Preached by Gregory W. Lee
1 June 2008
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 6
10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
12. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
-- in the letter to the church of Pergamum in Revelation Chapter 2, Jesus tells the church that He knows where they live -- in the very place where Satan has his throne
-- the same could easily be said about East Portland, Oregon just a few years ago -- in this suburb of Portland, Satan's presence was not only real, it was visible -- drug crimes and prostitution were rampant -- gangs abounded -- and residents feared walking in their own neighborhoods
-- but one church decided that enough was enough -- in 2004, the Eastside Foursquare Church -- a new church with only 60 members -- decided to purchase, renovate, and run "a dilapidated hotel with a history of crime" [Outreach Magazine, May/June 2008, pg. 34-45]
-- wading into the very heart of the darkness, members found themselves face-to-face with the evil and the criminal activities that had taken place at the hotel site -- "they had just taken possession of the city's center of prostitution and methamphetamine distribution" [Outreach Magazine, May/June 2008, pg. 34-45]
-- but that changed quickly -- through the faithful actions of the members of this church, this hotel became a lighthouse of redemption, salvation, and peace in that area -- spreading God's love across the region in a tangible way -- rescuing people locked in addiction -- providing hope and jobs for people struggling to make a living in that depressed community -- and introducing people to the transformed life that is possible through Christ Jesus
-- shortly after the church had renovated and relocated to the hotel, it received a letter from the Portland police department that read, "We just want to thank the church -- they did in six months what the city could not do in 10 years" [Outreach Magazine, May/June 2008, pg. 34-45]
II. Satan's Spiritual Strongholds
-- this is an amazing story of how Christ's people -- empowered by the Spirit within them -- can stand up to evil and make a difference in their community
-- it is not secret that there are places in our communities that are hotbeds of criminal activity just like in East Portland -- I've had cops tell me that they know of areas that they can go to at any time and find illegal activity going on -- they say they could spend their whole career in those neighborhoods -- arresting people -- sending people to jail -- and never make a difference
-- cities -- especially big cities -- literally spend millions of dollars each year fighting crime in these areas -- but they rarely see any results -- at best, they just keep the crime and the violence and the murder contained in those areas -- and they just try to defend the rest of the city
-- the reason why these competent, well-trained men and women in law enforcement can't make a difference is because they are not fighting the right enemy -- they are only attacking the problem on the surface and are not getting at the root of the problem
-- the problem is not physical -- it is spiritual -- look back at this verse
10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
12. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
-- there's an old saying that says, "Behind every good man is a good woman" -- based on the teachings of the Bible, we could say, "Behind every bad man is an evil spiritual force" -- what Paul is referring to in this passage is something called a "spiritual stronghold"
-- if you were to look at a topographic map of Jerusalem, you would quickly discover that the highest point in the city is the southwestern hill -- a landmark currently known as the "Tower of David" -- if you were to stand on this hill, you would be able to see everything that goes on in all directions -- you would have a commanding view of the surrounding terrain
-- for this reason, a series of fortifications have been built on this site over the past several thousand years -- fortifications which protected the city of Jerusalem from attack from its stronger neighbors to the west and overlooked and controlled the entire city -- the citadel that currently exists on this hill is protected by a high wall and large towers, and it is surrounded by a deep moat
-- areas like this are known as strongholds because of their strategic importance -- whoever controlled these high places controlled the city, so it was important to fortify them and make them strong enough to repel attacks from enemies -- in fact, the first thing a ruler did when he took over control of Jerusalem was to make sure the fortifications on the southwestern hill were repaired and built up
-- so the purpose of strongholds is pretty straightforward -- they were created for defensive purposes -- to protect important, sensitive areas -- like the city of Jerusalem -- from attack by their enemies -- however, they could also be used as a base of power from which to send forth troops to attack others
-- another good picture of this are the forts that used to exist out west -- think about the old Western movies -- the forts in those movies were built to protect the frontier towns, with log walls surrounding them with spikes at the top -- if the Indians started to attack, they would shut the gate and get inside where they would be safe -- and at other times, the cavalry would rush out of there to attack the Indians
-- the Bible teaches that there are two kinds of spiritual strongholds -- satanic strongholds -- places of evil where Satan controls what is happening -- and Godly strongholds -- places of righteousness, where the Kingdom of God controls what is happening
-- in East Portland, the police tried for years and years to control the crime -- to stop the drug dealing -- to stop the manufacture of meth -- to stop the prostitution and the robbery and the violence -- but they never could make a difference
-- that's because this was a satanic spiritual stronghold -- it was a place of evil -- empowered by the spiritual forces of darkness -- and it was only when the Eastside Foursquare Church moved in and brought Jesus with them, that things began to change
-- what do we do when confronted with evil in our midst -- what do we do when we read in our papers of crime and violence in our streets and in our communities -- do we huddle behind locked doors for fear of our lives? -- do we warn our families not to go near? -- do we look the other way and just pretend that it does not exist?
-- we watched a movie this weekend called, "Blue State" -- it's a satirical look at the last presidential election -- and the basic plot is that a Kerry supporter vows to move to Canada if Bush is elected
-- well, we all know what happens -- Bush was elected -- and this guy decides to honor his vow and move to Canada because he doesn't want to live in a country that re-elected Bush for another four years
-- as the movie shows, that wasn't the right answer -- you can't run from your problems -- you can't go through life in a state of denial, saying that evil doesn't happen here -- you can't just ignore what's going on -- there comes a time when you have to do something about it -- when you have to make a stand
-- Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
-- as Christians, we are called to do something -- we are called to take action -- to do two things -- first, we are called to wage war against the evil spiritual strongholds in our land -- in our state -- in our communities -- and, secondly, we are called to establish Christian spiritual strongholds in their place
-- I want to spend the rest of our time talking about these two calls to action
III. Fighting Against Evil Spiritual Strongholds
-- for far too long, Christians have turned a blind eye to the evil in our communities -- when violence or crime breaks out, we gossip about it -- we debate about it -- but we do nothing
-- "that's what the government's for -- that's why we have cops -- let them handle the problem -- let them take care of it for us" -- but, as we've shown, there is just so much that man can do against the evil in our midst
-- if we truly believe the words of Paul in this verse, then we have to admit that struggling against flesh and blood is not going to solve the problem -- the only way to solve the problem is through waging war against the spiritual forces -- and that's where the church comes in
-- it's time for us to take a stand -- for too long, Satan has been bullying the people of this country -- he's been spreading his evil through our land -- and he's convinced us that he is more powerful that we can ever be
-- he reminds me of the legendary Philip of Macedonia -- when Philip armies threatened to storm the gates of Sparta, he sent a message to the besieged king..."If we capture your city we will burn it to the ground." -- the king of Sparta sent back a one-word answer: "If".
-- it's time we said "enough" to Satan -- it's time we called his bluff and started actively fighting against the spiritual strongholds that he has built up in our communities
-- how do we do this? -- hold your place here and turn over to 2 Corinthians 10
3. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
6. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
-- we fight fire with fire -- we don't fight evil with the weapons of the world -- we fight evil with the weapons of God -- Paul says that these weapons have divine power -- they have the power of God to demolish strongholds -- to demolish every thing that opposes the Kingdom of God and His righteousness -- to change, not only the behavior, but the very thoughts of the men and women that are caught up in Satan's web
-- flip back over to Ephesians 6 and we'll run through our list of weapons
13. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15. and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
-- you have heard us mention our missionary friends in Pakistan several times -- the last time we saw them, T. told us about their renting a home in Pakistan -- as they were looking around their new home, they discovered a statue of Buddha in the backyard -- a symbol of the false religions and of the evil strongholds that infect that part of the world
-- so T. and L. anointed the statue with oil and laid hands on it and prayed over it -- then they walked over their property, binding the evil that was there and loosing the presence of God in that place -- and, in that action, their home became a spiritual stronghold of righteousness for God
-- Paul tells us here in this verse that God has given us spiritual weapons with which we can wage war against the evil forces in our land -- spiritual weapons that can demolish satanic strongholds and set up Christian strongholds in our homes and our communities
-- the first of these is truth -- the truth of the gospel -- the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ
-- the second is righteousness -- not our righteousness -- but the righteousness of God working in us and through us to transform lives
-- the third is readiness -- the power to have the word of God ready when we need it -- the power to know that God is with us wherever we wander so that we don't have to fear
-- the fourth is faith -- knowing what we believe -- being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don't see -- when we confront evil -- when we battle these spiritual strongholds of evil -- it may look like evil is winning -- but through faith we are sure that God is working even though we don't necessarily see it at first
-- the fifth is salvation -- the knowledge that your sins have been forgiven and that there is nothing that anyone or anything on this earth can do to you -- as Paul wrote in Romans 8:35-39 -- "Who can separate us from the love of Christ? -- shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? -- no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us -- for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation , will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
-- the sixth weapon is the sword of the Spirit -- the word of the living God -- the word that causes demons to tremble and the darkness to flee
-- and the last is prayer -- the ability to call on God's presence and His power in our lives and in our communities -- to tap into the source of strength that created this universe and to send forth His power to destroy and take captive the evil spiritual strongholds in our land
IV. Closing
-- in Matthew 16:18, Jesus told Peter, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it"
-- for too long, Christians in America have remained huddled in our homes and in our church buildings while Satan has gained stronghold after stronghold in our communities
-- it's time that we did something about it -- it's time that we took back the night -- that we spread the light of Christ in our communities -- and we forced the evil to flee
-- Jesus said that the "gates of Hell would not prevail" -- that implies that Christians were going to take the battle to the very gates of these spiritual strongholds -- they were going to take action -- they were going to wage the weapons of God and they were going to reclaim what the enemy had won
-- we have spiritual strongholds of evil in our community -- and we need to do something about it -- you know where they are -- you know the neighborhoods where they occur -- I want to encourage you this week to begin waging war on these strongholds
-- I want to encourage you to drive or walk through these areas and pray over them as you go -- go with another person if you can -- and pray through the list of spiritual weapons as you go
-- pray for God's truth to overcome any lies that are in those places
-- pray that the evil would be replaced by God's righteousness
-- pray that the gospel would be heard and received by the people in these areas
-- pray that the people would have faith and come to trust in Jesus as their Savior
-- pray that the spiritual forces of evil would be bound by the Word of God and pray that God's Word and His presence would be released in those areas
-- pray that God would protect the men and women of our law enforcement that go into these areas -- and pray that they would be effective in their jobs
-- and watch for God's power to come into those areas and make a difference
-- it doesn't just have to be streets and neighborhoods -- you can pray over parks and playgrounds -- pray over the mailboxes in the post office -- pray over the stores where people shop -- the places where people go in our community
-- I want you to do this with me -- let's do this for the summer -- let's start today -- June 1st -- and let's continue to Labor Day -- and let's see what God can do through our prayers
-- I'm going to close in prayer right now, and I want to invite you to start with me today as we pray against these spiritual strongholds right now
-- let us pray
Thursday, June 05, 2008
SERMON: HEAVEN IN THE REAL WORLD
Preached by Gregory W. Lee
25 May 2008
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Rev. 21
1. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
5. He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"
-- this morning, we are going to finish up our messages on heaven that we started right at the end of the series on the Apostle's Creed -- if you happened to miss any of these messages or just want to look at them again, I have them all posted on my blog now
-- before we begin, though, I hope you'll bear with me for a moment as I pour myself a little drink -- [pour coffee from thermos]
-- you know, I think most of you know this by now, but I love coffee -- in my mind, one of the finest things in life is pouring a hot cup of strong coffee -- just feeling the warmth of the cup in my hands -- seeing that wisp of steam coming up from the top -- the aroma of the beans roasted to perfection -- and then that perfect first taste -- there's few things, food-wise, that I enjoy as much
-- now I'm not just pouring this coffee because I'm thirsty -- but there's a point to this cup
-- as I was working on this series of messages about heaven, I would usually get up real early in the morning -- and the first thing I would do was brew a pot of coffee -- and then, when it was ready, I'd pour a cup -- sit at my desk -- and start working
-- and, as I was working, smelling the rich aroma of the coffee and enjoying the taste of that first sip, I found myself thinking, "I just can't imagine heaven without coffee -- I just can't imagine there being no coffee in the new heaven and the new earth -- that would be a great disappointment to me"
-- Mark Twain once remarked that he had gone to church as a boy and become convinced of the evils of drinking and smoking -- he was only 10 years old -- and he said that he left church that day and swore off drinking and smoking forever -- but he said it lasted all of 30 minutes, and he started right back, because he thought, "If a body can't enjoy a good glass of whiskey and a good cigar, then life isn't really worth living"
-- and I kind of feel that way about coffee -- now understand, I'm not trying to be flippant about heaven -- but think about it like this -- in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth -- He filled the earth with plants and with animals and with all kinds of living things -- and He pronounced it, "Good"
-- then He created Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden and told them to work it and to take care of it and to enjoy of all that the garden had to offer except for the one tree in the center of the garden
-- do you know what that means? -- coffee trees are part of this world -- they were created by God and God called them good -- and God Himself told Adam and Eve to enjoy them -- and ever since then, people have enjoyed coffee -- even though the coffee and our taste buds are not at their best since the fall
-- this passage tells us that God is going to recreate the earth and heavens -- the old heaven and the old earth will pass away, making way for a new earth -- a restored earth -- and there is no reason to believe that coffee trees won't be part of this new world
-- there is no reason to believe that we won't be able to enjoy coffee in this new world that God is giving us
-- now this is not a message about coffee -- but, I just wanted to use the idea of coffee in the new earth to bring up a point about our eternal home that God is going to create for us
-- a lot of times, we tend to spiritualize our eternal home -- we don't really think of it as a physical place -- a place like our present earth -- but Scripture tells us it will be
-- why else would we have new imperishable bodies? -- why else would God restore to us the perfect bodies shared by the first humans if He didn't intend for us to live and enjoy a perfect, physical world? -- if there were not physical things to enjoy, then there would be no need for us to have a physical body -- we could just go through eternity as disembodied spirits
-- Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:49 that our new bodies will bear the likeness of the resurrected Jesus -- our bodies will be imperishable -- immortal -- and physical -- Jesus was not a spirit -- He was not a ghost -- He was flesh and blood -- after the resurrection, He talked with His disciples -- He ate with His disciples -- He touched His disciples and let them touch Him -- and our new bodies will be like His
-- without a doubt, the greatest thing about heaven is going to be the fact that God dwells with us on this earth -- that we will walk with Him in the cool of the day as He walked with Adam and Eve -- that we will be in His presence and see His face-to-face -- that we will know Him in a new and personal way -- but I have no doubt that God's intent in recreating this earth and the heavens is to give us a place that will bring glory to Him as all creation praises Him and as we enjoy all that He has prepared for us
-- when we live our lives to the glory of God, we are worshiping Him -- worship is more than just singing and prayer -- and in the new earth, we will live out our worship as we work and serve and play with God in this new land -- as we go about our daily activities of life -- and that includes drinking a cup of coffee and sharing meals with loved ones
-- and on the new earth, our worship will be even more real and more pleasing to God because it will not be hindered by our sin or the curse of the earth that we are currently living in
-- so, let's look now at this new earth and let's see what we can learn about it from this passage
II. Defining Characteristics of the New Earth
-- in Hebrews 11:10, we read that Abraham envisioned heaven as a city with foundations, whose architect and builder was God -- that vision of Abraham's will come to pass on the new earth
-- look at verse 2
2. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
-- now skip down to verse 10
10. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
11. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
12. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
13. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.
14. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15. The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.
16. The 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 in length, and as wide and high as it is long.
17. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using.
18. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20. the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
-- here we read of the new Jerusalem -- the city of God -- that will come down from heaven to reside on the new earth
-- growing up here in south Georgia, I used to be scared of big cities -- we always heard stories of the crime and the violence there -- of how people were constantly getting hurt and robbed and killed in their streets -- and although these cities had great things within them -- magnificent architecture -- culture -- arts -- sports -- shopping -- we just wouldn't go for fear of what might happen to us
-- but can you imagine the new Jerusalem -- a city with all the advantages of an earthly city but with none of the disadvantages? -- a city with God -- a city with the best in art and music and culture -- the best in sports and society -- the best in people -- with no crime, no murder, and no violence -- no pollution -- no traffic or garbage or homelessness -- it would literally be heaven on earth
-- and that is exactly what we see described for us here in this passage -- the closest thing that I can liken it to is my trip to Atlanta for a Promise Keepers event -- we were riding the Marta from the airport to the Philips Arena -- and every stop, more and more Christian men got on -- and as they did, the atmosphere of that train changed -- people started talking -- people started singing -- and by the time we pulled into downtown Atlanta, that entire train was praising God
-- that is what the new Jerusalem is going to be like every day for eternity
-- but what about it's physical characteristics? -- John tells us in verse 16 that it would be like a cube -- with each side of the city being 12,000 stadia in length -- that's about 1,400 miles in length and width and height -- with the three sides reflecting the glory of the Trinity -- Father -- Son -- and Holy Spirit
-- just to give you some perspective, if you were to take a city this size and lay it out in the United States, it would stretch from Canada to Mexico and from California to the Appalachian mountains
-- the ground level would be about 2 million square miles -- 40 times bigger than England and 10 times bigger than France and Germany
-- notice that John says it is just as high as it is long -- that means that this city stretches up towards heaven for 1,400 miles -- we don't know this, but it is likely that this city might have different levels -- and if this is the case, assuming each level was 12 feet high, that would mean there would be 600,000 stories in the city
-- the new Jerusalem is an enormous place and it will be the centerpiece of the new earth because it will be where God dwells -- it will be the home of God -- look at verse 22
22. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. -- now flip over to Revelation 22
1. Then 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
2. down 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.
3. No 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.
4. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5. There 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.
-- there will be no temple in this city -- there will be no need to go to a place to worship God because God will be there with us -- His throne will be in the center of this great city -- and we will simply worship Him in His presence as we live out our life in this new Jerusalem and this new earth
-- John tells us here about two other major features of this city -- in the center of the city, flowing from the throne of God, is the river of life -- this river reflects the provision of God -- it reflects how He meets all our needs and provides us with life itself
-- and along each side of this river stands the tree of life that was originally in the Garden of Eden -- Jesus told us in Revelation 2:7 that the tree of life was currently in Paradise -- in the intermediate heaven that we will be in until the new earth and the new heaven are created
-- at that time, it will come down with the city of Jerusalem and line the river of life -- providing fruit all year long -- and serving as a continual source of renewal and refreshing and revival for us and for all the nations on earth
-- look back at Chapter 21, verse 24
24. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
25. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
26. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
-- there's something interesting in these verses -- notice that John tells us that the "nations of the earth" and the "kings of the earth" will bring their splendor to this city
-- in the new earth, there will be nations and kings -- there will be countries -- and all will be united under the kingship and leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ
-- until I started this study, I never considered the fact that there would be nations and countries in the new earth -- but in Hebrews 11:14, we read that all the people of faith were looking forward to a country of their own -- and that's exactly what we see in this passage -- this gives us another picture of what the new earth will look like
-- Jesus tells us many times in Scripture that we will be rulers for eternity -- we will be kings and queens -- ruling with Him in the new earth -- so, I assume this means that we will be given authority over places on earth depending on our faithfulness to Christ in this life
-- we know what countries look like -- they are territories with rulers -- they have national interest -- pride in identity and citizens who are both diverse and unified -- and that is what we will see on this new earth
-- we will not all live in the new Jerusalem, although we will have a place there -- a mansion or a house built by Christ's own hands -- but we will have a place of our own -- a country of our own -- on this new earth that we rule as stewards for God
-- so, our new earth -- our home for eternity -- will be characterized by the city of God -- the new Jerusalem -- and will have countries and nations in which all are Christian -- in which all exist and serve to bring glory to God
-- I have no doubt that these countries -- these nations -- which evidently lay outside the 12 gates of the wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem -- will be filled with the perfection of God's natural creation -- mountains and valleys -- rivers and streams -- great bodies of water -- great forests and sweeping plains -- all redeemed from the curse -- all restored to God's original plan of creation
-- there are places on our earth right now that are considered natural wonders -- beautiful areas that just take your breath away and leave you marveling at the glory of God and His creation -- the Grand Canyon -- Mount Everest -- Yellowstone -- the great prairies of America -- Niagra Falls -- the Amazon River
-- now you can you just imagine how much greater and how much more beautiful these will be in the new earth -- once all the corruption of the fall and all of the remnants of the curse are removed -- as Isaac Watts wrote in "Joy to the World"
-- No more let sins and sorrows grow -- Nor thorns infest the ground -- He comes to make His blessings flow -- Far as the curse is found"
-- this new world will reflect God's perfect creation -- nature will no longer have thorns or poison -- there will be no dangerous animals to contend with -- all will be perfect
-- and we will be given the opportunity to explore and to live and to experience God's goodness in nature and in society and in the great city as He originally intended life on earth to be -- men and women living in perfect harmony with nature and with each other and with Him
-- finally, before we close with our vision of heaven, let me answer the question that I'm sure is one everyone's mind -- yes, we will know each other -- we will know our families and those who have gone before -- our relationships will still extend into heaven -- we will still be husbands and fathers -- wives and mothers -- sons and daughters -- although our relationships will now be perfect and will be expressed through our relationship with God
-- the disciples knew Jesus -- they recognized Him -- they spoke with Him -- and, so, we should expect to be able to do the same in heaven -- in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul tells us that we will all be caught up together with those who have gone before -- and that we will all be with the Lord forever -- he urges us to comfort one another with these words
-- in other words, we are to be encouraged because for the Christian, death is not the end -- it is not the end of life -- and it is not the end of relationships with other people
-- in Don Piper's book, "90 minutes in heaven," he said that one of the most vivid memories that he has of his experience in heaven is being surrounded by family and friends -- and there is no reason to not expect the same when we are resurrected and put on the new earth and new heaven to live forever
-- so, yes, we will be with our families and friends, if they have believed in and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and received the forgiveness of sins from His atoning death on the cross
III. Closing
-- several years ago, I spent a couple of months in Antigua working for the University of Georgia -- I was there with only one other person I knew -- I was absent from my family and my friends and from all the familiar places I knew -- I was lost in a culture that was vastly different from my own -- and I got homesick -- I longed to be home -- I longed to see my house again -- my home again -- my family and friends again
-- I imagine that most of you here today have experienced this same feeling before -- maybe it's when you went off to college -- or on a long trip -- or some other time when you were separated from all that you knew -- and you longed to come home
-- whether you know it or not, every desire you have -- every longing that you have -- that ache in your heart for family and friends when you are apart -- that ache for the familiar -- is actually a longing for what you have never experienced but what you were made for -- eternity with God in the new heaven and the new earth
-- I'm going to close now with a quote from Paul Marshall, "This world is our home -- we are made to live here -- it has been devastated by sin -- but God plans to put it right -- hence, we look forward with joy to newly restored bodies and to living in a newly restored heaven and earth -- we can love this world [now] because it is God's -- and it will be healed -- becoming at last what God intended from the beginning"
-- when at the last -- at the sounding of the trumpet -- at the resurrection of the dead when we are caught up with the Lord and carried to the new heaven and the new earth -- it won't be a foreign place to us -- it will be home -- and it will literally be heaven on earth
-- let's pray
25 May 2008
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Rev. 21
1. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
5. He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"
-- this morning, we are going to finish up our messages on heaven that we started right at the end of the series on the Apostle's Creed -- if you happened to miss any of these messages or just want to look at them again, I have them all posted on my blog now
-- before we begin, though, I hope you'll bear with me for a moment as I pour myself a little drink -- [pour coffee from thermos]
-- you know, I think most of you know this by now, but I love coffee -- in my mind, one of the finest things in life is pouring a hot cup of strong coffee -- just feeling the warmth of the cup in my hands -- seeing that wisp of steam coming up from the top -- the aroma of the beans roasted to perfection -- and then that perfect first taste -- there's few things, food-wise, that I enjoy as much
-- now I'm not just pouring this coffee because I'm thirsty -- but there's a point to this cup
-- as I was working on this series of messages about heaven, I would usually get up real early in the morning -- and the first thing I would do was brew a pot of coffee -- and then, when it was ready, I'd pour a cup -- sit at my desk -- and start working
-- and, as I was working, smelling the rich aroma of the coffee and enjoying the taste of that first sip, I found myself thinking, "I just can't imagine heaven without coffee -- I just can't imagine there being no coffee in the new heaven and the new earth -- that would be a great disappointment to me"
-- Mark Twain once remarked that he had gone to church as a boy and become convinced of the evils of drinking and smoking -- he was only 10 years old -- and he said that he left church that day and swore off drinking and smoking forever -- but he said it lasted all of 30 minutes, and he started right back, because he thought, "If a body can't enjoy a good glass of whiskey and a good cigar, then life isn't really worth living"
-- and I kind of feel that way about coffee -- now understand, I'm not trying to be flippant about heaven -- but think about it like this -- in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth -- He filled the earth with plants and with animals and with all kinds of living things -- and He pronounced it, "Good"
-- then He created Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden and told them to work it and to take care of it and to enjoy of all that the garden had to offer except for the one tree in the center of the garden
-- do you know what that means? -- coffee trees are part of this world -- they were created by God and God called them good -- and God Himself told Adam and Eve to enjoy them -- and ever since then, people have enjoyed coffee -- even though the coffee and our taste buds are not at their best since the fall
-- this passage tells us that God is going to recreate the earth and heavens -- the old heaven and the old earth will pass away, making way for a new earth -- a restored earth -- and there is no reason to believe that coffee trees won't be part of this new world
-- there is no reason to believe that we won't be able to enjoy coffee in this new world that God is giving us
-- now this is not a message about coffee -- but, I just wanted to use the idea of coffee in the new earth to bring up a point about our eternal home that God is going to create for us
-- a lot of times, we tend to spiritualize our eternal home -- we don't really think of it as a physical place -- a place like our present earth -- but Scripture tells us it will be
-- why else would we have new imperishable bodies? -- why else would God restore to us the perfect bodies shared by the first humans if He didn't intend for us to live and enjoy a perfect, physical world? -- if there were not physical things to enjoy, then there would be no need for us to have a physical body -- we could just go through eternity as disembodied spirits
-- Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:49 that our new bodies will bear the likeness of the resurrected Jesus -- our bodies will be imperishable -- immortal -- and physical -- Jesus was not a spirit -- He was not a ghost -- He was flesh and blood -- after the resurrection, He talked with His disciples -- He ate with His disciples -- He touched His disciples and let them touch Him -- and our new bodies will be like His
-- without a doubt, the greatest thing about heaven is going to be the fact that God dwells with us on this earth -- that we will walk with Him in the cool of the day as He walked with Adam and Eve -- that we will be in His presence and see His face-to-face -- that we will know Him in a new and personal way -- but I have no doubt that God's intent in recreating this earth and the heavens is to give us a place that will bring glory to Him as all creation praises Him and as we enjoy all that He has prepared for us
-- when we live our lives to the glory of God, we are worshiping Him -- worship is more than just singing and prayer -- and in the new earth, we will live out our worship as we work and serve and play with God in this new land -- as we go about our daily activities of life -- and that includes drinking a cup of coffee and sharing meals with loved ones
-- and on the new earth, our worship will be even more real and more pleasing to God because it will not be hindered by our sin or the curse of the earth that we are currently living in
-- so, let's look now at this new earth and let's see what we can learn about it from this passage
II. Defining Characteristics of the New Earth
-- in Hebrews 11:10, we read that Abraham envisioned heaven as a city with foundations, whose architect and builder was God -- that vision of Abraham's will come to pass on the new earth
-- look at verse 2
2. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
-- now skip down to verse 10
10. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
11. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
12. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
13. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.
14. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15. The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.
16. The 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 in length, and as wide and high as it is long.
17. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using.
18. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20. the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
-- here we read of the new Jerusalem -- the city of God -- that will come down from heaven to reside on the new earth
-- growing up here in south Georgia, I used to be scared of big cities -- we always heard stories of the crime and the violence there -- of how people were constantly getting hurt and robbed and killed in their streets -- and although these cities had great things within them -- magnificent architecture -- culture -- arts -- sports -- shopping -- we just wouldn't go for fear of what might happen to us
-- but can you imagine the new Jerusalem -- a city with all the advantages of an earthly city but with none of the disadvantages? -- a city with God -- a city with the best in art and music and culture -- the best in sports and society -- the best in people -- with no crime, no murder, and no violence -- no pollution -- no traffic or garbage or homelessness -- it would literally be heaven on earth
-- and that is exactly what we see described for us here in this passage -- the closest thing that I can liken it to is my trip to Atlanta for a Promise Keepers event -- we were riding the Marta from the airport to the Philips Arena -- and every stop, more and more Christian men got on -- and as they did, the atmosphere of that train changed -- people started talking -- people started singing -- and by the time we pulled into downtown Atlanta, that entire train was praising God
-- that is what the new Jerusalem is going to be like every day for eternity
-- but what about it's physical characteristics? -- John tells us in verse 16 that it would be like a cube -- with each side of the city being 12,000 stadia in length -- that's about 1,400 miles in length and width and height -- with the three sides reflecting the glory of the Trinity -- Father -- Son -- and Holy Spirit
-- just to give you some perspective, if you were to take a city this size and lay it out in the United States, it would stretch from Canada to Mexico and from California to the Appalachian mountains
-- the ground level would be about 2 million square miles -- 40 times bigger than England and 10 times bigger than France and Germany
-- notice that John says it is just as high as it is long -- that means that this city stretches up towards heaven for 1,400 miles -- we don't know this, but it is likely that this city might have different levels -- and if this is the case, assuming each level was 12 feet high, that would mean there would be 600,000 stories in the city
-- the new Jerusalem is an enormous place and it will be the centerpiece of the new earth because it will be where God dwells -- it will be the home of God -- look at verse 22
22. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. -- now flip over to Revelation 22
1. Then 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
2. down 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.
3. No 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.
4. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5. There 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.
-- there will be no temple in this city -- there will be no need to go to a place to worship God because God will be there with us -- His throne will be in the center of this great city -- and we will simply worship Him in His presence as we live out our life in this new Jerusalem and this new earth
-- John tells us here about two other major features of this city -- in the center of the city, flowing from the throne of God, is the river of life -- this river reflects the provision of God -- it reflects how He meets all our needs and provides us with life itself
-- and along each side of this river stands the tree of life that was originally in the Garden of Eden -- Jesus told us in Revelation 2:7 that the tree of life was currently in Paradise -- in the intermediate heaven that we will be in until the new earth and the new heaven are created
-- at that time, it will come down with the city of Jerusalem and line the river of life -- providing fruit all year long -- and serving as a continual source of renewal and refreshing and revival for us and for all the nations on earth
-- look back at Chapter 21, verse 24
24. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
25. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
26. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
-- there's something interesting in these verses -- notice that John tells us that the "nations of the earth" and the "kings of the earth" will bring their splendor to this city
-- in the new earth, there will be nations and kings -- there will be countries -- and all will be united under the kingship and leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ
-- until I started this study, I never considered the fact that there would be nations and countries in the new earth -- but in Hebrews 11:14, we read that all the people of faith were looking forward to a country of their own -- and that's exactly what we see in this passage -- this gives us another picture of what the new earth will look like
-- Jesus tells us many times in Scripture that we will be rulers for eternity -- we will be kings and queens -- ruling with Him in the new earth -- so, I assume this means that we will be given authority over places on earth depending on our faithfulness to Christ in this life
-- we know what countries look like -- they are territories with rulers -- they have national interest -- pride in identity and citizens who are both diverse and unified -- and that is what we will see on this new earth
-- we will not all live in the new Jerusalem, although we will have a place there -- a mansion or a house built by Christ's own hands -- but we will have a place of our own -- a country of our own -- on this new earth that we rule as stewards for God
-- so, our new earth -- our home for eternity -- will be characterized by the city of God -- the new Jerusalem -- and will have countries and nations in which all are Christian -- in which all exist and serve to bring glory to God
-- I have no doubt that these countries -- these nations -- which evidently lay outside the 12 gates of the wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem -- will be filled with the perfection of God's natural creation -- mountains and valleys -- rivers and streams -- great bodies of water -- great forests and sweeping plains -- all redeemed from the curse -- all restored to God's original plan of creation
-- there are places on our earth right now that are considered natural wonders -- beautiful areas that just take your breath away and leave you marveling at the glory of God and His creation -- the Grand Canyon -- Mount Everest -- Yellowstone -- the great prairies of America -- Niagra Falls -- the Amazon River
-- now you can you just imagine how much greater and how much more beautiful these will be in the new earth -- once all the corruption of the fall and all of the remnants of the curse are removed -- as Isaac Watts wrote in "Joy to the World"
-- No more let sins and sorrows grow -- Nor thorns infest the ground -- He comes to make His blessings flow -- Far as the curse is found"
-- this new world will reflect God's perfect creation -- nature will no longer have thorns or poison -- there will be no dangerous animals to contend with -- all will be perfect
-- and we will be given the opportunity to explore and to live and to experience God's goodness in nature and in society and in the great city as He originally intended life on earth to be -- men and women living in perfect harmony with nature and with each other and with Him
-- finally, before we close with our vision of heaven, let me answer the question that I'm sure is one everyone's mind -- yes, we will know each other -- we will know our families and those who have gone before -- our relationships will still extend into heaven -- we will still be husbands and fathers -- wives and mothers -- sons and daughters -- although our relationships will now be perfect and will be expressed through our relationship with God
-- the disciples knew Jesus -- they recognized Him -- they spoke with Him -- and, so, we should expect to be able to do the same in heaven -- in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul tells us that we will all be caught up together with those who have gone before -- and that we will all be with the Lord forever -- he urges us to comfort one another with these words
-- in other words, we are to be encouraged because for the Christian, death is not the end -- it is not the end of life -- and it is not the end of relationships with other people
-- in Don Piper's book, "90 minutes in heaven," he said that one of the most vivid memories that he has of his experience in heaven is being surrounded by family and friends -- and there is no reason to not expect the same when we are resurrected and put on the new earth and new heaven to live forever
-- so, yes, we will be with our families and friends, if they have believed in and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and received the forgiveness of sins from His atoning death on the cross
III. Closing
-- several years ago, I spent a couple of months in Antigua working for the University of Georgia -- I was there with only one other person I knew -- I was absent from my family and my friends and from all the familiar places I knew -- I was lost in a culture that was vastly different from my own -- and I got homesick -- I longed to be home -- I longed to see my house again -- my home again -- my family and friends again
-- I imagine that most of you here today have experienced this same feeling before -- maybe it's when you went off to college -- or on a long trip -- or some other time when you were separated from all that you knew -- and you longed to come home
-- whether you know it or not, every desire you have -- every longing that you have -- that ache in your heart for family and friends when you are apart -- that ache for the familiar -- is actually a longing for what you have never experienced but what you were made for -- eternity with God in the new heaven and the new earth
-- I'm going to close now with a quote from Paul Marshall, "This world is our home -- we are made to live here -- it has been devastated by sin -- but God plans to put it right -- hence, we look forward with joy to newly restored bodies and to living in a newly restored heaven and earth -- we can love this world [now] because it is God's -- and it will be healed -- becoming at last what God intended from the beginning"
-- when at the last -- at the sounding of the trumpet -- at the resurrection of the dead when we are caught up with the Lord and carried to the new heaven and the new earth -- it won't be a foreign place to us -- it will be home -- and it will literally be heaven on earth
-- let's pray
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