Kingdom - God Reigns.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] This is a week before Christmas. A lot of churches are probably doing Christmas [0:04] series, but I’m not very good at those. So we’re gonna talk about hell. So Merry [0:09] Christmas. We planned this series months ago and you know at the beginning I was [0:20] like December 18th, week before Christmas, you know, it’s a great time to talk [0:23] about this. Yesterday I started rethinking that. I was like, I don’t know, but I think it’s [0:28] gonna be great. Today we’re gonna talk about is the kingdom of God and we’re

[0:33] gonna finish today. I’m gonna let that out. What we’re gonna finish is come to [0:37] this realization that God will reign forever, regardless. So you better be [0:45] prepared for that. Regardless of what you think, regardless of what you hope in, [0:51] regardless of what you worship, God will reign forever and ever and there will be [0:55] no ending to his reign. And today what I want to talk about is the aspects of [1:01] what is going to happen when God rules and reigns forever. And when we do this

[1:07] there is a tendency as a people to, if you’ve spent any time in churches the [1:12] way that I have spent, this is where normally they bring out the chart. We’re [1:16] not gonna do that today and some of you haven’t spent time in church and you’re [1:19] not gonna get that joke, but this is where we bring out the charts and we [1:23] talk about the Middle East and we start showing news clippings and things of [1:26] that nature about what Yasser Arafat had for breakfast yesterday and how that

[1:30] fits into God’s end times. Alright, I’m not gonna do that. I grew up in a [1:35] tradition in which much speculation about the end of the world happening in [1:41] the next few days went into our thoughts of the future and what are your [1:48] millennium views and that type of thing. But there’s much that the scripture is [1:53] vague on. All of scripture is equally true, Mark Driscoll has said, but not all [1:59] of scripture is equally clear. And there are some things that the scripture is

[2:06] absolutely crystal clear on. And what we often have done in our traditions is [2:12] focus on that which is not clear but seems to be very sensational, very [2:19] exciting, it would make a great action movie. Alright, so we focus on those [2:24] things instead of building a foundation on that which God has made abundantly [2:30] clear to us about the future. And so what I’m gonna choose in our brief time and [2:35] you hope it’s brief, in our brief time together today, is I want to focus on the

[2:41] future that God has made crystal clear in his scriptures. Because that which he [2:46] has made vague, I believe he’s made vague for a reason. Not because it’s not [2:52] important or not beneficial to study those things, but what we typically do is [2:58] we circumvent, we go around that which is clear, and we don’t study those, we [3:03] don’t know that much about them, and we focus on that which, it’s not, it’s kind [3:07] of vague, you know, I don’t know, maybe those grasshoppers and locusts are

[3:12] helicopters, I don’t know, but this is what I think it’s gonna be. And so we [3:21] build a foundation on that without that which is clear. And when we do that, we do [3:28] nothing but set ourselves up to get the entire thing wrong. So let’s build a [3:33] foundation on that which God has made clear, okay? Jesus himself in Matthew 24 [3:40] and 36, revealed to us, but concerning the day and hour, no one knows, not even [3:46] the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father only, okay? Now there was a

[3:53] guy, maybe you saw it on the news, because it took over for a day that the world was [3:56] supposed to end on two different days this year, all right? Well, it didn’t. I’m [4:02] still here, I knew I was still gonna be here, I knew he was wrong. When I was a [4:06] child, there was a guy that did a study, he claimed he had done a study on the [4:09] Greek form of knoweth, it was out into a King James Church, of the word knows in [4:15] this text. And he said, what actually doesn’t mean no one knows? Years later, I

[4:22] took Greek, it means no one knows, it can’t have any other meaning, and I don’t [4:29] know why anyone listened to that guy. Very similar to, you know, Harold Camping, [4:35] who was wrong this year, because we want to speculate, we want to sensationalize, [4:41] when that is not the point of the gospel. The point of the gospel is not for me to [4:50] know every thought and every plan of God, the point of the gospel is for me to [4:57] trust that his plan is better than mine. The point of the gospel is for me to

[5:04] trust that Jesus will redeem, that Jesus will fulfill every promise that he has [5:12] ever made. And there are some promises that he has made that are so abundantly [5:18] clear, like this first one I want to talk about. In the end, and I don’t know when [5:24] it’s gonna be, but it’s coming, and we’ll talk about how it could be, honestly, at [5:30] any moment, it’s imminent, we’re not told when, that in the end, everyone will be [5:36] judged on the basis of Jesus. Okay? Join me in Hebrews chapter 9, which is where

[5:44] we’re gonna start our trek today. Hebrews 9, you can turn there, it’s also gonna be [5:51] up on the screen. For Christ has entered, not into the holy places made with hands, [5:59] which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the [6:06] presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high [6:13] priest, excuse me, enters the holy places every year with blood not his own. For then [6:20] he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as

[6:24] it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the [6:31] sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man, to die once, and after [6:39] that comes judgment. So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, [6:47] will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly [6:54] waiting for him. Now, when I was growing up, Hebrews 9.27 was like this verse, I didn’t [7:02] really pay attention to the ones around it, but I was, I grew up in church, I’ll just

[7:06] let that out of the bag, so I’ll probably have more baggage than all of you. I was [7:10] raised in church, and what I would use Hebrews 9.27 was to scare my friends. Because [7:16] when you’re a child, you have this really strange thought when you’re in church that [7:20] for some reason you’re going to be riding down your bike one day and someone’s literally [7:24] going to run you over so hardcore that it’s just going to splatter you everywhere and [7:28] you’re going to die. So the way the children’s church director at my church would use Hebrews

[7:32] 9.27 became the way that I would use Hebrews 9.27, it would just be to look people in the [7:36] face and say, look, it’s appointed to man once to die, and after this, judgment! And [7:40] when you’re a kid and you tell fibs and you steal candy bars and you disrespect your parents [7:46] and stuff, you’re like, oh, man, I’m going to get it. But if you trust in Christ, if [7:57] you follow him, this is not a text. The context of this verse is not one that should bring [8:02] me great fear, but rather it is written in the scope to bring me great hope. Okay? Now,

[8:11] two different types of judgments that scripture is going to kind of unveil for us through [8:17] this text. The first I want to talk about is the judgment of those who believe, because [8:23] that’s kind of where the text we’re going through is going to start today. This text [8:27] is talking a lot about the Old Testament. I think that’s why some people stay away [8:31] from the book of Hebrews. What it’s talking about is the fact that in the Old Testament, [8:35] the way that God revealed sinfulness to people was, number one, through the law. Don’t do

[8:41] this. If you do it, you’re a sinner. And so the people of Israel would do it because [8:47] they were sinners. And so they understood that condemnation was going to come upon them. [8:53] So what God gave them was an entire slew of sacrifices, of like regulations, of ceremonies, [9:02] of temples that were to exhibit how God views sin in all of God’s glory. And every year there [9:10] would come a time where there was the day of atonement, or Yom Kippur would come about. And [9:16] what would happen is, is on that day there would be extremely bloody sacrifices offered in the

[9:22] Holy of Holies, as well as in the Holy Place, to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel for [9:29] that year. But they would have to do this over and over and over and over. And then during the year, [9:37] they would have to constantly offer burnt offerings, offer food offerings, and there would [9:42] constantly have to be incense burning. There would constantly have to be new showbread on a [9:46] certain table in there. And all that to say this, there was never a true eternal appeasement

[9:56] for God’s anger towards sin. These were sacrifices that they had to keep doing over and over and over [10:04] and over. Have you ever wronged someone in your life, and no matter how many years are removed from [10:12] that sin that you did against them, that every time you see them, they find a way to bring it up? And so [10:20] you have to continue to feel that penance, that attrition, that guilt for that which you did to [10:27] them. Or maybe you just feel guilty, and it constantly comes up in your mind. What the [10:31] author of Hebrews is telling us here is that Jesus did not come to offer the type of sacrifice

[10:38] where your sin would constantly be battering you over and over and over and over. And so you have [10:45] to keep coming and offer 17 Hail Marys every Friday morning. You have to keep coming and paying [10:52] penance over and over and over. You have to be like a monk who would climb steps on his knees [10:58] till they were bloody, or whip your back like the guy in that Dan Brown movie that wasn’t that great. [11:04] But you would have to feel that way about your sin. The point of the author of Hebrews is that [11:12] Jesus came to offer a sacrifice once for all, so that the debt of sin would be completely wiped

[11:24] away if you trust him. In John chapter 12, Jesus put it this way, starting in verse 31.

[11:36] Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out, and I, [11:46] when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Jesus is speaking, [11:55] and he’s about to enter into the period in which he’s going to go to the cross, [11:59] and he’s looking to the disciples who are questioning what he’s going to do, [12:03] God speaks and says, I’m going to glorify my name through him, and Jesus, as he goes headlong into [12:08] the cross, he says, now is when the judgment’s going to take place. And so in the context of

[12:17] what we read in Hebrews right there, Jesus’s point is that I am going to the cross, and that [12:24] Second Corinthians 521 mentality where it says, he who knew no sin became sin on our behalf so [12:32] we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus is saying the judgment of God the Father on sin [12:38] for eternity is about to take place in what I’m going to do on the cross. And then the rest of [12:46] the New Testament lays out, if you’ll trust him, Romans chapter 10, if you’ll trust him,

[12:55] then your sin has been judged, and you will not have to stand account for it at all. [13:05] If you are a follower of Jesus, the greatest truth that I can help you understand about when [13:12] you stand before God for judgment is that if you trust him, your judgment’s done.

[13:22] When Jesus crying out on the cross to Telestine, paid in full, the debt is gone.

[13:31] He’s truly saying you do not have to fear the judgment of your sin. It’s gone.

[13:40] God the Father is at peace with you if you trust him. [13:45] Now, there is though coming that judgment. [13:52] Okay, and there’s a few things that you have to understand about the judgment, because [13:56] everything hinges on that phrase I said, that question, if you trust him. Okay, now I want [14:03] you to understand, and there’s going to be a few things up on the screen right now for us to go [14:06] through the scriptures, because I truly believe that we have to weigh the scriptures in everything

[14:12] we believe. We can’t just look at one. We have to compare scripture to scripture to get a complete [14:17] total view of what God is doing. The first thing that we have to understand is that there will be [14:22] a day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. Okay, there will be a coming day of [14:31] wrath. Jesus faced judgment, but that doesn’t mean that no one’s going to be judged for their sin. [14:39] What it means is, is that those who follow Jesus, those who trust him, they have faced the judgment. [14:47] But God has determined today to judge the world in righteousness through Jesus. And the fact of the

[14:53] matter is, is in Acts chapter 17 verse 31, what we see is, is that the basis of all of that judgment [15:02] is Jesus. The thing you have to understand is that the sins and the deeds that you have done [15:09] in your flesh will be weighed by one thing, and that is, did you trust in the sacrifice of Jesus? [15:19] Did you believe in the plan of God? Or did you continue in your rebellion, continue in not wanting [15:29] to follow God, continue to not want to accept what he has done to bring himself glory, and continue [15:36] in that, and willfully say, I would rather pay the price and penalty for my own sin.

[15:47] That’s the basis of judgment.

[15:52] Revelation chapter 20, we see where those who choose willfully, I will pay for my own sin. [16:00] I will not glorify you, God. I will not treasure what you’ve done through Jesus Christ. I [16:06] will not worship you. I will not follow you. It’s called the great white throne.

[16:14] In Romans chapter 14, when it says that every knee shall bowel and every tongue shall confess [16:21] that Jesus Christ is Lord, part of that is because everyone will stand before God whether [16:28] they believe in him or not. We all will. And those who do not trust, in the end, [16:40] they will have to admit that they were wrong, then it will be too late. And then they will have

[16:48] to be judged for the deeds done while on the body. Now,

[16:56] everyone will be judged on the basis of Jesus. Now, Jesus will be the judge.

[17:04] Jesus is appointed by the Father to judge the living and the dead, and we see that in Acts [17:09] chapter, excuse me, in Acts chapter 1042, and then in John chapter 527. But the reality is, [17:17] in his judgment, he will judge those who follow him as well as those who do not follow him. [17:22] And in that judgment, what we’re going to see is the fact that in not choosing to follow him, [17:29] there will be no reward for those who have not trusted in Christ, but for those [17:34] who do trust in him, there will be rewards. In Revelation chapter 11, what we see as this

[17:40] great reality is that those who follow Christ will be rewarded on the basis of the righteousness of [17:46] Christ, because they have trusted in the truth. But unbelievers, though, will be punished.

[17:58] It’s a sobering reality that we have to all take into consideration in our lives. Romans 2, 8 is [18:04] just so crystal clear that there is a coming punishment, even in light of what Jesus has done. [18:12] There is still a coming punishment,

[18:18] and that punishment is revealed to be hell.

[18:26] Hell is the eternal destination of those not redeemed by Jesus. There has been some theological

[18:35] controversy inside of more academic circles. Most of you probably just missed this [18:40] altogether because you’re not nerds. I happen to kind of be one. So there was a book released this [18:47] past year about the fact that hell is not eternal, that in the end, regardless of our faith, [18:54] all of us will be in heaven. The problem with that view is the same problem with all wrong views, [19:02] and it’s Scripture. That’s the problem. Scripture does not paint a picture of universal

[19:12] reconciliation with God, regardless of what we do and what we choose in this life. [19:19] Scripture instead paints a picture that hell is a real place, and in Revelation, what we really [19:25] see is that hell is an eternal place. In the book of Matthew, Jesus, and here’s where the problems [19:32] with all universal views, pluralism, doesn’t matter what your faith is, we all go towards the same God, [19:40] Scripture paints this picture, and Jesus himself begins to paint this picture when in the book of [19:44] Matthew, he begins to refer to condemnation and hell by the word Gehenna. Gehenna is a valley outside

[19:55] of Jerusalem. In this valley in the Old Testament, if you want to see one verse on it, [19:59] Jeremiah chapter 32 verse 25, I want to say, verse 35, excuse me, Jeremiah 32, 35, this is a place [20:08] where pagan idolatry ran rampant for a period of Israel’s history. Not simply that they were [20:14] erecting false gods and worshiping them, it went past that to the point where children were being [20:20] sacrificed to false gods. And so Gehenna was a place that Israel felt great shame for, [20:29] much like the shame that Germans most likely feel over Auschwitz because of the Holocaust.

[20:35] It was a shameful place where much evil was done, and so the Jews did not like it, so what they did [20:44] was, is they made it their dump for lack of better terminology. Their sewage would be dumped [20:51] there, their refuse would be dumped there, the dead bodies of criminals would be dumped there, [20:58] dead animals would be dumped there. The stench of Gehenna was so great that one of the jobs in Israel [21:08] was to be the fire setter of Gehenna that would constantly keep Gehenna burning incessantly.

[21:18] Because the pile would get too high, the stench would get too great, so Gehenna had to burn, [21:23] so they would burn it. And Jesus uses the constant fire and evil thoughts of Gehenna [21:30] to describe hell. Hell throughout scripture has many different realities ascribed to it. [21:40] The first one, Matthew 25, 41, Jesus says that hell has eternal fire that is originally prepared [21:47] for Satan and his demons. It’s also described as a place where the worm doesn’t even die, [21:54] and the fire isn’t quenched. It’s referred to in Luke chapter 16 in the parable of Lazarus and

[22:01] the rich man. This is great description using a story of a real hell where he says it is a place [22:09] of eternal torment, and the rich man begs for someone to go warn his family because they don’t [22:15] want to endure it. Hell is also described as a place of eternal darkness where there is no light, [22:22] a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place of eternal suffering and wrath, a place, [22:30] finally, of exclusion from God’s presence.

[22:38] Hell is described as this place that was meant for Satan and his demons but ultimately will be [22:44] where they are for eternity, but also where those who follow them away from Jesus will also. [22:52] Be for eternity. Hell often in popular culture is seen as a place where I know one famous quote [23:00] from billionaire Ted Turner is that, sure, I want to go to hell. It’s where all my friends will be. [23:06] He says that tongue in cheek, but the reality is that it is seen as a place of constant isolation, [23:11] a place of constant darkness, a place where hope does not even exist, but a place nonetheless where

[23:18] Satan is not the king. And I think it’s one of the greatest misnomers of hell in Revelation. We do [23:25] not see Satan ruling over hell, but rather in Revelation chapter 20, we see God take Satan, [23:33] the antichrist, the false prophet, we see him take death, we see him take all of this and throw it [23:38] into the lake of fire to burn for an eternity. Hell is a place that was created by God according [23:47] to Scripture and hell is a place that is ruled by God. There may come in our mind at this point

[24:01] an argument. I just want to deal with it briefly because of time. I thought God was loving.

[24:11] How could a loving God send anyone to such a place where you could burn, where you could suffer, [24:19] but it doesn’t end in death, it just continues for an eternity? How is that possible? Because I [24:25] think that is why in culture and even in church we don’t want to talk about it. We would rather [24:31] avoid it as a reality, we would rather explain it away that, well, it’s only temporary, or well, [24:36] it’s actually a frame of mind. But think about this, that when we think about hell and think [24:43] that it’s not loving, do you understand though that to reject justice is to reject love?

[24:52] That if there were no hell, if there were no justice over sin, if there were no finality to [25:01] sin, if God is seen as victorious forever more, then he would not be loving because sin would [25:11] continue to reign. Tim Keller, the pastor in New York, he puts it so well that to reject justice [25:20] rather is not loving. All loving persons are sometimes filled with wrath.

[25:28] Not just despite, but because of their love. The Bible says that God’s wrath flows from his love [25:40] and delight in his creation. He’s angry at evil and injustice because it is destroying its peace [25:47] and integrity. C.S. Lewis takes it further when he says that what is hell, [25:55] what more could hell be than God giving people exactly what they want?

[26:04] Romans chapter 1 verse 24, we see this reality that God gives people over to the lusts of their [26:14] hearts and to what in King James English we call a reprobate mind. But rather what he does is he [26:20] gives people over to sin and to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. Hell simply is the [26:28] completion of that. Hell is the refusal to trust God, the refusal to want God, the refusal to [26:41] desire God at his terms, and to instead paint ourselves as some type of deity and follow after [26:49] our own plan for eternity. And in that what we see is that God ultimately, and in the great divorce

[26:58] by a book by C.S. Lewis, a challenge you to read it, what we see he paints this picture of people [27:04] not being dragged into hell but walking gladly into it because God is finally giving them what [27:11] they want and that is the exclusion of his presence forever. Hell, C.S. Lewis says, is the [27:22] greatest monument to human freedom. Because what it is, is people just like you and me saying, [27:35] God I see your plan but I don’t want it, I don’t want to treasure it, I find no delight in it, [27:40] I find no happiness in it because I’m not the center of it and I want to be the center

[27:45] of everything in my life. God,

[27:54] grievously, grievously according to the book of Psalms, not joyously, says okay,

[28:04] hell is the outcome of that choice.

[28:12] Because what we don’t understand is the picture that scripture paints of God’s presence.

[28:23] It’s seen in scripture in the psalmist and many other people describe it as a place of [28:27] unending delight, a place of absolute joy, a place where joy forevermore is seen, a place where true [28:37] worship takes place, a place where absolute satisfaction and fulfillment happens.

[28:46] You see folks, hell is simply the exact opposite of the presence of God.

[28:58] For those who’ve trusted in Christ,

[29:02] we find that they will enter into the kingdom of God. [29:06] And heaven is a part of the kingdom of God but I didn’t want to use the term heaven [29:09] to say the final destination of those who trust in Christ. I want to say the kingdom of God [29:14] because it’s about more than heaven. The kingdom of God is the eternal destination of those [29:19] who are redeemed by Jesus. Now, you’re running the slides back there. I want to back up to [29:28] something that I skipped over and I did that on purpose.

[29:33] The outline, yeah, there at the very beginning. Those who believe in Jesus will stand before the [29:39] judgment seat of Christ. I want you to understand that. There is judgment even if we follow Jesus. [29:47] It’s simply that it is not condemnation. We will not stand before God and somehow we screwed the [29:53] gospel up even though we trusted it. And I think that’s what we think sometimes. We think we’re [29:57] going to get before God and we trusted in Jesus, we worship Jesus, we follow Jesus, [30:01] and God’s going to say, well, but you didn’t do it right. Oh, no. Oh, man. No, that’s not what the

[30:08] judgment seat of Christ is all about. The judgment seat of Christ instead is a place where, according [30:13] to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, there will be reward for believers, for those who follow Christ, [30:20] and it will be a place where we will see the validity of our faith revealed. [30:27] OK, now I want to just for a brief moment quickly take a look at 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 10 [30:35] through 17, and I’m mostly going to let the scriptures speak for themselves and just put a [30:40] little bit of commentary, you hope. In 1 Corinthians, excuse me, chapter 3, Paul writes,

[30:46] According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, [30:51] and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it, [30:56] for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, [31:01] if anyone builds on a foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, a hay straw, [31:07] each one’s work will become manifest for the day. Now, understand that in Paul’s writings, the day [31:15] always represents judgment, always represents the day that Christ will return and judge sin.

[31:23] For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort [31:29] of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, [31:35] he will receive award. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will [31:40] be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple, and the God’s [31:47] Spirit dwells in you? But notice this, if anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, [31:57] for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Now, in here, we have a few different

[32:02] realities. The first one is that we will stand before God, and that our works done for the [32:08] cause of Christ will be tested through fire. And that which was for Christ, the gold, silver, [32:13] if you put gold and silver through fire, it survives. Put wood and hay and straw through [32:19] fire, guess what? Gone. And there will be degrees of rewards given to those who followed Christ.

[32:29] Understand this. Condemnation does not exist for the follower of Christ. Romans chapter 8 verse 1, [32:35] there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. But I want you to focus [32:41] on the end of that. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, for God’s temple [32:48] is holy, and you are that temple. Now, bring that outline back up. We must be careful [32:57] to live God’s mission with our lives. It’s a sobering reality to me when we begin to talk [33:03] about the future. According to Matthew chapter 7, according to Hebrews chapter 5 and 6, according

[33:10] to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, according to Romans chapter 6, according to 2 Corinthians chapter 5,

[33:19] our life stands as a testimony to whether or not we truly trust in Jesus.

[33:27] Grace covers all sin. But there is this reality in Scripture that the response to grace will [33:34] bring about transformation. And while you will not be perfect and while you will sin, [33:38] and you will continue to need that grace, that grace will bring a response of faithfulness to [33:44] Jesus Christ and a desire inside of you to worship Him. It will not bring a life in which you simply [33:52] pray to Him because you don’t want to go to hell and then live your life in the exact opposite [33:57] of what He desires for you to be. And in the end, you will just simply avoid hell because

[34:03] you had fire insurance. Because if you do that, according to what I think 1 Corinthians chapter [34:13] 3 is talking about, you’re destroying God’s temple because God’s temple is not to be [34:19] destructed through your life, but rather you are to grow in the grace of God through Jesus Christ [34:23] our Lord. Colossians, Paul tells us to warn everyone. Hebrews chapter 5, it says, don’t fall away. [34:36] In Philippians, Paul says, make sure your salvation, excuse me, work out your salvation [34:40] with fear. I get these two mixed up, so it’s one or the other. Paul says, make sure your salvation,

[34:44] excuse me, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Peter says, make sure your salvation.

[34:50] These are warnings to weigh whether or not your faith is real and your life will show it. [34:58] If you do not desire Jesus, why in the world do you want to spend eternity with Him?

[35:05] And that’s something you need to ask yourself. Now, the Kingdom of God is the eternal destination [35:12] of those who are redeemed by Jesus. For every believer, death is not something that is to be [35:19] found with dread, but rather the gateway through which our being set apart for the worship of God [35:26] is found to be complete. Now, what I want you to understand is that there are a few things that [35:32] we have to understand about the Kingdom of God. In 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 13, it tells us that [35:37] there is coming a day when there will be a new heavens and a new earth. And the text right before

[35:45] this described that this old earth will be burned up by fire and there will be a new heavens and a [35:51] new earth. Now, I don’t think the reality there is that God is simply going to throw it away [35:56] and start over. In scripture, what we constantly see is that fire represents a refinement or a [36:02] making new of something that did not fulfill its purpose. So I believe that God is going to take [36:07] this earth, he’s going to refine it, and he’s going to return it back to the Genesis 1 chapter 31, [36:13] excuse me, verse 31 reality. When he steps back from his creation, he says, it is good.

[36:19] But there will be a new heavens and a new earth in which those of us who follow Jesus, those of us [36:24] who trust in Jesus, we will be with him forevermore. And here’s a couple of things that the scriptures [36:29] tell us about what the Kingdom of God will be like. It will be so beautiful that there will be no more [36:35] of pain and suffering, according to Isaiah chapter 65 17. God will restore creation to a place [36:42] of perfection and peace, according to Revelation 21. Danger and separation will be eradicated.

[36:55] Be eradicated.

[36:58] God will dwell with man. There will be no more death.

[37:07] 1 Corinthians 15 54 gives one of the greatest promises.

[37:13] That is, death will lose its sting forever. There’ll be no more death.

[37:24] And there will be no darkness. I like that one. I tried to go running at 5 a.m. one time, [37:30] and for some reason around every tree was a burglar.

[37:35] I think the funny thing is I’m six feet tall, 250 pounds, and I was convinced someone was [37:41] going to beat me like I was an old lady. I’m afraid of the dark. I’m not going to lie. [37:48] I, the iPhone has saved me from that because I have this flashlight app that turns the flash [37:52] on my phone off. So to go to bed at night when I turn all the lights in the house off, [37:56] I turn the app on. I’m like,

[38:02] there’ll be no more darkness because the glory of God will be so bright. [38:06] It’s not going to be because there’s going to be a sun. No, we’re not going to need it. We’re [38:08] going to have the glory of God. No, the sun could even completely be vanquished and we would never [38:14] have darkness because the glory of God will shine all around us.

[38:19] Heaven is a literal place in which God dwells. Heaven is that place in which God especially [38:27] makes His presence known. That’s what we need to realize, that His presence sustains all things [38:32] outside of heaven, but His manifested presence is made full in heaven. And then Revelation [38:37] chapter 7, this great verse, it says that heaven is where worship will be at its brightest and most [38:42] perfect, where there will be people from all tribes, all tongues, and all nations gathered [38:46] around the throne of God, worshiping Him and saying, salvation belongs to our Lord. That’s

[38:51] why we did that offering this morning, so that that will happen. All tribes, all tongues, [38:58] all nations, God is not satisfied with just you. He wants more.

[39:05] Romans chapter 8, though, tells us that He won’t simply be done and that we won’t simply be in [39:09] heaven. That He will renew the earthly creation. It says that creation itself in Romans 8 groans [39:15] because of the effects of sin on it, because there are places on earth that are desolate [39:18] and where there is no vegetation, there are no fruit. And God’s going to end that. He’s [39:23] going to redo the world and that He will undo the curse of Adam. The earth will return to a garden [39:28] state in which there will be productivity in the desolate places. Paradise will be restored on the

[39:33] earth. Those who have been raised with Christ will receive glorified bodies. After going to [39:40] the gym yesterday and hurting my neck, I’m so happy about that. We will receive glorified bodies. [39:47] It says that which was sown perishable is perishable in 1st Corinthians, but that which [39:52] is resurrected imperishable will be imperishable. No more sickness, no more death, no more suffering, [40:03] no more pain, no more saying goodbye to loved ones. Heaven and the kingdom of God that we will [40:11] enter into as those who follow Him, those who are faithful to Him, those who treasure Him,

[40:16] will be so beautiful that we will not even be able to recall to memory the slightest of sufferings [40:25] in our lives. I know some of you have suffered much. Some of you have experienced great pain [40:32] in your life. But I want you to understand that when you trust in Christ, when you follow Him, [40:38] when you love Him, when you treasure what He has done on your behalf, when you are in His presence [40:44] you will not remember them because you will be with Him and He will vanquish it all.

[41:04] So, we have to understand though

[41:09] is that in heaven Jesus will reign. He’s King.

[41:17] Our last point today is something and I’ve skipped some stuff that you don’t need to worry about. [41:23] You like lunch, I know. Jesus is coming and He will reign forever.

[41:34] Matthew chapter 24 starting in verse 42.

[41:40] Jesus says this. He says, because I’m coming stay awake for you do not know on what day our [41:48] Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night [41:56] the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. [42:01] Therefore you also must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

[42:09] We cannot waste even a moment of this life. [42:16] We cannot waste even a minute on our just simple desire to sleep it away.

[42:26] Jesus says wake up.

[42:29] I’m coming.

[42:33] Your life matters.

[42:37] Because I believe most of us because of the way that we have studied the future, [42:41] we have this mentality that Jesus is going to come, that there’s going to be some more time. [42:46] And because He revealed that He came and He took some Christians away, then I’ll repent. [42:51] [42:52] Scripture does not paint that reality.

[43:00] Scripture paints a reality that He comes and it’s too late.

[43:19] Guys, do not waste your life

[43:31] because through which you choose in life to live for is your faith. See?

[43:46] But if you just trust Him. Because here’s what it is, it’s not about what you do for Him. [43:53] I don’t want you to get that understanding. It’s about what He has done for you.

[44:01] Here’s what it is. When you see that John 12 reality that He has taken judgment for you,

[44:11] and you understand that you have sinned, and I think there’s a hard problem with many of us in [44:18] this generation in believing that our sin is so offensive to God. When you’re perfect, all sin is [44:26] offensive. And when you are imperfect, you’re going to try to excuse away the deeds that you [44:33] have done that were offensive to that which is perfect. But God did not say, well, you’re going [44:38] to pay now. Rather, Jesus, who is perfect, who had no sin, He said, Father, I will be judged.

[44:51] And when we understand the huge price that Jesus has paid, our response is not,

[45:05] well, I got to do all this stuff to earn something. No. Our response is,

[45:15] I’ll worship you. I’ll treasure you. I’ll love you. You’ve done everything for me. You are the one [45:27] to whom I will give my life. You are the one to whom I will follow. You are the one to whom my [45:35] allegiance is aligned. You are the one that I love, and I’ll give it all to you, because you are the [45:43] one that has taken all that’s wrong with me and left me with nothing but that which you’ve given [45:48] me that’s good. And you’ve said, you’ve got good. Now you know what to use it for. We have the [45:53] privilege of not being slaves to sin, but rather being able to obey the God of the universe and

[45:58] know Him in a relationship with Him. And if your response is not, I treasure you above all else, [46:05] then you do not know Him.

[46:10] Because Revelation chapter 22 gives us the greatest reality of what heaven’s going to be like,

[46:17] what the kingdom of God is all about. In Revelation chapter 22,

[46:26] read this.

[46:29] Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, [46:34] flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, through the middle of the street of the city. [46:41] Also on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, [46:45] yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

[46:51] The healing of the nations. Just for a moment, think about Africa with no genocide, no famine,

[47:01] no nuclear weapons. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of [47:12] the Lamb will be in it, and the servants will worship Him. And then look at verse 4, they will [47:23] see His face. If you don’t treasure Jesus, that means nothing to you.

[47:36] But if you know what Jesus has done for you,

[47:45] you look at verse 4, and you’re just captivated.

[47:54] I’ll see Him.

[47:58] I’ll see that which Moses was not allowed to see because the Father said, [48:03] My glory will kill you. You can’t see it. Not in sin. I will be able to stand before the throne [48:13] of the Lamb, and I’ll look at His face.

[48:22] That is the kingdom of God.

[48:29] Friends, He paid a price greater than you’ll ever know.

[48:38] And He loves you more than you could ever comprehend.

[48:44] But He doesn’t care that I comprehend it.

[48:49] He just wants me to trust Him. And when I trust Him, I can’t help but treasure Him.

[49:01] And I’ll see His face, and then it says in verse 5,

[49:07] And the night will be no more. They will need no light or lamp or sun, [49:13] for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. [49:21] We get to reign with Him. And He said to me, this is John writing,

[49:30] These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of the spirits, [49:34] of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place. [49:40] And then Jesus says to John, And behold, I’m coming soon. [49:45] Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

[49:51] He’s coming. And in John chapter 3, Jesus says this.

[50:01] He says that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes, [50:06] trusts the term in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His [50:13] Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. [50:18] And whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe [50:27] is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

[50:39] What will you do with Jesus?

[50:48] Will you trust Him? Will you follow Him?

[50:56] But here’s what you have to understand. Some of you are like so many that I’ve known.

[51:03] Say, Not now. Not now. I’ve got too much going on in my life. It’s too full. I don’t have room. Not now.

[51:16] Paul says that today is the day of salvation. The reason he says that is because Jesus says, [51:24] I’m coming soon. There’s two realities we all have to live with.

[51:32] We’re either going to die or we’re going to live to see His return.

[51:40] And I don’t know when either of those are going to happen to you. [51:43] Or to me.

[51:49] So my advice is that whatever you do with Jesus, do it today.

[52:02] I would be irresponsible if at this point

[52:08] I did not appeal to you in that way. If at this point I did not say,

[52:15] whatever you’ve been living for, if it’s not Jesus, you’re worshiping the wrong God.

[52:23] Whatever it is that you’re following, whatever it is that’s holding you back [52:26] from trusting Him, stop it and trust Him. Trust Him.

[52:36] Whether you believe in Him or not, you’ll stand before Him.

[52:42] And when I stand before Him, I look forward to it [52:51] because I have been given His righteousness and He wants to give it to you. [52:57] Turn from your sin today and trust in the eternal, once for all sacrifice of Jesus. [53:07] Do not let pride stop you.