And They Lived Happily Ever After

“AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

REV. 21:1-7 21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

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And they all lived happily ever after.” We all like stories with a happy ending. We read them to our children and grandchildren. But, as grown-ups, we know that such stories are not true. Living happily ever after only happens in the realm of make believe.

Let' s look at verse 4 again.....No more deaths

No more sorrow

No more crying

No more pain

Just imagine heaven.... No need to lock your doors,,,,,,

no more doctors,,,,, no more lawyers,,,,, no more police officers,,,,,n

No need for any of these..

Heaven, is not a fairy tale

It is real..... It is not like the CInderella story,,,,, It is not like the Hansel, and Gretel story we heard as kids.

. Someday those who have put their faith , and believed in Jesus Christ as Savior, are going Home. C.S. Lewis said, “If nothing in this world satisfies me, perhaps it is because I was made for another world.”

It is not about who have been good, and who have been bad, It is about where have we placed our hope, and trust. If we have accepted Jesus Christ, to be our risen Lord and Savior, and humbled ourselves, and repented , then the blood of Christ has removed our sins.. The apostle Paul said “we preach Christ and not ourselves” (2 Cor. 4:5).

The book of Revelation gives us a glance at what heaven will be like, and we can know , without a shadow of doubt, that this will be our destination, if we are born again Christians.

My hope is that this sermon will encourage you.

Things of this life are temporary

This earth is not our home. We are as Pilgrims as we live on this earth.

I love the old, old gospel song I used to hear when I was a child growing up

The song went like this,,,,I am a pilgrim and a stranger

Traveling through this wearisome land

I've got a home in that yonder city, good lord

And it's not, not made by hand

I've got a mother, sister and a brother

Who have gone this way before

I am determined to go and see them, good lord

For they're on that other shore

I'm goin' down to the river of Jordan

Just to bathe my wearisome soul

If I can just touch the hem of his garment, good lord

Then I know he'd take me home

I am a pilgrim and a stranger

Traveling through this wearisome land

I've got a home in that yonder city, good lord

And it's not, not made by hand

Romans 8:18 Paul says,,,,,,

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

If you are not from the South, you may not have heard the term RECKON. It is a word we use a lot. Someone may ask you,, Are you going to church Sunday, and you would probably say,, I reckon I will, if the Lord wills.

I had heard a joke once, saying that Paul must have been from the South,

Paul was saying, that no matter what we go through here on earth, the pain, and sorrow, and troubles, they are not worth even mentioning, when comparing them to the glory that God will reveal to us. This stuff down here , is just temporary

Some day, we will be able to say,,,And they lived happily ever after….