We will begin our worship this
afternoon with the singing of hymn 369. Hymn 369 to the tune Meryton,
366. How pleasant, how divinely fair, O Lord of hosts, thy dwellings
are. With long desire my spirit faints
to meet the assemblies of thy saints. Hymn 369, the tune Meryton,
366. O Lord of Hosts, my heav'nly
God, with thy wisdom I speak. To be in the stillness of Thy
space. Rest, O Lord, take, who sit on
high, ? And round the throne of majesty
? ? Thy brightest glow has been shown ? His praise and love. Rest of the souls that find their
way, ? Within the depth of thy grace
? ? When we behold thy temple raised ? Rest of the day is of the saint. Sing, find the way to Zion's
gates. O'er this land's plain and through
the night, Lady of gold and man of light. We will read from God's holy
word this afternoon in the book of Revelation and chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21. And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth. For the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And
I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their
God. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former
things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne
said, behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write. For these words are true and
faithful. And he said unto me, it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that
overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son. that the fearful and unbelieving,
and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers,
and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death. And there came unto me one of
the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven
last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will
show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the
Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having
the glory of God, And her light was like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal, and had a wall great
and high, and had 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels, and names
written thereon, which are the names of the 12 tribes of the
children of Israel. And on the east three gates,
on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on
the west three gates. And the wall of the city had
12 foundations, and in them the names of the 12 apostles of the
Lamb. And he that talked with me had
a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof,
and the wall thereof. And the city lie four square,
and the length is as large as the breadth. And he measured
the city with the reed, 12,000 furlongs. Scholars tell us that's about
1,400 miles. He measured the city with the
reed, 12,000 furlongs. The length, the breadth, and the height of
it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof,
140 and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that
is, of the angel. And the building of the wall
of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like unto
clear glass. And the foundations of the wall
of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones,
The first foundation was Jasper. The second, Sapphire. The third,
a Chalcedony. The fourth, an Emerald. The fifth,
Sardonyx. The sixth, Sardius. The seventh,
Chrysolite. The eighth, Beryl. The ninth,
a Topaz. The seventh, a Chrysoprisus. The eleventh, a Jasynth. The
twelfth, an Amethyst. And the 12 gates were 12 pearls. Every several gates was of one
pearl. And the street of the city was
pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein,
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to
shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb
is the light thereof. And the nations of them which
are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth
to bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it
shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there,
and they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into
it. And there shall in no wise enter
into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination
or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life. We'll also just turn to read
a few verses in 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3 and we'll
just read verses 9 through to 14. 2 Peter 3 verses 9 through
to 14. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise as some men count slackness but is long-suffering
to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. The earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then, that all these
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to
be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting
into the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being
on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat? Nevertheless, we according to
his promise look for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that
ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in
peace, without spot, and blameless. May the Lord teach us by his
Spirit from his holy word, and teach us also each to pray. Let
us pray. O thou most merciful Lord God Almighty,
we have been reading of some solemn things and we pray that
thou would solemnise our hearts to receive them and to bow under
them And Lord, we are exhorted by
the apostle to humble ourselves therefore under the mighty hand
of God. We do confess that so often we
are proud. Lord, we have in us that which
is satisfied with ourselves a self-confidence that is not becoming of one who
professes thy holy name. We think, Lord, how the disciples,
those honored 12 apostles, even they said amongst themselves,
who shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Lord, they
wanted to have the highest place Lord,
we pray that we might be made as little children. Lord, that
thou would forgive us for our pride, that Lord, as a little
child is so dependent upon their mother and father, that so, Lord,
we might be dependent upon thee. Lord, sometimes we do feel our
emptiness, Lord, we pray that thou would fill us with thy all-sufficiency,
with thy grace, thy treasure, thy mercy. And as we meet for
worship today, Lord, we pray that thou would solemnise our
hearts to worship thy holy name. We think of how Isaiah saw a
thrice holy God, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. And Lord, we pray that we might
be blessed with his spirit who fell on his face and confessed
his unworthiness. And Lord, we are unworthy. We are unworthy of the least
of thy mercies We are unworthy of thy grace. We are unworthy
of thy word and its teaching. We are unworthy of the precious
gospel truth. Yet, Lord, we would come confessing
our unworthiness and pleading only the worthiness of the lamb
that was slain. And we think how To all eternity,
the redeemed saints above will sing that song, worthy is the
lamb that was slain. And, Lord, may it be that even
today we can echo that in our hearts here below. For it is
unto him be honour and glory and dominion and power, both
now and forevermore. We do pray, Lord, that thou would
teach us that thou would open our eyes that we might behold
wondrous things out of thy law. That Lord we might see more of
our need and more of the wonderful provision of that need in Christ
Jesus. We do pray again that thou would
be with this church and people thou hast appointed to meet here
in thy sovereign purposes. We pray for dear Mrs Fields in
her old age, and we do pray that she might prove that at evening
time it shall be light, by the shining of thy light into her
heart, We pray for those who listen online to the stream service. Lord, we largely know not of
them, but Lord, we pray that thou would bless them as they
listen. We thank thee the truth that thou, within no walls confined,
inhabitest the humble mind, and we pray that Thy people, as they
listen in, perhaps from their own homes, are far away. Lord,
that they might find the presence of the Saviour with them there,
even as we seek for it here. We again commit to thee, our
dear friend the pastor here, and we pray that thou would be
with him and his family in their bereavement. And Lord, although
the months do go by, yet the empty place is still empty. And
Lord, we pray that thou would uphold him and support him in
his grief. And Lord, that thou would make
it up to him by thy upholding strength and grace in the inner
man, thy presence with him. Lord, we pray that this day as
he ministers the word at Bethel-Luton that thou would give the word
to have free course and be glorified there. We do pray for the church of
God throughout this earth. We love to think of that truth
that from the rising of the sun to the going down of the saints,
Thy name shall be great amongst the Gentiles. And Lord, from
the east to the west thou hast a people, almost all unknown
personally to us, and yet we pray for them where they meet
this day. Be with thy people in the Ukraine,
perhaps meeting in fear of their lives in bunkers, with the noise
of warfare round about, We pray thee that they might abide under
the shadow of the Almighty and that, Lord, the war that's now
gone on for nearly a year might soon come to an end. Lord, deliver
us from tyranny, from dictators and tyrants. Lord, we pray for
our own land. We pray for our new King and
also our new Prime Minister We pray that we might know more
stability in high places in our land. We're commanded to pray for those
in authority and those that rule over us. And Lord, that thy people
might be able to live lives in godliness and peace And we pray
that that might be true, Lord, that thou would order the affairs
of state, his majesty's government and opposition and the cabinet
and the rules and laws that are made to our good, to ever give
us law, we beg thee the freedom to worship, freedom to preach
thy word, And Lord, at times we sometimes fear the signs of
oppression and persecution coming in such subtle ways, ways that
we would never have expected. And yet, Lord, Thou art King
of kings and Thou can say to the floods to stay and to her
proud waves to come no further. And we pray that this might be
so. that might be a turning of the tide by thy good hand. But Lord, we sadly prove that
our leaders reflect the society they lead. And Lord, while we
do often pray for godly men and women to be put into high places,
oh Lord, we realise in our democracy that What we really need is the hearts
of men and women, boys and girls in our society to be changed.
That then they would elect such godly rulers. And that such godly
rulers would then have the power and authority to walk in thy
ways. But sadly, Lord, we are so fallen
as a society We mourn the fact that sins are lauded as virtues,
and those who stand for the truth set out in thy word are silenced and mocked, and we pray
thee, Lord, that thou give us each to stand firm on the truths
of scripture, And Lord, that thou would be especially with
the young generation, many of whom found here, that they might
stand firm on the truths once delivered to the saints, knowing
that nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure. And so
we commit our land to thee, and long that there might be a reviving
again in the midst of the years, We pray for the persecuted Church
of God overseas, especially those in North Africa, those in the
Middle and Far East who fear to meet for worship, lest they
be bombed, lest they be imprisoned. And we pray that there might
be a turning again of their captivity, that there might be some easement.
We do commit to the, those we do know of overseas. And we think
of those on the Mombasa mission, bless the collection that was
collected on Christmas day for that worthy cause. Those we know
of in Ghana, we pray that they'll bless the work of the Savannah
Education Trust. And Lord, Pray that thou be with our own
churches in Australia and Canada and the United States, that thou
would be with them sometimes in their isolation. Lord, that
they are sometimes feeling the isolated, but Lord, that thou
would be with them always. We have so much to pray for. And Lord, perhaps there are those
here and their burdens haven't been spoken of in public prayer,
for the heart knoweth its own bitterness. And Lord, we pray
that thou would make up in giving where we fail in asking. We think of how thou said in
thy word that thou art able to send answers before we have even
asked. What a mercy and what a wonder. May there be those here who prove
that true. We would thank thee for thy many
mercies, for the throne of grace. Where would we be without it?
We pray that thou be with us in the week to come. May thy people here prove that
a Sabbath well spent brings a week of content and all that we need
for the morrow. And may there be something in
the services of my house this day which strengthens them in
the week to come. And be with each Lord as tomorrow
they return to their secular callings and their day-to-day
responsibilities and help each one. Lord, We do need Thee, we
need Thee every hour. We need Thee to help us in every
step of our journey. We pray, Lord, that each one
of us might one day be safely landed in heaven above, as we
would ask in the precious name of Jesus and for his sake alone. Amen. Hymn number 934 to the tune Jerusalem
162. Jerusalem, my happy home. name ever dear to me when shall
my labours have an end in joy and peace and thee hymn 934 tune
jerusalem 162 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. In joy and peace there'll be,
In joy and peace there'll be ? And glory in excelsis Deo ? ? And whose broad stripes ? ? Through
the perilous fight ? ? O'er the ramparts we watched, were so
gallantly streaming? ? And streams, and streams of cherubim flows. ? O'er fear and peril stay ? ? By day
or by night ? ? O'er fear and peril stay ? ? By day or by night
? and praises, and praises, and
praises. I saw shepherds going, their
shepherds going, When I die, joy shall seem. When I die, joy shall seem. Needing the Lord's gracious help,
I would direct your attention this afternoon to the book of
Revelation chapter 21 and verse two. Revelation chapter 21 and
verse two. And I, John, saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. The revelation of John the Divine,
chapter 21 and verse two. So we'll just read the first
and second verse together. And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth. For the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away. and there was no more sea. And
I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from
God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. On this past Monday, I was praying
to the Lord that he might give me a word for this afternoon.
And nothing came. But I awoke before my alarm on
Tuesday morning with these words ringing in my ears. And I, John,
saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. And so I knew I had to bring
this text before you this afternoon. But what does it mean? What does
it mean? What did it mean for John, the
Apostle John, on that wonderful Lord's Day on the Isle of Patmos,
now nearly 2,000 years ago? What does it mean for us at Lambethurst
this afternoon? Now, I wouldn't have chosen in my first
visit here to speak to you from the book of Revelation It's not
an easy book to expound. It's said that the great John
Calvin, perhaps by the grace of God, one of the, or the greatest
theologians and Bible scholars since apostolic times, and of
course he wrote the Institutes and he wrote commentaries on
almost every book in the Bible. But they asked him, why have
you never written a book on Revelation? And he said, because I don't
understand it. And there is that about it, isn't
there? That when we read it, there are
things that we can see, well it must represent this, but there's
a lot of it which is difficult to fully understand. So I felt really laid upon me
that before we go any further with our text, just to give you
some general pointers when you come to read the book of Revelation,
things that over the years have been made a help to me. And the
first thing when you come to read the Revelation is really
to remember Its purpose. Our text begins, and I, John,
saw. John saw, the Apostle John. These wonderful visions, which
we will come onto in this chapter 21, they were given for the dear
Apostle whom the Saviour loved, John. They were given not for his curiosity. They were given not as some form
of predictor of the future. They were given for his encouragement
in his isolation on Patmos. They were given for his encouragement
in persecution. And of course through John as
he was commanded the first chapter to write these things to the
seven churches which are in Asia, they were given to that first
century church of God in what's now modern day Turkey to encourage
them in their persecution and difficulty. The Emperor Nero
had cruelly been throwing their family members to feed them to
the lions in terrible persecution. And this was written to encourage
them. The purpose was to strengthen
them, support them. Now, there's many who come to
the revelation and I confess that when I was in my early 20s,
I liked it. if someone would explain this
is predicting this and this means the European Union and this means
the Pope. Now clearly there are things
here which do depict real historical events both at the time of John
and in the ages since. But the overall purpose, if I
can say it reverently, wasn't as some guidebook to the future. This was not written, what good
would it have done John and the seven churches in Asia in their
terrible persecution to be told that this here means the European
Union. So we have to be very cautious,
do we not? We would not limit the word of
God, but when we come to it to be rooted in the divine purpose,
of the revelation to John to encourage and strengthen and
support. Secondly, we have to remember
that this most wonderful of books is figurative. It's figurative. The visions are not to be taken
literally. So for instance, in chapter seven,
it talks of the great red dragon with seven heads. John saw it in his vision on
the Isle of Patmos, but it does not mean that there literally
will be a great red dragon with seven heads. No, it's representative of the
awful terror and power of Satan as the great red dragon tried
to devour the man-child which was Christ Jesus. And so we have
to remember it's figurative. The visions represent great truths. And the numbers in the book,
I feel I have to just briefly touch on this because we've read
of them in this chapter 21. The numbers that are mentioned
are not to be taken literally, they're figurative. Now, very,
very briefly, the number seven is the number of perfection.
The number 10 is the number of completeness. The number 12,
the number of the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 apostles represents
God's people. And so, so often you have these
numbers and they're usually multiples of 12, 10, seven. So we read,
didn't we, this city has got 12 gates, it's got 12 foundations. And so we can begin to see the
figurative nature. And indeed, it's 12,000 furlongs
in dimension, this great city that John's seeing here descending
from heaven. And of course, 12 times 10 times
10 times 10 is 12,000. the number of the Church of God
times completion cubed. And so these are the sort of
principles we have to bring. And just lastly, before we come
more immediately to our text, that, well, how do we know what
some of these images mean or some of these numbers mean? Well,
they're almost always prefigured earlier in scripture. So for
instance, that great red dragon in, I think it's Revelation 7,
Isaiah talks that he shall, talking of gospel days, in that day,
he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. The gospel of
Christ is victorious over Satan. And so, If someone brings you an interpretation
which doesn't seem to sit with the whole tenor of scripture
that has gone before, then we are right to be cautious. Now, we come to our passage,
and we have here in Revelation 21, verse one, here is John,
an old-aged man, many decades since he leaned on Jesus' breast
at the Last Supper. Imprisoned, about to be martyred. And on this glorious Sabbath
day, he says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. Because the
first earth, the earth we're in, the first earth, And the
first heaven, I think that first heaven really is talking about
the atmosphere, the stars, the sky, the universe. For the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away. Well, that's really partly why I read
you that passage in Peter. And the word of God describes
that this First creation, the old creation, the old earth,
will one day be dissolved with fire. The elements shall melt
with fervent heat and the earth shall be burned up. We're told
that the heavens shall roll up like a scroll. And so the old
creation will be dissolved. It's corrupt. It's fallen into
sin. It deserves to be incinerated. And yet, solemn though that is,
John is shown something altogether more glorious. It's going to
be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. I, John, saw a new
heaven and a new earth. Now I've heard people teach that
the new heaven and the new earth will be more like a renewed existing
earth, like a refurbished earth. But that's not what the word
of God teaches. The old earth is burned up. Yes,
the new creation, the new earth, will no doubt have features which
we recognize from the old earth, but all things will be new. Just as a dead body of a saint who's
died in Christ could have decayed to nothing in the ground where
it's buried. Perhaps that old person was buried
riddled with cancer. incorruption, as Corinthians
describes, but will be raised in incorruption, a completely
new body with no cancer, a body that will live forever, a body
with no sin or disease. Yes, the old person will be recognized,
but it will be new. And these are wonderful, glorious
truths, and Really, we see here as we come to the penultimate
chapter in the word of God, that the revelation of God, if I can
use that word through scripture, through the ages, from the first
chapters of Genesis now to the last chapters of Revelation,
God's plan for his creation is coming full circle. In Genesis,
We read of the creation of the old earth and the old heaven.
And initially all was perfect there. God dwelt with Adam and
Eve. He walked with them in the cool
of the day in the garden. There was no sin, they would
live forever. Except for one thing, sin. The hideous monster sin. It's
easy to sing it. It's another thing to see it
and feel it. O thou hideous monster sin, what
a curse hast thou brought in. And the first creation was corrupted. But thanks be to God there was
that promise, wasn't there, that the seed of the woman would bruise
the serpent's head. And although there was the catastrophe
of the flood, there was the confusion of the Tower of Babel, There's
punishments at that time in history. Then the Lord sends his son. And we think of the dear son
of God, Christ Jesus. He came to suffer, bleed and
die at the cross. To redeem his people. And of course this has all been
set out in the chapters of the Bible that have gone before our
text. And now we come to the consummation
of all things, the new heaven and the new earth. Now, why is
this all revealed to us? Why did the Lord reveal to John
these wonderful truths of a new heaven and a new earth? And the
holy city descending that we'll come onto? Really, perhaps a couple of reasons
can be given briefly. Firstly, the Lord in his mercy
teaches us of his eternal covenantal plan with his creation, with
his people, his purposes. It's a mercy that we know of
these great truths And he would have us know that just as he
created Adam and Eve, and they fell into the corruption of sin,
and Christ Jesus came to save sinners, that one day the old
nature will be done away with, and a new heaven and a new earth
will be ushered in. But secondly, It really has taught
us to warn us that there is a life hereafter. This is not it. I'm sure like me you have colleagues
at work or at school and they seem to think that when one of
their loved ones dies, that's it. There's nothing else. That is
probably one of the commonest views now, isn't it, in secular
Britain. But the Bible so clearly teaches
that when we die, there will be only two destinations
for all eternity. Either hell, which was described
in the previous chapter, we didn't read it, an awful place, a lake
of fire, a place of torment and separation from God and his promises
and grace for all eternity. Or heaven, which we'll come onto,
a holy, happy place where sin no more defiles. And so, We are
warned. We're not told for our curiosity.
The Lord tells us and teaches us in love and mercy to warn
us. Now the Lord Jesus very often
spoke about heaven and hell. He very often did. And his whole,
if you read there in the gospels, his glorious words, it was always
be ye also ready. Be ready. And that was Peter,
the apostle Peter's burden, wasn't it? solemn passage I read to
close our readings with. The day of the Lord comes a thief
in the night. The heavens will pass away with
a great noise. Seeing that all these things
shall be dissolved, what's the application? Why are we told
this? What manner of persons ought ye to be? Wherefore, beloved, be diligent
that ye may be found of him In peace. And how we should pray. We should seek to be prepared. Be ye also ready. Now we come
to verse two, our text. And I, John, saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. The chapter then goes on to describe
this holy city, which is called the New Jerusalem, and what it
looked like. And John saw this vast city. It was a cube, 1,400 miles long
and wide and high. One length of it would have stretched
from John O'Groats in the north of Scotland to the Mediterranean
Sea. And there he stood and saw it
descending from the skies from God. And it was the most awesome,
magnificent, beautiful city of gold. And we read of those precious
stones and the streets of gold. We read of the light of God which
illuminated it. And what a magnificent sight
it was for John. I, John, saw the holy city, the
new Jerusalem, and it was coming towards him, coming down from
God out of heaven. Now, what is the meaning of this
city? In the figurative language of
the inspired word of God here, what does it represent? Well,
really I would bring before you two things. Firstly, that it
represents heaven itself. Just as we've sung, Jerusalem,
my happy home, name ever dear to me, the Jerusalem of heaven
itself, but and not wanting to confuse
you, we will go on, God willing, to describe this city as, in
the context here it's described, as the Bride of Christ being
the Church of God. But firstly, the holy city of
the New Jerusalem is Jerusalem, the heavenly home of God's people,
heaven itself. Now, A city is where people live,
isn't it? A city is full of homes, of dwelling
places. And this holy city, this New
Jerusalem, is where God will live with all his people. We're
told that in verse three, he heard a great voice saying, behold,
the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God is with men, and
he, God, will dwell with them, he'll live with them in this
city, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them and be their God. But we have here set before us
the eternal home of those who die trusting in Christ Jesus. The eternal home of the eternal
God dwelling with them. Now, this is the same city that by
faith Abraham looked for. We read there in Hebrews 11,
as he looked for a city whose, which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God. This is the same city that John
saw in this vision. And there the apostle, he says,
for he hath prepared for them a city, Heaven is a prepared
place. In my Father's house are many
mansions. I go to prepare a place for you,
a prepared place for a prepared people. Because we read, do we not, we
read today that nothing that defileth shall enter in, nor
that defileth, verse 27, nor the defileth shall enter
in, and so who can enter in? Only those whose robes are no
longer defiled by sin because they're washed in the blood of
the Lamb. Oh, how thankful we are, I gave
thanks for it this morning that it's still the day of grace.
The mercy seat is open still where needy sinners can go to
confess that I'm defiled, I'm undone, I deserve nothing but
this lake of fire. But Lord, wash me and cleanse
me, take all my sins away. Prepare me, gracious God, to
stand before thy face I don't know how many of you know that
old hymn. I think I first, I think it's
the one in the old Victorian Christian novel, Christie's Old
Organ, was blessed to young Christie. If it wasn't Christie's Old Organ,
it was one of similar writings of Victorian times. But the hymn,
it goes like this. There is a city bright. Closed
are its gates to sin. nor that defileth, nor that defileth
shall ever enter in. And that's a very simple exposition
of Revelations 21. But this is it, the hymn goes
on. Savior, I come to thee. O Lamb of God, I pray. Cleanse me and save me. Cleanse
me and save me. wash all my sins away. And so I, John, saw the holy
city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. And so we see that there, representing
heaven itself. And of course the encouragement
here for us, as for the church in the first century, is the
wonders of heaven, It's described there beautifully
in verse four. An encouragement in times of
suffering, times of sorrow and distress and persecution. Are there any here today who
have been weeping? Tears of bereavement, tears of
bitterness, tears of frustration. In this new Jerusalem, God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes. Are there any here today
who are sad? Perhaps like Elijah, you say
the journey's too great for me. The burdens of life, the responsibilities,
the treadmill of modern life cast you down sometimes and you're
weary and sad. In the new Jerusalem, We read
there, there will be no sorrow there. Are there any here in pain, in
affliction, chronic illness and daily struggle? In the new Jerusalem, neither
shall there be any more pain. And so, This wonderful revelation
to John is an encouragement to God's people today. But we need
to hasten on really because this new Jerusalem, this holy city,
is also described to us here as prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband. And of course, Right through
scripture, in Isaiah, in other places, in the Song of Solomon
this morning, the church of God is likened to the bride of Christ. And so we begin to think, do
we not, that this holy city represents something as well as the place
of heaven. And this is really confirmed
to us in verses 10 and 11, because John in verses 10 and 11 is carried
away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and there the
angels have said, come hither, I'm going to show you the bride,
the Lamb's wife, clearly the church of God in all ages, I
will show you it. And he's taken to this high mountain
and what does he see? The great city, the holy Jerusalem
descending out of heaven from God. Vision represents the Church
of God. Now, that's not really a surprise
to us, is it? Because we know that Jerusalem,
the holy city in our Lord's day, really right from when Melchizedek,
King of Salem, King of Jerusalem, when we first read of Jerusalem,
it was the holy city And it was built on the hill of Zion there,
Mount Zion. So sometimes called Zion, sometimes
called Jerusalem in the scriptures. And that was the place where
the Lord chose to dwell with his people and where they went
to worship, where the temple was. And so this vision where
the city is called the New Jerusalem, it's not a surprise that In the
context here, it's likened to the church of God. But the godly
old people, I don't know whether you young ones have heard this,
I'm sure your older ones would, but they used to talk sometimes
in prayer of the church militants and the church triumphant. And
there is a distinction. By the church triumphant is described
the redeemed church of God. in heaven at last, the church
triumphant, and the church militant, the church here below. The people of God, the saints
of God, who are in a warfare with sin and self and doubt and
fears. And really, in Revelation 21,
it's the church triumphant that John sees descending down the
redeemed church in all its glory, the resurrected church of God
from all ages. But the way it lays on me for
this afternoon is that that glorious vision we've read of of the church
triumphant really shows us something of the church
militant here below, the church of God here below today. Now,
we see now as through a glass darkly, the church here below
now is just really a pale reflection of the glorious church which
John sees. And yet there is that which is
in this vision, which shows us the glories of the church of
God even in this day and generation. And it's a beautiful theme, really. And I would that you here at
Lambethurst would have high views of the Church of God, great views
of the Church of God. You young people, yes, we're
gonna come on to it, but you may look around and you think,
well, we're a few poor, feeble folk. We despise, no one else
grieves or speaks like we speak. But the church of God is the
church of the king of kings, he who shed his precious blood
to purchase them, to redeem them, that they would be with him in
heaven above to all eternity. And the Lord loves Zion. The Lord loves the dwellings
of his saints. The Lord, he's, I can't quite
find the words. Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion city of our God. And this glorious vision that
we read together of this wonderful golden city descending. Yes,
it will be that glorious in its fullness by the grace of God
for his people one day. But here below, There is some
prefigurement of that glory. And so have high views of the
church's officers. Have high views of the assemblies
of the saints. Have high views of those that
dwell there, her people. Have high views of the church. The Lord Jesus shed his precious
blood for her. And really, just in the last, looking
like five or 10 minutes, we'll just have a look at just a few
things that leapt out at me about the glories of the Church of
God in the description of this vision. Verse 11, this new Jerusalem,
having the glory of God and her light was like unto a stone most
precious. The Lord Jesus of his, earthly
church says I will make the place of my feet glorious. There was
this, John saw this vision, this city was lit with this most precious
crystal light. This light was really the Shekinah
glory of God, the same light that filled the temple when Solomon
dedicated it, the same light that shone around the shepherds
at Bethlehem the night that Christ was born. A shame light that
transfigured the Redeemer on the Mount of Transfiguration.
A light of ethereal beauty and crystal clearness. And we read
in the vision that this city has no need of the sun, neither
of the moon, because the light of the glory of God will illuminate
it. And you know that even here below,
The church of God is lit by the glory of Christ in his word,
in the preaching of the gospel. He who was the light of the world,
that our dark hearts as we come with our sin, that they might
be illuminated with the glory of God. As this new Jerusalem was illuminated,
is illuminated, will be illuminated by the glory of God. Now, this glorious city, it's, I'm not an architect, but
there's something remarkable as we read it, isn't there, about
the dimensions and the structure and the symmetry. It seems to
be a most strong, robust city. It has a great wall. And it has 12 foundations. And
it has the symmetry of 12 gates, three on either side. And the exact measurements of it. And
it's got this structural integrity to it. And why is that? Why is the Church of God so given
such strength because it is founded upon the one foundation, Christ
Jesus our Lord. On this rock will I build my
church, the rock Christ Jesus, and the gates of hell will not
prevail. And I guess I realize it says that the 12 foundations
are of the 12 apostles, but it was the apostles taught the things
of Christ. The church is not built on the
apostles, it's built on the apostles' doctrine and teaching of Christ,
Christ himself, the chief cornerstone. And it's so strong, isn't it?
And we think of those lovely scriptures, go around Zion, mark
ye well her bulwarks, the strength of this city, the city of our
God. And we see there something of
the security of the people of God, both in the church militants
and of course more gloriously in the church triumphant. This last point really about
the church from this vision, The other thing that struck me
was the vastness of it. I've already tried to briefly
describe that to you, this vast city that John sees descending. Well, the Church of God is populated by the saints of
God, and we are told that they number more than any man can
number. And how can that be? It's because
of sovereign grace. And it shows to us the vastness
of sovereign grace that this church of God, the bright city
descending out of heaven that John sees in our text is vast. because it's the vastness of
grace that it's populated. I think it's hymn 61, it talks
there, the hymn writer speaks of the vastness of grace. Vast were the settlements of
grace on millions of the human race, and every favor richly
given flows from the high decree of heaven. and oh that some of that grace
might flow to you and me. May it be encouragement to any
of you seeking ones, you little ones, the vastness of this city. If you come with your need, pleading
for salvation by God's grace, there will be room enough even
for you and me. But you may say, what about the
low condition of the Church of God? In this land, how sad it is that
places of worship close. The chapels there are grow lower
in number. And where there still are congregations
meeting, is there not division and discord, sadly? You know,
sometimes, I feel overwhelmed with sorrow for the state of
Zion in today. Sometimes you hear of a trouble
in churches with which we're connected, or division. It casts
you low, does it not, those of you who love Zion? It's like
sometimes the wild, as the psalmist describes, the wild beast from
the woods has come out to devour the vine. So where, then, you
say, does this glorious description of the church of God, where does
the, how can this be? Well, just briefly. The natural Jerusalem lay in
waste. Its walls were broken down. But in the divine purposes of
God, did he not raise up his servants and give them a heart,
the people a heart to rebuild the walls in the days of Ezra
and Nehemiah? And is the Lord's hand short
and that it cannot save today? If he chooses, he is well able
to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem today. Build thou the walls of
Jerusalem. But if in his sovereign will
he chooses that not to be so, then we should be encouraged
that one day the Lord will return in power and glory and might,
even as John saw on this high mountain on the Isle of Patmos.
And then he will return and the church will be delivered from
her low estate In the Young People's Hymnbook,
we have that lovely hymn, don't we? The church is one foundation,
is Jesus Christ her Lord. And as I leave you with this
vision of John, on that Lord's Day, nearly 2,000 years ago,
of the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from
God, I leave you with the words of the last verses of that hymn.
Though this is talking of the Church of God, though with a
scornful wonder men see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping, their
cry goes up, how long? And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song, midst toil and tribulation and tumult
of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore, till with
the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blessed, and the great
church victorious shall be the church at rest. And I, John,
saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Amen. We will close our services today
with the hymn 359. Hymn 359 to the tune Eternal
Rest, number 28. How charming is the place where
my Redeemer God unveils the beauties of his face and sheds his love
abroad. Hymn 359, tune Eternal Rest,
number 28. ? When I'm with Thee alone ? ?
The hills and mountains are full of Thy glory ? to which the great praise goes. The Master, he commends to this,
when he ? There on the mercy seat ? ? Reign,
reign, reign evermore ? ? Hold it still ? ? And smile all
around you ? ? Still in the presence of God ? and brought him home at last. ? Where we suffered well ? ? In
gracious deep impasse ? ? And in ritual and sentence ? ? Lift thee, O Lord, from the depths
of the sea ? Within thy blessed Son, God.
The heart, the tears, and all thy grace Lord, we pray that each one of
us, by grace, might be given a place in thy blessed abode,
in the Church of God here below. And then, Lord, washed in the
blood of the Lamb, in heaven above to all eternity, And now
may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you now and for evermore. Amen.