 Today, we're in Revelation. Let's begin reading together in chapter 21. I'll begin reading at verse 1. I'll read to verse 4, and we'll get into our study. Revelation chapter 21, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 4. John writes, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. And so what I'm going to do is what I normally have been doing recently, especially in the book of Revelation, is I'm going to lay a foundation. I'm going to give you some introductory remarks. It'll take a few minutes to do that. Then we're going to move into our passage that we have before us today as we consider a new heaven and a new earth. Let me begin by saying this. When the church was born all the way back on the day of Pentecost, well, from that point on, the thought of being in heaven preoccupied believers. You see, when they gave their lives to Christ, the promise of heaven is what had driven them to live for Jesus Christ. They knew that the cost of salvation was great. It humbled them, and they knew that God's love was great, and therefore it compelled them. Even like Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 14, where Paul said, the love of Christ compels us. So this knowledge of what God had done and this love for Jesus Christ is what deepened them, and they had a desire to remain faithful to God. You see, believers knew that God had commanded, God had expected complete faithfulness to him, even as he had first given them the Jews the law in Exodus 20, verse 3. He made it very clear. He said, you shall have no other gods before me. And so that is something that they obeyed, that's something that they were yielded to because they loved him. You see, in the Old Testament, God had commanded people to follow him. God had commanded people to obey him, and he made it clear. He made it clear that he was to be loved, he was to be worshiped, and he was to be desired. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 and 5, it's called the Shema. It is a great prayer of faith of Israel, and it says here, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. He didn't say love me partially, he said love me completely. You shall have no false gods before me. And the church knew that. The church knew that God was to be worshiped and God was to be desired. And these commands and this call and through salvation with Christ and all that he had done, well the end result was that they had a longing for Jesus. They had a desire to be with him. He would be the one in the entire universe that would be the center. It would be the center of their lives. Even as Psalm 42, 1 and 2 says, as the dear pants for the waterbrooks, so my soul pants for you, oh God, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God, when shall I come and appear before God? This love, this longing for God. From the very beginning was the catalyst. It is what fueled and motivated them in their life. And as their love for Christ grew, the things of the world began to lose their appeal. We sang a moment ago. We actually didn't sing this song first service. They put it together second service. But as a young believer, I remember singing a song called Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. And again, one of the lyrics says, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Well, that's something that we as new believers that I, as a person who got saved in that historic time in America called the Jesus movement, that was real to us. The fact that that we were to turn our eyes upon Jesus and the things of earth will grow strangely dim. And they did. You see, there was a longing for him, even as Psalm 42 verses 1 and 2 said, as the dear pants for the water broke my soul pants for you. So for the believer, heaven and the thought of heaven is to occupy our thoughts. It's to be so real to us that it becomes a place that we actually lay up our treasure. In Matthew 6, 19 through 21, Jesus said, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal. So as Christians, we long for, we even set our course for heaven. And that's not because we're trying to earn entrance. That's not because we're trying to gain it through our own effort. The reason we want to go to heaven is because Jesus is there. In Psalm 17 verse 15, as for me, I will see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness. So the desire to be with him becomes the overriding passion of our heart. Being with Jesus Christ is something that Paul encouraged believers to concentrate on. That's because to be in heaven is to be with him. And our greatest desire is to be to be with him and to see him. Like it says in Philippians in chapter three, verse 20, when Paul said, our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. We eagerly await a savior from their Jesus. In Colossians 3, 1, and 2, since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is. Seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. While we already have seen here, as we've gone through Revelation, that the church is called the bride of Christ. And in chapter 19, we said, we saw that the bride has made herself ready and is prepared for the groom. So the fact that the bride has prepared herself for the groom should give us insight. You see, a wedding can be exciting, but being with the groom is what the bride most desires. Not just a wedding itself, not the celebration itself, but the person. And that's how it works. You see, Jesus had said, I go and prepare a place for you. And if I have, I'll come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. So what drives us to be prepared isn't a desire for heaven, a place. What drives us to be prepared is the desire to be with Jesus, a person. Because of this longing to be with Him, we prepare. We live a way of life that reveals we belong to Him. Our life is known for purity. Our life is known for good works. John in 1 John 3, verse 3 said, everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure. So this longing to be with Him fuels our lives. And this longing to be with Jesus Christ is revealed by love and by good works. This motivates us to live. We expect to be with Him. We long to be with Jesus Christ. Now, in our day, the belief in heaven or the hope of heaven has been diluted. The entrance into heaven has been reduced to just try and live a good life. And a good life is trivialized into not doing too many bad things and really be true to yourself. And because everybody goes to heaven in the way people think today, there's no incentive to live a life that's pure. You see, those who desire heaven and speak of it often, well, they're looked at as being out of touch. There used to be a saying that I heard more than once. And the saying is, well, that person's a Christian? Yeah, yeah. Well, they're so heavenly minded. They're of no earthly good, they used to say. But that's where people are wrong. The desire to be with Jesus in heaven provokes a believer to live a good life. It's what draws us to God's word that we might learn the things that please Him. And the hope of heaven gives us a proper perspective, a perspective that helps us to resist yielding ourselves to sin. Like it says in Psalm 119, verses 9 through 11, where the Psalmist said, how can a young person stay on the path of purity by living according to your word? I seek you with all my heart. Do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. So the hope of heaven gives us a proper perspective. It gives us the incentive not to yield to sin. And for believers, the hope of heaven and its glory give strength and gives us the ability to endure pain and trials. Like in 2 Corinthians 4, 17, how Paul said, our present troubles are small, won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. Desiring heaven influences all that we do. The promise of being there helps us to order our lives as we prepare to meet our God. In Philippians 1, 21, 3, 23, Paul said it like this. He said, for me to live as Christ and to die as gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. Yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell, for I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. So that, in a certain sense, gives us a different insight into what Solomon once wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 1, when he said, the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth. Why is that? Because in the day of one's death we get to see Jesus Christ. Now many pastors have pointed out that in our day, worldliness has infiltrated the church. This desire for instant gratification, this desire for pleasure has blinded many professing believers. You see, the apostle John instructed Christians to avoid falling in love with the world system. In 1 John 2, 15 through 17, he said, do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the Father, but from the world. The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever. You see, one of the ways that we can do this is to have a new way of thinking. And that's because the way we think is normally revealed by the way we live. So Paul gives us insight into how we can have a new way of thinking and a new way of living. In Romans 12, 1 and 2, he said, therefore I urge you brothers, on account of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind and then you'll be able to test and approve what is good, pleasing and perfect will of God. Well, as I was preparing this, I began to think that it seems today many preachers are making promises to the church that Jesus himself rejected. It seems that many of the promises that they're making will, is like this, all your desires will be fulfilled, power and provisions and pride, it'll all be yours now that you become a Christian. But in this, the promises of heaven begin to pale in comparison to what they're promising we can have now. It seems to me that in our day, many Christians have slowly been drawn back to the world. And as a result, the thought of evangelizing or living a good life has been overshadowed, because there's so many who can say, who are saying today, well, you can have your best life now. Well, when they say that, I can't help but think about Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. In the book of Hebrews chapter 11, verses 8 through 10, we see something of Abraham, because you see, he was called by God to leave everything and go to a land that he would later be shown. And in Hebrews 11, 8 through 10, the writer said, by faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went without knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise for he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God. That's why Abraham was able to stand with his nephew Lot and to look at the land that they were about to enter into. And that's why he could say, you choose which way you want to go. You want to go to the right, I'll go to the left. You want to go to the left, I'll go to the right. And we see in Scripture, his nephew Lot looked and saw Sodom and Gomorrah and how beautiful and green and lush it was and he chose to go there. And Abraham was willing to go into a place that didn't look as appealing. Why? Because he was looking forward to a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God himself. The world did not ensnare him as it did his nephew. It's the hope of heaven. It's the hope of being with God. It's the hope of being with the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. It's the hope of being with family that have departed and gone before us. It's the hope of being with fellow believers in the community and the unity and the joy that we're going to experience that drives us. And that promise of heaven, the promise of being with Jesus Christ is to eclipse every other desire and dream we might have. When speaking of all who have died in faith, the right of Hebrews gave us insight in Hebrews 11, 15 and 16, he said if they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. But instead, 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. Now, I said earlier that some Christians are so heavenly minded, they're of no earthly good. It's been said. Well, today many believers are so earthly minded, they're of no heavenly good. So we need to get a glimpse of what is awaiting us as believers. We want to look at this new heaven. We want to look at this new earth. And so as we're about to begin, chapter 21 contains events that follow what we've already looked at when we looked at the white throne judgment. The great white throne judgment is the final sentencing of the lost. It's the final courtroom scene. And after it, there'll be no more judgment ever. The unsaved of all who have ever lived will be resurrected to experience a trial. There'll be no debate as to whether they are guilty or they're innocent. It's going to be a judgment that is settled by a righteous judge. We were in the book of Job just recently in chapter 34. And in verse 21 through 23, it says, his eyes are on the ways of mortals. He sees there every step. There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness where evildoers can hide. God has no need to examine people further that they should come before him for judgment. In other words, he doesn't review the case in concern that he might have given an unjust sentence. His judgment will be completely fair. It will be without controversy. And everyone is guilty. And the judge will show them no mercy. He will show no sympathy. We know that as we've gone through this, that Jesus is the judge, that his judgment is impartial. In Psalm 98 verse 9, he is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness, he shall judge the world and the peoples with equity. There's not going to be an appeal. There's no retrial. It's a final judgment. Notice in verse 13, we had seen already in chapter 20 that they are judged according to their works. Every thought, every word, every deed is brought under God's righteous gaze. Like it says in Ecclesiastes 1214, God will bring every deed into judgment and every secret thing, whether good or evil, everything. And that includes not only what they've done, it includes what they've said. In Matthew 12 36, Jesus said it like this. He said, I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the dead judgment. And you see the words idle words. What does that mean? Idle words are words that are casually and uselessly spoken. They're the spontaneous things that can be said, but it's the spontaneous things that are said that expose a person's character for out of the heart proceeds. So out of the abundance of the heart, you're going to see what the person really believes. These are the thoughtless words. These are the words that accomplish no good. They're just words that are used. And so what that is intended to reveal to us is that judgment will be thorough. We saw that those who didn't know Christ enter into the lake of fire. They're banished forever in unending sorrow. In Mark 948 Jesus described this lake of fire. He said it's where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out. So that is the final end of those who have rejected God's mercy and His grace. But now we get to see what is awaiting those who love His appearing. And so what is that? Well, verse one, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Now remember in chapter 20 verse 11, the earth and heaven had fled away. The term a new heaven and a new earth is in reference to the creation of a new universe. That's what we see in this chapter. The universe as we know it will be destroyed. An entirely new creation will exist. These are promises you find in Scripture, not just here, but in the Old Testament, for example, Isaiah 65-17. Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Or while Jesus said in Luke 21-33 heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. We think of 2nd Peter chapter 3 verses 10 through 13, where the apostle Peter said, but the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. And then the heavens will pass away with terrible noise. Everything in them will disappear in fire and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment. Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living. You should look forward to that day and hurry it along. The day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God. New heaven and new earth. It speaks of something new in a qualitative sense. This means that the new heaven and the new earth will be entirely fresh. It will be something entirely new. It means that it will be something that has never been seen before. It occurs after the thousand year reign of Christ and the great white throne judgment. And so there's the new heavens, he's speaking of, the new earth. But notice in verse 1, he also says that there was no more sea. So John begins to give a picture of what the new heavens and new earth will look like. There's going to be an incredible change to the earth. It's estimated that today, three quarters of the earth is made up of bodies of water. And for human beings, life actually is dependent on water. Now that gives us insight into what Jesus meant when he was speaking to the Samaritan woman by her well. She had come and he spoke to her and he said in John 4, 13 and 14, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again. Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. See, all of us grow thirsty. She was thirsty. He said, you can drink of this water, but because it's natural, you're going to be thirsty again. But I have something to give to you that is not natural. I have something to give to you that is supernatural. I have the water of life. It comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. And this is what you need. Well, Jesus was making it very clear that true life is spiritual and true life comes from him. In the new heavens and the new earth, our lives will no longer be dependent on water. Today, our blood is 90% water. Our flesh is 65% water. When we have glorified bodies, we'll no longer be dependent on water for life. Now he speaks of a river. We'll see that in chapter 22, verse 2. It's called the water of life. But that's based on a different life principle. It appears that there are no other bodies of water, but that water that we see there speaking of a spiritual life that we have through Christ. And so he says, the sea is no more. Then he, verse 2, he says, then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem. It's a new city. During the tribulation, the physical city of Jerusalem was spiritually polluted. Remember when we're in Revelation 11, verse 8, it says that their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Gomorrah, rather Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. So it was spiritually polluted, the city of Jerusalem on the face of the earth. But this is new. It is called the holy city because everyone within it is holy. Revelation 20, verse 6 says, blessed and holy is he who is part of the first resurrection. So this city is going to be beautiful. It's blessed. It's going to be a great place to live in, unlike many cities today. Everyone in the city, everyone will enjoy friendships. And fellowship. They're going to live in unity. They're going to love one another. And this New Jerusalem, verse 2, notice is coming down out of heaven from God. She's not mentioned as having just been created, by the way. New Jerusalem exists all along. In John 14, 1 through 3, remember what Jesus said. I mentioned it a moment ago. I mentioned verse 3. But Jesus in John 14, 1 through 3 said, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. We're going to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. And this New Jerusalem has existed. It's existed throughout the millennial reign of Christ. So her coming down out of heaven reveals her previous existence. She is presently separated from the existing universe because of sin. But when the new heaven and earth is created, she will descend into a perfect universe. And she's going to serve as the dwelling place of all redeemed. Notice how it says in verse 2, she's prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. This whole city is occupied by the saints of every generation and is described as a bride. It's referred to as a bride because she's taken the character of a bride. One of the commentators that I like, his name is John Walford, and he said, what we have here is not the church per se, but a city or dwelling place having the freshness and beauty of a bride adorned for marriage to her husband. Another commentator by the name of FC Jennings said, every child of God through all the ages whose earthly tabernacle has been dissolved shall be at this time in his heavenly house and thus together form the heavenly city. He goes on to say in verse 3, and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them. They shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. The one speaking is unidentified, but this one speaking makes an announcement, a great announcement, an important announcement. God is dwelling among men. No longer is he far away. He's now with them. They are his. He is theirs. God's wonderful presence is now with his people. His presence among us will be the fulfillment of every believer's greatest desire. You see, today we worship him and love him, but we haven't really physically seen him. We haven't seen him yet we believe, like it says in John 20 verse 29, Jesus said, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. We haven't seen him, but we love him. 1 Peter 1 8 says, though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. This is what we've been longing for. I was reading something on Facebook yesterday. One of my Facebook friends had posted how she was looking forward to going to heaven. She's looking forward to being there. And then someone responded and said, well, I look forward to heaven too, but not that much. I have things that I want to do on earth. And I understand that by the way I do. I understand that. It's not like I'm up here saying, oh, if you don't long only for heaven, that you're just carnal though you are. No, I'm not saying that. Because I understand that. I understand that. I wanted to get married and Lord, I want you to come, but I want to get married. And I want to have children. Lord, I want you to come, but I'd like to have children. You know, those are mistakes. No, I'm just kidding. No, I understand that. I do it. I wouldn't want anybody to walk out thinking, oh, if I if I enjoy my life as God has given it to me, I must be carnal. No, I'm not saying that. What I am saying is this. Every believer needs to have a core or a center, something that they love, because that's what drives you in your life. And the desire to be with Jesus Christ is what has driven me in my life, even though he has been good to me, giving me my wife, giving me my children, giving me my grandchildren, giving me friends, giving me church family, giving me so many blessings. And I love all those things. Those all things I understand are things that came to me because of him. So I love him because he first loved me. And as he first loved me, I responded to him. And now I desire to see him. And I want to see him more every day that's passing by is a day closer to being with him. And so it's not as if you're you're carnal for not wanting to be right now with him. Sometimes that may be carnal a bit, but the motivator of my life is to be with Jesus Christ, to be with him and to see him and spend time with him and to finally look at him and actually fellowship with him that God will be with us. And that's something we see in Scripture. It's something that believers long for, like in Job 19, verses 26 and 27. After my skin is destroyed, this I know that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself. My eyes shall behold and not another. And he went on to say, how my heart yearns within me. In 1 John 3, verse 2, beloved, now we are children of God. It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. And so that's a promise. You have a promise that God will be with you. You will be his people. You will see him. God himself will be with them and be their God. This personal, intimate relationship. And then this beautiful verse, verse 4, and God will wipe away every tear from their eye. There shall be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying. For there shall be no more pain for the former things and passed away. That's one of the promises that I always joke up. I told myself, after first service, you'll be okay. You won't. You already kind of choked up. You'll be okay second. I lied once again. I get touched by that in heaven. No more pain. No more disappointment. No more hurts. No more sorrow. No more regrets. There'll be no more family pain. No more divorces. No more broken children. No more financial struggles. No more emotional hurts. No more sad memories. No more disappointments of any sort. No more illnesses. No more cancer. No more strokes. No more painful accidents. No more sad goodbyes and funerals. Never again. Never again. Never again. Sometimes the Lord has this kind of an interesting way that he works in my life. I read this verse and you'll see emotion coming out and some may think, well, he's not believing what he's saying because look at him choke up. Sometimes my brothers will think, what a weak man he shows so much emotion. But you see, the closer you get to the Lord, the more you want to be with him. And the closer you get to the Lord, the more you're hurt for others who have pain and you see so much and you hear so much. Your heart is saddened a lot by a lot of the pain that you hear of just a couple days ago, six year old little boy driving with his mom and dad. He went to a Calvary Chapel six years old and something happened on the road and the person that an incident happened with got road rage and ended up a little boy six years old ended up dying. I just got word of that today just this morning, six years old. And I've got grandchildren around that age and your heart is touched. Today is the eighth anniversary of my mother's death today. So it touches me because she died in pain. She lived a life of pain. So the sorrow that I have when I think of these things will be swallowed up by the joy that this will never happen again. No more sickness, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears, no more disappointments, no more brokenness, nothing is swallowed up and the joy of being with Jesus Christ. And though I have tears, I have hope. I have hope. And that's what drives us because someone once said the sources of sorrow will be cut off in the land where there is no sin. There's no death. There's no sorrow. There's no crying. There's no pain. There'll never be anything ever again to sorrow over. And Psalm 16 verse 11, you make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. And verse five, he says then he who sat on the throne said, behold, I make all things new. He said to me, right, for these words are true and faithful. When he says, I make all things new, the word new speaks of new and character as well as being recently made. You see, there's been an incredible drastic change in the way things were. And it's so incredible that John is commanded to write. He says, look, you need to write this in. And notice verse five how he says, behold, that means I want to grab your attention. Listen to this. I make all things new. It's so incredible. He says, write these things down. And then he goes on in verse six. He said to me, it's done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. It's done. Alpha, Omega, beginning and end. Alpha, Omega, those are first and the last letter of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, Omega. And it was said that in the alphabet we're able to store and communicate everything we know. And to arrange the letters properly in order to spell out words, we can communicate our knowledge. And so Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He is what has been called the Supreme Alphabet. Because within him are all the treasures of knowledge. In Colossians chapter two, verses two and three, my purpose is that they may be encouraged in a heart and united in love so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Jesus Christ contains all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. He says, I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. It's been said, heaven belongs to the thirsty. Heaven belongs to those who need a spiritual quenching. In Matthew five, six, it says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled. And so I will give of the fountain of life. Notice verse seven, he who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God. He shall be my son. The one who overcomes is the one who has exercised saving faith in Christ. And the one who has exercised saving faith in Christ is the one who inherits all things. In first John five, four and five, everyone born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that has overcome the world. Even our faith, who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the son of God. When you believed in Christ and came to faith in him, you are now an overcomer in him. Why? Because he overcame on our behalf and we are in him and through him we overcome. We are those who are going to be able to inherit these things that have been promised and prepared for us from the foundation of the world. God intended to give to us this place to be with him forever. And because of sin, sin has separated us from God. So God sent his son Christ in order to take upon himself our sin in order that we might be able to be forgiven, have a new life, pursue him and with his power live for him and then one day to be able to look upon him and say, thank you for what you've done for me. You gave me heaven when I deserved hell. That is something that should motivate us today. Melissa, he closes in this way verse eight, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars should have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which he says is the second death. Notice how he says cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral sorcerers. Cowardly because they would refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ. They refused. They were afraid to. They didn't want to be canceled. They didn't want to be rejected. They were afraid. They were cowardly. There are those who are Christian in a church service, who aren't Christian in a neighborhood, run a job site because they don't want to be looked at as being weird. But Jesus said, if you deny me before me, I will deny you before my father in heaven. We don't live as cowards. Listen, it doesn't really matter what the world has to say. Most of you know this, but some perhaps need to be reminded. It doesn't matter what the world has to say. What matters is what God says. And when God says welcome, it doesn't matter. I was speaking to someone in between service and I'll say this briefly, but in between service who was sharing, she wanted to let me know that they're going to be having a memorial service for her father. And she said, I want to tell you something. She said, we've been coming here for years. And she said, it's here that we heard of the gospel. We were taught about Jesus. She said, and so what happened is my father was ill and he began to live with us at my home. And she said, you would teach a Bible study and we would come home and we'd share it with my dad. She says, my father was very ill. She said he was very ill. He had had his legs amputated and all. She said, and we cared for him. And she says, we did it for a long time. And we finally were just talking to him. And every time we'd go to church, we'd come home and share the study with my father. She said, my father was not a man who had any faith in God at all. My father used to work the fields. He used to do the things that the world does, drink and all the rest. And he had no hope of heaven and no fear of God. She says, but we began to share with him. And over the last year of his life, he came to faith in Jesus Christ. And he started thinking about the fact that one day he's going to have legs and he's going to walk before the Lord. She said, and then he finally passed. He died. She said, and as he died, he was speaking, she said a language I've never heard before. He was just speaking. And she said, we prayed with him and spoke to him in the morning. We went and shared one last time and he closed his eyes and he went to heaven. She says, and we're blessed. She said, but my family's not happy with us because they think we brainwashed him. We think that we forced him to believe in something. And I said, you know, in the years that you cared for your father, I guarantee you that they didn't come and help it one time. Did they? I guarantee you that the only thing they have to say right now is what you did wrong when they never did anything right. I said, but the bottom line is this, your father's in heaven because you were faithful to give the gospel to your father. And that's what it's all about. See, that's, that's what it's all about. I don't care. I never did if my family didn't like it. I don't care if you like me or not, because I have somebody who does Jesus Christ and I will one day see him and I don't care if my neighbor did. I want him to like me, but if he doesn't, he doesn't. Who cares? You know, I got a God who loves me. I got a wife who loves me. I got children who put up with me. I'm okay because you got to know who you serve. You got to know where you're going and you've got to live for Jesus Christ because that demonstrates that you really do know him. That's how it is. And so when he's speaking concerning these things, he speaks of those who are cowardly, the characteristics of the person who will not acknowledge Jesus Christ and look at some of the things they do. He says they're unbelieving. They're abominable. They're murderers, sexually immoral. These are people who are having sex. They're living with someone. They're sexually immoral. They're not married. They just have sex. They're sorcerers. The word sorcerer I spoke to you already. It speaks of drug taking. Idolaters. They have everything except God in their life. They're liars. And where do they go? I don't say this with joy. I don't. But they go to the lake of fire. That's where they go. No genuine Christian could be presently categorized by these sins. You may have been what you were, but that's not what you are now. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, Paul said it like this in verses 9 and 10. He said, do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. He went on to say, and such were some of you. Such were, but you're not anymore. Why? Because if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. We are brand new in Jesus Christ. I might have been that, but I'm no longer that. Why? Because I've been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Those who reject Christ have eternal judgment awaiting them. He says they have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which he says is the second death. You don't have to go there. Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for you not to. Perhaps we have some today who need to get right with God. We have many people watching us online right now representing many countries. Perhaps you're listening from one of those countries that the gospel is not freely preached in, because I know we have people listening to us in Qatar and in Saudi Arabia and different places right now. And perhaps you have never given your heart to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. You can do that today. You can open your heart to Christ and say, God be merciful to me. I am a sinner. And I will open my heart to you to receive what you have offered me for one day. I want to be with you. I want to see you face to face. That will be my hope and my desire. And because Jesus died for me, I just received the payment. He paid for me. I confess my sin. I turn for my ways and I ask you to make me new. And he does. He cleanses you. He washes you with his blood. Your new creation, old things are passed away. Like Paul says, behold, all things become new and your life is transformed as you walk in faith pursuing Jesus Christ. And then you will see him face to face. Our Father we ask that you would work within us even now. We ask that you by your powerful Holy Spirit that you would continue to do your work in us. Father, we as Christians will not pretend one thing and actually be another. We don't want to live a life that is hypocritical. We don't want to be actors pretending we're one thing when in fact we're something entirely different. So Lord, every one of us who are believers would ask that you would work within us and that this hope to see you and to be with you will become the overriding hope of our life to one day be with you. That you, our God, will give to us every reason to never sorrow again. We will be with you and at your right hand, even as your Psalmist said, our pleasure is forevermore. We look forward to that time to see you, to be with you, to be reunited with those whom we love, but to especially see you. And so now I ask Lord that you would just work in us as we heal to you as our eyes are closed. Perhaps there are some right now in this room or watching online. We need to get right with God and you know it and you need prayer and you need to be right with them and you sense that and you want to yield yourself. And if that's the case with you, as our eyes are closed, our heads are bowed, would you raise your hand? Let me pray for you right where you're at right now. Just raise your hand if you want to get right with the Lord right now. Father, you see these hands going up throughout this place and in Jesus' name I ask that you would reach down and you would touch each person whose hand is raised and Lord that you would wash them and cleanse them and that from this moment on their life will turn around and follow you. I ask that you would fill them with your powerful Holy Spirit and that Lord that this hope to be with you will become the overriding hope of their life. Thank you for washing and cleansing and thank you for filling with your spirit and Lord I just pray that you would have your way in them as they yield to you and we give you praise now in your name. Thank you Lord. You can put your hands down and Father for the rest of us who know you, I pray that we would walk with you and for those who didn't open their hearts right now, who are still obstinate, I pray that you would open them to you. Their eyes would be opened that they would come to know you Lord so that they too might have a hope of heaven. So we give you praise for these things now in Jesus' name. Amen.