:02,179 and that’s what gives you strength to endure 730 00:37:02,179 –> 00:37:04,719 when you’re stuck on an island prison 731 00:37:04,739 –> 00:37:07,659 or whatever it is that is the most crushing experience 732 00:37:07,659 –> 00:37:09,179 of your life today. 733 00:37:10,899 –> 00:37:15,899 God will wipe away all tears from your eyes also. 734 00:37:19,699 –> 00:37:21,280 Look at what lies ahead of you 735 00:37:23,300 –> 00:37:25,000 and it will help you to live today. 736 00:37:29,239 –> 00:37:30,739 Donald McLeod one more quote 737 00:37:30,739 –> 00:37:34,100 reminds us that Heaven is our Father’s house 738 00:37:35,159 –> 00:37:38,199 and he says this, I found it helpful. 739 00:37:39,340 –> 00:37:42,679 What a grief it must be to God 740 00:37:42,679 –> 00:37:45,760 that so few of his children want to go home. 741 00:37:48,419 –> 00:37:50,959 Here we are in enemy territory 742 00:37:50,959 –> 00:37:53,639 amid the sufferings of the present time 743 00:37:53,639 –> 00:37:56,699 beset by sin and seeing our Father’s name 744 00:37:56,699 –> 00:37:58,540 dishonored all around us 745 00:37:58,540 –> 00:38:01,000 and yet we want to stay. 746 00:38:03,379 –> 00:38:04,620 He recalls Paul’s longing 747 00:38:05,459 –> 00:38:06,520 to depart and to be with Christ, 748 00:38:06,520 –> 00:38:08,520 which you remember he says in Philippians 749 00:38:08,520 –> 00:38:10,159 is better by far. 750 00:38:11,679 –> 00:38:15,080 And then Paul says yet I got to be building 751 00:38:15,080 –> 00:38:16,120 and I’ve got to be ready 752 00:38:16,120 –> 00:38:18,040 as someone who’s been given responsibilities 753 00:38:18,040 –> 00:38:20,080 as all of us have been given responsibilities 754 00:38:20,080 –> 00:38:21,239 by God in this world. 755 00:38:21,239 –> 00:38:23,159 I’ve got to be ready to stay and continue 756 00:38:23,159 –> 00:38:25,679 and to serve the church until 757 00:38:25,679 –> 00:38:27,560 the day when he calls me home. 758 00:38:27,560 –> 00:38:30,280 And McLeod says this surely is 759 00:38:30,280 –> 00:38:32,120 the healthy Christian attitude 760 00:38:33,060 –> 00:38:35,899 willing to stay for the sake of the work 761 00:38:35,899 –> 00:38:37,080 still to be done, 762 00:38:37,979 –> 00:38:39,479 but longing to get home, 763 00:38:41,459 –> 00:38:44,379 willing to stay for the sake of the work 764 00:38:44,379 –> 00:38:46,320 that still needs to be done, 765 00:38:46,320 –> 00:38:48,379 the work that God still has for you to do, 766 00:38:49,500 –> 00:38:52,639 but in your heart of heart with a taste of heaven, 767 00:38:52,639 –> 00:38:54,820 longing to be home. 768 00:38:56,360 –> 00:39:00,840 Serving Christ will be your great delight in heaven, 769 00:39:01,399 –> 00:39:06,100 so find joy by serving him now. 770 00:39:07,899 –> 00:39:10,939 Following Christ will lead you into springs 771 00:39:10,939 –> 00:39:12,879 of living waters in heaven, 772 00:39:13,860 –> 00:39:18,860 so find life by following Christ now. 773 00:39:20,199 –> 00:39:24,580 Christ will be the one who wipes every tear from your eye, 774 00:39:25,659 –> 00:39:30,659 so find comfort by drawing near to Jesus Christ. 775 00:39:31,699 –> 00:39:32,639 Now. 776 00:39:34,340 –> 00:39:39,340 Father, please help us to absorb just something 777 00:39:41,340 –> 00:39:44,840 of the glory that lies ahead of the redeemed 778 00:39:46,399 –> 00:39:51,399 for the sake of Jesus, in whose name we pray. 779 00:39:51,560 –> 00:39:52,580 And everyone said. 780 00:39:53,439 –> 00:39:54,280 Amen.