THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT

PROGRAM AIR DATE: 11-22-20



LESSON TITLE: "A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH"



WELCOME

TODAY WE ARE BLESSED WITH A WONDERFUL GIFT FROM GOD, THE BIBLE. THIS BOOK IS GOD'S LIVING WORD. IN ITS PAGES, WE ARE TOLD "FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND POWERFUL AND SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD." IT IS IN THIS BOOK OF BOOKS THAT WE FIND THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF MAN'S QUESTIONS AND NEEDS. THIS MORNING YOUR AREA CHURCHES OF CHRIST WELCOME YOU TO A PROGRAM COMMITTED TO THAT PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY AS WE PRESENT THE LIVING WORD. NOW HERE IS YOUR HOST, RAY SULLINS.



GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO THE LIVING WORD PROGRAM! THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING TO GIVE THIS TIME TO GOD, AS WE TOGETHER STRIVE TO HONOR OUR CREATOR ACCORDING TO HIS PERFECT WILL. AS ALWAYS TODAY, IT WILL BE OUR PRIVILEGE TO SING HYMNS ABOUT GOD AND TO STUDY FROM HIS MAGNIFICENT WORD. NOW LET'S BOW OUR HEADS BEFORE HIS THRONE IN PRAYER!

PRAYER: OUR GOD AND FATHER IN HEAVEN, WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR THIS DAY AND THE MANY GREAT BLESSINGS OF LIFE. WE'RE THANKFUL FOR THE PRIVILEGE THAT WE HAVE TO BE CALLED YOUR CHILDREN AND TO BE SERVANTS IN YOUR KINGDOM. FATHER, WE ASK THAT YOU HELP US TO GIVE YOU OUR VERY BEST THIS DAY AS WE WORSHIP YOU MAY WE DO SO IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH. AND FATHER, MAY WE ALWAYS REALIZE THAT THE GOOD THINGS OF THIS LIFE AND THE PROMISES OF THE LIFE TO COME ONLY COME FROM YOU THROUGH YOUR SON JESUS CHRIST. AND IN HIS NAME WE PRAY, AMEN.

IT'S TIME TO JOIN IN WITH THE BRETHREN THIS MORNING, AS WE BEGIN OUR SONGS OF PRAISE TO GOD. WE WILL BEGIN THIS MORNING WITH AN ENCOURAGING HYMN THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS LIFE, BECAUSE TRULY OUR REDEEMER LIVES! SO, WON'T YOU DO YOUR PART IN SONG TO GOD, AS WE TOGETHER SING, "I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES!"



DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS



I THINK WE ALL WOULD AGREE THAT IN MANY WAYS, WE LIVE IN A WICKED SOCIETY TODAY. NOW, THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT EVERYTHING IS WRONG, BUT THAT MOST THINGS ARE NOT ACCORDING TO WHAT WE READ IN THE BIBLE. WHEN WILL HUMANITY EVER LEARN THAT THE ONLY TRUE AND RIGHT WAY IS GOD'S WAY? OR WHEN WILL WE ALL WAKE UP TO REALIZE THAT ETERNAL LIFE IS ONLY FOUND IN THE WAYS OF GOD!

WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD TODAY OF EVIL AND WICKEDNESS, MY MIND OFTEN GOES BACK TO ANOTHER TIME IN HISTORY WHEN MAN BECAME TOO WICKED. A TIME WHEN EVERYONE DID ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN DESIRE AND THEY REALLY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT WHAT GOD HAD TO SAY. CAN YOU REMEMBER THE STORY OF NOAH?

NOW LET ME ASK YOU, BECAUSE OF THE WICKEDNESS OF THE TIME, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WORLD? YOU AND I KNOW THE ANSWER, ALL LIFE WAS DESTROYED BY GOD. IN FACT, THE TEXT TELLS US THAT IT GRIEVED GOD THAT HE HAD MADE MAN. HE WAS SORRY ABOUT THE CREATIONS HE HAD MADE, BECAUSE OF THEIR WICKEDNESS.

ALSO CONSIDER HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE SPARED DURING THIS GREAT CLEANSING? WE ALL KNOW THE ANSWER, ONLY EIGHT SOULS. NOAH, HIS WIFE, THEIR SONS AND THEIR WIVES. THEY WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO WERE CONSIDERED RIGHTEOUS ENOUGH BY GOD TO BE SPARED DURING THIS GREAT DESTRUCTION.

IN ANOTHER OLD TESTAMENT STORY FOUND IN GENESIS 19, WE READ ABOUT SOME CITIES WHICH WERE AGAIN DESTROYED BY GOD, DUE TO GREAT WICKEDNESS. WE HAVE ALL HEARD THE STORY OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. THINK FOR A MOMENT HOW MANY WERE SPARED IN THIS DESTRUCTION? AGAIN WE KNOW THE ANSWER, ONLY LOT AND HIS TWO DAUGHTERS WERE SPARED. THE REASON IS ALWAYS THE SAME, "THERE WERE NONE RIGHTEOUS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH!"

I MENTION THESE EXAMPLES TODAY TO EXHORT US UNTO LIVING AS GOD WANTS US TO. WHY, THINK ABOUT THE WORDS OF JESUS IN MATTHEW 7:14, "BECAUSE NARROW IS THE GATE AND DIFFICULT IS THE WAY WHICH LEADS TO LIFE, AND THERE ARE FEW WHO FIND IT." CONSIDER OUR EXAMPLES DISCUSSED THIS MORNING, IN COMPARISON JUST HOW FEW ARE GOING TO FIND IT IN OUR DAY? THE VERSE PRIOR TO THIS ONE IN THE SAME PASSAGE SAYS, "ENTER BY THE NARROW GATE; FOR WIDE IS THE GATE AND BROAD IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO DESTRUCTION, AND THERE ARE MANY WHO GO IN BY IT." THE SAD REALITY IS, CHRIST SAID MOST ARE HEADING FOR DESTRUCTION, AND NOT BY HIS CHOICE, BUT THEIR OWN!

SO DOES IT MATTER HOW WE LIVE, WHAT WE DO, OR WHAT WE SAY? THE LORD SAID IT DOES. CHOOSE TODAY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE LIVING AMONG THE RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD. DON'T BE FOUND LACKING, CAUGHT UP IN THE WICKEDNESS OF THIS WORLD, FINDING THAT IT IS TOO LATE TO CORRECT WHAT'S WRONG IN YOUR LIFE. WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION OF OUR LORD, "WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMES, WILL HE REALLY FIND FAITH ON THE EARTH," LUKE 18:8.

THIS MORNING WE ARE EXCITED AGAIN TO HAVE BROTHER BRENT GREEN WITH US. BROTHER BRENT WORKS FULL TIME WITH THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF MISSOURI, AS A SCHOOL PROMOTER AND FULL-TIME INSTRUCTOR. HE WILL BE LEADING US IN OUR DISCUSSION FROM GOD'S WORD TODAY, AS WE CONTINUE OUR SERIES ENTITLED, "BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW." OUR SPECIFIC LESSON OF THE DAY IS, "A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH." SO PLEASE STAY WITH US AND AFTER OUR NEXT SONG TOGETHER BROTHER GREEN WILL RETURN AND LEAD US IN OUR MESSAGE OF THE MORNING. NOW LET'S JOIN IN OUR SECOND HYMN OF THE DAY, AS WE GLORIFY GOD OUR CREATOR. THE NAME OF THIS SONG IS "THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD."



LESSON

BY BRENT GREEN



WHAT A GREAT JOY IT IS AS ALWAYS TO BE ABLE TO OPEN THE PAGES OF GOD'S WORD AND STUDY FROM IT. LET US BEGIN WITH THAT IN SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER FIVE AND VERSE 17. THERE THE WRITER PAUL SAYS, "THEREFORE, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATION; OLD THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY; BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW." THAT'S REALLY THE IDEA OF ALL THE LESSONS IN THIS SERIES, THE NEW THINGS THAT HAVE COME ABOUT BECAUSE OF JESUS CHRIST. SO THERE IS INDEED A NEW NAME, A NEW CREATION, A NEW DOCTRINE, A NEW COVENANT, A NEW WORSHIP, AND EVEN A NEW BIRTH. BUT WE WILL CONSIDER NOW AT THIS TIME WHAT IT MEANS TO THINK ABOUT THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH. THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE. WHAT DOES IT HOLD FOR YOU IN YOUR LIFE? WE OFTEN LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND WONDER WHERE AM I GOING TO WORK? WHERE AM I GOING TO LIVE? WHAT DOES LIFE HAVE IN STORE FOR ME IN THE YEARS THAT LIE AHEAD? WHAT ARE GOING TO BECOME OF MY CHILDREN? MAYBE EVEN WHAT ARE GOING TO BECOME OF MY GRANDCHILDREN? BUT OFTEN DO WE LOOK BEYOND JUST THE THINGS OF THIS LIFE? DO WE LOOK FAR ENOUGH TO THE FUTURE TO CONSIDER THE SPIRITUAL REALM THAT EXISTS AND THINK TO THE FUTURE OF LIVING IN HEAVEN SOMEDAY? THAT'S REALLY WHERE OUR MINDS NEED TO GO TO IN THIS LIFE AS WE REMAIN FOCUSED ON WHAT DOES INDEED LIE AHEAD FOR US IN THIS LIFE. CONSIDER THE FUTURE, CONSIDER THE FACT THAT THE PHYSICAL EARTH, THE HEAVENS AND EARTH AS WE KNOW THEM RIGHT NOW, THIS PLANET AND THE PLANETS THAT ARE OUT THERE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM THAT THE HEAVENS AND EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED ONE DAY PHYSICALLY. BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, A SPIRITUAL REALM IN WHICH RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL DWELL, A PLACE WHERE WE CAN LIVE FOREVER WITH GOD ABOVE. I WANT US TO THINK ABOUT THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH TODAY.

FIRST, LET'S CONSIDER THE FACT THAT THIS PHYSICAL EARTH, THE HEAVENS AND EARTH THAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW, WILL BE DESTROYED. THE HEAVENS AND EARTH THAT WE KNOW OF RIGHT NOW ARE SIMPLY A TEMPORARY PLACE. THERE IN THE SAME BOOK OF SECOND CORINTHIANS, IF YOU GO BACK ONE CHAPTER TO CHAPTER FOUR AND VERSE 18 THIS IS WHAT WE FIND. IT SAYS SO, "WHILE WE DO NOT LOOK AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN, BUT AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN. FOR THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN ARE TEMPORARY, BUT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN ARE ETERNAL." THERE INDEED IS A DIVIDE BETWEEN THE THINGS OF THE PHYSICAL REALM AND THE THINGS IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM. YES, WE CAN SEE THE THINGS AROUND US RIGHT NOW, ALL THESE PHYSICAL THINGS ON THIS EARTH. BUT ONE DAY THESE THINGS WON'T BE ANYMORE. THESE THINGS WILL GO BY THE WAYSIDE BECAUSE THEY WILL INDEED BE DESTROYED. THERE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WE LEARNED THAT EVEN IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS, PSALM 102, GIVES US A PASSAGE TO AGAIN CONSIDER EVEN TODAY THAT WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT THE WORDS THAT WE FIND HERE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THAT WHICH IS TEMPORARY VERSUS THAT WHICH IS ETERNAL. THAT WHICH IS PHYSICAL VERSUS THAT WHICH IS SPIRITUAL. PSALM 102 VERSE 25 SAYS, "OF OLD YOU LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORK OF YOUR HANDS. THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU WILL ENDURE; YES, THEY WILL ALL GROW OLD LIKE A GARMENT; LIKE A CLOAK YOU WILL CHANGE THEM, AND THEY WILL BE CHANGED." WHO MADE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH? GOD DID. THEY ARE INDEED THE WORK OF HIS CREATION BUT THEY WILL GROW OLD. THEY WILL COME TO A POINT WHERE THEY WILL NO LONGER EXIST BECAUSE THERE IS AN APPOINTED TIME FOR THEM TO COME TO AN END. THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS PASSING AWAY. FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO AND VERSE 16 AND 17 WOULD REMIND US OF THAT. "FOR ALL THAT IS IN THE WORLD - THE LUST OF THE FLESH, THE LUST OF THE EYES, THE PRIDE OF LIFE - IS NOT OF THE FATHER BUT IS OF THE WORLD." AND WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE WORLD? IT SAYS, "THE WORLD IS PASSING AWAY, AND THE LUST OF IT." WE GOTTA BE CAREFUL NOT TO BE SO ATTACHED TO THESE THINGS OF THIS EARTH BECAUSE THEY WILL BE DESTROYED. FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER SEVEN AND VERSE 31 SAYS, "FOR THE FORM OF THIS WORLD IS PASSING AWAY." WE NEED TO BARE THAT IN MIND EVERY DAY OF LIFE. THAT THIS EARTH WILL NOT CONTINUE FOREVER. THE HEAVENS AND EARTH AS WE KNOW THEM, THAT IS THESE THINGS THAT WE SEE IN THE PHYSICAL REALM, WILL BE DESTROYED.

I THINK IT IS KEY FOR US TO SEE ANOTHER NEW TESTAMENT PASSAGE FOR THOSE WE MIGHT PUT THESE THINGS IN OUR MINDS. SECOND PETER CHAPTER THREE IS A VERSE THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER AND SECOND PETER CHAPTER THREE VERSES 10 THROUGH 12 WE READ THE FOLLOWING, THERE PETER WRITES BY INSPIRATION, "THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT, IN WHICH THE HEAVENS WILL PASS AWAY WITH A GREAT NOISE, AND THE ELEMENTS WILL MELT WITH FERVENT HEAT; BOTH THE EARTH AND THE WORK CENTER IN IT WILL BE BURNED UP. THEREFORE, SINCE ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE DISSOLVED, WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS OUGHT YOU TO BE IN HOLY CONDUCT AND GODLINESS, LOOKING FOR AND HASTENING THE COMING OF THE DAY OF GOD, BECAUSE OF WHICH THE HEAVENS WHICH WILL BE DISSOLVED, BEING ON FIRE, AND THE ELEMENTS WILL MELT WITH FERVENT HEAT?" YOU SEE, WE UNDERSTAND FROM THE SCRIPTURES THAT WHAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW OF THIS PHYSICAL EARTH WILL BE NO MORE. LOOK AT ALL THE WAYS IN THAT VERSE WE SEE THAT THE EARTH WILL COME TO AN END. THE HEAVENS WILL PASS AWAY WITH A GREAT NOISE. THE ELEMENTS WILL MELT WITH FERVENT HEAT. THE EARTH WILL BE BURNED UP. YOU GO THROUGHOUT THOSE THREE VERSES AND YOU LEARN TIME AND AGAIN THE VERY SAME THING. YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT FIND THOSE THAT ARGUE AGAINST THIS AND THINK THAT INDEED THERE WILL BE AN EARTH THAT REMAINS FOREVER PHYSICALLY. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT THE SCRIPTURES TEACH. THE SCRIPTURES TEACH US THAT THE PHYSICAL HEAVENS AND EARTH THAT WE KNOW PRESENTLY WILL BE DESTROYED ONE DAY. YOU SAY, 'WELL, THAT DOESN'T GIVE ME MUCH HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.' YOU SEE, THE FACT IS WE'RE NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO A PLACE OF LIVING FOREVER ON A PHYSICAL EARTH, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO A SPIRITUAL REALM. AS WE CAN UNDERSTAND FIRST FROM THE SCRIPTURES THAT THE HEAVENS AND EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED.

SECONDLY LET US UNDERSTAND THAT BEYOND THIS LIFE WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO SOMETHING MUCH GREATER. A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH THAT WILL REMAIN FOREVER, A SPIRITUAL REALM THAT WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED. WE CAN KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT THIS PHYSICAL EARTH WILL BE NO MORE. EVEN IN THE SAME CONTEXT HERE IN SECOND PETER CHAPTER THREE, ONE VERSE PRIOR IN VERSE NINE, IT SAYS, "THE LORD IS NOT SLACK CONCERNING HIS PROMISE, AS SOME COUNT SLACKNESS, BUT IS LONG-SUFFERING TOWARD US, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE." WHEN GOD MAKES A PROMISE WE CAN KNOW FOR A MATTER OF FACT THAT HE WILL KEEP HIS PROMISE. BUT YOU MIGHT WONDER, WHY IS IT THAT GOD IS WAITING? WHY IS IT THAT HE HAS NOT COME BACK YET AGAIN? THAT IS WHY HAS JESUS NOT COME A SECOND TIME TO DESTROY THIS EARTH? WHY IS IT THAT IT REMAINS? FROM THE STANDPOINT OF MAN, MAN MIGHT SAY GOD IS SLACK IN HIS PROMISE. BECAUSE OF THE DELAY IN TIME FROM THE MIND OF MAN, FROM HIS STANDPOINT, MAN MIGHT THINK GOD IS NOT GOING TO FULFILL HIS PROMISE. JESUS IS NOT GOING TO COME BACK. THIS EARTH WILL REMAIN FOREVER. NO, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A BREAK IN TIME FROM THE PROMISE TO HIS FULFILLMENT, WHEN GOD MAKES A PROMISE IT WILL BE FULFILLED. GOD IS NOT BOUND BY TIME AS MAN IS. WE CAN KNOW THAT GOD WILL KEEP HIS PROMISE. WHY, THEN AGAIN IS THERE A DELAY AS WE MIGHT SAY THAT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF MAN? BECAUSE GOD IS LONG-SUFFERING. HE'S NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH. HE IS WAITING FOR AS LONG AS HE CAN TO DESTROY THIS EARTH BECAUSE HE WANTS ALL HAVE TIME TO REPENT THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE THEIR LIVES SPIRITUALLY SO THAT THEY CAN PARTAKE OF SOMETHING FAR GREATER THAN LIFE ON THIS EARTH! THAT THEY CAN HAVE LIFE IN HEAVEN EVERLASTING. THAT THEY CAN HAVE PART IN THAT HEAVENLY REALM AND BE THERE FOR ALL ETERNITY WITH GOD AND THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN. HOW GREAT IT IS TO THINK ABOUT THE HOPE THAT LIES AHEAD IN A NEW HEAVEN AND IN A NEW EARTH!

I WANT YOU CONSIDER WITH ME THE FACT THAT THIS NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH IS INDEED A SPIRITUAL REALM. IT IS AS WE OFTEN REFER TO IT, HEAVEN IS SO. THE NEW WILL REPLACE THE OLD. THE SPIRITUAL WILL REPLACE THE PHYSICAL. I WANT YOU TO SEE A FEW VERSES IN RELATIONSHIP TO THAT IDEA. ONE OF THEM AGAIN IS IN SECOND CORINTHIANS. THIS TIME SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER FIVE BEGINNING THERE IN VERSE ONE. IT SAYS:

FOR WE KNOW THAT IF OUR EARTHLY HOUSE, THIS TENT, IS DESTROYED, WE HAVE A BUILDING FROM GOD, A HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS, ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS. FOR IN THIS WE GROAN, EARNESTLY DESIRING TO BE CLOTHED WITH OUR HABITATION WHICH IS FROM HEAVEN, IF INDEED, HAVING BEEN CLOTHED, WE SHALL NOT BE FOUND NAKED. FOR WE WHO ARE IN THIS TENT GROAN, BEING BURDENED, NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE UNCLOTHED, BUT FURTHER CLOTHED, THAT MORTALITY MIGHT BE SWALLOWED UP BY LIFE. NOW HE WHO HAS PREPARED US FOR THIS VERY THING IS GOD, WHO HAS ALSO GIVEN US THE SPIRIT AS A GUARANTEE.

THAT ONE DAY THIS PHYSICAL BODY, THIS TENT AS PAUL CALLS IT, WILL BE REPLACED BY A SPIRITUAL BODY. AND WE LONG FOR AND WE YEARN FOR THE DAY WHEN IT WILL TAKE PLACE BECAUSE IT WILL BE A PLACE, WHEN WE GET TO PARTAKE OF THAT SPIRITUAL LIFE FOREVER WITH GOD IN HEAVEN, WHERE WE CAN PUT ON MY SPIRITUAL BODY AND LEAVE THE PHYSICAL BEHIND. THAT'S THE CHANGE THAT WILL TAKE PLACE THAT THE PHYSICAL BODIES WILL BE TRANSFORMED. THAT THOUGH WE HAVE CITIZENSHIP RIGHT NOW IN HEAVEN ONE DAY WE WILL PARTAKE OF THAT IN A NEW FORM. LOOK ALSO WITH ME IN THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS. IN PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER THREE WE FIND THERE AN IMPORTANT VERSE IN VERSE 20, PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER THREE VERSE 20 AND ALSO VERSE 21, THIS IS WHAT THE SCRIPTURE SAYS, "FOR OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN, FROM WHICH WE ALSO EAGERLY WAIT FOR THE SAVIOR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO WILL TRANSFORM OUR LOWLY BODY THAT IT MAY BE CONFORMED TO HIS GLORIOUS BODY, ACCORDING TO THE WORKING BY WHICH HE IS EVEN ABLE TO SUBDUE ALL THINGS TO HIMSELF." AGAIN, THE WRITER HERE SPEAKS OF A CHANGE. THAT THE PHYSICAL WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO A SPIRITUAL BODY. AND WHY? BECAUSE THE PHYSICAL CAN'T LIVE IN A SPIRITUAL REALM. THAT CHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE SO THAT WE CAN GO TO A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, THAT IS TO HEAVEN ITSELF WHEN THE PERMANENT IS REPLACED OR THAT WHICH REPLACES THE TEMPORARY AND THE CORRUPTIBLE PUTS ON INCORRUPTION, FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 15 VERSUS 53 AND 54.

WHAT WILL THIS PLACE BE LIKE? WHAT WILL THIS NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH BE LIKE? WHAT WILL THIS SPIRITUAL REALM BE LIKE WHERE WE LIVE FOR ALL ETERNITY AS WE HAVE THIS NEW FORM, THIS NEW SPIRITUAL BODY? I BELIEVE REVELATION 21 GIVES US A GOOD INSIGHT INTO THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. WHAT WILL THIS NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH BE LIKE? WHAT WILL THIS NEW SPIRITUAL BE LIKE FOR US TO DWELL IN SOMEDAY? READ WITH ME FROM REVELATION 21 AND WE ARE GOING TO READ SEVERAL VERSES, VERSES ONE THROUGH EIGHT. AND IT REALLY GIVES US A CLEAR PICTURE OF THIS NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH. REVELATION 21 AND VERSE ONE. JOHN HERE IN THIS VISION THAT GOD GIVES TO HIM SEES THIS. HE SAYS:

"NOW I SAW A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, FOR THE FIRST HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH HAD PASSED AWAY. ALSO THERE WAS NO MORE SEA. THEN I, JOHN, SAW THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM, COMING DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD, PREPARED AS A BRIDE ADORNED FOR HER HUSBAND. AND I HEARD A LOUD VOICE FROM HEAVEN SAYING, 'BEHOLD, THE TABERNACLE OF GOD IS WITH MEN, AND HE WILL DWELL WITH THEM, AND THEY SHALL BE HIS PEOPLE. GOD HIMSELF WILL BE WITH THEM AND BE THEIR GOD. AND GOD WILL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES; THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NOR SORROW, NOR CRYING. THERE SHALL BE NO MORE PAIN, FOR THE FORMER THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY.' THEN HE WHO SAT ON THE THRONE SAID, 'BEHOLD I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.' AND HE SAID TO ME, 'WRITE, FOR THESE WORDS ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL.' AND HE SAID TO ME, 'IT IS DONE! I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END. I WILL GIVE OF THE FOUNTAIN OF WATER OF LIFE FREELY TO HIM WHO THIRSTS. HE WHO OVERCOMES SHALL INHERIT ALL THINGS, AND I WILL BE HIS GOD AND HE SHALL BE MY SON. BUT THE COWARDLY, THE UNBELIEVING, ABOMINABLE, MURDERERS, SEXUALLY IMMORAL, SORCERERS, IDOLATORS, AND ALL LIARS SHALL HAVE THEIR PART IN THE LAKE WHICH BURNS WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, WHICH IS A SECOND DEATH.'"

WE GET A PICTURE, NOT ONLY OF THE NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH, BUT ALSO THE OTHER SIDE OF ETERNITY, THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE. WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE BECAUSE THAT'S A PLACE WE DON'T WANT TO GO TO. BUT FOR THE TIME WE HAVE HERE WE DO WANT TO CONSIDER THAT NEW HEAVEN AND THAT NEW EARTH, THAT PLACE OF HEAVEN ITSELF, THAT'S SPIRITUAL REALM. AND WHAT A GREAT PLACE THAT WILL BE! CONSIDER ALL THOSE DESCRIPTIONS HERE. A HOLY CITY, A NEW PLACE OF WORSHIP, A PLACE WHERE THERE ARE NO TEARS AND NO SORROW AND NO DEATH, A PLACE THAT IS PAIN-FREE, A PLACE OF LIVING WATER. YOU SEE HOW MUCH GREATER HEAVEN IS? THIS NEW HEAVEN, THIS NEW EARTH THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE AS A SPIRITUAL DWELLING PLACE FOR ALL ETERNITY. HOW MUCH IT EXCEEDS AND HOW FAR EXCEEDS ALL EXPECTATION OF WHAT WE MIGHT THINK OF HERE IN THIS PHYSICAL REALM. HEAVEN IS PROMISED BY GOD. WE KNOW GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES. AS WE KNOW GOD TO BE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS WE WILL ONE DAY HAVE A PLACE TO LOOK FORWARD TO THAT FAR SURPASSES ANYPLACE PHYSICALLY. A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH PROVIDED BY GOD HIMSELF.

HOW DO WE GET THERE? I WANT YOU TO CONSIDER THIS PLACE OF DWELLING FOR ALL ETERNITY THAT WE DO NEED TO LOOK FORWARD TO IT BUT IT DOES REQUIRE IN US TO LIVE PROPERLY HERE IN THIS LIFE. SECOND PETER CHAPTER THREE AND VERSE 13 ONCE AGAIN AS WE RETURN TO THAT CHAPTER FOR A MOMENT. IT SAYS THIS, "NEVERTHELESS WE, ACCORDING TO HIS PROMISE, LOOK FOR NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH IN WHICH RIGHTEOUSNESS DWELLS." WE ARE TOLD THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS DWELLS IN THIS NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH. WELL, GUESS WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US IN OUR LIVES IN THE PRESENT? IF WE WANT TO GO AND BE WITH GOD SOMEDAY IN A PLACE WHERE RIGHTEOUSNESS DWELLS, THEN WE OURSELVES HAVE TO LIVE RIGHTEOUS LIVES IN THE PRESENT FOR HE WHO PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS JUST AS HE IS RIGHTEOUS, FIRST JOHN CHAPTER THREE AND VERSE SEVEN. ARE YOU LIVING A LIFE THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO THAT NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH? ARE YOU LIVING RIGHTEOUSLY SO THAT YOU MAY BE WITH GOD ONE DAY IN THAT PLACE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS?



CLOSING COMMENTS



THANK YOU AGAIN FOR CHOOSING TO BE WITH US TODAY, AS WE GAVE THIS TIME TO GOD. IT IS ALWAYS A BLESSING TO HAVE YOU WITH US. WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US EVERY SUNDAY MORNING AT 7:30, AS WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO DOING THE THINGS OF GOD IN HIS WAY!

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THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS WONDROUS PROMISES AFTER THIS LIFE IS OVER. HOW GLORIOUS IT WILL BE TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD ETERNAL IN THAT PERFECT PLACE CALLED HEAVEN! LET'S LIVE EVERY DAY AND MOMENT OF LIFE WITH SUCH IN SIGHT!