Thank you, Brother James. Let's
open our Bibles to the last chapter of the Word of God, Revelation
chapter 22. The book of Revelation chapter
22. It can accurately be said that
those of us who are the people of God, the redeemed of our Lord,
we are but pilgrims and indeed we're strangers in this world. And we are just passing through.
Don't sink your roots too deep here. don't hold to anything
or anybody too tightly. We're just here for a little
while. We have a home in heaven above,
a very real place. I love to think about going home
to God. I love to think about seeing
the face of the Master. This message is entitled, Face
to Face with Christ. Face to Face with Christ. All who are saved by grace, are
you one? Are you one of those saved by
grace, delivered by the awesome authority and power and blood
and righteousness of Christ. I'm asking you, do you know God? Here's what the Savior said,
this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true
God in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Do you know God? I'm not asking you, you're religious.
I'm not asking you, do you go to church? I know you go to church,
you're here tonight. I know you have religion of,
I don't know what kind of religion. I hope it's a religion of God,
but you wouldn't be here if you wasn't a religious person. Religion's
not a bad word, but there are bad religions. But there is the
religion of God. There is the very truth of God.
There is what the Scriptures refer to as the way of righteousness. There is the way of life. There
is this way manifested to us by the Spirit of God revealed
in the Scriptures, and this way to God is Christ Jesus Himself. In fact, He said to His disciples
after He spoke to them about going away, about going to the
Father, about going to the Father's house. And he said, in my Father's
house there are many mansions. He then said in response to what
one of the disciples asked, the Savior was asked, where are you
going and how can we get there? And he said, I am the way. You want to go to heaven? I do.
I do. Here's the way. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the way. His sacrifice is the way. His
bloody death is the way. It's referred to in Hebrews the
10th chapter as a new and living way. It's always a new way and
a living way. It's newly revealed to us. And
it's a living way. It's always the way of life. Our Lord Jesus is Himself the
way of life. He's the way to God. He is the
way to heaven. There's a very real place that
exists. This is not make-believe. This
is not fiction. This is not something someone
came up with of some kind of sentimental idea. just to make people feel good
about what's on the other side of death, there is a heaven to
be gained. And I wanna go there. It's a
place of worship. It's a place of peace. It's a
place of joy. It's a place of life. And mainly,
it's where the master is. It's where the savior is. And
one day we will see Him face to face. There is the kingdom
of heaven. There is our Father's house. I want to go to the Father's
house. And I know there's a door through
which I must go to get there. And it is the door of death.
But for the believer, for those who are the children of God,
the door of death will be a welcome thing. Death is merely the Master
commissioning one of His servants to us, and the Master's message
through the servant of death will be, the Master says, it's
time to come home. Every thought about going to
be with the Lord Jesus, every thought about going to heaven
is a blessed one. It's a joyous one. And we know
when our loved ones leave this world, It makes us sad. Certainly we miss them. We miss
their warm embrace. We miss fellowshipping with them. We miss being with them. We miss
conversing with them. But we also know that to be absent
from this body is to be present with the Lord Jesus. And that's
far better than anything this old world has got to offer. We
shall enter into the land of everlasting delight, and everlasting
happiness, and everlasting peace. And then we shall look on His
face, and we will spend all of eternity, if I can put it that
way, all of eternity just gazing at our Savior. This is a very
real place, heaven. And I don't want you to miss
it. I don't want you to miss it. And I sure don't want to miss
it. I want to be there. I wanna be there with the rest
of the people of God, all of the ransomed of God, all of the
blood-washed throng, all of those whose robes have been washed
in the bloody death of the Lord Jesus, all those who are clothed
just alike in the righteousness, the beauties of our Lord Jesus
that has been given to us freely by His grace. And I wanna be
numbered among the millions of people, the millions and millions
of people, a number which no man can number. I want to be
there in that land of everlasting joy. And I know you do too. I don't wanna miss heaven, but
I know this, if I miss Christ Jesus, I miss heaven. If I miss
Christ Jesus, I miss everlasting life. If I miss Him, I miss everlasting
bliss. Oh God, while I'm studying the
scriptures, while I'm preaching to others, please don't let me
miss the Savior. Don't let me get so occupied
with the things of this world. Lord, don't let these get so
occupied with the things of this world that we miss that one whom
to know is life everlasting. If you miss Christ Jesus, you
miss glory. You miss Christ Jesus, you miss
heaven. You miss Christ Jesus, you miss
life. If you miss Christ Jesus, you're
going to hell. You're going to perish in your
sins. I don't care how good a person you've been, all of your righteousnesses
are in fact as filthy rags. You're just a poor old sinner,
just like me. And there's one way to God, and
that's Christ Jesus, our Lord. I wanna go see him. I wanna see
him. John speaks here in Revelation
22. He says in verse one, and he
showed me He manifested to me, chapter 22, verse one, a pure
river of water of life. Clear as crystal. Where has it
come from? It comes from the throne of God
and of the Lamb. That's where salvation comes
from. That's where everlasting life
comes from. It comes from the throne of God. When you think
of the throne of God, what do you think about? I'll tell you
what I think about, authority. I think about the king. I think
about the sovereign. Where the word of a king is,
that's where power is. And this river of life, this
salvation, clear as crystal. No defilement in it whatsoever. This is a perfect salvation.
This is an immaculate salvation. This is a righteousness that
God can't find any flaw with. Where does it come from? God's
throne. It doesn't come from your decision.
It doesn't come from my faith. It doesn't come from your repentance.
It doesn't come from my good works. It comes from the very
throne of God. Because salvation's of the Lord.
That's where it comes from. It comes out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb. The Lamb, the Bible's full of
the Lamb. The Lamb smitten for sinners. The Lamb who died. The Lamb who
was slaughtered. The Lamb who's been exalted.
This is where this salvation comes from. It doesn't come from
the church. It doesn't come from the preacher.
It doesn't come from Mary. It doesn't come from some priest.
It doesn't come from counting beads. It doesn't come from walking
the aisle. It doesn't come from decisionism. It comes from the very throne
of God and of the Lamb of God. The Lamb, whoever lives, this
Lamb died. This lamb died that God might
be just and justify, but this lamb lives and this lamb reigns. He's pictured as having two horns.
That's authority, that's power. He said, all power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore into all the
world and preach the gospel. Well, then he says this, John
says, and I was also shown, verse two, in the midst of the street
up On either side of the river, there's a tree of life. It's within reach of anybody
who wants it. You want it? You want salvation? It's within your reach. I'll
tell you what the Apostle Paul said. He said of the Lord, He's
not far from any of you. You know what he said? He's not
far from any of you. No wonder were Edmoni seek the
Lord while he may be found. Well, where can I find him? He's
not very far from you, I can tell you that. He's as close
as your breath. He's in His Word. He's in His
Son. He's in the Gospel. It said, which bared twelve manner
of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month. The leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nation. What are the leaves
of the tree? That's the doctrine of the Word
of God. The doctrine of the Word of God.
What's doctrine beneficial for? Healing. Healing. We're sick, we're diseased. What's
going to heal me? True doctrine. True doctrine. Right doctrine. Redemption. reconciliation, justification
by grace, imputed righteousness. This doctrine heals. There's
a healing effect and a healing power, a healing virtue to true
doctrine. And he says this in verse three,
there shall be no more curse. You know why there's no more
curse for the people of God? Because our Savior has been cursed
in our stead. Cursed is everyone that hangeth
on a tree. He endured the curse of the law.
The law of God cursed us. And our substitute, our representative, he pushed us out of the way ever
so gently and lovingly. He said, I'll take the curse.
I'll bear the curse of the broken law. What is the curse of the
broken law? Death, death. Christ died for
our sins according to the scriptures. Therefore, since he has been
cursed in our stead, no more curse for us. Brother Bill brought
a message a few weeks ago from Romans 8.1. There is therefore
now no condemnation, no judgment, no curse to them who are in Christ
Jesus. He says, but the throne of God
and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve
him. And oh, this is the heaven of heavens right here. Verse
four, and they shall see his face. They shall see his face. Moses said, Lord, show me a glory. God said he can't see my face
and live, but we're gonna see God's face one day. We're gonna
see the face of the Son of God. In Isaiah chapter six, Isaiah
said, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord high
and lifted up. His train filled the temple.
His glory filled the temple. The seraphims were saying, holy,
holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. And they took their wings and
with twain, they covered their faces. They can't look on the majesty
of him who sat upon the throne, but we will. We will. The majesty of the Lamb
of God, the glory of God, shines brightly in the face of Jesus
Christ. When our Lord Jesus was on the
Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John, those favorite
three disciples, And our Lord was transfigured before them. He pulled back the veil of flesh
and He revealed His inner glory, His beauty, His majesty, brighter
than the noonday sun. And they couldn't hardly stand
and look on Him. Ah, but when we get a new body
in glory, we'll be able to look on His face. We'll be able to
dwell there. in the presence of the glory
of God. We shall see his face. His name
will be in their foreheads. You know what that means? Every
thought will be in subjection to Christ Jesus. Every imagination
of the mind will only be about him. every thought about the master. And it says in verse five, there
shall be no night there, no darkness there. What is night? What is darkness emblematic of? No error, no sin, Nothing to destroy. Nothing to
be fearful of. No night. At night time, that's
when evil appears. Won't be any night time there.
You know why not? The Lamb is all the light in
the city of God. They have no need of candle,
neither light of the sun. For the Lord God giveth them
light. The same one who gives us light
now will be our light and glory. What kind of light does he give
us? Now I know he causes the S-U-N to shine on us every day,
but we're talking about spiritual light. He enlightens our darkened
minds. He comes in and gives us an understanding
of the gospel. He shines within us the light
of his glorious gospel. And we believe that truth. And when we get to heaven, we'll
find out He's still the light. The Lamb is all the light in
the city of God. I want to talk to the children
of God tonight, just in these few moments. John speaking to us, to God's
people about heaven, the glories of it and the beauties of it. And I want us to think about
going home. Some of the Lord's people going
through some really rough times right now. And I hope that God
will enable you to kind of push those troubles aside for a little
bit and focus in on the face of the Lamb of God whom you will
see someday for sure. This is the one who redeemed
us. We're called the bride of Christ. This is the one who bought
us with his blood. This is the one who agonized
on the cross of Calvary. James saying, I've been to Calvary
through the witness of the Word of God. And I have too. And you have too. And this one
who suffered for us, who bled for us, who died for us, who
is our life, someday we're going to get to see Him face to face.
I don't dread that day. I look forward to that day. Never
in the Word of God do you find any believer dreading the day
of seeing the Lord. I remember back in my days of
false religion. That preachers tell me, you know,
if you've got sin in your life, you're not living like you ought
to, you don't want to see the Lord like that. Well, let me
tell you something. We all sin multitudes of times
every day. We are sin. That's just us. It's part and parcel of us. But
I have no fear of seeing the Holy Savior because all my sins
have been washed away. The Lord sees no iniquity, He
sees no sins in His children. Now that doesn't mean that He
ignores our sins, but it means He doesn't hold us accountable
for them. He held His Son accountable for
all of our sins. We need to enjoy the truth of
forgiveness. The full pardon of sins. We don't
dread seeing Him face to face, we look forward to it. It will
be a joyous day. No wonder Bunyan said on his
deathbed, as all of his children, eight children, gathered around
his bed and his dear wife and they were shedding tears for
him, he said, don't weep for me. I go to see the Lord. He said, weep for yourselves.
Weep for yourselves. You got to stay here. You got
to fight the fight. You got to put up with the flesh.
You got to put up the world. Put up with the world that is
against the people of God and against the truth of God. But
don't weep for me. I'm going to see Him face to
face whom I love. I love Him. This is the way the people of
God need to view death. Look with me in a scripture.
Turn to Psalm 73, I believe it is. Psalm 73. You know, in this Psalm, David
envied the wicked. That is, he did so until he went
to the sanctuary of God. and under the sound of the truth,
and amongst those who are worshiping God, he began to see things in
a better light. And he says, he was envious of
them to begin with, but look at Psalm 73. And look at verse 17, I'll just
start here. Having said, having said that
he envied them, he said, until I went to the sanctuary of God,
and then I understood their end. Don't be envious of the wicked,
envious of the wealthy, envious of the intellectuals. Consider
their end. I don't want my end to be like
those who don't know God. I don't want that kind of end. And David said this in verse
18, he said, surely thou did set them in slippery places. Thou casted them down into destruction. Why would I want to be envious
of them? I don't want to wind up like them. He said, how are
they brought into desolation as in a moment? Here's somebody
going through life full of arrogance, full of self-righteousness. He's
wealthy, he's living for the things of this world. And in
a moment, God brings him down like that fella in Luke. And
the Lord said, thou fool, you've been tearing down your barns
and building bigger barns. I'll lay up in store for myself
and I say, soul, eat, drink, and be merry. Enjoy life. God said, you're a fool. Your
soul is going to be required of you tonight and then who shall
these things be? I don't want to be a fool. He
is a fool whom God calls a fool. Ignore your soul. Ignore Christ
Jesus. Ignore salvation. You're a fool. You're the biggest fool there
is. David said, you're going to bring
them down to desolation just like that. In a moment, they
are utterly consumed with terror as a dream when one awaketh.
So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shall despise their image.
Thus was my heart grieved. I was pricked in my reins. I
was so foolish. That's what David said. I was
so foolish and ignorant. In envying them, he says, I was
like a beast before thee. I was like somebody that didn't
have any sense. Now look at verse 23. Nevertheless,
I am continually with thee. Thou hast holden me by my right
hand. Thou should guide me with thy
counsel and afterward receive me. Receive me to glory. I like that, receive me. But now look at verse 25. He
asks this question, whom have I in heaven but thee? Whom have I in heaven but thee? And most people, if you ask them
about heaven, they say, well, my mom's in heaven, my dad's
in heaven, I got a lot of people in heaven, but David said, I
don't have anybody in heaven that I really wanna see except
my Savior. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? He's the only Redeemer I got.
He's the only advocate I've got. He's the only intercessor I've
got. He's the only prophet I've got. He's the only priest I've
got. He's the only king I've got.
His blood's the only blood I've got. His righteousness is the
only righteousness I've got. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? I've got Thee, and having Him,
I've got all things in Him because I'm complete in Him. That's right,
isn't it? Don't need anybody else. That's
not to say that when we get to heaven, we won't sit down with
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and we'll know even as we're known,
but all of those folks in heaven, their eyes are gonna be on the
same one we're looking to, the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall see his face. But now wait, the scripture says
While the Lord looks upon His children, it also says the face
of the Lord is against those who do evil. In Revelation chapter 6, John saw the sixth seal open. He said, I saw the dead, small
and great. Stand before God. Kings and priests,
and he comes right on down to servants. He said, they're having an unusual
prayer meeting. They're praying to the rocks
and to the mountains. Hide us. Hide us from the face of him who sits upon the throne.
Hide us from the face of the Lamb. The very face we want to
see, the very face we long to see, is the face that some people
are going to say, I don't want to see his face. Because his face is going to
be set against them. Same face. To us, it will be a welcoming
face. smiling face, a joyful face. And all of God's people are gonna
hear the exact same thing. Well done, thou good and faithful
servant. Because the righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ, all that he's done, all of his obedience
and all of his perfections, credited to our account. And
every sinner who's going to enter into glory, enter into heaven,
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, they're going to hear
these words. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. That's something
we didn't have anything to do with. It's not our obedience,
it's His obedience. It's not our doing everything
He told us to do, although I want to do all that He told us to
do, but I fail, but not my Savior. He didn't fail. And He's going
to say, welcome. Welcome. And I can just imagine
a big smile on His face. The joy of the Lord. He's gonna
be joyful and I'm gonna be joyful too. In the book of Luke, you know,
when the shepherd and the woman and the father, they found the
lost. Shepherd found the lost sheep,
the woman found the lost coin, the father found the lost son.
In every case it says, rejoice, rejoice with me. I'll tell you,
there's joy in the heart of Christ Jesus, our Savior. And when we
see His face, that face that was smitten for us, that face
that was beaten for us, we studied in our Sunday school class this
morning, that face that was spit upon, that face that was slapped,
that face that endured grueling agonies, That face, which upon
the cross of Calvary, they could look at his face and say, he's
thirsty. He said, why hast thou forsaken
me, O God? That face, it was tortured for
us. That face, it understood and
endured the wrath of God. That face will be all smiles
for us. And we'll be all smiles for him.
And there's never been a child of God who went home to glory,
who did so, who got on the other side of death, who didn't just,
as it were, their innermost being rejoiced with absolute glory,
wonder, and amazement. Oh, John Newton, I love to read
Newton. I read his letters. and I read
his sermons, and I read his songs. He said, when I get to heaven,
there'll be three great wonders that will amaze me. He said,
first, I'll be amazed that there'll be some people that I sure thought
was gonna be there, but they're not gonna be there. And he said, the second amazing
thing is, there are going to be some people there that I never
thought would be there. But he said, the most amazing
thing is going to be to find myself there. To find myself
there, gazing in the face of the Son of God who loved me and
gave himself for me. Oh, to see him face to face. And we will someday. And you
be encouraged in that. And when our loved ones are taken
in death, I understand, I understand the
weeping. I understand missing them. But those who die in Christ Jesus,
we rejoice for them. We're thankful that God took
them out of this old sinful world, took them out of a sinful body,
and took them home to heaven's everlasting glory. Let's sing the closing song. Once I decided I was going to
preach on this, I told Joe I wanted to change the last song. Let's
go to 511 in your songbook. It just seems only fitting to
sing Face to face with Christ, my Savior. Face to face. Oh, joyous day. Let's stand together,
511.