Go with me, if you would, back
to Revelation chapter 22. Revelation 22. I was working
on the Bulletin Monday, and I ran across an article titled, Pastor
Scott Richardson's Last Public Comments. Pastor Scott Richardson's
last public comment. And just the thought of that
made me happy for him. And it made me excited for us.
One of these days, we're going to have our last public comments. I put that article in our bulletin,
Lord willing, you'll see it Sunday. But he quoted Revelation 22 verses
3 through 5. And when I read the first line
of verse 3, it was written out in the article, and when I read
that first line in verse 3, that just, that got me. That got me
good. I'm in awe of this. Verse 3 says, And there shall be no more curse. That just thrills my heart. There shall be no more curse. No more curse. We feel the curse. We feel the curse. We feel it
every single day. We feel it every day. The curse that our father Adam
passed along to us. This curse has been passed along
to every human being on this earth. Every single one. This flesh, all human flesh,
is under the bondage and the weight of the curse. All of it. Sin has cursed us. It honestly has cursed us. Because
of sin, everything that pertains to this flesh is cursed. The flesh is cursed and everything
that pertains to the flesh is cursed. These bodies are cursed. Sick. Dying. If a person wonders whether or
not they have sin in them, whether or not they are sinners and possess
sin, they'll know by whether or not they die. If they don't
die, they don't have sin. But if they end up dying, then
they had sin in them. The wages of sin is death. Death
by sin. These bodies are cursed. Our
efforts are cursed. We mean well, but our efforts
are cursed. Outside of Christ, everything
that we do in this flesh will come to naught. In the end, everything
we do, it'll come to nothing. In the end, it will be worthless
to us. Everything that we earn and build,
in the end, on that day, it's worth nothing. It meant nothing. It's cursed. Our possessions
are cursed. Everything that we have is either
gonna rot, or it's gonna break, or it's going to wear out, it's
going to disintegrate, or it's going to get stolen.
Either moths and rusts are going to ruin it, or thieves are going
to break through and steal it. One of the two. Our earthly happiness
is cursed. It's cursed. Any happiness that
we might have on this earth, it doesn't last. Something brings
us happiness for a fleeting moment. It's just a fleeting moment of
happiness. As soon as those moments come,
they're ruined. They're always ruined. Has something
ever brought you lasting happiness, uninterrupted joy and happiness
on this earth? Our lives are spent under the
bondage and weight and depression. Everybody experiences depression.
Some more than others maybe, but our lives are spent. This is how we live our days
and spend our lives. It's under the bondage and the
weight and the depression of the curse. Go with me over to
Romans chapter eight. Romans 8, verse 20 says, for the creature, and that means
creation, the creation, was made subject to vanity. That means
emptiness, worthlessness. not willingly, but by reason
of him who hath subjected the same in hope." What that means
is because of one man's sin, death passed upon all men, everything. In Adam all die, everything dies. Because of one sin, everything
became cursed. Everything. Verse 22 says, For
we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now. The whole creation does. And
not only they. but ourselves also which have
the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within
ourselves Waiting for the adoption to know the redemption of our
body. Everything is groaning and travailing
in pain because of this curse. Even the ground is cursed. Even the ground is cursed. Look
at three scriptures with me. We're going to go back to back.
Three scriptures. Go to Galatians chapter 3. Galatians 3 verse 10, it says, For as many as are of
the works of the law, that means any person who is Under the authority
of the law, any person who tries to obey this law in order for
God to be happy with the person and satisfied with the person
and say, you've done a good job, welcome in. Whoever tries to
go to heaven by being good enough, according to the law, they're
under the curse. For it is written, Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them." That means if you break
one, you've broken it all under the curse. Go with me to
Galatians chapter 1. Galatians 1 verse 8, it says,
But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel
unto you than that which we have preached unto you, and what that
means is, if any man comes preaching anything other than what God
gave the apostles to write in this book, the prophets, the
apostles. If a man preaches anything other
than exactly what is written in this book, look at the last
four words, let him be cursed. Let him be cursed. All right,
now go to 1 Corinthians 16. Verse 22, 1 Corinthians 16, 22,
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, and when God talks
about loving Christ and loving God, He means loving the true
and living God, as He has declared Himself to be in all authority
and power and Loving Him with all of your heart. Putting nothing
else before Him. Not the kind of love that we
think we have in the flesh. I mean Godly love. If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. Cursed when he comes
back. Whoever is of the works of the
law is cursed. Whoever does not preach this
gospel and preaches another gospel is cursed. Whoever does not love
the Lord Jesus Christ is cursed. Everything has been cursed and
everyone suffers because of the cursed. But God. But God. Listen to how this is
worded. Go with me over to Genesis chapter
3. Those two words summarize the gospel so well. The truth is bad news. The truth concerning us is bad
news. It's bad news, bad news, and
then here comes the gospel. The gospel is good news. And
all this bad news, bad news, bad news, and the gospel comes
when you hear, but God. But God. Alright, now Genesis
chapter 3, verse 1 says, The serpent was
more subtle than any beast of the field, which the Lord God
had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea,
hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the
trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God hath said, You shall not eat
of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent
said unto the woman, You shall not surely die, for God doth
know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall
be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave
also unto her husband with her, and he did eat, and the eyes
of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. they knew that they were naked. Now verse 12 says, and the man
said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of
the tree, and I did eat. And usually we call Adam out
in his sin, you know, he's accusing her, the woman did it, you know,
putting the blame somewhere else. But here is actually the gospel. The gospel is in this verse right
here. The man said, this is Christ and his bride, the man said,
The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat." That is the gospel. That is but God. Why do you say that? Go with
me over to 1 Timothy chapter 2. I'll never forget the first time
I saw this, I just rejoiced over this. 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy 2 verse 13, it says,
for Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived,
but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. That
is Christ and His bride. She, us, we were deceived. We were deceived, deceived into
thinking that sin against God would not plunge us headfirst
into the curse. But we were wrong. We ignorantly,
foolishly, sinfully were in the transgression. We were in the
transgression. We brought it on ourselves. We
brought this curse on ourselves. And our bridegroom should have
left us there. Adam could have seen Eve ate
the fruit and left her alone. Our bridegroom should have left
us there. He should have left us to die
in the curse for our sin, but he didn't do that. He joined
Himself to us in our sin, willingly, knowingly. He put Himself under
the same condemnation that we put ourselves under. He saw what
we did, and He joined Himself to us. with us under the same
condemnation. He saw that we had fallen and
he took the fall with us. He took the fall for us. Now look with me at Galatians
chapter three. Galatians chapter 3 verse 13
says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is
every one that hangeth on a tree. Now that's a husband. That's
a husband. That's a Redeemer. He made Himself
to be cursed for us. He saw us. We were cursed. And all He had to do was leave
us alone. But He made Himself to be cursed for us. When He
hung on that tree, He redeemed every single one of his bride,
all of them, all of us from the curse, all of us. All right,
now go with me back to Revelation 22. Verse three says, and there shall
be no more curse. Never again. Our bodies will
not be cursed ever again. Our minds won't be cursed. These minds are cursed. They're
so cursed. Our minds won't be cursed. Our
hearts won't be cursed. Our efforts will not be cursed. Our possessions, our possession Our happiness, it'll never be
cursed ever again. Never again. Verse three says,
and there shall be no more curse, but instead of the curse, the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. God made an exchange
for us. He took our curse. and He gave
us the throne of the Lamb. Look with me at Revelation chapter
5. the throne and glory of the Lamb.
Revelation 5 verse 1, And I saw in the right hand of him that
sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside sealed
with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose
the seals thereof. And no man in heaven nor in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not, Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root
of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof. And I beheld, and low in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God
sent forth into all the earth, And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And
when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and
twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of
them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers
of the saints. And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof,
For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and hast
made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on
the earth. God took our curse and gave us
the throne of the Lamb. We get to gather around the throne
of the Lamb. Look at chapter 7, Revelation
7 verse 9. After this I beheld and lo a
great multitude which no man could number, of all nations
and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands,
and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God,
which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. And all the
angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders
and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces,
and worshipped God, saying, Amen, blessing, and glory, and wisdom,
and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might be unto
our God forever and ever. Amen. And that's what we're all
going to cry because there is no more curse. This is the amazing
thing. This is a real scene. Because
there is no more curse, we're going to be allowed to approach
that throne with boldness. We're going to be able to walk
right up to the throne of God that we may find mercy and grace
to help in time of need. We have a high priest. that was
touched with the feeling of our curse so we could have access to His
throne. Now look back in Revelation 22. Verse 3 says, And there shall
be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall
be in it. And His servants shall serve
Him. Do you know why His servants,
His redeemed, His elect? Do you know why they're going
to serve Him? It's because that's all that they are going to want
to do. And they're going to be allowed
to do it. They're going to be free to do whatever they want
to do. Go do whatever you want to do. They're all going to swarm
the throne. Worshipping Him. Bowing down
before Him. Serving Him. That's what they
desire. That's joy. That's life. That's heaven. You know what
heaven is? Worshipping Him. Serving Him. Gathering at His
feet. Hearing Him. Christ is heaven. He made Himself to be the servant
for us in order to give us eternity. And we'll have all of eternity
to say thank you in serving Him. Verse 3, there shall be no more
curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it,
and His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face. Matthew 5 says, Rejoice and be
exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. And that's it. That's it. You're going to get to see his
face. You're going to get to see his
face. To see his face is the glory
of God. to see His face, that is the
glory of God. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. You're gonna get to see the glory
of God in His face. Face to face with Christ my Savior. Face to face, what will it be? You ever wonder what it's going
to be like that first time you see His face? Face to face, what
will it be? What will His countenance be?
What will be His first word? When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ who died for me. Only faintly now I see Him with
the darkling veil between. But a blessed day is coming when
His glory shall be seen. What rejoicing in His presence
when our banished grief and pain, when the crooked ways are straightened
and the dark things shall be plain. Face to face, O blissful
moment, face to face to see and know, face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ who loves me so. What is that going to be like?
And I shall see him face to face and tell the story saved by grace.
Verse 3 says, There shall be no more curse, but the throne
of God, and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall
serve Him, and they shall see His face, and His name shall
be in their foreheads. They're going to know Him. They're going to think on Him. They're going to dwell on Him.
They're going to ponder Him. They're going to have conversations
about Him. Can you imagine sitting down with Rahab the harlot and
the thief on the cross and that Gadarene from the tombs and just
sitting around talking about Christ for a while? I mean, that's going to happen.
Can you imagine that? Here in firsthand, that thief
recount his story. It's going to go something like
this, unto him that loved me and washed me from my sins. You get up from that conversation,
right over here sits the woman with the issue of blood, blind
Bartimaeus, that leper who fell down at his feet. Lord, if you
will, you can make me clean. That man they let down through
the roof, he's sitting in that. That man with the withered arm,
that man who was laying by the pool of Bethesda. Jay Iris's
daughter, Jay Iris. What are y'all talking about?
We're all talking about Christ. You want to come talk? Sure do. His name shall be in their foreheads
forever. His name shall be in everybody's
foreheads. Verse 5 says, And there shall
be no night there. That means you can just keep
going. Just keep on going, keep on talking.
What time does it get dark here? It don't. It does not. Let's just keep on talking. There shall be no more curse,
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and
His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face,
and His name shall be in their foreheads, and there shall be
no night there, no sin, no secrets, no blindness. And they need no
candle, neither light of the sun. They'll never have to produce
anything on their own ever. They'll never have to provide
anything on their own. They'll never be without warmth.
They'll never be without health. They'll never be without nourishment,
never. Verse five says, for the Lord
God giveth them light. Where does it come from? What
is the light? Look at chapter 21, verse 23. 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." Christ
is the light. His face, the glory of God, just
His countenance on everything. Christ is the light. And the
end of chapter 22 verse 5 says, they shall reign with Christ
forever and ever. With the curse removed, with
the bride redeemed, she's going to reign with Him forever. We
are going to reign with Him forever. He redeemed us. We're going to
reign with Him forever. Forever would have been long
enough. That's long enough, but it keeps going. He said it's
forever and ever. And ever and ever and ever and
ever. And when you think you've gone
as far as forever can go, it just started is forever and ever. And the thing that I just hadn't
gotten over quite yet is. There'll be no more curse. Forever
and ever and ever, there'll be no more curse. Never again. Amen. All right, Brother Dwight,
you come again.