I heard someone ask a question
one time. They said, Do you really think
that today is the day that the Lord will return? Do you really? We've already thought through
what we're going to be planning this afternoon. After this service,
we plan to grab a bite to eat. Tomorrow, you know, go to work.
Do you really think that today is the last day? Everything that you're working
for, everything you're saving for, everything you're planning
for, what's going to matter in that day? It's going to be a day just like
today that the Lord will return, and a day that you think not.
No, I really don't think today is the end. It's going to be
a day just like today. And in that day, as we just looked,
His servants will then serve Him. God's people, you that believe,
are doing exactly right now, in part. We know in part. We see in part. But right now
you're doing in part. what we will forever do then.
Because you do see. You do behold something of the
miracle of His grace and mercy. And you do worship. They that
worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, those that God's taught the gospel of Christ, the gospel
of God's grace, They lift the hand of Him who is worthy of
honor. So they look and they worship
and they dwell. They dwell. God's people, as
I said last week or week four or something like that, God's
people, they govern everything else around
the worship of God. Everything is governed around
God's worship. Everything. The religionist governs the worship
of God around everything else he's got to do. Not God's people. They govern everything else around
worship. In that day, we'll serve Him
perfectly. what we do now in part. But that
new heart that a believer possesses, new mind, is not going to change. The body of sin is just going
to be put off. And in that day, that which remains
is that which God Almighty has created in Christ Jesus. Well, in verse 4, and when it
says in that last part of verse 3, and his servants shall serve
him." It then goes right into verse 4 and says, "...and they
shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads."
That's what I've entitled this, "...they shall see his face." John had just been told something
about service. They'll serve him. That is a
perpetual state of worship that we're just not able to comprehend.
What's it going to be like? You know the closest thing that
I have to telling you what it shall be like. I've got the account
of an eyewitness that was in the third heaven.
Paul the Apostle said there was such a man, whether in the body
or out of the body, I don't know. But he was carried up. He was
brought forth to the third heaven, the very place in God's presence. And he said he saw and heard
things that are unspeakable. He saw some things. God taught
him some things. But he said it's not lawful,
not right, not able to say. Well, we get this little impression
what it should be like. And we just don't. We just don't
know. We're tormented with this present
state of this vile body of sin. As I said a while ago, the very
thoughts of eternal worship escapes us. You know what it does? It just
starts to almost Let you enter into what Paul said, O wretched
man that I am, this body that keeps me, this body that wars
against me, this body that just has that turmoil to it. O wretched man that I am, who
shall separate me from the body of this death? God's people,
they despise that body of death that they're tied to. They despise
it. That's what Jeremiah says, I
loathe myself. But the Scripture reveals clearly
that we're going to worship by everlasting state. And we shall see His face. The thought here is that God
is not going to be hidden from us. We know and are convinced
right now. How many here, don't raise your
hands, just answer to yourself. How many of you are absolutely
convinced that where two or three are gathered together in His
name, He's in the midst? You believe that? He said He
was. But you see, the body of this
death unveiled, I just don't see. By faith I see Him. By faith I know. His face in that day to His people
in mercy, in grace, in compassion is not going to be hidden. They
are going to see His face. If God hides Himself, no man
can see. If God has hidden Himself from
a man, from a woman, they don't see. They don't know. They don't
love. They don't understand. Job said
in Job 34, 29, when He giveth quietness, that is, quietness
to the soul, to be able to rest, to be able to settle down. When
He giveth quietness, who can make trouble? You know, I tell
you, you try as hard as you can to try to disrupt a believer's
confidence in the person of their Savior, and you're not going
to do it. You are not going to change them. There are accounts
in this Scripture and accounts in history books where believers,
rather than recant what they set forth, they believe. They
died of stake. Paul said they were sawn asunder,
boiled in oil. If he giveth quietness, who can
make trouble? And when he hideth his face,
who can behold him? whether it be done against a
nation or against a man only. If Almighty God hides Himself,
who can see Him? But if He reveals Himself, who
cannot see Him? Who can but see Him? Let me say
it like that. David said in Psalm 51 9, ìHide thy face from my
sins. Donít look upon them, Lord, and
impute them to me. But blot out all mine iniquities.î
Thatís the request. of a believer. That's a request
if someone has seen something of his guilt. But if Almighty
God doesn't hide His face from my sins in judgment, in the person
of my substitute, He who has made sin, sin, if He doesn't
hide His face from my sins in a substitute, He must hide Himself
forever from me in mercy. He must. He's a just God. Almighty
God is a just God. He doesn't just forgive. Someone
says, well, God just won't forgive, just kind of overlooks sin. Scripture
never bears that out. Never. Never. Never. He's a just God. God's people are absolutely favored
and blessed to do in that day perfectly what man is unable
to do in this fallen nature, that is, see his face in mercy. God told Moses in Exodus 33,
20, and he said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall
no man see me and live. God in His absolute holiness,
brightness, He dwells in light. which no man can approach unto. The disrespect that is spoken,
people talk about knowing God as if He's just one of the good
old boys. I said before, me and Jesus have
a good thing going. No, you don't. You worm. You maggot. You know, a believer loves to
be told what they are. That's the most amazing thing
to me. An unbeliever hears that and says, don't call me that.
God's people say, that's what I am. That's what He redeemed
me from, my rebellion maggot. Blessed, Matthew 5, verse 8,
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the
pure in heart. I got to reading that and thinking
on this. The pure in heart. Now, is there anyone here that
would like to think on that and just say now, you know, pure
in heart? Boy, you see, I'll tell you this,
in me there dwells, that is in my flesh, there dwells no good
thing. What does it mean to be pure in heart? Well, I'll tell
you this, it doesn't mean to be sinless. I know that. I know that. Paul said in Romans
7.21, I find in a law a principle that when I would do good, evil
is present with me. If we say we have no sin, we
make God a liar. So pure in heart, blessed are
the pure in heart, they shall see God. What does it mean, pure
in heart? The purity of heart as spoken
here refers to the new heart, the new man, that new creation
I was talking about that is imparted to those that believe, those
that God has given a new heart to. New in heart, new heart,
pure in heart. He is born, all of us were born
with a wicked, rebellious heart, evil heart. That's what he's
talking about. There is in my flesh, that is
in that nature of rebellion, there dwells no good thing. Well, I think I need to clean
up my life. No, there is no cleaning up of
your life. There's one thing that can be done with a rebellious
heart. Judgment. That's it. Yeah, well, I've learned
some things and I've kind of reformed a little. No, you haven't.
No, you haven't. That which is flesh is flesh.
Well, God's taught me some things, and I've kind of improved on
my old heart. No, you haven't. That old heart
never changes. It does one thing. It hates God,
resists God. God looks on the heart. Man looks
on the outside, and if there is only that heart, As being
born in Adam, that man is never going to see God in mercy. Oh,
he'll see God in judgment, but not in mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart.
The pure in heart. They shall see God. Those that
God has given a new heart. I put a new heart in you. I put
a new spirit in you. Wherein dwells righteousness. I write my law on your heart.
There is the pure in heart, that which God has created. Blessed
are the pure in heart, those that God has given a new nature,
a new man, a new mind, Paul says, that I serve the Lord. We see
Him now by faith, through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Perfect. no night, no sin, no
darkness. What is it to see God? It is
to be brought near to Him by the blood of Christ, by the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. They shall see His face. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the face of God. He is the revelation,
the illumination, It's the face of God's Son, the Redeemer. The Word made flesh. The brightness of God's glory
and the express image of His Person who is the face of God. It's our Master. It's our Lord. Our Savior. The illumination
of God's Glory in the face of Jesus Christ. We'll see Him face
to face. See His face. We shall see God
in the glorious revelation of what He's purposed and what He's
accomplished. I can start studying and I get
a glimpse of what the Lord has revealed. understanding by God's
revelation. I see something that just excites
me. I think, you know, I never saw that before. There's a picture
of Christ. I got to thinking on that when
the Lord was on the road to Emmaus. And it says, "...in beginning
with Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all
the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." I thought, my, what
a conversation that would have been. to have just heard God's
people, when they see Christ in the Scriptures, it just inflames
their heart. And they think, that's my Master
right there. That's Him. That's my Redeemer. You that believe, enter into
what I just said. You know what I'm talking about.
You see that. You see it in part, I know, but
you see it. And who shall see it? Well, His
servants. His servants that see Him, and
they shall see His face. They shall behold Him. Isaiah
33, 17 says, Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty. They
shall behold the land that is very far off. But what is it
to see His face? I know it's the person of the
Lord Jesus. I know who it is. But what is it to see His face? They shall see His face. What
does that mean? David said in Psalm 41, 12, As
for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me
before thy face forever. What is it to see His face? First of all, It's to see or
to behold or to perceive. They shall see. They shall understand. They shall perceive. They'll
see. Just like when I said, well,
this is the way it is. This is how you make orange. You know, you take some red,
you take some yellow, and you put them two together. Look there. It's made orange. Oh, I see.
I perceive. You see it, but you understand
it. They shall see. They shall perceive. It's to
be told and to understand that you've been favored by God. To
see His face is to perceive in that day, God has set His affection
on me. Well, we know that a little bit. We read in Ephesians 1, 4, and
we see that God has from the beginning chosen us. that we
should be holy and without blame, but oh, to see Him in that day,
and to see and to perceive His face in the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and to understand that we've been favored by God. If we perceive that now, we couldn't,
not in this flesh, we couldn't contain it. We see it. As I said a while ago, we almost
seem to get a hold on that. We've been favored by God. Psalm
41.11, By this I know that thou favorest me, David said, because
mine enemy does not triumph over me. What enemy is that, David? That means that sin and Satan
and self and this world doesn't to triumph or have victory over.
To see His face is to perceive that God has favored me in the
person of His Son, not in myself. I know that in me there dwells
no good thing. I know that there is none good,
no, not one. David said in Psalm 106, Remember
me, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people.
Visit me with Your salvation. Lord, save me. Help me. Lord, show mercy. You know those
that cry out for mercy? Those that God's shown mercy
to. They cry out for mercy. Lord, don't leave me to myself.
Those that cry out, don't leave me to myself or those that God
hasn't left to themselves. That's what it is. When you see
a man or woman cry to the Lord, Lord, save me. It's because God
has. He's given a new heart. He's
already created life there. Babies don't cry to become alive.
They cry because they are alive. To see the face of God. We shall
see His face. To behold that God has favored
us in the person of Christ. Why did He favor us in the person
of Christ? Because He chose to. Because
He chose to. He did according to His will.
He said His affection not because He looked and saw that we would,
because He saw that there was none that was going to seek God.
Secondly, is to have the blessing to draw near unto God as He has
drawn near unto us. What is it to see His face? Isaiah
26, 17 says, Like as a woman with child that draweth near,
that is, she is caused to approach the time of her delivery and
is in pain and crieth out in her pain, so have we been in
thy sight, O Lord." There are some folks in this congregation
this morning that as a woman that is in pain with child, drawing
near to the time of delivery, you see through a glass darkly,
but you see the time draws near. And you see the pains and the
struggle of this world. And I tell you, the closer you
get, the more you desire and say, Lord, receive me to Yourself. Help me. What is it to see His
faith? First of all, to be favored by
God and to know it. Secondly, to have the blessing
to draw near. Lord, I want to be in Your presence,
not because of anything that I've done, but Lord, because
You've revealed to me that You've shown me mercy and compassion. And You've put away my guilt
You've not imputed to me my iniquities. I know you haven't. You've taught
me that. You've shown me that. That's
to behold His face. Thirdly, to see His face is to
behold salvation Himself. We speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. We speak of Him being made sin. I don't even know what sin is.
Do you? You tell me what sin is. I can tell you something of the
effects of it. I can see a little bit of the
effects of it. But what is this body of sin, this body of rebellion,
this animosity? I don't even know how to describe
it. But He was made it. He was made what I am. He was made what I am. weeks ago when we say He was
made sin with all the respect that I know, with all the honor
that I know. He who hung on that cross, who
was that? That's the Lamb of God. That's God's Lamb. Spotless, holy, undefiled, separate
from sinners. And He was made sin. What was
upon that cross? There was God's Lamb as sin. There was sin our substitute,
our blessed Savior. How else can I say that God dealt
with my sin, what I am, and put it away, but to say that He who
knew no sin was made what I am, that I might be made what He
is, in Him. Righteousness. The righteousness
of God. Oh, I tell you, I could be as
good as I can try to be, but I ain't going to get it. The
righteousness of God. Now, you just stop and mull that
for a minute. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. To see His face is to actually
behold Him. who is salvation. As I said before,
we talk about salvation as if it's an event. It's not an event.
Salvation is a person. Genesis 32.30 says, Jacob called
the name of the place Peniel, where he had wrestled with, the
Scripture says, the man. He called the place Peniel, that
is, to see God, for I have seen God face to face, and my life
is preserved. You that believe, you've seen
Him. You've seen His face. You've
seen the person of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. You've seen
Him. I know Jacob didn't see God in
His unmeasurable glory, but he saw Him veiled. Saw Him. And he wrestled with
Him. He saw Him in a slender way. That is, he saw the very mercy
and salvation of the Lord, just as we do right now. I said, there
are some folks here, I'm convinced, that see Him. I'm convinced they
are. They see Him. They see Him. Boy, in that day, they're going
to see His face. No sin, no veil, no hiding. They'll see Him. To see His face
shall be eternal, everlasting vision, everlasting nearness,
everlasting honor, no change, no interruption, no cloud, no
doubt, no sin, no distraction, no compromise. You'll see His
face. We shall see righteousness. We know a little bit about that,
but we don't. We're such poor creatures, aren't
we? I mean, we're just pitiful. And the religionist, I mean,
just thinks himself something. He's just so proud of himself.
And a believer walks through this world and he just said,
I've just come to a point where I'm coming there. I ain't there
yet. But I'm telling you, I'm just
getting sicker and sicker. They shall see righteousness
We'll see grace. That's what it is to see His
face. We'll see grace. We talk about grace now, but
what do we know about grace? Very little. Know something,
but we'll see grace. And we shall see His glory. That is His thinking. So understand
then. Understand. They shall see His face, and
His name shall be in their foreheads." The name, the name, the character,
what it means. The authority of God and His
Lamb engraved in their foreheads. That means in their face. They
shall see Him face to face. They'll see His face, they'll
see their face, and then He's the, His character engraved in
their face, in their foreheads. Why? Because they'll be like
Him. I told someone before this service started, it seemed like
the more I studied for this message and the more I tried to see,
the more I realized I don't know anything. Lord, I know. I'm telling
you everything I know. And I'm telling you, I don't
know. I don't know. God's name. What did he reveal
to Moses? That's what Moses said. Show
me your glory. Show me your face. Show me your thinking. Show me
your opinion. Boy, we're sitting here this
morning. This is what we want to know. We want to know something
about God's glory. That's what we want to know.
Tell me something about what God has said He thinks. Lord,
I want to know what do You think? You know, when you respect someone,
you want their opinion. I want to know. And the one that
you have the greatest respect for, their opinion is greatly,
greatly desired. I told you before, I wouldn't embarrass
Brother Scott for anything. But there's times. I don't know
what to do. The greatest blessing for being
a pastor is to be able to call him up and say, Brother Scott,
let me ask you something. What do you think about this?
What's your opinion on this? And you know his opinion just
carries a tremendous amount of weight with me. Why? He knows what it's like. You
don't know what it's like until you stand right here. My daughter,
years ago, Sarah, I don't know if you've met her. She was young. She came up to the pulpit there
in Franklin one day and stood there and looked out over that
pulpit. She said, it looks different
from here. I said, yeah, it sure does. Yeah, it does. Lord, show me Your opinion. I
want to know, what do you think? And give me a heart to bow to
that. Teach me. Teach me. His name, His face,
His character, His opinion, that's what I want to know. And Lord,
whatever you say, cause me to bow to that. I want
to bow to that. along with this eternal inscription,
is going to be an eternal day. Verse 5 says there will be no
night there. They need no candle, neither
light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light and they
shall reign forever and ever. expand a little bit more on that
last part. It will rain forever and ever, and Lord willing, next
verse. But there's no night there. I can remember a time when I
was going through a real tough, really, really tough time in
my life. Oh, I can remember, I'd wake
up in the middle of the night Maybe one, two, three. I just wish daylight would get
here. I just wish the sun would come up. You know, it's just
a tough time. Some of you can understand that.
You know, if the sun would just come up, it would just be a little
bit better. If I could just look out, I'm just tired of just laying
here looking at the dark. In that day, there would be no
night. No struggles. No toil. There shall be the eternal
day. Eternal blessing, no shadow,
no change. The eternal reign. They shall reign forever and
ever. From the mire of despair, He
has elevated us in Himself to the greatest heights. In the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we are struggling. In that
day will reign with Him. God's people shall sit with Him. What's the fullness of that?
I don't know. But I can tell you this, there
is no greater blessing, no greater elevation. Where are you going
to be elevated? Above the throne of God. From
the bondage of sin to the liberty of being called the sons of God.
Heirs of God. We've got some folks in here
that's got some children, and your children will be your heirs
and whatever you've got. But I'll tell you this, whatever
you've got is going to burn up. It ain't going anywhere. Someone
once said, a man died, and he said, how much did he leave?
All of it. Heirs of God. What does God have for His people? Everything. Everything. Everything
that endures. With this revelation, we're cheered. We're invigorated. Our title
to this is found totally in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
shed for us, put away our guilt. We'll reign with Him. He has
redeemed us. and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward
us through Christ Jesus." In that day, God's people, they
shall serve Him, worship, dwell, Behold, they'll see His face. They'll see salvation Himself. See Him as He is and be like
Him. They shall behold the glory of
Almighty God. I'm telling you, God's people,
as much as the Lord has revealed to them, have an anxious anticipation
of what it shall be. And I am totally convinced in
that day when God's people are called out of this world, Almighty
God grants unto them just an extra measure of grace and mercy
to give unto them that joyful anticipation to leave this world
in an honorable way. God's people. I've not seen a
lot, but I've seen some. I've seen some people, believers,
leave this world with honor and dignity. And there is no greater
blessing. I've seen it. I've watched it.
I saw it. And there is no greater dignity
than for a believer to walk out of this world And say with peace
and comfort, I anxiously anticipate seeing Him face to face. That's grace and mercy. We'll
see Him. See His face. Be like Him.