WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN
LIFE ON THE NEW EARTH #3
Revelation 22:1-21 (pg
879) says:
1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of
life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side
of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding
its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations. 3No longer will there be any curse. The throne
of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their
foreheads. 5There will be no more night. They will not
need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give
them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. 6The
angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God
of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things
that must soon take place."
7"Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who
keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."
8I, John, am
the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I
fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant
with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of
this book. Worship God!"
10Then he
told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because
the time is near. 11Let him who does wrong continue to
do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right
continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."
12"Behold,
I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according
to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14"Blessed
are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of
life and may go through the gates into the city. 15Outside
are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the
murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16"I,
Jesus, have sent my angel to give you[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the
Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."
17The Spirit
and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say,
"Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him
take the free gift of the water of life.
18I warn
everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds
anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy,
God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city,
which are described in this book.
20He who
testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21The grace
of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.
·
If we don’t
base our perspective of Heaven on a clear understanding of our coming bodily
resurrection and the truth about the physical nature of the New Earth, our
concept of being with God will be more like that of Eastern mysticism than of
biblical Christianity.
·
The truth is,
we will experience life in a new body on the new physical earth.
·
While we will
experience adventures on the new earth, the most precious experience will not
be receiving our heavenly home, rewards or anything else it will be…SEEING GOD
FACE TO FACE AND FELLOWSHIPIING WITH HIM!
IN SHORT, HEAVEN IS ABOUT
SEEING GOD FACE TO FACE!
1) ON THE NEW EARTH…WE WILL SEE GOD _________________(FACE)
TO ______________(FACE).
·
Our longing
for __________________(Heaven) is really a longing for _____________(God).
Kid David wrote in Psalm
63:1:
1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
·
David was
preoccupied with God’s person.
·
David longed
to be where God was and to gaze on his beauty.
Matthew 5:8 says:
8Blessed
are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
·
God’s
greatest gift to us is _________________(himself) and
He resides in __________________(Heaven) – you cannot separate the two.
David also wrote Psalm
27:4 which says:
4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
·
To see God’s
face is the loftiest of all aspirations, but sadly it does not even make it in
the whish list of most Christian’s.
·
The
__________________(promise) that we will see God’s ___________(face)
is _______________(shocking).
·
On this earth
nobody can see God’s face and live to tell about it.
·
In ancient
·
Even then, a
rope was tied around the priest’s ankle just in case he died while inside the
holy of holies because without perfect holiness a person could not come in
contact with God and live.
Exodus 33:16-35 (pg. 64)
says:
16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me
and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and
your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
17 And the
LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am
pleased with you and I know you by name."
18 Then
Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
19 And the
LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I
will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I
will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no
one may see me and live."
21 Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me
where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes
by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I
have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you
will see my back; but my face must not be seen."
·
Moses saw God’s
back, but not God’s face.
·
A person _________________(clothed)
with this current human ___________________(body) cannot see God’s face and __________________(live)!
·
God is too
perfect and too Holy for us to see with the naked eye and live to tell about it.
1
Timothy
“16Who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable
light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever”.
Amen.
·
To the
ancients, to see God’s face was unthinkable.
·
To
prerequisite to seeing God was and still is ______________(perfect)
________________(holiness).
·
WHEN CHRIST
COMES AGAIN, YOU WILL BE GIVEN A PERFECTLY HOLY AND ________________(GLORIFIED)
_____________________(BODY) WITHOUT SIN SO YOU CAN SEE GOD FACE TO FACE ON THE
NEW EARTH AND LIVE WITH HIM FOREVER!
Hebrews
14Make
every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no
one will see the Lord.
·
Without
holiness no one will see the Lord.
·
It’s only
because we’ll be fully ____________(righteous) in __________________(Christ),
completely __________________(sinless) that we will be able to see God and live
forever with Him on the New Earth.
Hebrews 10:10-25 (pg.
851) says:
10And by that will, we have been made holy through the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11Day
after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and
again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice
for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13Since
that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14because
by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 15The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he
says: 16"This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds."[a] 17Then he adds:
"Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more."[b] 18And where these
have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 19Therefore,
brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of
Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through
the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a
great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near
to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed
with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope
we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let
us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the
habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see
the Day approaching.
·
Our
resurrection bodies will have physical-spiritual eyes, untainted by sin,
disease, or death….They will see far better that Moses’ eyes, which allowed him
to see an indirect manifestation of God’s glory.
·
My new
resurrection body will allow me to see God face to face in Heaven on the New
Earth.
·
It will be
Holy enough (100% Holy) to be in God’s physical presence and live forever!
·
We need not
wait until the New Earth to catch glimpses of God now, but one day we will see
the fullness of him.
·
We’re told
his “invisible qualities” can be “clearly seen” in “what has been made” Romans
·
Consider the
trees, flowers, sun, rain, and the people around you.
·
The amazing
thing is….we live in a fallen world after the curse and it is still full of
God’s glory and beauty.
·
Flowers are
beautiful for one reason – God is beautiful.
·
Rainbows are
stunning because God is stunning.
·
Puppies are
delightful because God is delightful.
·
Sports are
fun because God is fun.
·
Study is
rewarding because God is rewarding.
·
Work is
fulfilling because God is fulfilling.
·
The gifts we
have hear on earth, is a glimpse of the God of the universe who we will see
face to face one day.
·
Just think
how glorious the New Earth will be.
·
But, take it
one step further…Just think how marvelous it will be to see God’s face!
·
To look into
God’s eyes, will be to see what we’ve always ______________(longed)
to see: the person who made us for his own good _______________(pleasure).
David said on Psalm 73:25
says:
“Whom
have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you”.
·
Seeing God
will be like seeing everything else for the first time.
·
Why?
·
Because not
only will we see God, he will be the lens through which we see everything else
– people, ourselves, and the events of this life.
·
OUR PRIMARY
JOY IN HEAVEN WILL BE _______________________(SEEING), _______________________(KNOWING)
AND _______________________(WORSHIPIING) GOD!
“MAN’S CHIEF END IS TO
GLORIFY GOD AND ENJOY HIM FOREVER.” Westminster
confession of Faith
GOD’S PROMISES TO HIS
CHILDREN:
1 John 3:2 says:
2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we
will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,[a]we shall be like him, for we shall see him
as he is.
Leviticus 26:11-12
11 I will put my dwelling place [a] among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my
people.
2 Corinthians
"I will live with them and walk
among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."[a]
·
In Heaven
we’ll at last be freed of self-righteousness and self – deceit.
·
We’ll no
longer question God’s goodness; we’ll see it, savior it, enjoy it, and declare
it to our companions.
·
COULD IT
BE….WHEN WE FINALLY SEE GOD FACE TO FACE ON THE NEW EARTH IN OUR NEW
RESURRECTION BODIES, WE WILL ________(WONDER) WHY WE EVER
_____________________(DOUBTED) GOD AND HIS PROMISES TO US ALL THESE
_______________(YEARS).
·
Faith is
useful only now here on earth.
Hebrews 11:1-2 says:
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and
certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the
ancients were commended for.
Hebrews 11:6 says:
6And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek him.
2 Corinthians 5:5-10
says:
5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose
and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6Therefore
we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we
are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight.
8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away
from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it
our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the
body, whether good or bad.
·
In Heaven, we
will finally live by ______________(sight) - for then
our ____________________(faith) will be ________________________(transformed)
into ______________(seeing) God and his promises fulfilled!
·
Faith is only
___________________(useful) now for life on the ____________________(current) earth
as we know it - when Christ comes again and establishes the New Earth, we will
finally live by ______________(sight) forever because all of God’s _____________(promises)
to us will finally be ______________________(fulfilled)!
NOTE: Not only will God
come to dwell with us on Earth, he will also bring with him the New Jerusalem,
an entire city of people, structures, streets, walls, rivers and trees that is
now in the present intermediate Heaven.
·
It appears
that God has already made the new Jerusalem.
Hebrews
16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a
heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has
prepared a city for them.
·
This passage
suggest that the New Jerusalem is already existing within the intermediate
Heaven.
·
When God
creates the New Earth, he will ___________________(relocate) the city from the
intermediate Heaven to the New Earth.
·
It is
possible that those in the intermediate Heaven are already living in it.
·
God’s new
center of command will be the New Earth.
·
This will be
the ultimate answer to the Lord’s prayer, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is
in heaven.
Matthew
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
·
Going to
Heaven without God would be like a bride going on her honey-moon without her
groom.
·
A Heaven
without God would be like a Palace with-out a king.
·
If there is
no King, there is no Palace.
·
If there is
no God, there’s no Heaven.
·
Teresa of
·
HEAVEN IS
WHEREVER _____________(GOD) IS - GOD AND HEAVEN CANNOT BE ____________(SEPARATED).
·
Likewise the
absence of God is _______________(Hell).
·
The best part
of life on the New Earth will be enjoying God’s presence, having him actually
dwell among us.
·
We will live
with God in the New Jerusalem forever.
·
The consensus
among theologians is that the New Jerusalem exist now and those who die in
Christ are already there.
·
Regardless…
·
When Christ
comes again, He will bring the New Jerusalem with him to be the
__________________ __________________(Capital City) on God’s New Earth – Heaven
(the New Jerusalem) will be ___________________(merged) with the New Earth and
Heaven and earth will become __________(one).
Revelation 21:15-18 says:
15The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of
gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16The
city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city
with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[a]in length, and as wide and high as it is
long. 17He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits[b] thick,[c] by man's measurement, which the angel was
using. 18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of
pure gold, as pure as glass.
·
The Holy of
Holies in the
·
The New
Jerusalem itself will be a perfect cube, one that stretches fourteen hundred
miles in each direction.
·
According to
the measurements in Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem covers a surface area of ________________(2.25)
million miles.
·
By
comparison, all of greater
·
The actual
City of
·
On that
basis, the New Jerusalem would be able to house over __________(11) billion
people!
·
And that does
not even take into account the towering height of the city.
·
Imagine 1500 miles
squared off and then cubed, with multiple levels and millions of intersecting
golden avenues.
·
Heaven will
certainly be large enough for the “few” who find the narrow way.
Matthew 7:13-14 says:
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the
gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through
it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that
leads to life, and only a few find it.
The “____________” (few)
are really a “________________ ______________________” (great multitude), which
no man could number”.
Rev. 7:9 says:
9After this I looked and there before me was a great
multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and
language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were
wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
2) ON THE NEW EARTH…WE
WILL ______________(WALK) WITH JESUS AND _____________________(FELLOWSHIP)
WITH HIM JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL TWELVE DISCIPLES DID ON THIS EARTH!
·
In the New
Jerusalem, there will be no temple because everyone will be allowed unimpeded
access into God’s presence.
·
I want to go
to Heaven on the New Earth because that is where Jesus will be.
2 Corinthians 5:8 says:
8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away
from the body and at home with the Lord.
Philippians
“I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be
with Christ, which is better by far”.
·
Have you ever
imagined what it would be like to walk the earth with Jesus, as the disciples
did?
·
·
Have you ever
wished you had the opportunity?
·
·
You will on
the new earth!
3. ON THE NEW EARTH…GOD
WILL ____________(SERVE)
Luke 12:32-40 (Pg. 737)
says:
32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father
has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your
possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not
wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes
near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also. 35"Be dressed
ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36like
men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he
comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37It
will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.
I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline
at the table and will come and wait on them. 38It
will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes
in the second or third watch of the night. 39But
understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was
coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You
also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not
expect him.
·
Jesus says
that the master will do something culturally unthinkable – become a servant of
servants.
Why?
·
Because God
loves us and perhaps because Jesus is grateful for our loyalty and service to
him!
·
The King
becomes servant, making his servants king.
·
He will not
command his other servants to do it – he will do it himself.
Matthew
28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but
to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
John 13:6-8 says:
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord,
are you going to wash my feet?"
7Jesus
replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will
understand."
8"No,"
said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you,
you have no part with me."
·
As Husbands
serve their Wives and Fathers serve their Children, God _________________(desires)
to serve us.
·
On the New
Earth God will provide a banquet feast for us to eat!
Isaiah 25:6-7 says:
6 On this
mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
·
In Heaven, God
will be the chef and
________________(prepare) a _______________(meal) for us - God will overwhelm
us with his _______________________(humility) and _______________________(servanthood).
5. ON THE NEW EARTH…WE
WILL ___________(WORSHIP) GOD WITH __________(ALL) OF
OUR _________(PURELY), ____________(SANCTIFIED)
_________________(HEART).
Revelation 4:6-14 (pg.
869) says:
In the center,
around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes,
in front and in back. 7The first living creature was
like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the
fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living
creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his
wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." 9Whenever
the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne
and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four
elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives
for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."
11Then I
looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands,
and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living
creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"
13Then I
heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea,
and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the
elders fell down and worshiped.
·
In Heaven, we
will be at home with the God we love and who loves us.
·
Lovers don’t
bore each other.
·
People who
love God could never be bored in his presence.
·
WE WILL
WORSHIP GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART!
Revelation 5:13-14 (pg.
870) says:
QUESTION: Will we always on
our faces at Christ feet, worshipping him?
ANSWER: No, because
Scripture says we’ll be doing many other things – living in dwelling places,
eating and drinking, reigning with Christ, and working for him.
·
Scripture
depicts people standing, walking, traveling in and out of the city, and
gathering at feast.
·
When doing
these things, we won’t be on our faces before Christ.
·
Never the
less, all that we do will be an act of worship.
·
Worshipping
involves more than singing and prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16Be joyful always; 17pray
continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
·
The singing
in Heaven isn’t ritual but spontaneous praise.
John
23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind
of worshipers the Father seeks.
6) ON THE NEW EARTH…WE
WILL _____________(WORK) AND _________________(RULE) WITH GOD IN
____________________(MANAGING) THE ____________________(RESOURCES) OF HEAVEN
AND EARTH.
·
In Heaven, on
the new earth, work will not be a burden, but a delight because we will be
partnering with God in ruling the universe.
·
Work on the
New Earth in Heaven will be a bonding experience between us and God.
·
One of
Heaven’s rewards for faithful service on earth will be the delegation of
various spheres of authority and work.
Luke 19:12-27 (pg. 743) says:
12He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant
country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So
he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a]'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I
come back.'
14"But
his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want
this man to be our king.'
15"He
was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to
whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16"The
first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
17"
'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been
trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
18"The
second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
19"His
master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'
20"Then
another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid
away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because
you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did
not sow.'
22"His
master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You
knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and
reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my
money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with
interest?'
24"Then
he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the
one who has ten minas.'
25"
'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26"He
replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for
the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27But
those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here
and kill them in front of me."
·
Heaven is not
a resort for the lazy - God lives in Heaven and He is always at work.
John
17Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his
work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
·
It appears
that some saints will judges in heaven.
Revelation 20:4 says:
4I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been
given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had
not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their
foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand
years.
7) ON THE NEW EARTH…JESUS
PROMISES THAT WE WILL ___________(EAT) MEALS WITH HIM.
Rev. 3:18-22 says:
20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone
hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with
me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit
with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his
throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches."
Rev 2:7 says:
7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says
to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the
tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Isaiah 25:6-7 says:
6 On this
mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
·
Eating food
with a person is a bonding experience.
·
Praying with
a brother or sister in Christ is a bonding experience.
·
Behind sexual
intercourse and prayer, eating food with another person is probably the most
intimate and emotionally bonding experience a person can share with another.
·
As brothers
and sisters in Christ, we can experience _________(two) out of the tree most
intimate and bonding experiences known to mankind - Everyone of us can _________(pray)
and share a ____________(meal) with every person in the New Heights Church body
if we __________________(desired) to.
·
The Bible
speaks so much of Christians _______(eating) and
__________________(praying) together because both experiences can
________________(bond) two _________________(souls) together if it leads to
authentic ___________________(fellowship) in Christ.
TRUTH: ONE DAY ON THE NEW
EARTH, YOU WILL SHARE
______________________(MEALS) WITH JESUS AND THE GREAT SAINTS WHO HAVE
GONE BEFORE US!
8) ON THE NEW EARTH… WE
WILL BE CHRIST ____________________(BRIDE) – THAT PRIVELEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY
STARTED THE MOMENT HE BECAME OUR LORD AND SAVIOR!
·
WE WILL BE
INVITED TO THE KING’S ___________ _____________________(WEDDING
SUPPER) – WE WILL BE HIS BRIDE!
·
Revelation
19:5-11 says:
5Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
"Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both small and great!"
6Then I
heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and
like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen
stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
9Then the
angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the
wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true
words of God."
10At this I
fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a
fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of
Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a
white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.
·
The amazing
thing is – We will be his bride!
·
We will be
intimate with Christ in Heaven as we see Him face to face.
·
If I were to
ask you, “What does the fine linen the bride is wearing” stand for?
·
You might be
inclined to say, “The righteousness of Christ that covers us”.
·
Significantly,
however, the text says something different: “Fine linen stands for the
righteous acts of the saints”
·
It is only
because of the Bridegrooms work that the chosen princess - the church can enter
the presence of her Lord.
·
Yet her
wedding dress is woven through her many acts of faithfulness while away from
her bridegroom on the fallen earth.
·
Each prayer,
each gift, each hour of fasting, each kindness to the needy, all of these are
the threads that have been woven together into this wedding dress.
·
Her works
have been empowered by the Spirit, and she has spent her life on earth sewing
her wedding dress for the day when she will be joined to her beloved
bridegroom.
·
This imagery
is beautiful but potentially disturbing.
·
We are
responsible to sew our “wedding dress”.
·
A pure bride
does not want to appear scantily clad at the alter before her beloved
bridegroom and a multitude of guest.
·
Each of us
helps to ______________(sew) the beautiful “wedding dress”
by being ________________(obedient) to God on this earth and
_________________(faithfully) serving Him in the little things he requires us
to do on a _________________(daily) basis.
·
The “body of
Christ” worldwide is ____________________(collectively) the Bride of Christ and
I do not want to be the _________________(stain) nor
____________________(wrinkle) or _____________________(unfinished) portion on
the wedding dress”.
·
But if we,
the church body has been diligent to prepare, the dress will be substantial and
complete.
NOTE: We are not
individual brides of Christ; we are collectively the bride of Christ. Christ is
not a polygamist. He will be married to one bride, not millions.
·
We need each
other and belong to each other.
·
We should guard
not only our own purity but each other’s.
·
We are our
brothers keeper.
Hebrews 10:24-25 says:
24And let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—
and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
·
We must
distinguish the biblical promise of seeing God from the beliefs of Buddhism,
Hinduism and New Age mysticism in which individuality is obliterated or
assimilated into Nirvana.
·
Though God
will be absorbing, we will not be absorbed by him.
·
We will not
lose our identity when we see him face to face, in fact we will find it.
WE ARE MADE FOR A PERSON
(CHRIST) AND
·
Any bride in
love with her husband wants to be with him more than anything, but if he goes
away to build a beautiful place for her, won’t she get excited about it.
·
Won’t she
think and talk about that place?
·
Jesus wants
us to look forward and long for our New Heavenly home that he has prepared for
us.
·
God and
Heaven are so closely connected that they are sometimes refereed to
interchangeably
·
Thinking
about Heaven shouldn't be viewed as an obstacle to knowing God, but a means of
knowing him.
WE GET TO SPEND ETERNITY
WITH GOD FOREVER!
Colossians 3:1-4 says:
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set
your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear
with him in glory.
·
I’m not going
to rise with Christ one day, I have already ______________(risen)
with Christ - Heaven is not only our future home, it is our home _____________(already).
·
If we really
grasp this truth, it will have a profound effect on our level of _____________________(holiness)
today.
·
A man who
sees himself seated with Christ in Heaven, in the very presence of God to whom
angles cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” wont spend much time viewing internet
pornography.
·
No wonder the
devil is so intent on keeping us from grasping our standing in Christ – for if
we see ourselves in Heaven with Christ, we’ll be drawn to worship and serve him
here and now, creating ripples in Heaven’s waters that will extend toward all
eternity.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-18
says:
1Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in
order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in
the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2For you know
what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3It is God's
will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control his own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;
6and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother
or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we
have already told you and warned you. 7For God did not
call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8Therefore,
he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his
Holy Spirit.
9Now about
brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been
taught by God to love each other. 10And in fact, you do
love all the brothers throughout
11Make it
your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with
your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily
life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on
anybody.
13Brothers,
we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve
like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe
that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus
those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the
Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the
coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who
are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.