Revelation 21:9-22:21 August 16, 2009
Summer Sermon Series on
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Part 11
“Finally Home!”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
Have you ever gone back to a place you used to live, just to walk around and to remember days gone by? Not too long after John’s father died, John and I and his whole family had the opportunity to go into the house they had lived in for 35 years. The children and the grandchildren went from room to room remembering things, laughing, crying, shouting, “hey, look at this.” Only one of the grandchildren had been born too late to know the house, and I could tell that she felt left out. I don’t know what we thought we might gain in going back, but as we walked away from our visit, one thing we knew: that house was no longer ‘home.’ As filled with a family’s ups and downs as that house was, 1000’s of family meals prepared, babies brought from the hospital to those rooms, even so, the sense of home was gone.
Whether we own or rent our homes, many of us spend time trying to make our space “homey.” When I come to visit, I notice that every one of you has a unique way of creating your sense of ‘home.’ Some people like their home to have that “lived in” look - they don’t like everything to be ‘just so,’ because then it seems more like a showroom than a home. Others want their homes to be ‘just so,’ because that’s what ‘home’ is for you. When I visit Gladys Piper, she always says that her house is a mess, and I can’t see one thing that matches the definition of ‘mess’ that I have in my brain.
We’re all looking for, or trying to create a place called home – a safe place, a place to rest, a place that feels comforting and comfortable.
I believe that Heaven is that place. I believe Heaven is our only true home. In fact, I believe that Heaven is the place we’re trying to create here on earth – spending our time and money in our search of it. God has placed eternity in our hearts, and it constantly stirs within us – critically examining our temporary dwelling places. We must be aware of this, for it impacts how we spend the resources of money and time that God has given to each of us.
Let us pray: O God, you have placed eternity in our hearts, and for those who come to faith in you, you have also placed the Holy Spirit within us to draw us closer to you. Speak now your eternal words that do not change, that we may be changed into your likeness – filled with your purpose – and overcome by your grace. This we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
The following story first was shared in the late 1990’s. It is a true story and was originally titled, “Heaven Scent.”
A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. Still groggy from surgery, her husband David held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency cesarean to deliver the couple's new daughter, Danae Lu Blessing. At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound and nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could. "There's only a 10 percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one."
Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Danae would likely face if she survived. She would never walk. She would never talk. She would probably be blind. She would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation. And on and on. "No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter and become a family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away. Through the dark hours of morning, as Danae held onto life by the thinnest thread, Diana slipped in and out of drugged sleep, growing more and more determined that their tiny daughter would live- and live to be a healthy, happy young girl. But David, fully awake and listening to additional dire details of their daughter's chances of ever leaving the hospital alive, much less healthy, knew he must confront his wife with the inevitable.
"David walked in and said that we needed to talk about making funeral arrangements," Diana remembers. "I felt so bad for him because he was doing everything, trying to include me in what was going on, but I just wouldn't listen. I couldn't listen. I said, "No, that is not going to happen, no way! I don't care what the doctors say. Danae is not going to die! One day she will be just fine, and she will be coming home with us!"
As if willed to live by Diana's determination, Danae clung to life hour after hour, with the help of every medical machine and marvel her miniature body could endure. But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Danae's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially "raw," the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort- so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could do, as Danae struggled alone beneath the ultra-violet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.
There was never a moment when Danae suddenly grew stronger. But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there. At last, when Danae turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later - though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero - Danae went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.
Today, five years later, Danae is a petite but feisty young girl
with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She shows no signs, whatsoever, of any mental or physical impairments. Simply, she is everything a little girl can be and more- but that happy ending is far from the end of her story.
One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Danae was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing. As always, Danae was chattering non-stop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, Danae asked, "Do you smell that?" Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain." Danae closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain." Still caught in the moment, Danae shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."
Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Danae then happily hopped down to play with the other children before the rains came. Her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Danae on His chest--and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
There’s another little story that goes with this one about a little girl who had a new baby brother. She kept telling her parents she wanted to be alone with the new baby. They finally relented, but watched through a crack in the door to see what she was up to. The little girl went over to the crib and looked through the rails at her tiny brother. “Baby,” she said, “Tell me what God feels like. I’m starting to forget.”
We read in Ephesians 1:3,4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of he world to be holy and blameless before him in love.”
Before the foundation of the world, he chose us. He has set eternity in our hearts. Is it possible that we yearn for that home place because we already know it, in some mysterious way? Is it possible that many people who seem to be running from God are consciously or subconsciously rebelling against God’s authority – just like a child runs away from home in rebellion against his/her parents?
In Revelation we have been confronted with the eternal consequences of humanity’s rebellion against God, haven’t we? We have also heard of God’s incredible mercy, of his Divine restraint as he patiently waits until the appointed time to finally set things right for all who endure the battle.
Let’s listen now to the final words of this beautiful, but difficult letter written to the 7 churches in Asia – and written to us, the Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church in Spring Run, Pennsylvania:
Revelation 21:9 – 22:21
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.
I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” “See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
“It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
My reading and your listening of the words of the prophecy of this book this summer has been a roller coaster ride. At least that’s my perception. I think some wanted to get up in the middle of the reading sometimes and walk out, or put our hands over our ears. Many of the visions and words are hard, harsh, and quite disturbing. The apostle John wrote words that reveal to us the difference between being an eternal prisoner of war, tortured, starved, mocked, and isolated, and being safe at home. Was it necessary that we be confronted with the Revelation in the summer of 2009?
Earl Palmer, in his commentary on Revelation writes this, “Solzhenitsyn has captured the theological force of Revelation in his novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Alyoska, the young Christian, is in the bunkhouse with the rest of the prisoners; he has the same 10 year sentence as the rest; he works on the same work crew, but he “reads his Gospels facing the light bulb.” The fact is that Alyoska has found meaning for life in the midst of the same 24 hour cycle as the other men in that work camp. Bad as it is, harsh as it is, lonely as it is, Alyoska is a person who is modeling the hope that comes from God. The Christians are not encouraged to flail the wind in panic because of the decadence of the culture. They are rather to face up to the sinfulness; they are encouraged to try to understand its many causes and then to develop a strategy for the gospel in the very middle of it all.”
If we have been encouraged by the assurance of our salvation by the shed blood of Jesus Christ to the point that we have been convicted anew of the primary importance of going after the runaways, then all the hard words have been worth it. If we have been challenged to keep reading the Gospel facing the light bulb so that we are charged to carry the light into the darkness, thanks be to God! For we cannot just keep coming here on Sunday mornings, sitting, standing, singing, praying and then say that we love Jesus if we are not actively engaging our friends, neighbors, and family members in conversations about their eternal destination – Heaven or Hell. 1 John 4:20 tells us, “for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” It is love that compelled Jesus to seek the lost. It is his love within us that should compel us to do the same.
Folks, we must not build our lives around our comfort and our achievements. Life must not be all about how much money we have in the bank. It must not be all about what a great time we have at family reunions, or all about tracing our genealogies. Life must not be all about how fit we are, the grades we get in school, the number of points we put on the board, the number of kids we sent to camp, the projects we’ve been able to complete, or the number of prayer shawls we gave out last month. We must not measure our individual lives and our church’s life in things, because the very thing we would use as a measuring rod is as temporary as the things we try to measure.
“Where your treasure is,
your heart shall be also,” Jesus said.
The New Living Translation puts it this way:
“Where you put your treasure, there your heart and your thoughts will also be.”
Two years ago I preached a sermon series on Heaven. The 4th sermon in that series spends quite a bit of time on the beauty of our true home – the new Jerusalem. I made some copies of that message if you want to pick it up to take with you today. I didn’t want to repeat that teaching. What overwhelmed me this week as I prepared to conclude the series, is the message of the whole book of the Revelation. Weeks ago, when I thought about concluding the series, I thought we would end with great celebration. But when you consider the overall message, celebration just doesn’t seem right.
Jesus used the word, “come” over 150 times in the New Testament. Throughout the Gospels, we hear it:
I have come…
The hour has come…
The time has come…
Let the thirsty, come…
Let those who are weary, come…
I will come again…
In the first chapter of Revelation we read, “Look! He is coming soon.” The letters to the 7 churches each hold an encouragement, a warning, and an invitation to return to the first love – to come back to the heart of worship – to call us once again to invite Jesus to come in and eat with us and us with him.
Throughout the woes and the battles and the tribulations and the plagues, we are called to endure, and those who have yet to acknowledge Jesus as Lord are continually invited to come, to repent, to be saved. In these last chapters, and even in the last several verses, Jesus calls people to come. We have a choice whether to come or not, and we have a choice whether to make the invitation to others, or not. The Spirit and the bride (meaning the Church) say, “Come.” It is an open arm invitation. And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty, come.
Our destination as those who believe and follow Jesus is sure. Our heavenly home is ready for us, whenever we are called away. As we come to the table today, let’s make a renewed commitment to hold the things of this world loosely, with an open palm. Let’s recommit ourselves to ministering to the lost, the confused, the sick, the broken, the lonely, the hungry, and the thirsty. Let’s commit to do our part to get as many people from our valleys into Heaven as we possibly can, so that with confident & grateful hearts we can joyfully say, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
Summer Sermon Series on
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Part 11
“Finally Home!”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
Have you ever gone back to a place you used to live, just to walk around and to remember days gone by? Not too long after John’s father died, John and I and his whole family had the opportunity to go into the house they had lived in for 35 years. The children and the grandchildren went from room to room remembering things, laughing, crying, shouting, “hey, look at this.” Only one of the grandchildren had been born too late to know the house, and I could tell that she felt left out. I don’t know what we thought we might gain in going back, but as we walked away from our visit, one thing we knew: that house was no longer ‘home.’ As filled with a family’s ups and downs as that house was, 1000’s of family meals prepared, babies brought from the hospital to those rooms, even so, the sense of home was gone.
Whether we own or rent our homes, many of us spend time trying to make our space “homey.” When I come to visit, I notice that every one of you has a unique way of creating your sense of ‘home.’ Some people like their home to have that “lived in” look - they don’t like everything to be ‘just so,’ because then it seems more like a showroom than a home. Others want their homes to be ‘just so,’ because that’s what ‘home’ is for you. When I visit Gladys Piper, she always says that her house is a mess, and I can’t see one thing that matches the definition of ‘mess’ that I have in my brain.
We’re all looking for, or trying to create a place called home – a safe place, a place to rest, a place that feels comforting and comfortable.
I believe that Heaven is that place. I believe Heaven is our only true home. In fact, I believe that Heaven is the place we’re trying to create here on earth – spending our time and money in our search of it. God has placed eternity in our hearts, and it constantly stirs within us – critically examining our temporary dwelling places. We must be aware of this, for it impacts how we spend the resources of money and time that God has given to each of us.
Let us pray: O God, you have placed eternity in our hearts, and for those who come to faith in you, you have also placed the Holy Spirit within us to draw us closer to you. Speak now your eternal words that do not change, that we may be changed into your likeness – filled with your purpose – and overcome by your grace. This we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
The following story first was shared in the late 1990’s. It is a true story and was originally titled, “Heaven Scent.”
A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. Still groggy from surgery, her husband David held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency cesarean to deliver the couple's new daughter, Danae Lu Blessing. At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound and nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could. "There's only a 10 percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one."
Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Danae would likely face if she survived. She would never walk. She would never talk. She would probably be blind. She would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation. And on and on. "No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter and become a family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away. Through the dark hours of morning, as Danae held onto life by the thinnest thread, Diana slipped in and out of drugged sleep, growing more and more determined that their tiny daughter would live- and live to be a healthy, happy young girl. But David, fully awake and listening to additional dire details of their daughter's chances of ever leaving the hospital alive, much less healthy, knew he must confront his wife with the inevitable.
"David walked in and said that we needed to talk about making funeral arrangements," Diana remembers. "I felt so bad for him because he was doing everything, trying to include me in what was going on, but I just wouldn't listen. I couldn't listen. I said, "No, that is not going to happen, no way! I don't care what the doctors say. Danae is not going to die! One day she will be just fine, and she will be coming home with us!"
As if willed to live by Diana's determination, Danae clung to life hour after hour, with the help of every medical machine and marvel her miniature body could endure. But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Danae's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially "raw," the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort- so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could do, as Danae struggled alone beneath the ultra-violet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.
There was never a moment when Danae suddenly grew stronger. But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there. At last, when Danae turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later - though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero - Danae went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.
Today, five years later, Danae is a petite but feisty young girl
with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She shows no signs, whatsoever, of any mental or physical impairments. Simply, she is everything a little girl can be and more- but that happy ending is far from the end of her story.
One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Danae was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing. As always, Danae was chattering non-stop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, Danae asked, "Do you smell that?" Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain." Danae closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain." Still caught in the moment, Danae shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."
Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Danae then happily hopped down to play with the other children before the rains came. Her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Danae on His chest--and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
There’s another little story that goes with this one about a little girl who had a new baby brother. She kept telling her parents she wanted to be alone with the new baby. They finally relented, but watched through a crack in the door to see what she was up to. The little girl went over to the crib and looked through the rails at her tiny brother. “Baby,” she said, “Tell me what God feels like. I’m starting to forget.”
We read in Ephesians 1:3,4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of he world to be holy and blameless before him in love.”
Before the foundation of the world, he chose us. He has set eternity in our hearts. Is it possible that we yearn for that home place because we already know it, in some mysterious way? Is it possible that many people who seem to be running from God are consciously or subconsciously rebelling against God’s authority – just like a child runs away from home in rebellion against his/her parents?
In Revelation we have been confronted with the eternal consequences of humanity’s rebellion against God, haven’t we? We have also heard of God’s incredible mercy, of his Divine restraint as he patiently waits until the appointed time to finally set things right for all who endure the battle.
Let’s listen now to the final words of this beautiful, but difficult letter written to the 7 churches in Asia – and written to us, the Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church in Spring Run, Pennsylvania:
Revelation 21:9 – 22:21
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.
I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” “See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
“It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
My reading and your listening of the words of the prophecy of this book this summer has been a roller coaster ride. At least that’s my perception. I think some wanted to get up in the middle of the reading sometimes and walk out, or put our hands over our ears. Many of the visions and words are hard, harsh, and quite disturbing. The apostle John wrote words that reveal to us the difference between being an eternal prisoner of war, tortured, starved, mocked, and isolated, and being safe at home. Was it necessary that we be confronted with the Revelation in the summer of 2009?
Earl Palmer, in his commentary on Revelation writes this, “Solzhenitsyn has captured the theological force of Revelation in his novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Alyoska, the young Christian, is in the bunkhouse with the rest of the prisoners; he has the same 10 year sentence as the rest; he works on the same work crew, but he “reads his Gospels facing the light bulb.” The fact is that Alyoska has found meaning for life in the midst of the same 24 hour cycle as the other men in that work camp. Bad as it is, harsh as it is, lonely as it is, Alyoska is a person who is modeling the hope that comes from God. The Christians are not encouraged to flail the wind in panic because of the decadence of the culture. They are rather to face up to the sinfulness; they are encouraged to try to understand its many causes and then to develop a strategy for the gospel in the very middle of it all.”
If we have been encouraged by the assurance of our salvation by the shed blood of Jesus Christ to the point that we have been convicted anew of the primary importance of going after the runaways, then all the hard words have been worth it. If we have been challenged to keep reading the Gospel facing the light bulb so that we are charged to carry the light into the darkness, thanks be to God! For we cannot just keep coming here on Sunday mornings, sitting, standing, singing, praying and then say that we love Jesus if we are not actively engaging our friends, neighbors, and family members in conversations about their eternal destination – Heaven or Hell. 1 John 4:20 tells us, “for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” It is love that compelled Jesus to seek the lost. It is his love within us that should compel us to do the same.
Folks, we must not build our lives around our comfort and our achievements. Life must not be all about how much money we have in the bank. It must not be all about what a great time we have at family reunions, or all about tracing our genealogies. Life must not be all about how fit we are, the grades we get in school, the number of points we put on the board, the number of kids we sent to camp, the projects we’ve been able to complete, or the number of prayer shawls we gave out last month. We must not measure our individual lives and our church’s life in things, because the very thing we would use as a measuring rod is as temporary as the things we try to measure.
“Where your treasure is,
your heart shall be also,” Jesus said.
The New Living Translation puts it this way:
“Where you put your treasure, there your heart and your thoughts will also be.”
Two years ago I preached a sermon series on Heaven. The 4th sermon in that series spends quite a bit of time on the beauty of our true home – the new Jerusalem. I made some copies of that message if you want to pick it up to take with you today. I didn’t want to repeat that teaching. What overwhelmed me this week as I prepared to conclude the series, is the message of the whole book of the Revelation. Weeks ago, when I thought about concluding the series, I thought we would end with great celebration. But when you consider the overall message, celebration just doesn’t seem right.
Jesus used the word, “come” over 150 times in the New Testament. Throughout the Gospels, we hear it:
I have come…
The hour has come…
The time has come…
Let the thirsty, come…
Let those who are weary, come…
I will come again…
In the first chapter of Revelation we read, “Look! He is coming soon.” The letters to the 7 churches each hold an encouragement, a warning, and an invitation to return to the first love – to come back to the heart of worship – to call us once again to invite Jesus to come in and eat with us and us with him.
Throughout the woes and the battles and the tribulations and the plagues, we are called to endure, and those who have yet to acknowledge Jesus as Lord are continually invited to come, to repent, to be saved. In these last chapters, and even in the last several verses, Jesus calls people to come. We have a choice whether to come or not, and we have a choice whether to make the invitation to others, or not. The Spirit and the bride (meaning the Church) say, “Come.” It is an open arm invitation. And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty, come.
Our destination as those who believe and follow Jesus is sure. Our heavenly home is ready for us, whenever we are called away. As we come to the table today, let’s make a renewed commitment to hold the things of this world loosely, with an open palm. Let’s recommit ourselves to ministering to the lost, the confused, the sick, the broken, the lonely, the hungry, and the thirsty. Let’s commit to do our part to get as many people from our valleys into Heaven as we possibly can, so that with confident & grateful hearts we can joyfully say, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
