Revelation chapter 21 1-7
Seafaring people -
About 150 years ago my forebears the Clarksons set out on a journey - they were seafarers and they set out to sail from England to a New World filled to the brim with promise - that world was New Zealand - What an incredible journey that must have been travelling from the Old world to the new.
But the truth is very few people enjoyed the journey it was fraught with dangers from the sea - deprivation - hunger sickness and even death - but these forebears of mine - set out to the new world despite the dangers -
Why did they do that? - Because what they left behind couldn’t hold a candle to the vision that they had of the new world.
Now whether the new world lived up to their expectation or not could well be considered an interesting point - but for many New Zealand would have been the paradise that they expected - for others I am sure it would have been a bitter disappointment hardly worth the suffering and deprivation experienced on the journey.
The Christian has a destination in mind.
The Christian lives in the Old world - for all the good moments we enjoy in this world - the special moments of love and sucking in the air of the awe inspirring beauty around us - for all of that the world - like a scorpion has a sting in it’s tail -
There are one hundred thousand examples of the terrible suffering that this world can produce in India right now as millions recover from what must surely be one of the worst earthquakes the world has ever seen and what surely makes Pompeii look like a Sunday school picnic by comparison.
The Old world is for many if not most of it’s inhabitants a place of suffering a place of war a place of disease.
it was into such a world that God sent His son two thousand years ago - His name was Jesus.
John chapter 3 and verse 16 says For God so loved the world -
Despite it’s frailties and terrors - Jesus told us God loves the world.
By that he does not mean he loves suffering - death and disorder but it does mean that he loves the world for it’s intrinsic self but not for it’s disgusting sin the result of which we see all around us.
Today I want to look at four words all starting with DE.
These words are - Demise - Death - Destination and Destiny
The first two are rather negative and the last two are rather positive. This morning I would like you to see these words as two children on either end of a see saw.
Without a view of the demise of the world and death balanced by our destination and our destiny you would end up with a very lopsided view of life - you would in fact end up in despair and depression.
Demise - In the introduction to this sermon I have already aluded to the demise of the world.
The world is inherantly a beautiful place.
Why is it so beautiful?
Because God made it - God created the world we are told in Genesis and he looked at what he made and said it is good.
The world is a rich and beautiful place.
It is amazing that today a day on which there are more people on planet earth that there has ever been before - there is enough food to feed every human being on earth - enough air for them to breath and enough water for them to bathe in -
But many eat little - breathe foul air and are without water -
Why because of what happened in Genesis chapter??? after God created the world.
A man called Adam and a Woman called Eve - rebelled against God encouraged by a fallen heavenly being appropriately called the devil or Satan. - the result of that fall was alienation between the created and the creator.
Sin came into the world and bought about it’s demise.
So although the world is reminiscent of God - he made it - it is also reminiscent of death it has fallen from the beautiful destiny that God had planned for it.
That had results and in Genesis chapter 2 we read -
The snake who is a type for the devil comes under a curse.
The woman comes under a curse - her pains in childbearing are increased
The man brings the earth under a curse - which means his labour is cursed -
but in addition to all that life itself comes to an incredible dead end in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 19 we read:-
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
Then in verse 22 we have spelt out for us even more serious consequences
And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. he must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." so the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cheribim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Here the demise of the world reaches it’s logical conclussion - death becomes a possibility. -
Death is a problem -
it interferes with every relationship we have and every plan we may have.
If Jesus is the way the truth and the life -
then no Jesus equals no way - no truth and death.
Because death is a reality for all people we know God has a plan through Jesus - that plan is to conquer death to bring people whose hearts are towards God to an eternal destination.
Just as many of our forbears longed to come to the New World and a better life in New Zealand so God provides in Jesus a far better destination.
Heaven according to the scriptures is an amazing place.
From Genesis to Revelation there are hundreds of revelations to heaven.
It’s character is consistently - Holy - beautiful pure - lovely and full of the love of God.
Why is that?
Because that is where God is.
The beginning of the Lord’s prayer says - our Father who art in heaven.
The character of heaven is revealed in many places in scripture.
Today I simply want to draw out something of the beauty of heaven and the incredible inheritance that we have - Strangley enough the best glimpse of the character of heaven that I have found is revealed in the new Jerusalem that will come down out of heaven from God.
this passage in Revelation chapter 21 is a prophecy of God’s heart transplant for planet earth - a new earth the first earth had passed away by now.
In this Holy City which reflects the character of heaven we read.
verses 2 - 7
This new world - not one that we can sail to like some of our ancestors but one that god takes us to is the inheritance of all those who will believe In Jesus - Jesus says - "whoever believes in me shall not perish but shall have everlasting life. "
Of course heaven is made by the same God who made earth - therefore there are some similarities but no sin.
A little Swedish girl was walking with her Father one night under the starry sky, intently meditating on the glories of heaven. At last, looking up to the sky, she said, "Father, I have been thinking that if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what will the right side be?"
This is the inheritance that God has for those who believe in Him.
Christians I believe we should grow in confidence in the inheritance that we have in Jesus.
Many people question their salvation.
they say I am not good enough to go to heaven.
But that is just stating the obvious - of course we are not good enough - We are savednot by what we have done wrong but what Jesus has done right for us.
The Prophet Isaiah writing 2,800 years ago said this - and nothing much has changed -
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
That is our condition without Jesus - but with him we read Romans chapter 8 and verse 2:-
Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
What a victory then we have in Jesus -
This victory meant a man like Paul who by his own confession was the worst of all sinners persecuting God’s people - could be changed into a follower of God. Or a thief who had probably done little good in His life dying on his cross at the very last moment - with the breath draining out of him turns to Jesus and acknowledges him and Jesus says - Today you will be with me in paradise.
The last breath the thief was in Christ.
What a rich inheritance we have in Jesus.
If Christ is your Lord and saviour then no sin can drag you into death.
A writer called Daniel moss speaks of the following blessings we can experience in heaven
Luke 11:2-2
Text: Luke 11:2
What is Heaven like? How can it be described?
I. First of all, HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF UNPARALLELED
II. Secondly, HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF ETERNAL, EVER-
III. Thirdly, HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF WONDERFUL COMPANIONS.
IV. Fourthly, HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF UNHYPOCRITICAL WORSHIP.
V. Fifthly, HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF UNEQUALED REST.
VI. Sixthly, HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF TOTAL COMFORT
AND PROVISION.
VII. Seventhly, and finally,
HEAVEN IS A PLACE WHERE GOD’S WILL IS DONE.
Remember the Model Prayer? "Thy will be done
on earth as it is in Heaven.
We will serve Him forever. We will worship
Him. We will know even as we are known.
Praise God!
We do however need to read verse 8 of Revelation chapter 21 which says But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually imorral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulpher. This is the second death.
Fromn Jeffrey Sturdivant Sermon Central
This little girl was born blind and the Doctors said there was nothing they could do. So as the little girl grew her mom planted a
flower garden and every year the little girl’s mom would describe
its beautiful colors to the little girl. She just loved the smell and feel
of the flowers she said she could imagine their beauty. When she
turned 14 their family doctor called told them about a surgery that
may help her to see… They went to the hospital the little girl had
the surgery then had to wait six weeks to remove the bandages as
this was experimental surgery. The big day finaly got here the little
girl told them to remove the bandages outside in her Moms flower
garden she wanted that to be the first thing she would see so they
pulled off the bandages the little girl opened her eyes twisted her
head left then right started crying and said to her mom you never
said it was this beautiful mom.. So as you will say Preacher you
never told us Heaven was this beautiful..
So far we have talked about two of our "de’s" We have mentioned the demise of the earth called through sin and the destination of christians which is heaven.
Let’s think for a moment about our destiny - your Destiny if you are a believer in Jesus Christ is that you are a daughter or son of God and will ultimately end up in heaven - All that we have said about heaven comes into play here.
So where we are standing now we face a future of incredible hope - if we have our eye on our destination and our God we have great cause for hope.
That raises the other two "De’s" that I mentioned Death and destiny.
Let’s think for a moment - How should the Christian view death and how should it affect their life and their destiny?
In ! corinthians chapter 15 and verse 55 we read:-
Where O death is your victory?
Where o death is your sting
Paul when he quoted these words from the Prophet Hosea went on to say:-
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law
But thanks be to God!
he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are in Christ you simply can’t lose.
We may go through all kinds of trials and temptations in this life but God holds out to us a glorious hope.
If you get a real picture of that hope - if you truly understand what god has in store for you you can endure anything.
The truth is you will not have to endure everything but for the cause of Christ you will be asked to endure something.
Death then happens at two levels - neither of which are to be considered a loss but rather a gain because Jesus defeated death once and for all on the cross.
The first level is in this world -
Paul says 1 corinthians verse 31 - And as for us why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day - I mean that brothers - just as surely as I glory over you in christ Jesus.
As a Christian you will often find yourself following plan two -
Selfishness would have you go one way but selflessness would have you live for others -
When we give ourselves over for the good of another so that they can in some way experience the love and the peace of Christ then in some way you die to yourself - but you will grow the vision of heaven that you have in others -
In John 12 - 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernal of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds.
There are many wanting to take others with them to heaven but if their vanity and short term needs - fill their diaries then they will never give to others.
They may go to heaven but they will come with a very small crop to their maker.
But maintain a vision of heaven - get a sturdy grasp of what heaven is really about and you will trip over yourself to produce fruit for the kingdom of God and be willing to die to yourself in the process.
I think of a friend of mine - He was an executive in a Large company until his 2 year old son drowned - then through the grief he came to know God’s love. for the last twenty years he has shown that love to disadvantaged young people by working for Youth for christ.
I worked with him for ten months and his love for the young people was very very real. He simply died to himself in the process.
The other level at which you will be able to face death is your physical death.
Death where is your sting? asks the scripture -
Death has no sting to the Christian who has a vision of heaven - it is passing from this world into the hands of a loving creator - it is a short step from here to there.
In my role as a minister I spend many hours with people who are facing death.
I was with a friend last night in the Invercargill hospice and he attested to his love for God and his hope in Jesus.
Lying there with liver cancer - heaven was a reality for him.
When a Butterfly flys away from the cocoon Nobody worries about the shell that is left behind -
they rather marvel at the beautiful creature that has emerged.
1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 9 says - No eye has seen
no ear has heard
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for
those who love him
but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
When we get an image of what God has prepared for us then even death - is nothing more than a gateway a doorway into heaven.
All of this starts with the cross of Jesus Christ -
Listen again to the words of John 3 verse 16.
1 John 3 verse 16
For God so loved etc.
As you believe in Jesus you may be assured
of your destination - heaven
You can be asurred of your destiny in Him
You can observe the demise of the World with saddness but not with panic because you know God’s plan and destiny for you life.
Death for you whether dying to self or dying physically is no longer the challenge it once was as God holds out for you an incredible hope - a hope that will not dissapoint as you turn your eyes from this world onto the face of Jesus
