Location, location, location. If you’ve ever had to search for a new home, you have probably heard the real estate agent use those words. It’s all about location, location, location. The internet is flooded with lists to help us decide the best places to live, the most affordable places to live, the best places to live for clean air and water, and the best places to raise kids.
And people have a number of reasons for choosing where they live. Some have said in reality, they didn’t choose where to live, the place chose them. For instance, many live where they do because it’s close to family or it’s where their jobs are. Many here in Texas who work for the oil industry can definitely relate to that.
Regardless of the circumstances of where we live, we all have our ideas of what makes a place ideal. But here’s the real story. No matter how idyllic, no place is perfect. No matter where you live, problems still arise. And you can’t escape sin in any neighborhood.
Now, that won’t always be the case but God has promised His children a perfect home with Him that will last for eternity. And we are fortunate enough to have the writings of the Apostle John which was dictated to him by Jesus Christ Himself. In his writings, John gives us a brief glimpse into the eternal life that awaits those who follow Christ. These particular writings that show us a little bit of heaven are found in the Bible in a book we call the Book of Revelation. We’ll be using portions of chapters 21 & 22 this morning.
PRAYER
Do we even realize how great we have it when it comes to what God provides us? God has promised all who have accepted His Son Jesus Christ an eternal home that is magnificently far better than any of the finest neighborhoods here on earth in the most elite zip codes. We can’t even compare what we know and see here to what God had prepared for us.
And the greatest feature of our home in heaven is that we will be in the presence of Almighty God. Revelation 21 paints this beautiful picture of God’s perfect home. And, get this, that perfection is made real by the fact that God Himself will live with us in that place for ETERNITY. Can you believe it? The God who spoke the universe into existence has promised to spend eternity with you and me.
Revelation 21 begins with a wonderful picture. It offers us a glimpse into what eternity spent with God will look like—when we’re in His presence forever.
Let’s read Rev. 21: 1-5 (from the ChristianStandardBible) If you want to get a vivid mental picture of what John was seeing, close your eyes while I read this. – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”
Let’s look at this in general before we get specific.
The new heaven and earth will not merely be “new” as in a time sense. It will be new in quality. This new heaven and earth will be far superior to the earth we know now: this new heaven and earth will transcend anything we’re ever experienced.
John refers to the new Jerusalem as “the holy city. (v.2). It is holy because everyone and everything inside it is holy and righteous. This is the city of God’s redeemed people, and living in a city means we will live together—and together we will be in perfect harmony. That means we will ALL finally get along with each other. Isn’t that great?
No longer will we have to juggle with the tension of pleasing God or pleasing people because sin and death have been defeated. We’ll be forever surrounded by God’s holiness. WE WILL BE WITH GOD!
Now, let’s get some specifics:
- No DEATH – Our new home in heaven will be a place of total victory. In Rev. 20, John had just written about death being thrown in the lake of fire. So, in that, as Paul declared, “death has been swallowed up in victory.”
- No GRIEF – There will be no sin, no regret, or loss that will remain to cause us to grieve or mourn. That means no more sadness.
- No CRYING - Crying is an outward expression of grief. Well, guess what? Grief doesn’t exist in heaven so we’ll have no reason to cry.
- No PAIN – Pain in this world didn’t exist in the beginning. Then the fall of man came, man committed the first sin in Gen. 3. And since it was sin that led to the fall of man producing that pain, and since there will be no sin in heaven, all of the pain will be gone as well.
None of these things will be in heaven because v. 4 says, “because the previous things have passed away.” Can I get an amen? Now if all of this by itself doesn’t make you want to accept Christ and live a Christian life, I don’t know what will.
This encourages me to keep as close to God as I can because heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace, I’m gonna see my Savior’s place ‘cause heaven is a wonderful place. (sing this) I wanna go there!
Rev. 21:6-7 – “Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.”
When Jesus hung on the cross, He cried, “It is finished.” Now He declared to John, “It is done!” All is complete in God’s new creation. On the cross, Jesus redeemed us, and now in Rev. 21, He marked the end of redemptive history. He can do this because He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. That means He began history, and He will bring it to an end. Jesus is God. He existed in the very beginning and He still exists beyond the end.
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Everything we’ve read so far describes a pretty amazing place, right? And yet, our culture has conditioned us when we are made an amazing offer like this to say, “What’s the catch?” Welllllll……..I have to be honest with you, there IS a catch. This amazing gift of eternal life isn’t automatic. Jesus’ offer is open to all, but the only ones who can enter this new heaven and new earth are those who follow Him. And here’s how it works:
? Jesus says in v. 6 – “I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life.” We have to admit that we’re thirsty and that we believe that Jesus is the only one who can quench that thirst. And believe me, there is nothing in this world that can quench that thirst. When we come to Jesus to receive this water that He gives, which is eternal life, THAT’S when our thirst is quenched.
? In v. 7, Jesus says, “The one who conquers will inherit these things.” When we stand strong and faithful to Christ, we overcome and are victorious through Him, we are conquerors. We can’t do any of this under our own power, only when we rely on Jesus.
You see, when we come to Christ, we are adopted into God’s family. We will fully experience all the benefits of that family relationship which includes our eternal home in heaven with God. In v. 7 He says, “I will be his God and he will be My son.” Now you must know that only those who have come to Christ for salvation will be with Him eternally.
Rev. 21:8 – “But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Right here the Lord makes it clear that not everyone will enjoy the benefits and glories of the new heaven and new earth. So, v. 8 gives us a list of sins that will keep people out of heaven. If we are honest, most of us are probably guilty of most of these sins on this list, but this verse is referring to those who have chosen to remain in their sin rather than choose Christ.
This eternal home in heaven is only going to be available to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Remember, Jesus said He was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one can get there unless they go through Him. The “fine print” in the deed to your heavenly home is that Jesus is the only way to receive salvation.
Now once we get to heaven, God’s power and abundance will be evident.
Rev. 22: 1-3 – “Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, 3 and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.”
John uses 5 images in this passage to describe what he saw in this vision of heaven that God gave him:
o “The river of the water of life” (v.1) – This river flows from the throne of God which reinforces the truth that God is the Source of eternal life.
o The tree of life (v.2) – Do you remember this tree from the book of Genesis? Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden by disobeying God and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So God and Jesus said now man has become like us in knowing what is good and evil. So God placed an angelic guard to guard the tree of life so man could not eat from that tree and live forever. Through Christ’s death on the cross, He removed the curse, and we will one day be able to eat from that same tree of life.
o The tree’s fruit and leaves (v.2) – What we see here is the unending provision and blessing when we live in the presence of God. The leaves symbolize the full and healthy lives that everyone will enjoy in God’s presence. Christ has removed the consequences of our sin forever, and sickness and death are gone.
o The throne of God (v.3) – God will rule and reign from His throne in this city.
Rev. 22:4-5 - “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
Today, we’ve been given a picture of our eternal home, but what will we be doing? Our culture would have us believe that when we get to heaven, we will all be laying around on puffy soft clouds and playing harps and eating whatever we want without getting fat, but nowhere does Scripture teach that. Instead, we are told that we will be doing three things in heaven:
? We will worship God. In eternity, our worship and our service will be perfect because we will be unhindered by sin.
? We will serve God. We are called “his servants” in Rev. 1:1. But, hear this: our service will NOT be burdensome. God gave Adam work to do before he and Eve sinned, but only after the curse would work become toilsome. We’re not told what our service will entail, but keep in mind that as we serve, there is a third thing we will be doing.
? We will reign with God. God is the sovereign and supreme Ruler over all creation, yet He will grant us the privilege to reign with Him forever.
God is a bountiful God and He will not hold back from His children. John’s vision that he was given in the book of Revelation points to the magnificence of eternal life. Now, here in our world, we have always been told, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” But that doesn’t apply here.
Everything that we have been told about the beauty of heaven and the tremendous benefits of being there is just as John tell us. V.6 – “These words are faithful and true.”
I can’t wait until we, too, experience all things made new, can you?
So, I close with this:
There was once a warehouse property in London that was up for sale. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash all over the place.
As the real estate agent showed a prospective buyer the property, he took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.
The buyer said, "Forget about the repairs. When I buy this place, I'm going to build something completely different. I don't want the building; I want the site."
That's God's message to us! Compared with the renovation God has in mind, this old world can’t compare to God’s new place He has in store for us. So, the question for you is, “Isn’t this a place where you would love to end up when your time here on earth is through? Wouldn’t you be at peace right now if you knew for certain that when you close your eyes here on earth for the last time, that you will open them to see your eternal home which beauty words can’t describe, and being forever in the presence of Almighty God? Wouldn’t that put your heart at ease right now knowing that?
Well, in the same way this business owner was going to wipe the property clean and rebuild with all new buildings, in the same way that God is going to wipe out the heavens and the earth as we know them today and replace them with a new heavens and a new earth, God will do the same for you.
We can’t do enough to clean ourselves up enough to even compare to what God has in store for us. Our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse that is slated for the wrecking ball.
But when we become God's, the old life is over. He makes all things new. And God doesn’t need us to try to clean ourselves up to be presentable to Him.
All He wants is the site and the permission to build. There are still some trying to "reform," but God offers "redemption."
All we have to do is give Him the "property" and He will do the necessary "building."
Will you allow God to do that? You can start right now. You start by admitting that you are a sinner and that you need Jesus’ help to be renewed. Place your faith in Jesus and all that He has done for you on the cross. And then surrender your life to Him. Promise God that you will allow Him to lead you forward from this day on.
Do this, and you are assured of eternal life with God in the beautiful place we call heaven.
