All right, let's turn to Revelation
chapter 21. Last week I tried to emphasize
the fact, or miracle, or privilege, or whatever you want to call
it, of seeing and hearing. Hearing these things which God
hath prepared for them that love him. He tells his disciples,
blessed are your ears for they hear, and your eyes for they
see. He said, these things are such
things that has never entered into the hearts of men. These
things which God has prepared for them that love him, they've
never entered into the heart of man, natural man. He sees a lot of things in religion,
but he don't see these things. He don't see God's sovereign
grace. He don't see God's sovereign
love and mercy, tenderness and kindness, God's eternal election,
the appointments of Christ. He don't see those things. Never
entered into the heart Hearts of men are the heart of man,
the things which God, but God hath revealed them unto us by
spirit. We've been given eyes to see
and ears to hear. And he says that these things
are things which none of the princes of this world knew, for
had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory. He is the way that these things
are given. and through whom they are given. And it is exactly the experience
of a vile sinner arrested by the Spirit of God through the
gospel who now knowing his guilt finds himself fully pardoned
and freely justified by God's sovereign grace and is a recipient
of God's adoption. He's a son. He not only experienced
forgiveness from God and pardon for his sin, but he finds himself
a recipient of the inheritance of God. He's now a son. And he's an heir of grace and
the object of God's eternal love and provision. So when a believer
speaks of seeing, he's not just talking about the facts of certain
things. But he speaks from the heart
of one who has seen the glory of it, felt the newness of it,
and longs for the day when he shall have it without any resistance
within. It'll be his, altogether his. Until that day, it is an evidence
and a down payment, if you will, of those things which God has
given to him. So here's what I want you to
do. I want you to picture, if you
can, a lowly fisherman. That's what John was. He was
a fisherman. He and his brothers and his father,
they were fishermen. God called them into the ministry.
And so you picture, if you can, this lowly fisherman, and now
he's exiled to a remote island. He's out in the middle of the
Mediterranean. And he's exiled to a remote island, and he's
standing in the sand of a penal colony, dressed in rags, exiled
from the world, but finding himself seeing what no one else can see,
and hearing what no one else can hear. Finding himself After
all, a son of God. And so he's in the spirit and
he's worshiping God. And the spirit comes to him and
begins to show him all of these things. And no wonder this apostle
said, and I, John, saw. You ever say that to yourself
when you leave here? And then we talked about that
glorious day when these vile bodies shall be raised in incorruption
and stand in a pristine new world, in a new body, a body without
pain, a body that will never age. A world in which the only evidence
that sin ever existed will be the scars on our Savior's hands
and side and feet and our own testimonies of His saving grace.
That'll be the only evidence that sin ever existed in this
universe. And here's the song. It's the
song of the glorified saints. He is worthy. He is worthy. Worthy to take the book of God's
redemptive will and counsel and worthy to ride upon the white
horse of the conquering king. Worthy to receive power over
all things. Worthy to wear God's crown. Worthy
to judge this world. Worthy to be called God our savior. He is worthy for he has slain
and hath redeemed us under God by his blood and made us priests
and kings under our God. I, John, saw. And now he tells
us in Revelation 21 5, and he that sat upon the throne said,
Behold! You know it's one thing for an
old sinner like me to say, Behold! And then tell you some glorious
fact. But it's another thing for Christ,
the eternal Son of God, sitting upon his throne to say, Behold! Behold! And this is what he says,
behold, I make all things new. Who does it? He does. He does. I grew up in religion,
and I've heard their testimonies, and they always go back to a
day. They always go back to an experience. They always go back
to a decision that they made, an act of devotion. They were
a commitment that they made. They always go back to a day,
a time, a certain little space in their history and they carry
all the weight of their salvation on that. But here the Lord says, I make
all things new. I do this work. A new birth, a new nature, a
new understanding, a new standing before God, a new world and a
new body. Behold, he said, I make all things
new. Who makes it? He does. Now watch this. And he said unto
me, write. Write. Take your pen in your
hand and write what you see and write what you hear and write
what the grace of God has privileged you to know. Write it down. For these words are true and
faithful. These words are to be believed. We have here a book, but this
is a different book than any other book in this world. This
book is to be believed. Now, when I read a science book,
I'm going to consider it. I'm going to consider the facts.
I'm going to consider what they say about gravity and consider
what they say about chemicals and all of these things. If I
read a medical book, I'm going to consider the facts that are
in it. But I'm not going to pick it up and read it like it's a
Bible, because it's not. But this book, you can pick it
up and read it and believe everything that it says. You see what he's
telling John? These things I'm showing you,
write them down. Write them down, for they are
faithful and true. I tell you, I long and pray that before you go out of this
door today, God will convince you that his words are true and
faithful. that you'll say to yourself,
let God be true and every man a liar. His word concerning our fallen
state, take him at his word. No one else was even around when
we fell, but he was. And he purposed our fall. If
we hadn't fallen in Adam, we'd never been redeemed in Christ.
If we hadn't lost our standing in Adam, we'd have no standing
in Christ. We want to receive and believe
His Word concerning our fallen state and His Word concerning
His sovereign eternal grace. God is gracious. He's gracious. And He'll be gracious to whom
He will. And to receive His Word concerning the person of His
Son and His Word concerning His work of salvation and His Word
considering our repentance and faith The word of his commandments,
the word concerning our righteousness in Christ. His word concerning
our profession and confession. And his word concerning our preservation. And his word concerning our resurrection
and eternal fellowship with God. Write, write these things down.
Things which haven't come to pass yet, but they're going to.
They're going to. You write these down for these
are true and faithful. Verse six, Revelation 21. And
he said unto me, it's done. It's done. Will you listen to me for just
a minute? What God has his servant to write
is a done deal. It's done. It was done when Moses
took his pen in his hand and wrote to Christ. It was a done
deal. What he's written is done. God's not gonna take it back
and his word will not return unto him void. He will not change
his mind or compromise what he said. When God decreed our eternal
justification in Christ, it was a done deal. Christ hadn't come
yet. Christ hadn't died yet. Christ
hadn't rose from the dead yet. But when God decreed it and Moses
wrote of it, it was a done deal. When God decreed our eternal
election in Christ, it was fixed forever. He's not going to add
to it that number. He's not going to take away from
it. When God ordained Christ as our eternal surety and covenant
head, He could not but assume those
offices as God has ordained. The immutability of God in His
word is not written to leave sinners without hope, but to
eliminate all hope that depends upon some change in God or some
inability on his part for his word to fail. That's why it's
so important for me to stand up here every time I get a privilege
and tell you who God is and who Christ is and the work of the
Trinity in the salvation of your souls. It's not to leave you
without a hope, it's to eliminate all hope in any change in the
deity. He's not going to change. I am
the Lord, he said, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob,
oh my soul, you're gonna be saved. You're gonna be saved because
I change not. Now watch this back here in Revelation. Here's the reason why it's done.
I'm Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. Our
Lord's name, as it pertains to Him in particular, is the Word. The Word. John writes in his
Gospel, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. His name is the Word because
He's the manifest revelation of God and the way in which God
will communicate His will His commandments and His promises
to men all comes through Christ. It's channeled through Him. Oh,
but you say, God, the Holy Spirit speaks and has spoken through
those inspired to write the Word of God. Not apart from Christ
they didn't. When the Holy Spirit's come,
He said He won't speak of Himself. He's worthy to speak of Himself.
He's God, he's as much God as Jesus Christ or the Father. But
he's not gonna speak of himself because that's not why he was
sent. So much is the Spirit of God,
that one who reveals Christ to us, that he's called the Spirit
of Christ. You can read about that over
in the book of Peter, chapter one. Prophets, they longed to
know what day and what people the spirit of Christ which was
in them did talk about when he inspired them to write these
things. This is the spirit of Christ. No man speaks apart from Christ. To him give all the prophets
witness. First Peter 111 is where he's
called the Spirit of Christ. I'm Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. Now listen to this. I'll give
unto him, I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain
of the water of life freely. Oh, I don't know if Christ will
have mercy on me. Said he would. Are you thirsty? That's the question. Are you
thirsty? God's given you a thirst. If
he has, he tells us later on in the book of Revelation, get
out of his way. Let him come and take the water of life freely.
Get out of his way. God made him thirsty and Christ
is willing. That's what it says here. I will
give unto him that is a thirst. of the fountain of the water
of life freely. The old hymn writer wrote, come
you sinners poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore, Jesus
ready, waits to save you, full of pity, love, and power. He's able, he said, he is able. He is willing, doubt no more. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor fitness fondly dream. All the fitness he requireth
is to feel your need of him. This he gives you, this he gives
you, tis the Spirit's rising beam. This is the light of the
Spirit of God. Because he is who he is and he's
done what he's done, because he is the beginning and the end
and all in between, he will give to every thirsty sinner the fountain
of the water of life. These old hymns, I just couldn't
help but write down these hymns as I was studying this. He said,
oh precious fountain that saves from sin. I'm so glad I entered in. There Jesus saves me and keeps
me clean. Glory to his name. The basis
by which guilty sinners may approach the living God for mercy and
forgiveness is the person and work of Christ. No man cometh
unto the Father but by me. While he told those Jews, he
said, don't murmur. Ain't no need to murmur. No man
can come unto Him except the Father draw him. Nobody's coming
except God's elect. That's who's coming. Because
God has graciously given them an ability, given them a thirst,
given them a reason to come, given them eyes to see Christ,
and so they'll come to Him. And he went further than that.
He said, as it is written, They shall all be taught of God. Every
one therefore that heareth and understandeth, he comes to the
Son, and he's taught of God. Revelation 21 said, he that overcometh shall inherit
all things, and I'll be his God. and he'll be my son. Now this
is him that sits upon the throne saying these things. He's Alpha
and Omega, his word is a done deal, all of these things that
I've already told you. This is him, he said, behold,
this is something to marvel at, something to look at. Now he says, he that overcometh
shall inherit all things and I'll be his God and he'll be
my son. This verse is often referred
to by freewill works preachers, trying to convince folks that
by their strong commitments and works, they can win God's favor
and earn the right to be heirs of God. Turn with me to 1 John
chapter five. I want to show you what he's
talking about when he speaks of overcoming the world. He that
overcometh. They say this is the man. And
he's heard your plea, and he's walked the aisle, and he's made
his commitments, he's made his decision, he accepted Jesus as
his personal Savior, and now he commits himself to the task. But this is not what the Scripture
says. 1 John chapter 5, verse 4. Whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world. Whatsoever is born of God. If God has granted to you a new
birth, then he's granted to you all the other blessings of God.
Eyes to see, ears to hear. He granted unto you repentance
and faith. He granted unto you preservation. and the ability to persevere,
the want to persevere. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? How's he gonna overcome? He's
gonna overcome believing and resting in Christ. This is my
righteousness. This is my atonement. This is
my sin offering. This is my savior. This is my
prophet. This is my king. That's how you
overcome this world. Concerning the new birth, he
says this, it's not of blood. It's not of the will of the flesh
nor the will of man, but it's of God. So this overcoming is
of God, isn't it? That's what I just read to you.
Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. What overcomes the
world through that new birth is your faith, your faith in
Jesus Christ. And this new birth is of God.
It's not of the will of the flesh nor the will of somebody else,
somebody else imposing his will on you. It's the will of God. And he said that concerning those
who were given power to become sons of God and to believe on
his name. They were born. And then the
second thing here in our text is faith. The scripture tells
us plainly, by grace are you saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any
man should boast. So where is these commitments
and this work and this self-imposed determination? Where is this
in the scripture? It's not in there. It's not in
there. It's just in religion. So then Paul speaks very emphatically
in Romans 9, verse 16, it's not of him that willeth. You can
will from now on, it's not of him that willeth, and it's not
of him that runneth, it's of God that showeth mercy. What this verse is teaching is
that every thirsty sinner who has this thirst by work of grace
in him and has the right purchase for him to come and take of the
water of life freely. Only thirsty sinner is going
to come looking for the water of life. Everybody else drinks
from that polluted stream of man's works and will. The new birth is that which enables
chosen sinners to see and understand the gospel and with this revelation
to see their sin and despise it and to see his grace and rejoice
in it and to see his son and believe on him and enter into
his rest. He that overcometh. Overcometh
what? Antichrist religion. He's already
told us in the prior chapters about the beast. and the false
prophets, and all of those things, Antichrist's religion with all
of its lies and lying wonders, with all of its multitudes and
great presence in the world, great prominence in the world. He that overcometh Antichrist's
religion, he that overcometh the nature of sin and depravity,
Boy, there's a boundary you can't get over. Takes the work of God
in a man. Has to create him anew. Has to
give him a new nature. A new mind. And then to overcome
all of his doubts and fears. We're one big doubt. That's what
I've discovered in my lifetime. I'm one big doubt. And one big
fear. and to overcome his close relationship
with his unbelieving friends and family. Your enemies shall
be they of your own household. You never notice that when your
relatives come to you, they always try to get you to compromise. They won't compromise, but they
won't get you to compromise. Can't you just come down a little
bit? Can't you just move a little
bit? Any man who talks about having
a faith that believes but does not overcome has not yet the
faith of God's elect. His faith overcomes. This is
the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. God said
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. To have a faith that
is not victorious is to call God a liar. It's to state something contrary
to his word, which is fixed and done deal. All right, now listen to the
whole verse. He that overcome us shall inherit all things. And I'll be his God, and he'll
be my son. While there might be degrees
in hell, there are no degrees in heaven. grace makes all things
common to the believer. Peter even writes those with
the common faith. It's the same thing. They're
all dressed the same. Every time he describes those
that he sees in heaven, they're dressed in white linen, all dressed
the same. You can't tell one from the other.
And say, who is that seated on the third row, you know, the
fourth one in? said who are they? Who are they? They all look the same. They're
all dressed the same. They all have the same hope. They're all standing there on
the same basis. And Paul said this, I am what I am by the grace of
God. Boy, that's a mouthful, ain't
it? I am what I am. And he said to those that he
was talking to, he said, what have you gotten that you haven't
received? And if you received it, why do
you boast as though you didn't? Why do you live as though you
didn't? Everything given to me, he said,
is the gift of God. And that's what he's saying here
in Revelation. That's exactly what he said. Now, John, you write these things
down, because these things are so. I'm not going to change. I'm not going to change my word.
I'm not going to change my mind. I'm not going to change in my
character. You write it down. It's done. It's done because
I'm the beginning and the end, and it all depended on me. You
write it down. You write it down. And those
who believe it, Those who believe, I'll be their God and they'll
be my people.