In the Gospel of John, chapter
2, we have the record of our Lord's first miracle in Cana
of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And he told the servants
after doing so, now bear it to the governor, the ruler of the
feast. And he tasted it, the governor of the feast, and he
called for the bridegroom. And he said, this is very unusual,
this is not customary, because usually the best wine is set
before the guest first. And then after they've drunk
so much of it, then the worst. But you've done the very opposite,
you've reversed the practice. You've saved the very best for
last. Even so, even so, to every child
of God, Every believer, every redeemed called sinner, God has
saved the very best for last. Paul in Romans 8 said he reckoned,
he reckoned that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed
in us. And that time is coming very,
very soon. Again, our Lord in chapter 22
of Revelation, three times he repeated it. Three times. I'm
coming. I'm coming. Don't doubt it. I'm coming. And I'm coming quickly. I'm coming quickly. Paul in 1
Thessalonians 5 wrote that God had not appointed us
to wrath but to obtain salvation. Eternal salvation. Complete salvation. Everlasting salvation. Salvation
from the very trace of sin. Salvation from the power, the
penalty, the presence of sin. How can such a thing be? How
can any sinner have such a hope of that? And Paul says we obtain
that salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us. That
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another
even as also ye do. Look at verse 4 here in Revelation
chapter 22. These words, can there be a better
description of heaven than this? Is this not the very essence
of glory? The glory of glory? The heaven
of heaven? They shall see his face. In chapter
21, Brother John read some of it to us a few moments ago during
his lesson. We read these words, and I heard
a great voice, verse 3, 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. What a time, Joe. What a time awaits God's people. Imagine, no tears. No tears. There'll be no reason
for tears. Not in heaven. There'll be no
reason to cry. No exceptions. God says he shall
wipe away all tears. All tears. Whatever reason you
had to cry now, you won't have in heaven. There'll be no weeping
in the presence of the king. No, he that sits upon the throne
shall wipe away all tears. Still, still. As wonderful as
that is. It doesn't compare to this. It's not the best, is it? Something
better is coming. Something better is coming. I told you a while back the story
about the young girl when she would hear her mother say, hold
on to your fork after supper. Something better was coming.
There was dessert that day. Oh, even though there'll be no
more crying, no more tears, no more pain, no more sorrow, no
more death and glory, Oh, something better than that is coming. We're
told they shall see His face. Behold, John said. Behold what
manner of love the Father had bestowed upon us that we should
be called the sons of God. Behold. Pause. Stop. Think about that. The sons of God. And it does
not yet appear what we shall be. But we know, we know when
he shall appear in that look, we'll be transformed to be like
him. We shall see him as he is and
we shall be like him. I've thought much over the past
week since last weekend about what a blessed time we had, what
blessed services we enjoyed. The psalmist said, behold how
sweet and how blessed it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity. And I also thought of that day
that's coming. When we gather, all of us, we're
a little flock. We're a little flock here. Oh,
but there's a multitude. There's a multitude that's been
redeemed. There's a multitude that shall
be brought together around the throne of God and of the Lamb.
And the hymn writer said, only faintly now I see him. And that's
just a fact. That's just a fact. So much Mars are of you now. Only faintly now we see him. with the darkening veil between,
oh, but a blessed day is coming, quickly, when his glory shall
be seen. Again, in John's gospel, we're
told in chapter one of a day when Andrew stood with his teacher,
John the Baptist. Andrew stood with another disciple
whose name were not given, perhaps it was John. And at that moment, God in flesh walked by. God Almighty, made like unto
his brethren, walked by. And John says, boys, look, look. That's the Lamb of God. And Andrew
and the other disciples were told followed him. They're following
behind. And the Lord stops, turns. Whom seek ye, he asked. And they
said, Master, where do you dwell? Where do you dwell? And he said, Come and see. And
we're told they abode with him that day. And so shall we, John. So shall we. We're going to abide
with him that day, but It'll be a day that shall never, never
end. An endless day. An eternal day. A day where the sun shall never
go down, shall never set. An endless day with Him in glory.
Our Lord, before He went to the garden where He was betrayed, prayed as our great high priest
for all of His flock. He interceded for those he was
about to lay down his life for. And among the many things he
requested of his father for his sheep, he said, Father, I will
also, oh again here, the best for last, I will also that all
those whom thou has given me be with me where I am that they
may behold my glory. I want them with me, indeed,
indeed, It's not an exaggeration to say that he'll not be complete
without his sheep. The shepherd won't be satisfied
if his sheep are not with him. The head will not be complete
without the body there as well, every member. And he that spoke
those words in his prayer is the same one who declares this.
The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought,
so shall it come to pass. As I have purposed, so shall
it stand. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed,
and who shall disannul it? I like that. The Lord of hosts
hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? In his hand he hath
stretched out, and who shall turn it back? If the will of
the one who sits upon the throne is like himself, completely omnipotent,
who doesn't try to do something, who doesn't attempt to do something,
who doesn't hope to do something, but who does whatsoever his will,
if he wills it, That's all it takes. If he wills it, it's done. And he wills that all those God
entrusted into his mighty hands before the world was ever created,
if he wills them to be with him where he is, then it shall be
done. I ask you, if he wills this sinner
to be with him in glory, who's going to hold me back? Brother,
Lord, who's going to stop me? The devil? No. My own sinful,
depraved self? Oh no, oh no. Not if he wills
it. Indeed, as Paul wrote, who shall
separate us from the love of God? which is in Christ Jesus
shall persecution, shall distress, shall famine. Paul seems to take
in everything he can possibly imagine. Things present, things
past, things yet to come. And he says, I'm convinced, oh
God help us to be convinced, that nothing shall separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Looking again
at our text, just the first few words of it. In chapter 22, the
best for last. The best for last. And they shall
see his face. And I'll tell you what, I'm over
my head. I'm way over my head. Like those
birds you see that simply swimming over a lake, just skim down and
touch the water, then fly away. That's about the best I can hope
to do. Just skim the surface of this
blessed promise. But first of all, consider. Just
consider a few things. When we read this blessed word,
they shall see his face. My soul, who are they? Who are these people? Who are
these blessed ones that shall see his face? In chapter 6 of
this book, we read that some shall see his face and they'll
cry and pray to mountains and caves, fall on us, hide us from
his face. We don't want to stand before
him. But of these, they stand before
him basking in the glow of perfect acceptance. basking in the glow
of the perfect acceptance of the Son of God with Him. Turn back here in Revelation
to chapter 7. Who are they? They're described
here in one way in chapter 7 at verse 9. And after this I beheld, and
lo, a great multitude. Our Lord shall have a glorious
crown. which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and
people and tongues, they differ in that respect, stood before
the Lamb, stood rather before the throne and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes and palms in their hands." Yeah,
different nationalities, from different nations, different
kindreds, different people, but they have one thing in common.
They all have this in common, without exception. There's no
one there of that vast multitude standing before the throne that
are not a sinner saved by grace. Every one of them have that in
common. There's none there because of any merit or anything in themselves. They don't have anything that
they haven't received. Listen to their song. Listen
to how they sing in chapter 5. Chapter 5 here in Revelation.
They confess it. They're happy to confess it.
Who's worthy? Who's worthy? Who receives the
praise in heaven? And they sung a new song saying,
Thou art worthy, the lamb in the midst of the throne. Thou
art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof. Why?
Because thou was slain. And did what? Redeemed us to
God. Redeemed us to God. Now I know
in our day you hear preachers claim to speak for God and they
talk about His redemption, the success of it being contingent,
being dependent upon what man does with it in time. Oh, not
so. Not so. You'll not find that
in the Word of God. It always speaks of it as an
accomplished thing. He obtained eternal redemption
for us. You have redeemed us to God by
thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people. Again in chapter 7, and cry with
a loud voice saying, salvation to our God which set it upon
the throne and unto the Lamb. Those in glory. Every one of
that multitude of redeemed sinners sing the same song. Not unto
us, not unto us. Now down here we hear people
sing a mixture of us and God, me and God. God did his part
and I did mine. Not in glory. You won't hear
none of that nonsense in glory. Oh no, there'll be no dividing
of the praise and glory. It'll be not unto us, Not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. If you could ask any sinner,
any redeemed sinner there, standing before the throne of God, why
are you here? We read earlier, didn't we, that
they have a right. Man, how about that? You know
there are places that I'm not allowed to go. Can you imagine
that? I'm not a member. I don't have their credentials.
Until they opened the country club, the golf course here, to
the public, I wasn't allowed to go. They wouldn't let my kind
in, but then they opened the doors to everybody, even me. But here we read in Revelation
22, 14 that they have a right. Imagine that. They have a right
to enter in through the gates into the city. A right to do
that. Who gives them that right? Who
gives them that right? That one who loved them. and
gave himself for them. That one who purchased them,
who bought them with his own blood, that one to whom they
belong, that one gives them the right. Why are you here? By the grace of God, I am what
I am. Oh, every sinner around the throne
seems to want to outdo the other. They each seem to want to give
more praise and glory than the other. There stands one. Oh, what a sinner he was on earth.
They all were. But he seems to sing louder than
the rest. Ask him, why are you here? How did you come to be here?
I remember you. I heard of you. I read about
you. Oh, what a wretch you were. And he would say, I don't deny
it. Guilty, true. Well, then why are you here?
And he would say, here's the reason. Here's the reason. Amazing
grace. How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me. I once was lost, now am found. I was blind. John, like you taught
earlier, we all were. So blind. So blind. Oh, but God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the resurrection, the life, and the light that shineth in darkness
shined into our hearts. He shined into our hearts to
give the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Peter, you're a blessed man. You're a blessed man because
you know who I am. My Father which is in heaven
has revealed that to you. Again, who are they? It's true,
every one of them without exception are sinners saved by grace, by
nature children of wrath, even as others, but that's not all. That's not all. This multitude
before the throne of God are what the prophet spoke of when
he said, he shall see that is Christ. He shall see it to develop
his soul and shall be satisfied." Satisfied. Could he be satisfied
if one from whom he shed his blood perishes? How could he
ever be satisfied? That'll never be the case. Never
happen. Because he says, they're in my
hand and no man can pluck them out. I give them eternal life,
and they'll never gonna perish. They'll never perish. Father,
I will that they be with me where I am. He shall see it revealed
of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, many, a multitude. Why? For he shall bear their
iniquities. As he said, not long before he
went to Calvary, and trod the winepress alone. The hour has
come that the sun should be glorified. Except the corn of wheat falling
at the ground and dying, it abides alone. But if it's falling at
the ground and dying, it'll bring forth much fruit. Much fruit. It won't be for a maple. These
that see his face are the same ones, the same ones that God
purposed should see his face. They're his bride, they're his
church, his sheep, his elect. You see, their destination to
glory was a, watch out, this is a curse word in most churches
today, their destination to glory was a predestination. God purposed
to bring them to glory. He did so before the world was. He did it on purpose. Imagine
that. You mean God never has a new
idea? That's right. God never does
today what he didn't purpose to do before today? A lady came
to Spurgeon one time and said, I just don't know about this
being chosen to salvation. Mr. Spurgeon said, well, let
me ask you, when God saved you, did he save you or did you help
him save you? And she said, oh, no, Mr. Spurgeon.
Everyone knows God saves. He saved me. And he said, well,
let me ask you, if God saved you today, seeing that he's God
and he changes not, He must have purposed to save you before today,
and hence, hence, hence, before the foundation of the world.
Of course. Whom He did foreknow, He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. And
whom He did predestinate, them He also called, justified, glorified. Yes, they're all brought there.
by the purpose of the grace of God. Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2. You know this and we could read
it or rather quote it, but let's look at it. All this time, against
this background that the apostle speaks these words, it was a
background of religious darkness. When the whole world seems to
embrace the lie, When they refuse to believe the truth. When you
preach the gospel and they look at you like you're from Mars. Like the day we live in. But
Paul says, that's not all. That's not all. Even so, that
so, he says, verse 13, chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians, but We're
bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord. Why, Paul? Because God has from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. God chose them to salvation. And the Son redeemed those God
chose. And the Holy Spirit quickens
all those that were chosen by the Father and redeemed by the
Son. And they're all kept by the power
of God until every one of them appeareth in Zion before God. That's who they are. And that
brings us to the second thing. the sure and certain certainty
of this blessing, they shall see his face. I like God's shells,
don't you? Don't you? They're so much more
comforting, so much more pleasant to my heart. to hear what God
shall do than what man might do. No, it's not dependent upon
man's feeble will but God's sovereign will. All the certainty of it,
it doesn't read they might see His face, they shall see His
face. Despite indwelling sin. Every one of them, every one
of them, Know what it means to cry with the apostle, oh wretched
man that I am. Why am I like this? Something's wrong with me. That's
what Paul said. Paul said, this is not how I
used to be. This is how I am right now. The
things that I want to do, I can't. The things that I don't want
to do, I find myself doing. There's something in me. There's
like a magnet in me drawing me. Oh, wretched man that I am. We
all know that battle, don't we? But despite that, despite the
world and the devil, despite the trials and the difficulty
along the way, despite the fact that we, me especially, fall
and fail, we're told it won't change this, they shall see his
face. They shall see his face. Consider
the reverse of that. What if they didn't? Joe, what
if they didn't? What if even one, if even one
God chose, even one, that the Son redeemed and the Spirit called,
even one should fail to see His face. What would that mean? It would
mean that the Son of God died for nothing. It would mean that
the purpose of God was set at naught. That can never be. That can never be. It will be
the boast. I love this verse. I love it.
Here's the captain of our salvation. Here's the great shepherd of
the sheep. He brings around the throne of his father and our
father, and his God and our God, this multitude of redeemed sinners. John couldn't count them. John
said, I'll tell you what, they're a number that no man can number.
And there they are, every one of them. Oh, thousands and thousands
and hundreds of thousands. And the great shepherd of the
sheep stands at the forefront and he says, Father, here they
are. Here they are. Here I am. And all those you've given me,
I've lost none. Glory to His name. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Worthy is the Lamb they sing,
is it any wonder? Blessed be His name. God leads
by His grace. He leads His dear children along,
and yes, yes, through water and flood and fire, but all through
the blood until that day, they're all gathered with him around
the throne and they behold his face. And that's our last point.
The best of all, the last of all, the greatest wonder of all,
they shall see. Job said, in that day I shall
see him for myself. Mine own eyes shall behold him. This word see, I think, of course
it means literally, but I think it means more. We'll comprehend. We'll know even as we are known.
We'll appreciate in a way that we just can't now. It's not possible
now because now we see through a glass dark. Now we don't have
perfect vision. Now we just don't see Jesus only
as Peter, James, and John did on the mount. Now there are so
many other things that attract our attention that consume so
much of our time. Oh, but not then. And not only that, now we don't
have the opportunity. Because we walk by faith, not
by sight. Peter said, whom having not seen,
yet ye love. Oh, but then, then, this time
our text speaks of, we'll have both the opportunity and the
ability. And what shall that perfect ability
to see, to perceive, to know, to appreciate, to look to, what
shall it look to? What shall we behold with that
perfect, undimmed, unclouded vision? His face. His face. Nothing between. It doesn't take much. It doesn't
seem to take much for this heart of mine to allow to come between
me and my Savior. Doesn't take much. A little of
this world, a little glitter, But not then. Not then, John. Then there'll be nothing between
my soul and my Savior. Nothing. So that His blessed
face may be seen. Brother, sister in Christ, we
shall see Him of whom it was said, as John has been teaching,
We'll see him of whom the angel said, call his name Jesus. He shall save his people from
their sins. Him who said, I come to do thy
will, O God. We'll see him who prayed until
great drops of blood fell from his brow. Father, if it's possible,
let this cup pass from me. We'll see him. who said, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? We shall see his face. Jesus,
Savior, Master, let heaven and earth proclaim. Kings and kingdoms
shall all pass away, but there's something about that name. I told you I'm in over my head. Imagine looking into those eyes
that first looked to you when you were lost and helpless and
hopeless. None I pitied you to do any of
these unto you, to have compassion upon you, but thou was cast out
in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the day that
thou was born. I was born dead in trespasses
and sins, and that's where I would yet be. except for this, except
for this. My Savior speaks and he says,
and when I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own
blood, I said unto thee when thou was in thine own blood,
live, live. Larry, Chris, you belong to me. Live. My Father gave you to me. before we ever created the world. Live. He entrusted you into my
hands. I'm your surety. Live. I'll lay
down my life for you. I want you with me where I am. Imagine that. Live. When thou was in thine own blood,
I sat under thee. Imagine hearing that same voice
who said, it is finished. Hearing him speak to you, welcome home. Surely I'm coming and I'm coming
quickly. Welcome home. Welcome to the
Father's house. Enter into the joy prepared for
you from the foundation of the world. Brothers and sisters, bowing
at the feet of that one who walked in perfect obedience every step
of his life, honoring God his Father, and ascending to Calvary
and was nailed to the cross for you. Oh, what wondrous grace.
I know you've heard the story. Mr. Newton, John Newton, wrote,
when I get to heaven, I expect to be surprised by three things.
First, I'll be surprised to see some folks there that I really
didn't expect to see there. And he said, I'll be surprised
not to see some folks there that I thought I would. But he said,
most of all, I'll be most surprised that old John Newton is there.
And I'll be most surprised, Joe, That old Larry Chris is there.
A trophy of His grace. What a day that will be when
my Jesus I shall see and I'll look upon the face of the one
who saved me by His grace. And He takes me by the hand and
leads me through the promised land. What a day, glorious day
that will be. Let me close with this. Now unto
Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you
faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
to the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion
and power both now and forever. Amen. Amen. God bless you.