[0:00] The book of Revelation chapter 21. If you turn with me now to words, you will find the chapter we have read together in the book of Revelation and the 21st chapter.
[0:16] And they are reading again at verse 4.
[0:46] And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying. And neither shall there be any more pain. But the warmer things are passed away.
[1:04] Especially verse 4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Now friends, it is carefully necessary for me to remind you that we are living in times of stress and strain and a lot of confusion.
[1:35] Nationally and internationally. In states and in churches. Times when in various ways God is showing forth.
[1:52] And that he is displeased. With the forsaking of God and the morality that prevails so prominent throughout the earth.
[2:12] So that there are many in the world whose hearts are trembling is here.
[2:27] Thinking of those things that may yet come on the universe. But that at such a time as this.
[2:40] Now bless. How afflicted. May ye how comforting. Realized. That if we are united to Christ by saving faith.
[2:58] Then to us belongs the promise. My grace. My grace is sufficient for you.
[3:09] My strength is made perfect in weakness. weakness. Ye how surpassingly glorious to realize that as far as those who trust in the Lord are concerned, be they young or old or middle aged and in whatever part of the world they may dwell in, God has great and glorious things in store for them yet.
[3:49] For Christ has gone up on high, leading captivity captive and he said to his own eye, go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there he may be asked.
[4:12] In other words, God has a place of eternal application prepared for his own. A city that has foundations.
[4:25] This builder and maker is God. the cities of this earth are sometimes leveled down by man's power and anger and wrath and the means that is disposal for the destruction of men and women and cities and what have you.
[4:50] but there is a city that cannot be destroyed. And people who when they enter that city shall never again be afraid of death and who shall never again be subject to fear all the other disadvantages that are so prominent and so extensive in man's experience throughout the world.
[5:31] well the apostle John the beloved disciple of Christ tells us that there was a time in his experience when he was banished to that barren island which at that time was very barren Patmos in the Aegean Sea he was in the words of scripture a prisoner of Jesus Christ why was he banished to that place was it because of anything evil he had done or said amiss not at all but it would seem that Nero the last tyrant ruled over the
[6:37] Roman Empire and who was incensed by the power of the devil and of sin against truth and righteousness as that was revealed and proclaimed in and by and through the savior of Jesus Christ he was incensed against Christianity and against Christ and so his emissaries and the powers that he had under him so fit to persecute the church the Christian church since John was such a prominent figure in the church and they thought that if they banished him to that lonely island the church would lose a lot of its strength and perhaps admit to their dictation and cease from proclaiming the name of Jesus and we understand that at that time
[7:44] John was an old man over perhaps over 80 years of age tradition has it that he was made to work in some kind of mine there in Pat probably with past master set over him to see that he did as he was told well perhaps Nero and his servants imagined that they could separate between John and his God and his Savior but instead of separating John from the fellowship of God God himself threw near John in that lonely situation John tells us
[8:48] I he said was in the spirit on the Lord's day God now each one of us ought to pray to God that we would be in the spirit every day of the week but notwithstanding that fact there is a sense in in which God's people everywhere wait with special expectation on the Lord in his worship on the Sabbath day and that is as it should be God gave the Sabbath day to man that he might go aside from his usual occupation and thoughts and pursuits and the days to be spent the whole day in the public and private exercises of God's worship except as much as to be taken up with the works of necessity and mercy these are the only two exceptions and so while
[10:18] John was there in Patmos he tells us that while he couldn't worship with his fellows in Jerusalem or in the temple or wherever they were wont to worship he discovered that God could be with him God could give him visions not only of glorious things here below but of the final destination and sanctity and bliss and glory of the saints beyond the scenes of time and so he tells us that he saw something worthy of being told and recorded of the instruction and edification and comfort and the building of all who put their trust in the
[11:21] Lord I saw he said a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first death passed away and there was no more sea heaven above and the state of the saints in heaven we know that there have been and there still are scholarly and God fearing men who tell us that after the day of judgment this world is to be cleansed and that this is to be the heaven the dwelling place of the saints throughout eternity as far as some of us are concerned we differ from that opinion for various reasons and one reason is that in the 11th verse of the 20th chapter of this previous chapter and at verse 11 you read these words and I saw a great white throne on him that sat on it and whose faced the earth and the heaven fled away and mark these words there was found there was found no place for them surely that's clear enough there was found no place for them another thought is this
[13:27] God is there was a great heaven is not fitted and not good enough for the sins throughout an endless eternity at present it is in a special way the dwelling place of God Christ is there with his glorified body not only is he there as God but he is there as God among in two distinct natures and one passion forever and we believe there are a few from among the children of man whose soul and body are in heaven you know was it not to was translated that he should not see death and so on well if the present heaven is good enough for them at present why do we need another heaven afterwards if God is satisfied with his heaven and if those who are with him in glory are satisfied with his heaven and if
[14:45] Christ not only in his divine nature but in his human nature is satisfied with his present heaven why look one another after the day of church I remember that the simply Dr.
[15:03] Kennedy has a sermon on that text I read many years ago but I haven't seen it for a long time but I know he has a sermon on that very version and this is the opinion that he has that the present heaven is to be the only heaven that the saints are to have with the endless ages of eternity but be that as it may we know that heaven is a glorious place and will continue to be a glorious place now the word new here may have some significance in the original language there are two words especially that could be translated new in the New Testament neos and kynos neos means new kynos has the other shade of meaning it means rather freshness freshness you may speak of a new morning when you wake in in the morning and perhaps the morning may not be too fresh after all that day if you see a lovely day fragrance and sunshine and fresh shade and rest of it now you feel that it's a fresh morning new in one respect but especially a fresh morning now we know that in the order of things here below there is heaven above us and we are living on the earth and even when the saints get to glory they will never never be equal with
[16:55] God God will always be above like the heavens are above us here and the saints in glory will forever be content to behold to behold the glory that surpasses all the words to describe the excellent uncreated glory of the being of God so that there will be the new heavens and the new earth and the experience of the saints and glory when they get there when us the old heavens here and the old earth have passed away and no place found for us but now in any case in regard to this heaven what do we find God we are told shall wipe away all tears from their eyes but before we come to that I seem to hear someone saying it's all very well speaking of heaven and the glory of heaven but what about the here and now well my friend if you are going to get to heaven the here and now is of great importance but while the here and now is of great importance if you are a child of
[18:35] God or if you will become a child of God surely heaven must be of great significance to you and in your estimation we are only here for a short time as for man his days are as grass as a flower of the field so he flourishes and the wind passeth over it and it is gone and the place thereof shall know it no more why are we in the earth well we are on the earth either to prepare us either for heaven or for hell this is not your resting place we are only here for a short time and when death comes we go either to heaven or to the place of torment the place of torment should fill us with dread the thoughts of and heaven above with our faces in
[19:43] Christ should fill us with joy unspeakable and full of glory and man's chief hand is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever and if any of us are ever to enjoy God and the bliss of heaven we must begin here and now in this world to enjoy God and to glorify God and what is God's commandment in order that we might glorify him and enjoy him ah this is God's command that we believe in his son Jesus Christ for unless we believe by faith in his son Jesus Christ though you should speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love to God in your heart though you should give all your goods to feed the poor and give your body to be burnt it profit of nothing for eternity the vital thing on the first death must be that we close in by faith with
[21:07] Christ and no God in Christ for he who has seen me said Christ has seen the father why sayest thou then show us the father now than in regard to those who in this world believe in Christ savingly and who by faith have committed their all to him when they leave this world and enter the city that is prepared for them in the day of judgment what happens what we are told shall wipe away all tears from their eyes surely that should be of significance and of interest to each one is it that us ponder and consider and ask ourselves is it possible that
[22:10] I could ever attain to a place where all the tears shall be wiped away forever from my eyes well not only is it possible but John through the spirit tells us that this will actually take place in regard to all who shall come to glory when they leave this world we know that sin has turned this world into a veritable portion that is a valley of weeping wherever you go in the earth north south east and west you meet with people whose hearts are broken and whose eyes are shedding copious tears for reasons innumerable tragedies that abound and circumstances that thrive unto the uttermost and if all the tears that were ever shed in this universe since mom's sin were gathered together but a vast ocean it might be god's people have tears to shed in this world when the holy spirit enlightens them and gives them an idea of who and what they are by nature and as in the mirror of truth by way they behold their own visage so ugly and defiled by sin no paint and no perfume and no powder can remove the evil that is in the human heart that evil has to be dealt with not only not by man nor by angels but by god himself he alone can overcome that evil and when souls are enlightened saving it to ponder and consider who they are by nature and when they think of god's mercy in jesus christ they become men and women of a broken heart but the brokenness of heart they experience is a glorious experience on the one hand they we we over the fact that they have been sinners and enemies to god for so long the years of sinning wasted as someone else had said could
[25:20] I but recall them the opportunities let slip and all the accumulation of sins against god who is infinite infinitely good and holy and righteous and upright and the believer has glimpses of the evil of his own nature and when he thinks of the love of god in giving his only begotten son for such a wretched creature as he is or as she is than the weak copious tears at least in her heart and very often in her eyes and the fight between themselves and their god just confess that in thought in thought in word and in action and if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not given and if we are given any true idea of what sin entails and that we have this evil thing in our nature as we ponder its nature in the light of god's revelation surely we are amazed that God did not pass us off right at the beginning.
[26:55] Sin is that which ought not to be, sin is that which God hates. And isn't it a terrible thing that you or I should cherish it in a very near?
[27:05] Sin is that God must deal with sin.
[27:24] He must deal with sin in the person of the sinner or else in the sinner's substitute. For the law of God will be satisfied and could never be satisfied with anything but perfection.
[27:45] Cursed is everyone that continues not in this word by fulfilling the word of the law. That is the sentence of the law.
[27:56] And God had and has to deal with sin as we said, either in the person of the sinner or in the person of the sinner.
[28:13] And this is the hope of God's people. And this is what God's people believe on the foundation of the revelation God has given them. That God dealt with their sins in the passion of another, in the passion of Jesus Christ.
[28:34] He assumed their nature and condescended to their Lord Jesus. He offered himself up by sacrifice to satisfy divine justice in their Romans death.
[28:46] And who in triumph cried, it is good. That is the hope. That is the hope. The true hope of those who are united to Christ and who are on the way to glory.
[28:59] But they shed copious tears. As I think of how they're coming short, when I think of his mercy, God's mercy, God's love, God's kindness.
[29:11] Think of how penitent the prodigal son was when he made his way home after he came to himself. And he came to his father's house and his father met him.
[29:28] He fell on his neck and kissed him. Oh, when that prodigal received the kiss of pardon and reconciliation, I am sure his tears were flowing down.
[29:41] To the earth. This was not the kind of treatment that he deserved. And this was not the kind of treatment that he would have expected.
[29:54] He was thinking that the best he could hope for if his father was merciful was that he would make him as one of his hired servants. Instead of that, he received him into his fellowship and his hope.
[30:11] So that there was rejoicing over the prodigal's repentance and return. And then God's children not only bemoan the fact of sin in themselves, but they bemoan sin in their fellows.
[30:29] They bemoan the power of evil around them in the earth. And their desire would be that all men and all women, wherever they may be, might turn from evil and from sin to God and test and see that God is good.
[30:50] And then think of the copious tears that they have to shed in regard to the manifold troubles that come upon them in this world.
[31:06] The many disappointments in this world. The many trials. And the many temptations. And how they are often afflicted.
[31:17] Think of Abraham as he went up. Mount Moriah with his eyes. Think of Jacob as he cried out. Now me you have deprived of my children.
[31:29] Joseph is not. Simeon is not. Benjamin ye will take away. And all these things are against me. Surely these were times when he had tears to shed.
[31:48] And we could go on to mention an innumerable, as it were, number of reasons why. That people shed copious tears.
[32:00] But when believers come home to glory, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes of every kind.
[32:18] Now, I think this is a lovely picture that portrays the wonderful relation of God to those who turn to him through Jesus Christ under pent-over sin.
[32:34] Can you picture a more beautiful sin in the world, in some senses, than to see a child being embraced by a father or mother?
[32:46] A child who has been in trouble and shedding copious tears. Yet, he had folded in the arms of the parent and soothed and cut. And the parent taking his or her hand and wiping away the tears tenderly from the eyes.
[33:06] Now, if a parent on earth is capable of doing that, how infinitely more wonderful is it that this should be said of God Almighty, that he shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of his children.
[33:22] How is God warranted in doing such a thing? He is warranted in doing such a thing because and he gave his only begotten son to die the just in the room of the unjust.
[33:51] And the hands of the great judge, who shall judge everyone on the day of judgment, were nailed to the cruel cross of Calvary.
[34:02] And Isaiah could say, the spiritual healing and health that he and others enjoy, by his stripes, we are healed.
[34:17] Through the merits of Christ, God shall wipe away all tears in the eyes of his soul.
[34:28] As they are welcomed through the merits of Christ into glory above. You have often heard the story concerning the little girl who had been playing with other young ones.
[34:47] And for one reason or another, they quarreled. And the other girls, little girls cast up to this girl that while the hands of their mothers were nice and smooth and tender, her mother's hands were ugly and scarred.
[35:10] And the child was very upset and she made her way home, weeping and crying. And she said to her mother, let me see your hands, see if they are telling the truth, I never thought of it before.
[35:29] But sure enough, when she showed her her hands, they were scarred and marked. But then the mother took her in her arms and said, my dear, these are my hands indeed and they are scarred and they are marked.
[35:48] But never be ashamed of them. These hands have done for you something that no other mother in this place has done.
[35:59] When you were a child, the house went on fire. None was brave enough to go in there among the smoke and the flames.
[36:13] But I loved you so much that I made my way in there. And I was unable to take you and to rescue you from the flames and ever since I bear the marks on my body and on my house.
[36:31] And when we read of God wiping away the tears from the eyes of his own as they enter the heavenly Jerusalem, we remember how this is possible.
[36:50] the hands of his own son were scarred and marked on the cruel cross. He said to Thomas, reach hither your finger and place it in the mark of the nails and reach hither your hand and place it in my side.
[37:10] Be not faithless, but delete. So God is right when he wipes away the tears from the eyes of his people who believe in him as he workens them home to close.
[37:31] But then there shall be no more death. There sin has exposed man to death threefold. Death, spiritual death, temporal death, eternal.
[37:45] Death, spiritual as you know, implies how we are by nature. We sinned in Adam and came under the curse and sin reigns in the human heart as we are by our sinful nature.
[38:04] We are slaves to the power of sin and only God can set us free and emancipate us from that awful power that holds us in such a grip from which we cannot extricate ourselves.
[38:22] Try how we may. So that spiritual death means that if we know not the Lord in Christ, we are dead in trespasses and in sins, we live our own lives irrespective of God, having no love to God in our hearts, having no true obedience to the law of God, and we pass our lives like that from day to day.
[38:59] Oh, what a terrible death that is, spiritual death and there are myriads of people in the world today who are under the awful power of spiritual death and I wonder how many are here in this congregation still under the power of spiritual death.
[39:17] Do you cherish the hope by grace that you have been set free from that power? Or are you a dupe of sin and is the sin having dominion over you continually?
[39:33] Are you the slave of sin? And do you live your life irrespective of Christ and his glory and the glory of God? Oh, what a terrible state to be in if you are dead in trespasses and in sin.
[39:50] Remember, the church cannot save you. The communion table will not save you. Baptism will not save you. No church privilege can save you.
[40:01] There's only way, only one way that a sinner can be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You may get all the privileges of the church and go to hell after that.
[40:17] And your gift will be all the more if that happens. But if you certainly believe in Christ, you shall never come into condemnation.
[40:28] God himself shall ultimately wipe away all tears from your eyes. And by his power he sets the soul free from the power of sin.
[40:40] Sins guilt is blotted out when you believe savingly in Christ and the power of sin is broken and your heart is won for the Lord and from hence was all you are in perfect future.
[40:57] You love God and his law and his truth and you seek to walk faithfully and uprightly in his presence. Then we know that temporal death is indeed terrible.
[41:17] Think of what it entails when it comes into the home sometimes removes father or mother sometimes the child or the son or the daughter that is as the apple of the eye to the parent and all the tragedies that are associated with temporal death down through the ages.
[41:40] Well think then of how glorious it must be when people attain to this place where there shall be no more death no more funerals no more need for undertaker no more need for mourners to gather to the house of mourning there shall be no more death.
[42:00] all of that entice no we must kiss none and then there is death eternal and that means if we die without forgiveness of sins and without saving faith in Christ we shall go down to the place of torment even to hell and none else at least while many have declared this we have the authority of God himself for declaring this remember how Christ spoke of the rich man and Lazarus for one instance how the one was carried to the bosom of Abraham because he had faith in God and lived to God's glory though he was very impoverished in this world yet he was rich spiritually and when he died he went to heaven but the rich man who had all that his heart would desire of the things of this earth had no love to
[43:05] God in his heart and he was banished to the place of torment and his lot was such that he would have been he would have deemed it a great mess if Lazarus were to go ah touch his tongue even with a drop of water no word can tell what it entails to be in the bliss of glory and no word can tell how horrible it must be to be in the darkness of hell forever for you say why speak of those things because this very book that tells us of heaven at the same time tells us of heaven if it's right in the one instance it's right in the other if it's wrong in the one instance it's wrong in the other but we believe it's right in regard to heaven and to heaven and there shall be no more death neither sorrow days of sorrow and weeping shall be gone nor crying in this world believers cry in distress to God and cry to their fellow men at times for deliverance but there in heaven there shall be no need for this neither shall there be any more pain if you were to visit the hospitals tonight throughout the earth and see the poor people lying there in pain and in agony and if you were to assure them that the time would come when they would have no more pain oh what wonderful news that would be for well it is true in regard to all who believe in Christ however pain and whatever sufferings they may have in this world when they enter glory and God welcomes them home their pain shall be at an end for the former things are passed away this will be the state of believers in heaven when this world is no more where Christ shall come in his glory and the dead shall rise and the grave shall give up the dead that are in it and in them and the seas give up the dead that are there and the righteous shall be welcomed by the
[45:47] Lord saying come ye blessed of my father inherit this kingdom prepared for you for the foundation of the earth but to those who love not the Lord Jesus he will say depart from me ye curse you I never knew now friend do you believe in Christ and have you committed your soul to him well if not and if death should come to you tonight in your sleeping hours or in your waking hours if you have an accident on the street and you die or if you die in your bed let me tell you what awaits you if you're an unbeliever you have it here in verse 8 of chapter 21 but the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and warmongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all life will have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death well you have been warned and you have been warned by the word of God and you should ask
[47:09] God to make you believe this word and you should ask grace from him to enable you to look to the sin of sin Lord Jesus Christ who is mighty to save to the uttermost all those who come unto God by him matters not whether they are young or old or middle age if they come to Christ they shall confess them that they are the very chief of sinners they shall class themselves in the same class as the apostle Paul when he was unable to say this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and he said if you want to know who was the chief of sinners I he said I am chief of sinners and that is a truth that you will be inclined to dispute with Paul if you have tested of God's mercy you will say well Paul
[48:19] I know you were a great sinner but I am sure I must have been a greater sinner why should you say that to yourself because my sins are personal to me and your sins are personal to you and if I under the enlightenment of the spirit see myself as a sinner then I must come to the conclusion that as far as I am concerned and God has been so good to me and God has been so kind to me and God is forbearing with me that I must indeed be the chief of sinners you know believers would never be content with a weak or a little savior they need a savior who is mighty to save them to the uttermost from every sin none else would do and Christ is such a savior and tonight he says behold
[49:22] I stand at the door and if any man hear my voice open the door I will come in with him and he with me now that's the preparation for heaven that he close in saving the would cry and if so he will see to that he will sanctify us by his spirit for the souls of believers are that their death made perfect in glory to immediately pass into glory that bodies being still united to Christ to rest in the graves to the resurrection in the resurrection believers being raised up in glory shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment made perfectly blessed in the full joy of God to all eternity well I don't know your heart perhaps I don't know yourself but remember this
[50:22] God knows all about that reminds me of a note concerning I think it was Dr. Guthrie of the free church he was a famous preacher and he was preaching on one occasion and he spoke of the evil of sin and how people ought to realize that they were sinners and the need of salvation and a day or two afterwards he received a letter from a lady an indignant lady and she said oh she said I'm ashamed that you were exposing me and scandalizing me in the sermon last night and she put her address and signature to the letter and Dr.
[51:06] Guthrie a star looked up the names of everyone he knew in his congregation and he didn't know her at all so he wrote back to her and he said my dear lady some words to this effect my dear lady you have given your name and address but I can assure you I do not know who you are I am not conscious that I have ever met you but from the contents of your letter it is very evident that there is another that knows all about you and that is the one that I was preaching in myself God knows you he knows your address he knows who you are he knows all about you and he advised that instead of criticizing him for telling the truth she should apply to God for salvation and forgiveness of sins so that being brought to know herself and her spiritual needs she would escape from the wrath to come and close in with Christ and put her trust in him may God grant that this may be true of everyone and that in view of the eternity to which we are all his that when our time comes we may be found as the apostle wanted that he should be found that I might be found in Christ he said not having my own righteousness which is of the Lord but the righteousness which is of the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by me may that be you are told in heaven if so then these words shall be experienced by us
[52:48] God shall welcome us to the heaven above and our tears shall be at an end and we shall never again have to pass through death because our Savior himself passed through death and not only through death temporal but through the very death that believers deserve to die eternally and he fulfilled all that was necessary on that earth put your trust in him and should death find you tonight you will be singing with the saints in glory before another day but to be with Christ shall be part of it let us pray eternal Lord do thou bless each one of us now according to only bless the congregation and we would remember those who communicated at thy table recently for the first time may God take care of them and uphold them and give them the needed grace that wherever they may be men may take note of them that they have been and that they are with Jesus that thus may they be lights in their day and generation help the office bearers and the members and all who uphold thy cause here and be with us now as we part one from another be with us and bring us heavily to our respective homes watch over us during this night may we be all blessed by thee in such a way that we may go on living in the and enjoying fellowship with and when our time comes that we may go rejoicing into that heaven where there is no sorrow take away our sin for Jesus sake
[54:36] Amen Amen you