If you take your bowels now turn
back with me to Revelation chapter 21 Revelation chapter 21 Now
this evening we'll be looking at verses 9 down through the
end of this chapter and If I had a title for this message,
I guess it'd be the holy city. The holy city, because that's
what the angel here is going to show. John, the apostle, is
the holy city, and I want us to see how this holy city, though
future in its perfect condition. I want us to see that this is
has application for us even now. We because we are the holy city. We are this New Jerusalem. So, as we begin tonight, I want
to remind us, this book, this book is a revelation of Jesus
Christ. This book is not altogether,
as men think, a revelation of just future events. Everybody
looks at this book and they see it on a timeline, and they try
to pick which point in the timeline we are. They say, well, we're
here, and others disagree. I said, no, we're here. But this
book truly is a revelation of Jesus Christ. And so what the
Lord by the Holy Spirit is doing here is He gives John seven visions
within this book of Revelation. Seven visions. And every vision
begins at the first advent of Jesus Christ And it makes a complete
circle all the way around to his second advent, to his second
coming. And once it does that, the next
vision starts at his first coming and goes all the way through
time and history and the future and comes to his second advent. It does this seven times. And
we are coming to the seventh circle of these visions. And so we want to know this that
every time we look at this book not to try to just look at the
future state or the future things but rather see this as it is
the gospel of Jesus Christ being preached. This is a message of
the gospel in every word in every page. It is pointing men to Christ
pointing men to Christ. It is a revelation of Jesus Christ. He said that at the beginning
of the book. And so tonight I want us to see this is no different.
And so God in this book, he reveals. That all. Are moving according
to his sovereign will and schedule. That we who are the children
of God have hope of an expected in. Unexpected in God said in
Jeremiah, he said, I know my thoughts towards you. I know
what I think towards you. How often we tell God what He's
thinking. God says, no, you listen, I know my own thoughts towards
you. Thoughts of, not of evil, but thoughts of peace. To give
you an expected end. When you read this book, you
cannot help but see we have an expected end. He tells us seven
times this same ending in this book. Unexpected end. Believer, look. You look about
you. You look around with these carnal
eyes and you appeal to your own human reasoning and all appears
to be in shambles. Doesn't it? Look around you. This nation is crumbling. It is crumbling. Did you expect
anything else? Wicked men run about and they
seem to have no check. They're constantly, they're not
afraid of sin. They're not afraid of God. There's
no bands in their death. Everything seems to be chaotic
and random. But as we see through the eye
of faith, according to the divine revelation of God, all things
are moving according to the sovereign will of God, which is a full
and complete salvation of his elect people. Everything God
is doing is for the salvation of his people. For the good of
his people. For the glory of Jesus Christ.
And it's the full and complete salvation John is describing
now tonight in our text. through chapter 21 verse 9 all
the way down to the end of this chapter 27 and even in the first
five verses of chapter 22. In this text we are given the
glorious picture of the whole church of God. This picture is
not how the world views the church. He's brought up in this high
mountain and he shows me a great city, a holy Jerusalem descending
out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And her light
was like a stone most precious. You see how glorious this picture
is of the church? And yet, how does the world view
the church? The world views us as weak and
small and unattractive. This is the most. Useless thing
for this world is this church. To this church, what we do is
worthless and they don't have any interest in it. Only we care
for it. Kind of like that tabernacle
in the Old Testament, you know, a tabernacle is covered in badger
skin, so people look by that tabernacle, they say, man, that
is a ugly tent. God dwelt in there. Listen. The Lord Jesus Christ tonight
walks among us. Everywhere his people meet, he's
walking among his church. Isn't that glorious? To him,
in the eyes of God, his church is called the Holy City, the
New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb. The Bride of the Lamb. Now before we begin to take these
verses that describe the church, I want us to first see that this
is spiritual language that we're seeing. You're not going to see
a city floating out of heaven. You're not going to see a city
of gold coming out of the sky and you're not going to see streets
of literal gold. These are figurative languages
because we have no clue as to what this place going to look
like, because it's we only have earthly visual things we can
understand. So God gives us these earthly
visual things. So which are representations
of spiritual things, spiritual things. And so let's read that. I mean, look at that in verse
nine. He said, Then came to me one of the seven angels who had
the seven vows for the seven last place. And he talked with
me. What a glorious thing that was.
He came and talked to him. He was there talking to him.
Now look what he does. He says, with talk of me saying,
come hither and I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. I noticed and he carried me away
in the spirit. This is spiritual. This is spiritual,
what he see. And to a great and high mountain
he showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, descending out
of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Now, this spiritual view of the
church surely describes it in its complete state. When Jesus
Christ returns, we know this, that when He comes, He will bring
His saints with Him. So as He is heavenly, Jerusalem
is descending down. It's not a what coming down,
it's who. There are people, His elect people are who are being
described. This holy city of God. This is the church. And we can see easily that the
church is in her eternal state of glory at this point. But let us also see that this
vision of God is referring to the present glory of the church
as we are in Jesus Christ. How we are going to be, listen
believer, this is how we are. The apostle said it does not
yet appear. What we shall be. But when he
shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as
he is. Look at this body, look at this
world around us, and it does not yet appear. What we shall
be. But yet we know that we are perfect
in Christ, how? by faith, by faith, trusting
him, trusting what he says about me rather than what I feel or
think about myself. Our feelings and thoughts of
ourself are fluctuating, aren't they? There are times that we. We don't
have any feeling of what we are, what God has made us to be. and
no feeling of it. And sometimes we do. But no matter
how we feel or what we think, this is how we are in Christ. The church in her future state
will be the holy city, the bride of Christ. But let us not forget
that we are even now the holy city and the bride of Christ.
Listen, we'll go to John first John chapter flip over a few
pages 1 John chapter 4 and look at verse 17 herein is our love made perfect
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment see when
he comes back we're going to have boldness in Christ we have
boldness in that day What about today? Do you have boldness today? We should listen what he says,
because as he is, so are we in the future state of the church.
That what it says. As he is, so are we win. Right now in this world. Now, let me ask you this, how
is he? How is he? He is perfect. He is holy. John says the same
of us right now. Can you see that when you look
in the mirror? No. How do you see that? I see it
right there. I see it right there. As he is, so am I. In this world. As he is, Christ
is righteous and without sin, so are we in this world, not
in the flesh. Not in the flesh, not in the
old man of sin which still abides, but in the new creation in the
new man. The new man which Paul says is
created after God in true holiness. That's how John could say that.
Because in the new man we are. We are created after God in true
holiness. And this we know is the result
of our union with Christ. There's no other way. There's
no other way. Our union with Jesus Christ,
where God is from eternity, put us in Christ and in Christ we
were represented. In Christ, we were represented
when he when he obeyed the law in perfect righteousness, we
were in him. In union with him. When he died
on Calvary Street, every elect be every elect child of God was
in him. He was. We were represented by
him. We were in him. And when he died,
we were in it when he rose again. We were in him when he ascended
to the throne. Paul says in Ephesians, Chapter
two, that we were in him. And we are seated together with
him. In heavenly places. but in the grace and power of
the Holy Spirit that we were at one point experimentally put
into union with him in the new birth. We were born from above. Born again. Therefore, the apostle
says of all who are in Christ, you are complete in him. Isn't that wonderful? Our union
with Christ, we are complete, perfect. This is not a future
thing. This is a thing right now. You
are complete. Are you going to add anything
to it? Is there anything that can make
you uncomplete? Is there any sin that you do
that's going to make you uncomplete? No, you are complete. You are
complete because of your union with him. And it is not a mystical. It's not a union that is future. You are in union with him right
now. So now in this spiritual description
of the church, all who are in union with Christ, the Holy Spirit
by John gives us. Several things which are to comfort
us. in our present state and our
future state before God. First of all, I wanted to look
at this description of us. Look at the description of the
church. In verse two of this this chapter,
he he mentions this before John says, I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem coming down out of from God out of heaven prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband, same thing he's saying in verse
nine and ten. He's going to show us the bride,
the lamb's wife. He says it is a great city, a
holy Jerusalem. And so this is my first point,
is this the holy city? The holy city here is describing
the church, New Jerusalem, the great city of the church we know
is no earthly city. The church is not made up of
an earthly building. As men suppose, the Church of
God is made up of men and women who are believers in Jesus Christ.
The church are all the elect of the father, all the redeemed
of Jesus Christ and all who are called from death to life, from
unbelief to faith. Do you believe on the son of
God? Are you now trusting in Christ
and my friend, you are the church. And everyone in this world who
believes is part of this church. I've known some churches that
they would. If you wouldn't sign their role,
you couldn't take the Lord's Supper as though you weren't
part of the church. What kind of foolish thing is that? There's
a lot of people, Scott, I don't even know where the roll is.
There's a roll somewhere. I think I put it on a shelf when
I first got here, there's a roll somewhere. And there's a bunch
of names on that roll, they ain't darkened the door of this place
in decades. You see, a name on a roll don't
mean anything. It's not those who darken the
door of the church who sit, what Spurgeon said, pay seat rent.
Some people come and just just pay their seat rent. But all who are saved by the
grace of God and faith and have forsaken all for Christ and the
furtherance of his gospel, this is the holy city, the holy city
of God. And though now it seems small.
Though there be few in our day may be saved. Yet I know that
this city. When this city is gathered in
the fullness, it will be without number in that glorious. The church now is so small, so
few who really love the gospel of Jesus Christ. But in that
day, we're going to see it's much more than we thought. Much
more than we thought. That's why he said it's going
to be a great city. It's not going to be a small
city. It's going to be a great city. And this city is called
holy, even because those in it are washed in the blood of Jesus
Christ and robed in his righteousness. Isaiah 61 10 said, I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my
God. For he hath clothed me. Notice
the personal. He's rejoicing, he said, look,
My soul rejoices, what I don't know about you, but my soul rejoices. You may not rejoice in anything,
but I do. And I'm going to tell you why. Because he hath clothed
me. He hath clothed me with the garments
of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments
and a bride adorneth herself with jewels. Behold, then, the
holy city is made up of holy individuals. holy individuals that we are made holy by the
high priest Jesus Christ and we have received that righteousness
of God in the new birth and by the new creation of our new nature
that abides in us now and one day it will be manifest when
Jesus calls it to himself Listen, when this body, when this breath
expires from our body, what goes to glory? What part of you goes to glory? It is that part that is created
in you, it is that holy nature that God has made you go to glory,
not someone else, you. What happens to your flesh? What
happens to all the sin Falls in the grave. Separates. And we are received. This is how we are received into
heaven. And notice we are called a New
Jerusalem even because we are not under the Old Covenant. We are called New Jerusalem because
we are not under the Old Covenant. Old Jerusalem was the center
of worship. under the old dispensation, under
the old covenant, under the law, which Paul says in Romans chapter
9, stood as only a figure of the truth. Those tabernacles
and meets and sacrifices and priests, they had a purpose. And the purpose was to be a figure
of the real. but now that Christ has come
and fulfilled all of those law all the law and sacrifices that
pictured him we are now under a covenant of grace go to Jeremiah
chapter 31 you who are new Jerusalem listen to this covenant of grace
that you and I are under Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 31 Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant
they break, though I wasn't husband to them. But this shall be the
new covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after
those Days. What is after those days? Was
he? What does he mean? The days?
Behold, the days come. He's talking about the days of
Christ. He's talking about after Christ has ascended. When Christ
died, what happened to the veil of the temple? It was rent in
twain. The way to the holiest was now
made manifest. And this is the covenant after
those days. Sayeth the Lord, I will put my
law in their inward parts and all right in their hearts and
will be their God and they shall be my people. And they shall
teach no man ever. They shall teach no more every
man his neighbors and every man his brother saying, no, the Lord,
they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest
of them in this. True of you, you know him. When
Christ is preached, do you know him? When Christ is not preached,
do you know that? You hear someone preach a Christ
you don't know, you say, I don't know that guy. I don't know that
guy at all. But when Christ is preached,
you say that I know him. I know him. We know him. This
is his covenant. He puts his law in our inward
parts, the law of Christ, the law of faith. He puts that in
our inward parts, the law of love. And listen, he's going to be
our God, we're going to be his people. Now, is there any prerequisites
he gives? I will be your God and you shall
be my people if you do this. No, there's no if, is it? It's
a covenant of grace, not of merit. I will be your God and they shall
be my people. They shall know me. And four,
I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. You who are the holy city, You
should rejoice for Christ and is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believe it. Do you not rejoice? You're not
under the law. If you've ever read the law.
You and I should rejoice that we're not under that covenant.
Why we've already broken it. There's no hope in that covenant.
We rejoice because we are in a covenant of grace. The joy
of the Holy City is that God is our God by grace. We are his
people by grace. We know him by grace. Our sins
are forgiven by grace. It is a covenant of grace. Jeremiah 50 in verse 20 says,
In that day the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, the sin
of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none. None. When God searches for your sin,
where is it? Now, you and I see it. But God
says, I don't see it. Why? Because it was really removed
at the cross. Jesus really bore our sin in
his own body on the tree. And you know that picture of
the a day of atonement for him. I love that picture of the strong
man bearing that that scapegoat. They confess their sins on that,
and then they put on the strong man and he just walks and walks. And as you see him, he gets smaller
and smaller and small. You can't see him anymore. That's
what our sins. They're gone into a place uninhabited. So this is true of us. We are,
my friends, the holy city. We are. Second of all, the great
city, we are great because we of the vast multitude of this
city, no man can number. It is amazing to me, because
I know this, it seems like this is true of every writer in the. In history, there are very few
exceptions where the church was large. And yet the scriptures
are very clear that this number is going to be innumerable. This is a great city, and it's
great because of its value. It's city, we read this, that
this city was made of gold. Now, we know this is not literal,
but figurative to show the value of God's people to himself. A lot of times we do not feel
valuable. I know this because of the sin
and unbelief in our hearts, because of our our trials and difficulties
and sicknesses and griefs and sorrows, we feel the least. And truly, that's how the apostle
felt of himself. And what he called and said,
I am nothing. That's a good place for a believer
to be, nothing. That's how we should view ourselves.
But how does God view his people? Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 3
says, For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.
I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Saba for thee. Since
thou was precious in my sight, thou has been honorable and I
have loved thee. therefore will I give men for
thee and people for thy life how valuable is one believer
to God more valuable than all the land
of Egypt don't you see that everything
that God is doing he's doing for the good and the salvation
of his elect they are most precious in his sight They are most precious. Therefore, they are great in
his sight. And next, the apostle, I want
us to see the perfections of the church by its dimensions. Look at this. Look at verse 12. Let's see, verse 16. The scripture
says here, the city lies four square. And the length is as
large as the breadth, and he measured the city with a reed
twelve thousand furlongs, and the length and the breadth and
the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof
in a hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of the
man, that is, of the angel. get this the measurements here
are fourteen hundred miles high fourteen hundred miles long fourteen
hundred miles wide the city is four square equal on all sides
now do you believe that God's kingdom is only gonna be fourteen
hundred miles square Only a fool would believe that
if there's a innumerable company to fill that that would be foolish.
We wouldn't be able to be like sardines inside of this little
city. That's not what he's saying.
He's showing us that it's equal on all sides to show the complete
and perfect symmetry of the church. The perfect symmetry of the church. In Psalm 48, David says this
in verse 12, he exhorts the church and he says, walk about Zion.
Go round about her and tell the towers thereof, mark you well
her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the generations
following. For this God is our God forever
and ever. He will be our God even unto
death. Now then, At this time, Davey
was in trouble. And what did he say to those
are in trouble? Mark this city. Go around the city and look at
it. He's talking about the church. Go around and market. Believer,
are you troubled? Are you afflicted? Are you struggling with the fiery
darts of the wicked one? then walk about the city of God
and tell the towers and bulwarks and palaces. Why? Because Christ
is our tower. What are you saying? Christ is
our refuge. What is the refuge of this city?
What is the wall of this city? It is Christ. He is our refuge. Christ is the tower, Christ that
cannot be breached. This wall is Jesus Christ, our
refuge. It cannot be breached. The accusations
of Satan and men cannot overcome this wall. Walk about the palace
of this city. Who is the king of this city?
Who is the king of the church? It is Jesus Christ. And his word. We read is the
sword of the spirit. Faith in Christ is our shield. Our feet are to be shod with
the preparation of the gospel of peace. Our heart is protected
by his righteousness. Our head is covered with salvation. And so as we walk about this
city, what are we seeing? This city is perfect in every
way. It's perfect in every way. Why? Because Christ has made us perfect. Christ has built this city, Christ
has built this church. Isaiah 37 it says, For out of
Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of Mount
Zion, the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do it. There's going
to be a remnant saved and who's doing it? The Lord is doing it. Therefore thus saith the Lord
concerning the king of Assyria, he shall not come into this city. nor shoot an arrow there, nor
come before the before it with shields, nor cast a bank against
it. Consider this city is perfect,
impenetrable. You that are citizens of this
city, no one can take you out of it. Next, the church is not just
the holy city. It is the great city. It is the
holy Jerusalem. But next, this church is the
bride of the lamb. Verse two of this chapter says
that she is a prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. In verse
nine, he says, I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. This is intended to show us the
love of Christ for his church. When Christ is pictured as the
husband and the church is pictured as a bride, he is showing forth
his love for his church. Believer, you are the object
of God's eternal, effectual, immutable love. For the Father hath chose us
to be the bride of His Son. He hath betrothed us to Christ. And Christ has paid the dowry
for with His own blood. And we by nature, yet we by nature
were like Gomer. Remember what Gomer means? Wasted. That's what we were, wasted.
We were a harlot by nature, rebels. left and we left him for the
loves the lovers of this world but because he chose us because
he loved us this is what he says in Hosea chapter 2 he said I
will betroth thee unto me forever I will betroth thee unto me in
righteousness and judgment in loving kindness and mercy You
see, those things are opposed to each other, aren't they? Righteousness,
judgment, loving-kindness, mercy. Where do all those things meet?
Where does the mercy of God and the righteousness of God meet? Where does the judgment of God
and the loving-kindness of God meet? Only in Jesus Christ. So we are betrothed only to Christ. And he says this later in that
chapter in verse 23, he said, I will sow her unto me in the
earth. I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy.
I will say unto them which are not my people, thou art my people,
and they shall say thou art my God. Behold, the king then says
this, all is ready. The marriage feast is ready. The supper of the wedding feast
has been prepared. Come now by faith. Come forsaking
all other garments. And dawn by faith the one prepared
by Christ. And all who come. We are not
only guests. We are the bride. We are the
bride. A bride prepared. A bride made fit for glory. Who made us fit for glory? Did
we make ourselves fit? Did we make ourselves ripe for
heaven? No. Christ made us fit. Christ made
us fit. The third thing is this. The
city is a city of light. Look at verse 11, having the
glory of God and her light was like unto a stone, most precious,
even like a Jasper stone, clear as crystal. If you look at chapter
22 and verse five, the scripture declares that there shall be
no night there, neither need of the candle, neither light
of the sun for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign
forever and ever. And the church, we know this,
that the light by which God gives us, we know Him, we know our
sin, and the redemption that is in Christ. But how do we know
these things? Only in Jesus Christ. He is the
light. He is the light. Jesus said this in John chapter
12 in verse 35. He said a little while the light
is with you walk while you have the light. Less darkness come
upon you for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whether
he goeth while you have the light. Believe in the light that you
may be children of the light. Who was he talking about? He
was talking about himself. He. is the light that lighteth
all men. Matter of fact, in verse 46 of
that, he said, I am come a light. Into the world that whosoever
believeth in me should not abide in darkness, Jesus is the light
of the gospel. That drives out all darkness
and ignorance. He it is only in Christ that
the glory of God is revealed. The light of the gospel reveals
to us this question. How can God be just and justify
the ungodly? You can only see the answer to
that in Jesus Christ. He is the light. And because of him, the church
does not walk in darkness. We have the light of life given
to every one of us. This is only seen in Jesus Christ,
our high priest and the offering for sin. The only spotless and
acceptable offering. Therefore, we walk in the light
of Christ. Those who are redeemed. and made
pure by the light of the justice of God. Now, the next thing is
this holy city has the constant presence of God. In verse 3 it
says, 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 the same in verse 22, He
said, I saw no temple there in for the Lord God Almighty and
the lamb are the temple of it. Believer, do you not see this,
that you are the temple of God? That's what Paul says of us,
isn't it? Paul says, no, you're not, that
you're the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth
in you. Isn't that amazing? We see that God not only dwells
in us, but listen, we dwell in Him. To think that God dwells in me,
I think, what a small abode. What a small and miserable place
to abide in me. But yet He does. But how great
is it this that I abide in Him? How large a place is that? How
rich a place is it to abide in Him? What a place of constant refreshment
and perpetual bliss to abide in Christ. And on that side of glory, we
shall experience the full atmosphere of God and breathe in his glory. But make no mistake, just as
much as he's going to abide with us there, he abides with us now. He abides with you now. He said,
I will never leave. More for safety. I want you to be encouraged in
these things. I don't feel holy. What does
it have to do with it? God has made you holy. You are not under the old covenant,
you are under a covenant of grace, you are the new Jerusalem. You are a great city, you are
precious in his sight. You are the bride of Christ,
the bride of the lamb. He has prepared all your garments. to make you acceptable unto God. He is the light that exposed
our sin. He is the light that reveals
the gospel of himself. And as long as we abide in him,
we do not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. And we always have his presence.
And the last thing is this a secure city. Look at verse 12. He said
in a great wall, great and high and had 12 gates and the gates
were 12 angels and the names there were written there on which
were the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. And he had three gates
on every side of the wall. Each one was made of one pearl.
Now see this. This city, as described, is one
surrounded by walls and gates, a fortified city. These walls
and gates are said to be great. Behold, you that abide in this
city, I want you to understand your safety. How safe are you, believer? How secure are you? Zechariah chapter 2 verse 4 it
said he said unto him run speak unto this young man saying Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as a town without walls for the multitude
of men and cattle therein for I sayeth the Lord will be her
wall of fire round about her and will be the glory in the
midst of I know that we are surrounded by enemies. I know this. You
are constantly bombarded every day with your foes. The biggest
foe is this one self constant Are you struggling against self?
Well, of course we are. The world is against you. Do
not think this world will ever love you. It will not love you. It despises the gospel of Christ
and it despises you. The world will hate you because
it hated our Lord. In this world, you shall not
have peace, but a sword. You shall have tribulation in
this world. We are surrounded by enemies
and sorrows and griefs and trials. But we are in no real danger
at all. Why is that? Because no matter
what happens to this body, nothing and no one can penetrate the
wall of this city. No one can pluck you out of his
hand. For you to be lost, Christ would
have to be dethroned. You understand the implication
that God's glory would be ruined forever if you were lost. You are, my friend, tied to the
glory of God. How secure are you? How secure
is the wall of this city? Paul said that in Romans chapter
eight. I'll read this and close. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? So tribulation or distress or
persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written
for thy sake, we are killed all the day long. We are counted
as sheep for the slaughter. That's how the world sees us. What does God say? No. You are more. No, in the in all
these things, you are more than conquerors through him that loved
us. For I am persuaded that neither
death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able. You got that able, not
that they're not going to try. But they're not going to be able
to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
Why? You are the holy city. You are the new Jerusalem. You
are the bride adorned for her husband. You are a city that has been
made perfect. The foundation of this city is
Christ. The wall of this city is Christ. The refuge of this
city is Christ. The palace of this city is Christ.
You get who's the center of this city? Christ. So what then is our hope of actually
seeing these things that are written? What's your chances
of making it? If you are in Christ, there is
nothing that will ever keep you from it. Why? It's by grace. It's by grace. Listen, Jesus. It is your father's
good pleasure. I stand amazed at the grace of
God. That he should save a man like
me. That I should be called such
wonderful things. And I'm called those things because
that's what he's made me to be. And all the glory is his. All the glory is his. God help
us to rejoice in these things. to expect this good. Yeah. A stand be dismissed. Father dismisses with your blessing
and mercy. Put these things upon our hearts
and minds. And in the times of trouble and
grief, the times of sorrow and pain, times of persecution, let
us look again what great things Christ has done for us. Give
us grace to magnify his name, to witness of him and testify
of his glory. Testify of his blood, his righteousness,
his love, his mercy. For sinners. I pray you do this for your own
glory in Jesus' name.