Latest / Bible stories / Our Present Hope for the Future _biblestudy _revelation21

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Our Present Hope for the Future _biblestudy _revelation21 · Bible stories

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  Speaker 1: Turning your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 21,
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  Speaker 1: the book of Revelation chapter 21, Revelation chapter 21.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm.
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  Speaker 1: Going to only read just, just that first verse. I'll
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  Speaker 1: be reading from the next Bible. And let's not forget,
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  Speaker 1: and I don't want to get in trouble. Y'all, you
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  Speaker 1: already know my wife is here. I just had to
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  Speaker 1: say that. I got to say that. I got to
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  Speaker 1: put a plug in for my beautiful wife being here
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  Speaker 1: to support me. Revelation chapter 21, verse 1. And it says,
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  Speaker 1: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
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  Speaker 1: The first heaven and earth had ceased to exist. And
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  Speaker 1: the sea existed no more. I want to use as
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  Speaker 1: a subject our present hope.
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  Speaker 2: For the future.
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  Speaker 1: Our present hope for the future. There is so much
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  Speaker 1: going on in this world. I mean, this world is
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  Speaker 1: spiraling out of control, so much so that I don't
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  Speaker 1: know about you, but there are times when I'm watching
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  Speaker 1: TV and I'm.
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  Speaker 2: Like, click. I just can't take it anymore.
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  Speaker 1: When I'm watching TV, I'll change the channel or I'll
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  Speaker 1: turn it off. Because it's really becoming more and more.
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  Speaker 1: No doubt you're seeing depravity at best and it's getting
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  Speaker 1: worse and worse, much like what God told us. This
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  Speaker 1: is going to happen. These things will happen. And so
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  Speaker 1: it really penetrates. It bothers me at times and at
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  Speaker 1: times it becomes a distraction.
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  Speaker 2: But it's also a reminder.
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  Speaker 1: This world is not my home.
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  Speaker 2: We're just passing through.
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  Speaker 1: The Bible says our citizenship is in heaven.
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  Speaker 2: So here's the thing.
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  Speaker 1: We need to stop living like we're going to be
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  Speaker 1: here forever. There are some believers who literally they pitch
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  Speaker 1: their tent and they really, we don't want to think
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  Speaker 1: about it.
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  Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, we don't want to think
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  Speaker 2: about death, right? We hate that. But let me explain
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  Speaker 2: something about death real quickly.
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  Speaker 1: Death is nothing but a vehicle that God uses to
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  Speaker 1: move us from earth to glory.
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  Speaker 2: That's what death is.
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  Speaker 1: Now, mind you, you know, like you, I'm sure you
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  Speaker 1: would probably agree with this.
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  Speaker 2: Lord, just take us out of here right now. Just
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  Speaker 2: rapture me out of here. Right.
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  Speaker 1: But let me ask you a question. The question is
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  Speaker 1: actually a couple of questions. First question I want to ask,
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  Speaker 1: how many of you are ready to go to heaven?
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  Speaker 1: Wait a minute. Let me try. Maybe I need to
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  Speaker 1: go back and sit down. Maybe we need to restart
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  Speaker 1: the service all over again. Let me try that one
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  Speaker 1: more time. How many of you are ready to go
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  Speaker 1: to heaven?
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  Speaker 2: Amen. Thank you. I appreciate that. All right.
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  Speaker 1: So now I got some hands up. At first I
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  Speaker 1: saw somebody, well, I don't know. Here's another question. How
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  Speaker 1: many of you are living like you're ready to go?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, ah, I didn't see too many hands on that one.
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  Speaker 1: See, there's a difference between ready to go.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe I need to ask another question. How many of
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  Speaker 2: you know you're going to heaven? Yeah. But are you ready? See,
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  Speaker 2: that's the question. And so.
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  Speaker 1: Here's what I've learned about eschatology. It's not something that, look,
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about the study of end times. It's not
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  Speaker 1: something you want to overlook.
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  Speaker 2: Trust me.
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  Speaker 1: It's really something, eschatology, the study of end times is
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  Speaker 1: really encouraging.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, turn in your Bibles. Turn real quickly.
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  Speaker 1: Go back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Paul talks about the rapture, right?
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  Speaker 1: He's saying, you know, we're going to be raptured out
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  Speaker 1: of here.
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  Speaker 2: The dead in Christ will rise first.
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  Speaker 1: And then all of us who are still here, who remain,
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  Speaker 1: will be caught up to what?
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  Speaker 2: To meet him in the sky. Notice what Paul says, though.
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  Speaker 2: Pay attention.
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  Speaker 1: Don't miss this in verse 18. Therefore, encourage one another
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  Speaker 1: with these words.
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  Speaker 2: You see that?
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  Speaker 1: Go to the next chapter, chapter 5, at the end, well,
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  Speaker 1: not at the end, but verse 11, he says, therefore,
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  Speaker 1: that is again, encourage one another and build up each
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  Speaker 1: other just as you are in fact doing. He repeats
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  Speaker 1: it twice, letting us know, guess what? Study of end times,
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  Speaker 1: it's actually motivating. It's actually encouraging. And so Paul gives,
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  Speaker 1: not Paul, but John here, John gives us a present
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  Speaker 1: hope for the future by giving us three different pictures
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  Speaker 1: within this vision that he saw. Now, let me back
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  Speaker 1: up on the next slide. Notice here, let me at
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  Speaker 1: least give you the timeline of events, if you can
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  Speaker 1: see that. So where are we right now? We're in
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  Speaker 1: what's called the last days. And by the way, I'm
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  Speaker 1: not going to argue with you, okay? I am a premillennialist, right?
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  Speaker 1: So what does that big elephant word mean, Dr.
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  Speaker 2: Fish?
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  Speaker 1: What that simply means is this, what a piece that
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  Speaker 1: stands out the most. No doubt, it's right there in
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  Speaker 1: the text. You can prove it over and over and
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  Speaker 1: over in the Old Testament and the New Testament. But
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  Speaker 1: the piece that I love most about premillennialism is this, right?
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  Speaker 1: We are going to be raptured out of here before
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  Speaker 1: the time of tribulation. I don't know about you. I
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  Speaker 1: don't want to be here during the time of tribulation,
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  Speaker 1: especially the last three and a half years.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, no.
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  Speaker 1: Now, some people will try to say, well, man, it
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  Speaker 1: so feel like we're going through a tribulation right now.
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  Speaker 2: Lord have mercy with all this stuff going on. We're
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  Speaker 2: not saying it.
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  Speaker 1: We're not there yet because the church and the Old
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  Speaker 1: Testament saints, we will be raptured out of here. So
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  Speaker 1: if you notice there, we're in the end times. We're
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  Speaker 1: waiting for Christ to come back. And as one author said,
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  Speaker 1: come quickly, Lord Jesus, please, please come quickly with all
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  Speaker 1: this stuff going on. Please come quickly. And so we're
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  Speaker 1: going to be raptured out of here. And then there
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  Speaker 1: will be the time of tribulation. And that's when the
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  Speaker 1: Antichrist will show up. Revelation chapter 13. That's when he
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  Speaker 1: shows up. And then after the seven years of tribulation,
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  Speaker 1: there is the millennial period, the thousand year reign of Christ.
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  Speaker 2: OK, and then we at this.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, during the time of the tribulation and
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  Speaker 1: during the time of the millennium, the thousand year reign
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  Speaker 1: of Christ, we're with Christ. And then at the end
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  Speaker 1: of the millennial time, Satan will be loose. This is
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  Speaker 1: a previous chapter, chapter 20. He'll be loose. And thanks
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  Speaker 1: be to God, he'll be defeated, y'all. He is a
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  Speaker 1: defeated foe.
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  Speaker 2: You know what?
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  Speaker 1: All Satan really is, is a barking dog on a
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  Speaker 1: long chain. He just make a whole lot of noise.
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  Speaker 1: That's what's going on right now. He's making a whole
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  Speaker 1: lot of noise, but he is a defeated foe. And
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  Speaker 1: so right here in chapter 21, which is where we
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  Speaker 1: are with John sees this vision in chapter 21. This
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  Speaker 1: is the final state of where you and I will
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  Speaker 1: be the eternal state with Christ. And he gives us
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  Speaker 1: three things that we could be hopeful for. Yeah, look
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  Speaker 1: hopeless in chapter 20. But here in chapter 21, there's hope.
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  Speaker 1: Here's the first thing he says that we can have
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  Speaker 1: a present hope for the future. God has a place
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  Speaker 1: for us. God has a place for us. Look again
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  Speaker 1: at verse 1 and 2. He says, After all that
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  Speaker 1: stuff that went on in chapter 20, after Satan is defeated,
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  Speaker 1: then I saw a new heaven and a new earth
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  Speaker 1: and the first heaven and the first earth had ceased
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  Speaker 1: to exist and the sea existed no more. So he's
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  Speaker 1: saying to us, God has a place for us. First
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  Speaker 1: of all, it's a clean place. It's holy. If you
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  Speaker 1: notice in verse two, it's holy. It's a clean place.
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  Speaker 1: God is going to clean the house.
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  Speaker 2: If you will. It's a perfect place. Notice that the
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  Speaker 2: sea is gone. Well, why?
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  Speaker 1: Why is the sea gone? I mean, what's the big
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  Speaker 1: deal with the sea being taken away?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it really is.
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  Speaker 1: If you go back and you follow always, especially in
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  Speaker 1: the Old Testament and just do a quick study of
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  Speaker 1: the sea in If you go back to when Pharaoh
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  Speaker 1: and his army was drowned in the Red Sea, coming
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  Speaker 1: up out of the sea in Revelation chapter 13 is
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  Speaker 1: the Antichrist. There's nothing good about the sea. The sea
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  Speaker 1: is troubling. The sea is a symbol of unrighteousness. It's
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  Speaker 1: actually a sign of judgment. So here in the eternal
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  Speaker 1: state where we are in the book, can't wait to
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  Speaker 1: get there, in the eternal state by the time we
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  Speaker 1: get to that point, the sea is no longer needed
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  Speaker 1: because judgment is no longer needed. You and I, as believers,
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  Speaker 1: will stand at the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5.10.
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  Speaker 1: But we shall all stand at the judgment seat of
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  Speaker 1: Christ to be judged for those things we've done in
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  Speaker 1: the body, both good and bad. That's our judgment. But
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  Speaker 1: in chapter 20, the great white throne judgment occurs for
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  Speaker 1: Satan and all of those who have rejected Christ. And
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  Speaker 1: they're not standing there to find out whether or not
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  Speaker 1: they made it in. They're standing there. Why? Because they
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  Speaker 1: rejected Christ and they will be cast into the lake
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  Speaker 1: of fire. So the sea is gone. Antichrist is gone.
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  Speaker 1: Sinisters are gone. As I already said, Satan, he's gone.
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  Speaker 1: Matter of fact, I love this. You go back and
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  Speaker 1: read Genesis chapters one and two.
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  Speaker 2: There's no mention of Satan. Did you notice that?
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  Speaker 1: And then if you read the last two chapters here
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  Speaker 1: of the Bible in the book of Revelation, there's no
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  Speaker 1: mention of Satan.
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  Speaker 2: Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because in chapter 20, it clearly tells us he is gone.
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  Speaker 1: Look at go back to chapter 20, verse 10. It says,
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  Speaker 1: and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the
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  Speaker 1: lake of fire and sulfur where the.
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  Speaker 2: Beast and the false prophet are too.
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  Speaker 1: And they will be tormented there day and night forever
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  Speaker 1: and ever.
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  Speaker 2: They're gone.
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  Speaker 1: So all the wickedness that we see in high places
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  Speaker 1: right now, y'all, all of the wicked leaders that we
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  Speaker 1: see today, all of this mess that disturbs us, guess what?
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  Speaker 2: At some point, it's going to be gone.
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  Speaker 1: And we won't have to worry about any of that
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  Speaker 1: over in glory. So he says it's a clean place.
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  Speaker 1: He says, then he talks about a community. Notice in
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  Speaker 1: verse two, he says, and I saw the holy city,
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  Speaker 1: the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, made
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  Speaker 1: ready like a bride adorned for her husband. This is
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  Speaker 1: actually both city and community. That's actually what New Jerusalem represents.
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  Speaker 1: It's both a city and citizens because you can't have
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  Speaker 1: a city without citizens. Citizens, right? We are going to
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  Speaker 1: be the citizens in that city. And there's going to
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  Speaker 1: be a community. We will be at this point, even
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  Speaker 1: long before this, actually right after being raptured, we will
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  Speaker 1: receive glorified bodies. I couldn't wait to get to this
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  Speaker 1: part right here. Glorified bodies. And I know the ladies,
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  Speaker 1: y'all are going to love this. Trust me, trust me.
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  Speaker 1: Matter of fact, the Bible tells us if this earthly
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  Speaker 1: house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, we have another building.
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  Speaker 1: You start about our body, a house not made with
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  Speaker 1: hands eternal in the heavens. We got new bodies. So
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  Speaker 1: no longer do you have to worry about walking into
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  Speaker 1: a room and forgetting why you walked in there. You
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  Speaker 1: have to have that to happen. You're looking for something
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  Speaker 1: and you find what was I looking for? I forgot
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  Speaker 1: what I was looking for. You're trying to find your
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  Speaker 1: glasses and right there on top of your head, right?
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  Speaker 1: We don't have to worry about any of that. None
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  Speaker 1: of that.
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  Speaker 2: None of that getting up in the morning and you
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  Speaker 2: hear snap, crackle, and pop. None of that. Now, you
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  Speaker 2: got to be my age to understand that. Seriously. Or
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  Speaker 2: getting up, you get up and then you got to wait. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: where am I? Hold on.
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  Speaker 1: Let me figure this out. It takes a minute, right?
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  Speaker 1: All of that will be gone. Ladies, you don't have
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  Speaker 1: to worry about going to the beauty shop because your
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  Speaker 1: hair is going to always be in the right place
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  Speaker 1: every day. There's no night there. Seriously, this is a
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  Speaker 1: perfect place. And you don't have to worry about a
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  Speaker 1: wardrobe because God is going to supply that. We will
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  Speaker 1: have garments, white garments that God will give. In other words,
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  Speaker 1: his righteousness. In other words, we're not going to be naked.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be clothed. We ain't got to worry about that.
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  Speaker 1: So imagine all the things that are going to shut down.
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  Speaker 1: Hospitals gone. Hospices gone. Yeah, nurses gone. Prescriptions, you know,
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  Speaker 1: they're all in prescriptions. We got to take gone. Headaches gone. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know about gray hair.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know. I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: I'm assuming maybe everything is going to go back. I
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  Speaker 1: pray that that's the case, especially for the ladies. I'm
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  Speaker 1: trying to stay on the side of the ladies. I
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  Speaker 1: got to stay on your good side, right? But seriously,
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  Speaker 1: if you think about all the stuff that God is
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  Speaker 1: just going to take away because he's taking away what
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  Speaker 1: happened in the Garden of Eden, the curse is going
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  Speaker 1: to be removed.
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  Speaker 2: We're going to have new bodies. Two things I love
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  Speaker 2: about this community.
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  Speaker 1: All the saints who have gone on before us, we're
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  Speaker 1: going to see them again.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, big mama's going to be there. That was my grandmother. Pawpaw,
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  Speaker 2: he's going to be there. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Grandmommy, she is going to be there. All those things
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  Speaker 1: who have gone on before us. And it's not about ethnicity.
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  Speaker 2: Hello. Praise the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Because this is, it's all about my relationship with Christ.
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  Speaker 1: That's why we're going to be there in the first place.
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  Speaker 1: No redlining in neighborhoods, no marginalized. Women will no longer
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  Speaker 1: be put down but elevated. Racism is gone. There are
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  Speaker 1: no big I's and little U's in the kingdom. It
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  Speaker 1: will be a multicultural place where we will worship God forever.
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  Speaker 2: And yes, we're going to recognize each other.
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  Speaker 1: Just like remember when Christ, when he got up, After
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  Speaker 1: he died, he got up and he made those resurrection
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  Speaker 1: appearances in the same way.
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  Speaker 2: It's the same idea. Yes, we're going to recognize each other.
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  Speaker 1: So, yeah, and as a matter of fact, speaking of that,
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  Speaker 1: thank you, Holy Spirit, it's going to be some people
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  Speaker 1: in heaven.
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  Speaker 2: You're going to be like, how did you get here?
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  Speaker 1: I could have sworn that you weren't going to make it, right?
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  Speaker 1: And then it's going to be vice versa as well.
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  Speaker 2: So, yeah, it's going to be a lot of stuff.
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  Speaker 2: How do you get in here? What are you serious?
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  Speaker 1: But yeah, as long as they have trusted Christ as
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  Speaker 1: their personal savior. So it's a clean place. It's a
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  Speaker 1: beautiful community, multicultural community. But then notice what he says
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  Speaker 1: is prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
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  Speaker 2: It's a constructed place.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Jesus told his disciples when he was getting ready
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  Speaker 1: to go to the cross after he had showed them
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  Speaker 1: in the previous chapter in John chapter 13, where he
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  Speaker 1: showed them how to be a servant in chapter 14.
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  Speaker 1: He noticed that their hearts were troubled because he had
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  Speaker 1: just told them, I'm getting ready to go to the cross.
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  Speaker 1: He says to them, let not your heart be troubled.
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  Speaker 1: Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my
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  Speaker 1: father's house are many mansions. And if it were not so,
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  Speaker 1: I would have told you.
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  Speaker 2: Here it is. I go to prepare a place for you.
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  Speaker 1: And if I go to prepare a place for you,
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  Speaker 1: I will come again and receive you unto myself.
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  Speaker 2: That where I am. There you may be also.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is constructing a place for us and he's coming
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  Speaker 1: back to take us home because he has a prepared place.
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  Speaker 1: It's ready made and it has everything in it that
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  Speaker 1: we need for eternity.
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  Speaker 2: Can you imagine that? Isn't that good news?
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  Speaker 1: It's kind of like when we bought our house that
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  Speaker 1: we've been in for about over 21 years now. And
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  Speaker 1: the builder had this, they had a motto. I love
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  Speaker 1: the motto. That's what drew me into them. They said,
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  Speaker 1: everything is included. I was like, praise the Lord. Because
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  Speaker 1: you know what I was thinking, right? When you say everything,
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  Speaker 1: I'm thinking, okay, furniture, we ain't got to buy nothing.
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  Speaker 1: All we got to do is just walk in there.
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  Speaker 1: You're like, no, Mr. Fisher, no. You have to buy
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  Speaker 1: your own furniture. But we do provide, you know, appliances
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: and everything else. We provide the blinds and the ceiling
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  Speaker 1: fans and everything. I was like, okay, this is a
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: little marketing thing. Well, not with God. Everything that you
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: can imagine that we would need at our exposure, God provides.
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  Speaker 1: And we're going to get to that in just a second.
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  Speaker 1: So God has a place for us. He has a
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: place for us. Yeah, we may have, you know, our
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  Speaker 1: broken aging bodies. Our broken aging bodies are going to
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  Speaker 1: be exchanged for glorified bodies, which will be perfect forever
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  Speaker 1: and ever and ever. He has a place for us.
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  Speaker 1: But then secondly, God's presence is with us. Verses three
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  Speaker 1: and four. Notice what he says. He says, and this
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  Speaker 1: is John again speaking, and I heard a loud voice
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  Speaker 1: from the throne saying, and many scholars believe this is
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: Jesus speaking again at this point. Look, the residence of
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: God is among human beings. He will live among them
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: and they will be his people and God himself will
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: be with them.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: God's presence is going to be with us. Guess what?
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: Heaven wouldn't be heaven without Jesus Christ.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's like going to a birthday party and
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: the birthday.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: Person doesn't show up, right?
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: The one who's the center of attention, the centerpiece of
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: the universe, he's going to be there. And listen, not
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: this is different from like right now. Yes, I can
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: pray to the father and he intercedes on my behalf.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit helps me in those times when I
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: don't know what to say. I just groan and he intercedes.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: We have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. But
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: in glory, y'all, we're going to be walking face to face.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: With the master that goes to a whole nother level,
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: especially when you when you know, when you think about
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: the song, he walks with me and he talks with
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: me and he tells me I am his own.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: And so if I'm singing that song while I'm walking
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: with him, it just goes to a whole nother level.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Matter of fact, let me just be transparent. My wife
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: and I, she came up with this when my wife
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: did not meet. She's she's a smarter one than trust me.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: She is much smarter than I am. She came up
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: with a brilliant idea a few years ago. She said, honey,
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: let's let's go see Prince in concert.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: Prince, y'all know, anybody know who Prince is?
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: Y'all looking at me deer in the head like, well,
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: some of y'all know who Prince is, right? Or was,
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: I should say. So I was like, yeah, let's go
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: see Prince. You know, I've been hearing him for years.
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: I've been hearing his music.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: On the radio.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: I got a lot of his songs, you know, on
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: my phone and all that. I love Prince. Yes, let's
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: go see him. Glad I did because that was next
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: to the last time that he came to Houston before
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: he died. Now, here's the thing about seeing him in
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: person and listening to him on the radio.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: It's one thing to hear.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: A song on the radio, but when you go and
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: you see that individual singing the song, you see them performing,
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: it goes to a whole other level. And that's what
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: I'm talking about here. When we get to glory and
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: we see Christ, there's another song. There's another song. He
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: was there all the time. He was there all the time,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: waiting patiently. He was there all the time. That song
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: is going to change. It's not going to be he
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: was there. It's going to be he is there all
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: the time because we'll be able to commune with him.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: But then verse four says he's going to comfort us.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: Look at verse four. Look at verse four. He will
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: wipe away every tear from their eyes and death will
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: not exist anymore or mourning or crying or pain for
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: the former things have ceased to exist. He says it again.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: God is going to comfort us. He's going to purge
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: the pains of our past. So this is a tearless, painless, deathless. Remember,
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: sin is gone. When Adam and Eve sinned, death entered
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: into the world. But now at this point, death is gone.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: The curse has been reversed. Funeral homes, like I said,
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: they're going to go out of business. No longer need it.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: Pharmacies will close. He's going to wipe away every tear,
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: remove death. Here's what it is. Salvation, because this is
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: a part of salvation. Salvation is not just him delivering
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: us from the past penalty of sin. and delivering us
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: from the very present power that sin can have over
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: our lives.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: That's right now.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: But one day salvation is ultimately God delivering us from
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: the very presence of sin.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: That's glorification.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: So in other words, we move from justification to sanctification
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: to glorification.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: That's all this message really is.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: It's all about where God is going to take us.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: So we have this place that he has for us.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: And then we have his presence. It's going to be
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: there with us. We got it now, but we're going
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: to have it even more. So to be absent from
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: the body is to be present with the Lord.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: We got it. We got this place. We got his presence.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Here's the last thing. God has, he has promises waiting
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: for us.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: There are more promises, more than what we've already experienced.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: And there are three and then I'm done. He says
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: in verse five, notice verse five there. And the one
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: seated on the throne said, look, this is Jesus. I'm
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: making all things new. Then he said to me, write
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: it down because these words are reliable and true. They
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: are reliable and true. He says, I'm making all things new.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: So no matter what or how broken your life has been,
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: God's promises in the future include no scars, no stain,
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: and no sorrow. All the pain, all the regret, all
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: the loss, all the chaos in this world won't follow
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: us into eternity. What was ruined will be restored. What
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: was shattered in your life will be made whole. God
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: is going to keep on keep on blessing us even
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: in eternity. That's promise number one. That's a new reality.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: That's something that it's mind boggling. We can't even it's
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: hard to even, you know, to even try to picture that.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: But that's how the future is going to be. But
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: then promise number two is this. There's a never ending refreshment.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Notice verse six. In verse six, he says, it is done.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Does that sound familiar? Remember when Jesus was on the
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: cross and he did everything that needed to be done
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: to satisfy the righteous demands of God.
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: And what did he say? It is what? Finish. It
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: is the same thing. It is done.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: This is a master speaking again and saying all of
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: the promises that as far as salvation is concerned are
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: going to be fulfilled at this point. It is a
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: done deal as far as God is concerned. The water
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: here represents eternal life. It's satisfying. It flows forever. And
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: as a matter of fact, Revelation chapter 22, verse one
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: says that refreshment, that water comes from God. And what Jesus,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: what Jesus finished on the cross will refresh us forever.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: And here's the thing about salvation is free.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: By the way, as long as unbelievers are still alive,
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: salvation is available right now. Matter of fact, in the
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: next chapter, Jesus says it. He says it a couple
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: of times. He says, come, come. And he also says,
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: and I'm coming quickly. That's why it's so critical for
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: us not to live like we're going to stay here forever.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: And I don't like this idea. I remember reading it
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: years ago. Some scholars, they didn't like it. They said
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: that they didn't like this saying, and that is we
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: can be so heavenly minded that we're no earthly good.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: I don't really see a whole lot wrong with that.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: We ought to be heavenly minded, no doubt. Now, we
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: don't want to be disobedient here on earth, but we
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: ought to be more heavenly minded and think about all
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: the promises that God has in store. This new reality,
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: this never ending refreshment. And then finally, promise number three,
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: there's a name relationship.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: Verse seven. Notice what he says in verse seven.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: The one who conquers will inherit these things and I
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: will be his God forever. and he will be my son. Listen,
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: as I close, we're not just guests in heaven.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: No, no, no, no, no. We're fam. Okay, y'all know
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: what that means? Family, you know. We're family.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: We are family, sons and daughters of the king, fully known,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: fully loved, and fully home.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: We don't just get heaven. We get God himself, and
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: he gets us. Forever.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: And so as I close, let me give you a
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: quick assignment, much like I would have to.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: Do with my students at CBS.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: Here's the first thing that you have to do. Don't
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: get too comfortable in this world. The world is temporary.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: You just saw that in the text. Everything is fading.
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: Everything is falling apart. Hold your possessions, plans, and problems
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: loosely because something far better is coming. Live like a
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: traveler passing through, not like someone settling down permanently. Stop
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: chasing temporary things and invest in things eternal.
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: Exercise your faith.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: Matter of fact, when it comes to people, the very
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: next verse is not a part of this, but read
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: verse 8, read the whole chapter. In verse 8, there's
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: a contrast. Notice here, we are called conquerors. In verse eight.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: They are called powers. He's referring to those who have
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: rejected Christ. And he tells us their ultimate destination is hell.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: But God's invitation is right now. Come, come.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: So our job as believers, when it comes to unbelievers,
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: we need to witness to them and try our best.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: To evangelize as many as possible before it's everlasting too late.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: Number two, bring your pain to the Lord who will
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: one day erase it. Whatever grief, sickness or hardship you're facing,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: God sees it and he promises it won't last forever.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: That doesn't mean we pretend life isn't hard. It means
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: we grieve with hope. When life hurts, pray Revelation 21,
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: verse 4. Verse 4, notice what it said one more time.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: He is going to what? Wipe away every tear from
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: our eyes. Pray that over and over and remind yourself this.
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: Now, here it is. Let me give you another version.
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: Trouble won't last always. There it is. Here's the last thing.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: Live like a child of the king because you are.
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: If you belong to Christ, your identity is secure. You're
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: not defined by your past, your performance or your position,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: but by your relationship with Christ. Walk in boldness today, believers,
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: not in arrogance, but confidence, because you are fully known,
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: fully loved and fully his.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: To God be the glory.