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A Glimpse of Heaven · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We sing in Psalm 147 in the
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Sing Psalms version, page 192 of the Psalm book, Psalm 147, and we're going to sing from verse 1
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to verse 7. The tune is Free Church. O praise the Lord, how good it is to sing him songs of praise,
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how pleasant to give thanks to him for all his gracious ways. The Lord builds up Jerusalem,
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and he it is alone who reaches out to Israel to bring the exiles home. A song that reminds us of
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God reaching out to those who are lost in this world, reaching out to bring them home. So we'll
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sing from verse 1 to verse 7, and we stand to sing to God's praise.
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O praise the Lord, how good it is to sing him songs of praise, how pleasant to give thanks to him for all his gracious ways.
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The Lord builds up Jerusalem, and he it is alone. Who reaches out to Israel to bring the exiles home.
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He hymns this people's broken heart, restores the fruit and blame. He sets the number of the stars, and he it is alone.
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And he it is alone. He sets the number of the stars, and he it is alone. He sets the number of the stars, and he it is alone.
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He sets the number of the stars, and he it is alone. He sets the number of the stars, and he it is alone.
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He sets the number of the stars, and he it is alone. He sets the number of the stars, and he it is alone.
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He sets the number of the stars, and he it is alone. He sets the number of stars, and he it is alone.
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He sets the number of stars, and he it is alone. He sets the number of stars, and he it is alone.
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He sets the number of stars, and he it is alone. He sets the number of stars, and he it is alone.
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It is alone.
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The weak, the cast, the wicked to the count.
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Sing to the Lord with hand, with joy his praise proclaim.
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And with the music of the heart, give glory to his name.
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Let's unite our hearts in prayer. Let us come to God in prayer.
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Lord, our gracious God, our loving Father in heaven, we thank you for the joy that there is in singing praise to you.
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And we pray that you will fill our hearts with joy and thankfulness at this evening hour as we come.
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To worship your name, to praise you for who you are, for all that you have done for us, all that you are doing for us, and all that you will do for us.
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We are reminded in your word that you remind us of the past in so many ways, how you have been with your people.
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How the word was given maybe so long ago in our eyes.
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But yet your word reminds us how relevant it is for our day to day, and how important it is for our future, and indeed for our eternity.
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For we know that your word comes as a blessing to us, but it also comes with many warnings in its midst as well.
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But we thank you that we have sung praise to you as the one who is reaching out, that you are the one who is calling the exile's home, as the psalmist describes.
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And we thank you that that is the call that still goes out to this day, to all ends of the earth.
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We thank you how it has gone out already here in this place.
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Today we thank you for how it goes out week by week and in so many different ways.
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We thank you, you know, this last week how we've enjoyed sharing your word with so many young people coming in through our doors.
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We thank you for that privilege and that delight that we have had in seeing them and getting to know them and in sharing with them.
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And for today as well and this morning, for the joy of seeing so many coming in through our doors here and engaging with a time of worship and with your people here.
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Seeing and hearing the joy in their voices and in their lives.
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And we pray, Lord, that you will encourage us in this.
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That you will encourage us that you are the one who is working.
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That you are the one who we have sung about here.
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Who is the one who heals the brokenhearted, who restores the bruised and lame.
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You are the one who sets the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
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We thank you that we come to you who is a mighty God.
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A God who is almighty.
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And yet a God who is all gracious and all loving towards his people.
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And so we pray, Lord, that you will encourage us and bless us in our hearts.
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That in the midst of everything that goes on around us and even within us.
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That you will still us in your presence for this time.
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That you will encourage us, Lord, as we hear your word.
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As we sing your praise.
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As we offer up our prayers to you together.
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For you are the God who hears and answers prayer.
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You are the God who we are reminded again and again.
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Whose will we pray to be done.
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And your kingdom to come with power.
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And so we pray, Lord, that to all ends of the earth today and each and every day.
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That as your name goes forth.
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Your name will be praised.
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That your word will be blessed.
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That sinners will come to call upon you in repentance.
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That your saints will be built up in their faith.
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That your church will grow.
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Even as it is promised in your word.
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So we ask all these things looking not to ourselves and our strength.
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But the one who is able to do abundantly more than all that we ask or imagine.
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We thank you that we commit all our prayers into your hands.
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We commit all that we do into your hands.
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We commit all our needs and our burdens to you, O Lord, in prayer.
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And we thank you for that privilege.
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Even in these moments to be able to pray together.
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So that when one person misses something out, another is praying for different things.
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Whether it's locally, nationally or internationally.
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We thank you that your voices are heard by you.
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All of our voices collectively.
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Even in the silence of our hearts as we offer up our prayers.
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There is no word that is missed by you.
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Every prayer is heard.
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And we pray, Lord, that you will hear us in all our different cries.
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For we know that there are people in need around us.
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That there are many who are in pain and grief and anguish of different kinds.
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We know day by day, O Lord, that there are people who suffer in so many different ways.
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And yet, O Lord, we thank you that you are a great shepherd to your people.
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That you surround us with your presence at all times.
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That you are there for your people no matter what situation they are in.
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And that they would know, O Lord, a praying people with them.
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And that they would know what it is to call upon the Lord themselves as well.
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Even in their weakness.
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We pray, Lord, that you will give them strength.
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Even to praise your name this night.
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We do ask, O Lord, for particular needs for those who are grieving.
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For those who are unwell, either at home or in hospital.
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For those who are going through times of trial just now.
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We pray, O Lord, that you will surround them with your grace and with your love.
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We pray, too, for many young people who in these coming days will be receiving exam results on Tuesday this week.
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Throughout our community here, our islands and our nation.
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We pray, Lord, your blessing on all who wait in anticipation for that.
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And we pray that you will encourage them and strengthen them.
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Help those who are returning to school after the summer to be encouraged in their results.
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And if they're disappointed, Lord, to go on in your strength.
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Help those who are preparing to go away to university or returning to university again, Lord.
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We pray that you will prepare the way for them.
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And as we were reminded last week, not to forget their upbringing, the word that they've heard, the encouragement and prayers that they've received.
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We ask, O Lord, that you surround them with your presence and with your love.
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We thank you, too, even as we've enjoyed a week of holiday club.
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We thank you for others who will be doing likewise in the coming week.
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We are reminded on the notice sheet of work going on in North Harris Congregation this week on Monday to Wednesday with their own youth holiday club there.
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We pray that you will bless them and the leaders and the children who attend.
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We thank you, too, for the outreach work going on in North and South Uist in this coming week.
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Thank you for OM being there over this week.
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We pray for all the communities there as there is youth work and different outreach work going on, that you will surround them and be with them and bless them with your presence.
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That we would see and hear of fruit for all of these labors.
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We thank you, Lord, that you are a God who is good, that we can look to you, that we can lean upon you.
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And we pray that you will continue to watch over us all in our homes and in our families, in all our needs and our cares as we come, confessing our sins before you and you.
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How we fall short in so many ways in thought, word, and in deed.
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How often, O Lord, we sin and help us, Lord, to know what it is to truly repent and turn to you.
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We thank you that you have that great forgiveness on offer to us through your Son, Christ Jesus, that we have hope, not just for this life, but as we look to your word this evening for eternity.
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Bless through him that we will forever praise his name around the throne in heaven.
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We pray, Lord, that you will give us eyes of faith to see, even as it is through that glass dimly just now.
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But that you will encourage us, Lord, give us the faith that we need day by day.
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Uphold us and strengthen us, we ask.
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So go with us now, continue to bless us as we further sing your praise.
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The Amurda as he leads us and us all together, help us all to lift our hearts to you in praise.
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Acknowledging all your ways that are prepared for us, help us to follow you and to walk in them.
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So we ask all these things in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, for his glory always.
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Amen.
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We further sing to God's praise in Psalm 27.
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This is in the Scottish Psalter.
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Psalm 27, page 236.
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We're going to sing from verse 1 to the end of double verse 4.
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And the tune is Argyle.
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Psalm 27 at verse 1.
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The Lord's my light and saving health.
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Who shall make me dismayed?
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My life's strength is the Lord of whom?
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Then shall I be afraid.
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When as my enemies and foes, most wicked persons all,
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to eat my flesh against me rose, they stumbled and did fall.
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Psalm goes on to speak in verse 4 of the great desire of the Lord's people to,
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seeking to obtain that all days of my life I may within God's house remain,
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that I the beauty of the Lord behold me and admire.
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We'll sing verse 1 to double verse 4 to God's praise.
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We stand to sing.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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The Lord's my light and saving health.
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Who shall make me dismayed?
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My life's strength is the Lord of whom?
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Then shall I be afraid.
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When as my death, hear me, son of Lord,
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O, sweet, good persons all,
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To lead thy flesh against me rose,
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They stand the land and fall.
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Against me, Lord, and host and come,
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My heart yet fearlessness.
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Though war against me rise,
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I will be confident in this.
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One thing I know the Lord desire,
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And will seem to obtain,
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That all is all my life I may,
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Within God's house remain,
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That I the beauty of the Lord be holy and admire,
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That I the beauty of the Lord be holy and admire,
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And that I in his holy place may reverend be in fire.
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If we can turn together to the word of God,
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We're going to read two passages,
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Our first in the Old Testament,
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In the book of Isaiah,
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And then our second reading in the New Testament,
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In the book of Revelation.
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Isaiah chapter 35,
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Our first reading,
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We can read the whole of this chapter,
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And then we'll turn to a few verses in Revelation chapter 7.
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Isaiah 35 at verse 1,
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And we'll turn into the New Testament,
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And the everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.
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They shall obtain gladness and joy,
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And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
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And we'll turn into the New Testament,
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Into the book of Revelation.
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And we're reading in chapter 7.
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Revelation chapter 7.
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We take up our reading at verse 9,
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Down to the end of this chapter.
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After this I looked,
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And behold,
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A great multitude that no one could number,
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From every nation,
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From all tribes,
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And peoples and languages,
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Standing before the throne,
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And before the Lamb,
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Clothed in white robes,
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With palm branches in their hands,
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And crying out with a loud voice,
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Salvation belongs to our God,
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Who sits on the throne,
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And to the Lamb.
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And all the angels were standing round the throne,
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And round the elders,
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And the four living creatures.
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And they fell on their faces before the throne,
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And worshipped God,
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Saying, Amen.
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Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving,
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And honour and power and might,
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Be to our God for ever and ever.
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Amen.
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Then one of the elders addressed me,
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Saying,
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Who are these clothed in white robes?
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And from where have they come?
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I said to him,
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Sir, you know.
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And he said to me,
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These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
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They have washed their robes,
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And made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
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Therefore,
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They are before the throne of God,
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And serve him day and night in his temple.
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And he who sits on the throne
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Will shelter them with his presence.
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They shall hunger no more,
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Neither thirst any more.
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The sun shall not strike them,
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Nor any scorching heat.
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For the Lamb in the midst of the throne
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Will be their shepherd.
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And he will guide them to springs of living water.
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And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
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Amen.
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And may God bless that reading from his word.
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Before we turn back to look at,
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In particular, Revelation,
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We're going to sing again to God's praise.
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In Psalm 23,
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In the Scottish Psalter.
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Psalm 23.
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All our singings this evening have the theme,
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In them of being in the presence of God.
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In this well-known Psalm,
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We know it well.
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But it reminds us of our eternal presence in God's house.
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For evermore my dwelling place shall be.
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We're going to sing the whole of the Psalm.
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Psalm 23.
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The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.
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He makes me down to lie.
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In pastures green, he leadeth me.
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The quiet waters by.
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And the tune is,
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The base of Harris,
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We sing the whole of the Psalm.
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The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.
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He makes me down to lie.
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The quiet waters by.
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My soul, ye God, restore again,
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And me to walk of me,
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Within the paths of righteousness,
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In for his own insane.
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For thy house is peeing.
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He'll share it with me.
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The council, ye as now God's work,
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Ye though I walk in thres, dar'd fill,
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Yet will thy sign not allele.
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Hear, hear, hear.
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For thou who art with me,
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And thy rock and stuff,
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Be come for still.
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My table, Lord,
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Has worthy shed
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In presence of my foes,
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My heaven, thou trust,
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With all the light,
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And my cup, O her foes,
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Goodness and mercy,
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All my life,
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Shall surely follow me,
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And in God's heart,
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For evermore,
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My dwelling place shall be.
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We can turn back together to our reading,
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In particular the reading in Revelation chapter 7,
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But we're going to be tying it in with our reading in Isaiah 35 as well.
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I'm sure you will have noticed the overlap between the two,
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The same theme in both the readings that we've had.
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But in Revelation chapter 7,
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And at verse 14 we have these words,
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I said to him,
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Sir, you know.
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And he said to me,
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These are those,
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The ones coming out of the great tribulation.
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They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
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Therefore they are before the throne of God,
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And serve him day and night in his temple.
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And he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
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They shall hunger no more,
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Neither thirst any more.
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The sun shall not strike them,
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Not any scorching heat.
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For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
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And he will guide them to springs of living water.
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And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
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We're going to look at these two passages together under the heading of a glimpse of heaven.
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Both Isaiah and John here in Revelation,
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Is given this glimpse into heaven by God.
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It doesn't answer all the questions that we might have of what heaven will be like,
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And what we will have there.
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But it gives us a glimpse into it that reminds us that it's a place that we should all desire.
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If I was to ask the question this evening here,
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Who wants to go to heaven?
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To give me a show of hands of that question,
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I'm sure every hand would go up.
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Everyone here, I'm sure, has a desire, a longing for heaven.
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And indeed in the world in which we live,
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If you ask people just in a general sense,
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On the idea of heaven and a place after death,
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There are many people, probably the majority of people,
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Who would long for a place of heaven called heaven.
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There are many different religions that have their own idea of what heaven will be like.
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A paradise for their people.
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But there's a difference in what our thoughts are on what heaven is,
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And of the woes in the world in a general sense.
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There's so much of a difference.
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And especially when it comes to the idea of how do we get to heaven.
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It says here that the people will be before the throne of God in verse 15.
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But who are they?
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Who are these people?
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And where is the throne of God?
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Is a natural question that comes out of this.
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But there are people who are before the throne of God.
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In the Bible we read that people must come before God in different ways.
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People are to come to God in worship.
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It is a command that the Lord gives to us.
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Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever,
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We are told in the Catechism.
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But that is not everyone's desire.
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Not everyone wants to come to God in this way of worship.
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We are told to come to God in repentance.
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To approach Him in this way, seeking forgiveness of our sin.
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When we realize how far short we fall from His glory.
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But again, not everyone sees it.
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Not everyone wants to come before God in this way of repentance.
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We are told in the word of God that everyone must appear before the judgment seat of God.
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That the day of God's judgment will come when every knee will bow before God.
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And every tongue confess that He is Lord.
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There is a command and a way for us all where we are to come before God.
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But what about after the judgment?
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Unlike the judgment seat where everyone will appear, there is a place where only the Lord's people will be.
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And that is before the throne of God.
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And for all eternity in the place called heaven.
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And it leads us to have many questions.
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A bit like the day of judgment, which we read of in the scriptures.
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But we can't fully comprehend just what it's going to be like.
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When the Lord returns with the angels and comes down.
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And everyone comes before this throne.
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It's just hard for us to imagine what this day is going to be like.
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But the word tells us that we will all see.
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We will all see the Lord in His coming.
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And when we think of heaven as well.
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Appearing before the throne of God there.
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Seeing the lamb in the midst.
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And all of these things.
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It leads us to so many questions.
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We've probably got many unanswered questions when it comes to heaven.
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But what the scripture does tell us about it is it's a place the Lord's people should all long for.
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It's something we have as the Lord's people with a sense of anticipation.
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We look forward to it.
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We have this place to look forward to.
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As a place we are reminded in scripture there will be no disappointment when we get there.
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There will be nothing that will leave us disappointed.
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It's a place that the Lord's people can look forward to.
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And especially just being able to behold the beauty of our Lord.
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The lamb in the midst of the throne as we sang in Psalm 27 of gazing on the beauty of the Lord all of our days.
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It's hard to imagine.
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We sometimes say we get a taste of heaven here on earth.
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We know God's blessing upon us now in a special way.
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But it's just a little taste.
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It's nothing like what it's going to be when we are with him forever.
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One person once described heaven in this way.
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An unknown region with a well-known inhabitant.
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And in some ways we could say well an unknown region in some ways because we are told a bit about heaven.
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But certainly a well-known inhabitant.
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The Lord will be there.
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Richard Baxter, another theologian back in the 1600s, he put it in this way.
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He said,
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My knowledge of that life is small.
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The eye of faith is dim.
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But it's enough that Christ knows all.
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And I shall be with him.
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There is that confidence and faith.
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Even though we don't see it in completeness just now.
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As the word says, we see like through a glass darkly.
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But we shall be with him.
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And both Isaiah in the Old and John in the New Testament were given glimpses of heaven for themselves.
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And they were visions that made certain things clear for us.
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But even in a way when you read through Revelation and you see John trying to describe heaven, he says,
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Well, it's like the streets are like gold.
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He just doesn't have the words to do it justice.
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And we never do have the words to do it justice when we come to think of heaven.
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It's awesome in so much ways, so many ways, in every way.
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But there are three things I want us to take from these portions that we've read together this evening.
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Consider about a glimpse into heaven this evening.
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And thinking of Jesus being there.
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And whether our desire is to be there with him.
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And the first thing we're going to look at is the right to heaven.
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The second thing is the joy of heaven.
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And the third thing is the way to heaven.
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So firstly, we see the right to heaven.
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We want to be clear about this.
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The question of who has the right to be there.
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We could go from one extreme to the other and the world does.
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We could say, well, no one can say they have the right to be in heaven.
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And we don't.
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We know that of ourselves.
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We don't have the right in and of ourselves to go to heaven.
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But then you go to the other end of the spectrum and people say, well, everyone can go to heaven.
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And everyone does go to heaven.
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But can that be right?
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Well, not the way the word of God makes it clear to us.
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It's not for everyone.
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And it's not for no one.
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Because there is a way to heaven.
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And that is what the Lord came into this world for.
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To make that way for us.
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So we could say, of course, we don't deserve heaven.
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But through faith in the Lord, we can know heaven for ourselves.
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But that right to heaven that seems to be more prevalent in our world today is, well, everyone goes to heaven.
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And it's one of the most tragic things you hear people speak about.
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This sure knowledge of heaven without any knowledge of Christ.
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And what he has done to open the way to heaven for us.
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We see it so often.
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Where we see the idea of heaven appeals to everyone.
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The idea of a place where everything is made well.
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A place of peace, of restoration.
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We see it so often in tragic experiences in people's lives.
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People who don't know anything of the word of God.
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But the idea of heaven just appeals to them.
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Well, they're up there now.
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You know, they're still with us in a way.
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They're looking down.
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They're enjoying themselves in this place.
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They're with all their friends.
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This idea of heaven appeals.
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But you can't have that without Christ.
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And that's what the word makes clear for us.
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The word makes clear that this is not a place we put in.
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We prepare for ourselves.
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It's not even a place we really prepare ourselves for.
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The Lord does not work in us.
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But it's certainly in no way do we prepare this place for ourselves.
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In Psalm 23 where we sang these well-known words.
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It speaks at the end of,
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In God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be.
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It's not our house.
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It's not the place that we've prepared with our own hands.
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It's not something we've built up for ourselves.
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It is God's house.
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And that's made clearer for us then when we come in to the Gospel of John, chapter 14.
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We were looking at it a few weeks ago, the end of that chapter.
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But it's at the beginning it speaks of Jesus saying,
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In my Father's house are many rooms.
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In my Father's house.
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And if it were not so, I would have told you.
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I am going to prepare a place for you.
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And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.
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So he is preparing a place for his people.
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For those who will come and trust.
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It is not a place for everyone.
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But it's a place for anyone who will come.
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Isaiah and John here in Revelation make that clear for us.
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They both tell us these things.
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It is for those who are clean.
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In Isaiah 35, verse 8, it says,
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A highway will be there.
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It will be called the way of holiness.
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The unclean will not journey on it.
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It will be for those who walk in that way.
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There is a people who will go that way, but it's not everyone.
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Revelation 7, here, verse 14 again.
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It reminds us that these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
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They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
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They have been cleansed.
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And so what are they saying to us here?
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What's Isaiah saying to us here when he speaks about the unclean will not journey on it?
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It will be for those who walk in the way.
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Well, in the Old Testament, there were ceremonies that the people held where people had to prepare for these ceremonies.
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If you were unclean, and there were many ways you could be unclean, you weren't able to partake in these ceremonies until you went through a cleansing ritual.
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That's why in the temple as you came in, there was the laver of water where you could be cleansed.
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And without that, you couldn't go any further.
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But here, there's a more final view here.
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The unclean will not journey on it.
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It's too late.
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Your time is up.
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The only way is to have been cleansed by walking in that way.
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By having her robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.
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So there's this final picture here.
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It is not for everyone.
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Not everyone has the right to heaven.
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And that's the warning that rings out in Scripture.
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And that's the warning we hear again and again.
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To be prepared.
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To be ready for the day of the Lord's return.
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To be cleansed.
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To be washed in the blood of the Lamb through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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We have no right to heaven of ourselves.
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It is a place prepared for us.
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It is God's house.
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And so we have to look for that way.
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And we'll return to that shortly.
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But there is not everyone has this right.
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And we don't earn it by being good.
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There is a particular way.
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But before we come back to that, I want us to think of a second thing that we see coming across clearly here.
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And it's the joy of heaven.
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What kind of experience is it going to be coming into heaven?
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And again, this is something that we can always have questions about.
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We'll all have our own different questions about heaven.
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Will we know each other in heaven?
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I see no reason why we won't.
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But it's one of these questions we still try and tease out.
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Will we work in heaven?
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What will we be doing in heaven?
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What will the place be like?
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There are so many questions that we can have.
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And we don't always have answers.
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And very often we don't have answers to these questions in a definite way.
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But there are things that are clear for us of what kind of place it will be.
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It will be a new place.
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It will be a place of joy.
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A place where sin and sorrow and sadness will be no more.
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You could say it's a place where we are fully and finally healed.
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God's people.
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Sin has ruined our lives.
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Sin has ruined the world in which we live.
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From our own hearts we see the pain and the grief that sin causes.
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We see it ruining lives in this world.
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Broken through sickness and sorrow of so many different kinds.
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We see people struggling in so many different ways.
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Physically, mentally, with addiction, with all kinds of struggles in life.
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We see relationships breaking down so often.
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Marriages.
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Parents and children.
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Workplaces where their work relationships break down.
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We see all kinds of difficulties that people experience on a regular basis.
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Ongoing.
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And the same is true of creation itself.
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We read in God's word that the earth is groaning under the burden of sin.
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Sin has brought drought and famine.
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Natural disasters.
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Pollution.
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Wars.
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All kinds of things that ruin the world in which we live.
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But when you read Isaiah and Revelation here, what you see is a picture of restoration and of joy being given back to God's people.
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Isaiah 35 speaks of it in this way.
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They will enter Zion with singing.
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Everlasting joy will crown their heads.
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Gladness and joy will overtake them.
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And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
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What a wonderful image.
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John has that same image here for us in verse 16 and 17.
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They shall hunger no more, neither shall they thirst anymore.
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The sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
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For the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd.
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He will guide them to springs of living water.
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And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
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It's a wonderful image of the care of God.
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God will wipe away every day.
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The lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd.
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The lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd.
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Leading them to springs of living water.
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We will feast with him.
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With him.
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There's an author by the name Leo Bascaglia.
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And he told the story about his own life experience when he was a young boy.
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An experience he saw with his mother at one time in their life.
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It was a night after his father had come home and said that they were looking likely to go into bankruptcy.
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His father owned a business, but his business partner had done a runner.
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And he had taken the money with them.
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There were no more funds to see them through.
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What his mother did on that day after they had been told, she went out and sold some jewelry.
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And she bought food for a great feast.
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There were other members in the family who thought she was crazy.
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Doing this when they just told they were facing up to bankruptcy.
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They scolded her.
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But she said, the time for joy is now.
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When we need it most.
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Not next week.
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And what she did rallied the family to keep going.
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We were looking on Wednesday evening at the woman who poured out the ointment on Jesus.
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She did what she could.
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It seemed extravagant and she was scolded for that.
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This woman similar.
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She wanted her family to have joy.
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So she sold what was precious to her.
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So they could enjoy a feast together.
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But when we remember that he has gone to prepare a feast for us.
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We can have joy.
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Though that joy is tempered just now in so many ways.
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We know that the day will come when we will have joy everlasting.
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We look forward to the Lord's Supper, God willing, in a few weeks time.
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A time when we feast around God's word and sacrament.
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But even then we know sin can spoil it for us in so many ways.
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But we are reminded of our great feast.
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Being prepared for all of God's people.
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They shall hunger no more.
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We will have joy when we are there before the throne with the shepherd who will guide us all the way.
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There's a song that some of you will be familiar with that says this.
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We will feast in the house of Zion.
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We will sing with our hearts restored.
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He has done great things.
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We will say together, we will feast and weep no more.
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Who is there for us?
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The Lamb of God in the midst of the throne.
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He who sits on the throne, it says in verse 15, will shelter them with his presence.
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He will be with us always.
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The joy of heaven for his people.
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Joy everlasting.
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Sighing, sorrow and sighing will flee away.
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Just as we have there at the end of chapter 7 too.
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God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
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No more sorrow.
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Our healing complete.
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And our joy fully restored.
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There is joy in heaven for the Lord's people.
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The third thing and final thing we want to just come back to is the way to heaven.
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As we hear these things, we are left with that final question.
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How can I get there?
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If it is only for certain people.
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If it is a place of such joy.
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How can we be sure to be found there when the day the Lord makes up his crown?
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How can we be there?
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Well, Isaiah and John again both make it plain for us.
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As we've looked at, we see it's for those who have been cleansed.
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Isaiah 35, the unclean will not journey on.
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It will be for those who walk in that way.
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And verse 9 makes clear again.
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The redeemed of the Lord will walk there.
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Redemption is key.
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During this week of the holiday club, we've been enjoying so much of learning about who Jesus is.
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We learned each day a little more about what he had done for us.
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How he was king.
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How he had power and authority.
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How he was able to forgive sins.
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How to do that he went to the cross and gave his life.
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And then we saw his power over death.
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That he rose from the grave.
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That took us up to Thursday.
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But then there's a question on Friday.
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A question for the young people and for all the parents.
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For all of us.
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And the question was this.
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Will you follow him?
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Because he is the way.
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There is no other way to heaven but through faith in him.
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And on Friday at the holiday club, Scott was doing the talk.
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And he was speaking to the children about what it means to follow Jesus.
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And to illustrate it, he took three children, four children and put blindfolds on them.
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They were perfectly safe at all times.
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But they were following Scott.
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And he was calling out to them with his voice to follow him.
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But then there was other voices that started calling out.
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Saying, come this way.
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Over here.
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Don't go that way.
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And there was all these voices crying out to the children.
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And you could see the children who were blindfolded were confused.
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They didn't know which way to go.
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And they started following different voices.
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And that is the way we are too, so often.
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We hear all these different voices calling out to us.
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Here is the way.
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Don't go that way.
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Go this way.
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And we follow all these different voices.
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And we get confused.
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But what Scott did in his talk was then to bring the children who were blindfolded back to him.
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And said to them, put your hand on here.
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And hold on to this.
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A Bible.
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The Word of God.
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And he was saying, don't let go.
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And follow me now.
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And the children followed him.
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And all these voices started shouting again.
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Over here.
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Come this way.
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But they didn't sway.
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They didn't go any other way.
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Because they were holding on to the Word.
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And Scott was holding on to.
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And he was leading them.
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And that is a reminder of what God has done for us.
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He goes to prepare the way for us.
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But he doesn't leave us.
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He is always with us.
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To guide us on the way.
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Because he is the one who has paid the price.
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The verse we learned at the Holiday Club was Mark 10, verse 45.
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For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
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For the many who would put their trust in the Lord.
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The many who would come through the tribulation.
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The trials of this life.
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But have their robes washed in the blood of the Lamb through faith.
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We are reminded that there is one way to God.
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And it is through the shed blood of Christ that cleanses us from all our sin.
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Again, remind you what Richard Baxter said.
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My knowledge of that life is small.
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The eye of faith is dim.
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But it is enough that Christ knows all.
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And I shall be with him.
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Do you want to be there?
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What kind of heaven are you looking for?
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Is it one of your own making?
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And your own building?
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And you are struggling to find the way.
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Are you listening to all the different voices telling you to go in all kinds of different directions?
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Well, the Word of God cries out.
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There is only one way.
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And we are not alone when we feel confused.
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These things, so many of them are beyond our understanding.
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And even when you go back to the Gospel of John chapter 14,
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the disciples themselves were confused when Jesus was saying that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father's house.
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And Thomas, he said, Lord, we don't know where you are going.
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How can we know the way?
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And perhaps that's the way we are tonight.
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How do we know the way?
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If this place, if not everyone has the right to it, how can we know the way?
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If this place is where our joy will be full and complete, how can we know the way?
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Well, Jesus gave the answer.
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He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
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No one comes to the Father except through me.
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And that's what we see in both Isaiah and Revelation.
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There is a way.
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We don't have all the answers of what heaven will be like.
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But we have a glimpse.
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And as a reminder to us, not everyone can go.
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Not everyone has the right to it.
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We have to find the way that is through faith in Jesus Christ.
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And when we do, we begin to realize the joy of heaven.
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Incomplete just now.
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But the day when it will be complete.
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When God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
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When we will be brought with gladness, everlasting, and joy and singing into the presence of our Lord.
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And be there before the throne of God with the Lamb in the midst of the throne.
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The shepherd who will guide us to living water.
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He is the way.
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We look to him and trust in him that by faith we will be there with him.
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May he open our eyes to see the way and walk in that way.
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Let us pray.
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Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word.
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How it gives us a vision when we are blind to it.
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It gives us a knowledge when we have no understanding.
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It gives us an insight to even the things that are beyond us.
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But we thank you, Lord, for the beauty of your word.
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The beauty of the Lord that we see in it.
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And the wonder even of a glimpse into heaven.
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Of the Lamb at the throne of God.
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Who will lead us to the waters of everlasting life.
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So we pray, Lord, that you will lead us to him.
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And bless us to know faith in him.
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Not because we have done anything of ourselves.
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But because he has done it for us.
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We praise your name for the one who came and gave his life as a ransom for many.
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Hear our prayers.
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Lord, we ask in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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We're going to conclude by singing in Psalm 16 in the Sing Psalms version.
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Again, it's a psalm that reminds us of the beauty of the Lord and delighting in him.
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And how he is able to lead us in the path of life divine.
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Verse 8, Before me constantly I set the Lord alone.
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Because he is at my right hand, I'll not be overthrown.
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And verse 11, You have made known to me the path of life divine.
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Bliss shall I know at your right hand.
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Joy from your face will shine.
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We'll sing verse 8 to 11, the tune of Selma.
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And we stand to sing.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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For you will not allow my soul in death to stay.
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Nor will you lead your holy one to see her to see her.
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You have made known to me the path of life divine.
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Let shall I know at your right hand joy of your grace will shine.
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After the benediction I'll go to the door to my right.
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We'll close with a benediction.
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Now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore.
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Amen.