Number 40, and I can't help but think that somebody needs some encouragement this morning. As God has set this service up, He does that. He uses us. Sometimes we do our own thing and He writes our course and gets us back on. Sometimes He works, not because of us, but in spite of us. It's like, man, I did good that time. Be careful there. Likewise for me, I can get up here and You know, I might say something that really, you know, just sounds good, and I might pat myself for it. Man, God, you did, you gave me some good words there. But I can't forget, God gave the word. I've never said anything but echo what he's already said. Anything of worth, that is. And so this morning, number 40, not I but Christ, you were made for more. You were made for more. And I want to ask you some questions as we go. If you want to turn in your Bible to the very last two pages, you're going to be where we need to be. Revelation chapter 21 and 22, last couple pages in your Bible. Turn to the back of your book. You'll find it. You'll find it. Do you long for more in your life? Do you long for more? Do you ever want to extend those moments in worship? when you're pouring out all you've got and it seems that all else fades and you feel like you could be no closer to Him unless you could reach out and just grab a hold of Him. It feels almost as if you could reach out. Some of you that may sound familiar, it may sound crazy, it may sound strange, but I'm telling you it happened for some this morning. It happened in this room. Don't you ever just want to wish that you wouldn't have to go back to life as usual with the mundane, with the disappointments, the hurts, the frustrations, the accidents, the injuries? How about the futility of doing? Do to do again. Cut grass to have to turn around and cut it again. Fortunately, I love cutting grass, but some of you don't. Get your hair cut, you have to get it cut again. Lose your hair, can't get it back. You ever wish the joy you have when you see someone set free from sin and saved? The joy that you have in that moment, the celebration that takes place would not be short-lived. Do you think on eternity? Do you think on eternity? See, we all do, whether we realize it or not is a different matter, but someday some of you, you're thinking on eternity in this way. Someday I'll have life as I ought to have it. Someday I'll have my dream job. Someday I'll have the dream home. Someday I will be healthy. I'll get over this chapter in my life. Truth is, This is a hard truth. The only way you and I are going to live our best life now is if we're going to hell. Let me say that again. The only way that you are going to live your best life now is if you're going to hell. What do I mean? We were made for more. There exists attention for Christian people, for the follower of Jesus Christ. Some people like to call it the already not yet, and I love that. Because if you examine your life right now and you love Jesus and you want to follow Him and you want Him to have your life and yet you experience, as we all do, the struggle to give it up, to hand it over, you experience this tension of this already reality of being saved and being set free and having a home in heaven beyond you, and yet this not yet, that you still have to live in this life, in this body, with these flaws, with the temptations, with the sin, with the aggravation, with the frustrations, the setbacks, that's the not yet of you and your life, Christian. There's this already experience and we are so grateful for it. It's the reason why there were folks jumping out of their seats this morning on the edge of their seat. I've got to say something. And we talk about personalities as it were. And the truth is, these people were just being honest. That's the thing. Drop the personality altogether. Will you just be honest? That's the idea. If we would just be honest. And some of us got uncomfortable. I can't, oh man, here it goes again. It's going to get out of control. You know what? Some of you, some of you need it. Some of you need that discomfort. You're not in a healthy church if you're always comfortable. I just want to give you some word of advice. You're not hearing from a faithful preacher if you're always comfortable and you always leave. Deceived, thinking you're okay in your relationship as it should be with God. Life is good, amen? But it's not without God. problems. It's not without suffering. It's not without disappointment. It's good. Matter of fact, for the Christian, it's great. But the realization is it's not yet glorious. We're far from that. We are. It's not yet glorious. It's not yet what it could be. We were made for more. And I want to go there today with you. We were made for more. God has placed eternity in the heart of every man, every woman, every child. There's this longing for more in your heart, in your life. This dissatisfaction, this awaking in the middle of night, wondering if this is all there is. You were made for more. And I don't know about you, but I'm excited about heaven. I'm excited to someday get to experience what that consists of. And I want to caution you and me, an in-depth study, and this is kind of some pastoral advice. I feel odd saying that. Never did I think I would be giving pastoral advice. You all think that's what he does, but man, I was far from that before I met Jesus. But an in-depth study of heaven and hell shouldn't be viewed as an end in itself. If you're studying these things which are of God and in his book, and we're taught that we need to get a grip on the entire story. Paul says to preach the whole council. It means that everything in this book is important, because it is God's Word. It's revealed to us, and it's not like we can say, well, Jesus said that, so it's more important. It's not like we can say it's in red letters, so it's more important. False. It's all God's Word. If it's only the red letters, then you and I run into trouble. Because how can you believe that but not that? And if you can't believe that but you believe that, how is it consistent? And how is there a God? And it all falls apart. So there is a consistency. But an in-depth study should not be seen as an end to itself. It should, I think, rightly, naturally, the way God would intend, is that you and I would draw the connection to mission. Draw a connection to a realistic future hope. and to live in light of it right now, to be encouraged by this future reality. And if you don't make that connection, if you don't draw the line to application, to living in light of this now, I think you missed the mark. I think we missed the mark. I think it does us no good to know as much as we can know and lack a real relationship. A real living relationship with a God who reveals himself in a man named Jesus to us in the flesh. And sometimes you can almost hear the faint steps of sandaled feet if you're listening. Because he is revealing himself to you. The Holy Spirit is speaking. Are you listening? This ought to motivate mission, not stifle it, not derail it. This ought to encourage us to accomplish why we're here, not distract from the reason we're still here and that heaven is not a present reality for you and me. I'll say it this way to simplify for us today. We were made for more. Eternity is motivation in the mundane. It's motivation in ministry and in misery. It's motivation for mission. It's not really afterlife, it's eternal life. It's not merely afterlife, it is life. It's life to the fullest. And I want to encourage you. I want God to encourage us this morning because I know we need it. Revelation chapter 21. But I first want to read this to you. Revelation 1 3 says this. This is how I know we need encouragement this morning. Hear this. Revelation 1 3 says, blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear and keep what is written in it for the time is near. The very reading of these words, the very hearing and the obeying of these words are that to encourage you. To remind you that you were made for more. This is not it. Don't get too comfortable. Don't get too satisfied. If you're satisfied, there is a problem. Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 and 2 says this also, if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. I don't know about you, but I'm caught up. in the things of this earth, and how are we to think on the things that we can't yet see, we can't yet attain, we can't yet grab a hold of? I don't know, but there's some possibility, or else it would not be stated here, that we are to do that. It means that with God, a relationship with God, an empowered life following Christ, it is possible for you to live in this life and yet looking and longing for something more. and being motivated that there is more to offer than what we have in this current thing we call life. I love it. 1 Thessalonians 4.18 says this, Therefore encourage one another with these words. Encourage one another with these words. He's speaking about the return of Christ. Encourage one another. How often do we remind each other that Jesus is coming. He is coming. They've always been saying that because it's true. And I'm not going to stop saying it. And shame on you. Believe He's coming. He came for you. He set you free. And He will come to redeem His own. He will bring them home. And He will make a home among them. Let's read together and be encouraged. John is speaking here. The one Jesus loved is the way he describes himself. The one Jesus loved. I hope you can say that about yourself this morning. The one Jesus loved wrote this, in Jesus himself via an angel. Yeah, that's getting out there, isn't it? An angel shared these words directly from Jesus to John, and now he shares them with us, and he says this, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. What I'm about to say in just a moment is absolutely amazing beyond comprehension. My vocabulary this morning will not cut it. And I could be wrong, let's put it this way, I could be wrong in my conclusions. But let me give you this, they are drawn from Scripture. I want to remind you that this is not me making this up. I'm taking you to the words that He has spoken. His word's not wrong, I could be. And the amazing thing is, is there's so much discussion surrounding this last book of the Bible. Because there is so much that we can't quite know until it becomes a reality. And there's so much symbolism, right? But you know what? If there is some symbolism in what we're about to read and what we're about to see, believe this, the truth, the reality of that symbolism is never less in its greatness. It's always greater than the symbolism. It's always better. And in this way, my Wedding ring is an amazing symbol of actual reality, is it not? And so what we're about to read can be simultaneously symbolic and yet absolutely literal. And most of us don't see that, most of us don't realize that, most of us are discouraged to even tackle the book of Revelation because it's just so out there. But let me remind you just as real as this wedding ring is a symbol. It symbolizes. My commitment. My devotion to my wife. And so does this. Look that we're about to dive into. It's encouraging you, it's encouraging me. Because blessed is anyone who reads it. I want to answer some questions for us this morning. The first question is this, where am I going to live for eternity? Are you interested? Where am I going to live for eternity? You see, some of us are not looking forward to heaven because the idea of heaven, in our minds, is what this world has cracked it up to be, the kind where we've seen in Hallmark cards and in storybooks. Do I really want to play the harp? Do I really want to join the choir? I never liked the choir. The baby and the diaper and Cupid. I don't know about you, but I don't want to go there. That's not for me. And if that's your idea, that's the reason you're not excited. You misunderstand. Life right now is better than that. There's a disconnect. There's a problem here if that's your idea. And it's oftentimes the result of ignorance. We simply have not seen what God has said. We've not made his word available to us. You and I weren't made for the heaven dreamt up by our society. The clouds, the harps, the choir, the cupid. But we were made for a new, perfected earth. Get this. I saw a new heavens and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven. Coming down. You see, in our lifetime, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, I believe it is verse 17, reveals to us that when we get saved, we become a new creation. I don't know about you though, but I had the same body. Unfortunately, I was disappointed when I became a new creation. That when I went back to the mirror, I looked the same. And I sound the same. And I'm still graying at 28 years old and it started at 16. Some of you want me to color it. I refuse. I refuse. I'm going gray gracefully. Mark, you and me, buddy. And those of you in my company. But the idea here is that it's not this disembodied floating in the clouds, this this idea of spirits and ghosts and this Intangible. It's real, folks. This earth, believe it or not, you and me, we were made for earth. We were made for earth. God did not mess up. His original plan was a perfected earth. This idea that heaven will become our home. Heaven will come down. And this earth will be perfected and there will be a new city, a new city. And I love this. It gets me so hyped up because before I came to realize this, I was with you, heaven. I'm not so sure, but God's so good. How can this be? It's got to be better than that. So I got my nose in the book and I found out it most definitely is. If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. We were made for a new perfected earth. Matter of fact, if you look back in Romans chapter eight, it says that along with you, the earth has been groaning. It's been groaning because it's not as it should be. Hurricanes, tornadoes, natural disaster floods, all that stuff is not as it ought to be. It's a sin cursed world. And you and I, no wonder when we look around and say, Is there more? Most definitely. You were made for more. A new city. And it says, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Can you imagine the beauty of this moment? I've never been to a wedding where everyone was not captivated by the bride as she enters. And I'm telling you, that's this moment. The imagery here is that it's going to be so beautiful. Everyone's attention is not on the phone, is not on the neighbor, is not on tomorrow, next week. It's on the bride. It's on the beauty. It's on what's becoming reality. And I'm telling you, it's exciting. Who am I going to be? And who am I going to be with for eternity? You see in verses 2 and 3, he says this, I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, I don't know about you, but it's not. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they'll be his people. And God himself will be with them as their God. Oh my goodness, no, He made this loud thundering reality, this statement that God, behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear. Be reminded of this, folks. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, nor the former things. They've all passed away. So who am I going to be and who am I going to be with for eternity? Verse 3 right there I believe sums up the entire Bible. What do you mean? The entire point of life, the Bible, Jesus, all of it is right here in verse 3. The dwelling place of God is with man. God among us, not just inside of us, but also outside of us, this reality that we can see Him, that we can see Him face to face, as we'll see. God Himself. So this reality, I think the whole Bible is about real relationships with Jesus and real relationships with others. Not this phony, not this surface, not this dishonest, not this reserved, but this real relationship. An authentic relationship with Jesus. And as a result of that, an authentic, real, unreserved relationship with people. Just as you're intimate with your wife, you'll be so with your brother, with your sister, with your friends, with what you thought once was enemies. This intimacy, this reality. Wow, are you not encouraged by that? To be known as you are. And to be willing to be known and not hesitate and to know others and not to wonder and worry about what they might find. And you know the life that you live and you know what that means for you right now. So hear that encouragement. And our bodies, our bodies. Get this, in Philippians chapter 3 verse 20 and 21 it says, our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Jesus had a human body. He resurrected. He became a perfect human body. And so, yes, you will retain your perfect human body if He is the standard by which we measure our glorious bodies. How do we know that? Because He ate among them. He said, feed me some fish. I want some fish. I like fish. Let's eat some fish. You like fish? We'll eat fish. He's a human. Perfected. Guys, your body, as bad as you may hate it now, it will be as it could be, as it should be into eternity. You can run, you can walk, you can play, you can jump, maybe fly, I don't know. But your body, your human body, there's so many unanswered questions we have here, but we do know this much. It's not that you will cease to exist as a human, but your humanity will become as it ought to be. You want to know what it's really like to be human? Look to Jesus. He is humanity and yet fully God. The mystery is incredible and it creates this angst, this excitement for us to become like Him. Become like Him. Wow, I can't wait. These relationships. that we will engage in, just as we do now, but so, so, so deeper, so, so, so much better. I'll be reunited with my dad, who I've now lived half my life without, and the people I've yet to meet. My grandpa's dad and his dad and all the aborted babies. And all the ones that I, my heritage, my future, that I may, in this life, I may go tomorrow, and then my son, my sons, their sons, I don't know what the future holds, but there will be a reunion in relationships as they ought to be. And there's no boredom. But how could we? How? How? Eternity. Surely there's our mind just cannot wrap around this. Surely that will run out of things to do. No. No, it's it's enduring exploration, continuous discovery. You won't tap the depths of our life for eternity. Do you think about this? Are you encouraged by this that you were made for more? How will I feel? How will I feel? Well, you see here, it says He'll wipe away every tear. It says that death will be no more, neither shall there be mourning or crying. You see, this heaven, this perfected earth, is an earth of no mores. No more! See, we think about what will be, but there's also this reality of what won't be. And that in itself on the other side of the coin is so encouraging, what there won't be in heaven. There'll be extreme joy, happiness, relationships to their greatest extent, absolutely, but no more death, no more grief, no more of this. What will happen is that there will be a loss of loss. There will be a death to death in itself. There will be a relationship. As I said, there'll be no more temptation, no more sin, no more cancer, no more victims, no more shame, no more drama, no more chaos, no more tragedy or anger or regret. No more. Could we not just close the book there and say, man, no more of this. That's good. That's great. That is glorious. That's amazing. Extreme joy. Extreme happiness. Some of you don't know what it means to be extreme. And some of you are extreme about all the wrong things. But I'm telling you right now this is going to be extreme in all the right places. Why won't everyone though get to enjoy this? And this is the urgency. The urgency of this matter. This is where the connection is drawn. Where we can't disconnect this from the reality in which we live right now. He goes on to say, He was seated on the throne and said, Behold, I am making all things new again. I don't know about you, but I like new. Also he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me, It is done. Does that sound familiar? I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I'll give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage. And I'll be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, as for the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all the liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." So we get this beautiful display of our forever home. But we also get this contrast, this undeniable, this horrific image of a reality that will be just the same as it is for those whom heaven is their home. And notice we get a list of people who practice these sins, these provocative things. But get this, it's not just the behaviors. It's whom these people find their identity in. And oftentimes those who are in those positions, those who are murderers, those who are promiscuous, those who are liars, they are consumed by those very things. And it's not the behaviors in themselves that get them to hell. It's the heart. It's the reality of the lack of forgiveness, the lack of payment that they have received for their sin. And so they have received what they have labored for. And the only way that they could ever even have a moment's chance to escape this reality is if now, as you hear my voice, You, find yourself in that description. Find yourself in those horrifying terms, those adjectives, those descriptive terms, because that is you without Christ. And the only way that you will experience this heaven, this home, is if you turn from those behaviors, not the behaviors in themselves, but the heart that generates those behaviors, and you will turn to Christ and give Him your life. Believe. Believe in Him and He will take you. He will welcome you as His own. There's not anyone in this room. There's an exception. His grace is made available to every single person in this room, no matter how big, no matter how small. And the behaviors will take care of themselves in time. In time. Don't worry. Trust Christ with your life and your eternal life. Trust Him and heaven is your home. Why won't everyone enjoy eternity with Jesus? We find in Genesis chapter 3, we don't have time to go there. In verse 22, sin will not endure in heaven. You see, there's this. This choice that was made about sin, rebellion. And we've all inherited it and we've also chosen it. We've chosen death. Until Christ interrupts your path, your life, your your choices, any. He comes in and He does the work that you couldn't do on your own. But the reality is here, even back as far as Genesis, that decision was made to sin. And if Jesus allows sin in this moment when they eat of the tree of life, Sin would, in fact, endure forever if they would have had that choice to eat of the tree. And they do not. Because if there is no death, then there is no sacrifice for sin. If there is no human death, there is no Jesus death. There is no hope and there is hell on earth. There is continual life as we know it, if not worse, and pervasive because there is no sacrifice and no hope. You read on, verses 9 through 14, it talks about the bride of Jesus as a city. Then 15 through 21, it talks about New Jerusalem, the capital city of the new earth. And then we find out, how will we live for all of eternity? In verses 22 to 27, I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light the nations will walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. And its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. They will bring to it glory and honor and honor of the nations, but nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life." We get this idea of safety. There is safety. No one will enter to create harm to anyone. There will be no lack of safety. And we see here, back in the Old Testament, kings, in Solomon's day, kings from all around brought their gifts. They brought their talents. They brought the best of the best. And so I believe, I believe that in this future eternity, in this perfected earth, just as we have all these technological advancements, whether it's aircrafts, whether it's our internet. We could go on and on. The beautiful things that man has been capable of because of God's grace. We will bring all of these things just as the Kings brought all of this to Solomon. We will get the opportunity. All of our things our greatness that we have accomplished because of God's grace. We will bring these things to the feet of Jesus and we will lay them at his feet and we will say thank you for allowing us to be able to accomplish this. We lay it at your feet. It's for your kingdom. Use it to continue to spread your kingdom and I believe wholeheartedly With this, this means for us that there will continue to be recreation. There will continue to be culture. There will continue to be music and art and food and drink. And we will continue to cultivate a community. And we will continue to be enlightened. and enriched and unlike when I look among this crowd of people where we all have the same skin color for the most part. We will realize the complexity. There will be no racial injustice. There will be no reservations to be among those who are unlike us. We will be enriched and we will invite that. And the city will become even more so beautiful because we're working together. There'll be commerce, there will be trade, there may even be shopping. There may be, we do not know. And yet there will be activity. We see that. We see that here. And to close this out, what do I have to look forward to most? Then the angel showed me, verse chapter 22, the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, through the middle of the street of the city, also on either side of the river, the tree of life, with its 12 kinds of fruit, yielding fruit for each month, the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. How many of you guys love the city? How many of you guys love the big city? Anyone? Okay, well. It's a good thing, because right here we have this beautiful garden city. You get the best of both worlds, believe it or not. We hilltop people here are hillbillies. We love the country, and I think we see here this garden city, this blend, this mix for you hillbillies who want to be in a heaven with country, but then you city folk who want to enjoy the city. You get the best of both worlds. You do. It's going to be a blend. It's going to be harmonious. It's going to be awesome. You get this rural city with a garden. A garden city. Is that not awesome? Yeah, we get both. So you can have your crops and right next to that you can have your Starbucks. No, you can't because Starbucks is not that great. I'm sorry, I know how much you think of Starbucks. Kelly back there is going, oh no, no. I'll enlighten you, I will. An eternal garden city. But this is not it. That sounds good. But it says, no longer will there be anything accursed. Verse 4, they will see His face and His name will be on their foreheads and the night will be no more. There will be no need of light or lamp or sun for God will be their light and they will reign forever and ever. This is not the idea that we're going to be tatted up with Jesus Christ across our foreheads. No, this is the idea that Jesus will always be on your mind. We wish that were true right now. I know you wish that to be true, but it's simply not because you get the already not yet tension and it's happening for you. It's happening for me. But they'll come a day when Jesus's name. Is all you think about. And that is not how that is not somehow disruptive to your plans. It's not somehow. Quenching. Your potential, if anything, it is your potential. It is the thrust. It is the motivation to live throughout eternity. What do you need to do now? Let's throw a party, right? But this is the not yet. What about right here, right now? If you finish out the book, and I encourage you to do that, Go home and read the last chapter of Revelation. He states this, basically. Obey Jesus. Right now. Don't wait. Obey Jesus. If you're serving Him, keep it up. Don't lose sight. It's worth it. If you don't know Him this morning, obey His call to repent and place your faith in Him. Surrender your heart to Him. Ask Him to forgive you. Death and resurrection will become your death and your resurrection. It's your only hope. He closes out the entire Bible with this charge. Get busy for my kingdom is coming. And he closes it out saying, he who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. Come Lord Jesus, but there is work to be done because if anyone is going to experience this eternal place, this amazing home forever, it will not happen apart from trusting in Christ, apart from faith in His righteousness credited to your account. And I tell you this morning, you don't have hope unless you have Him. Don't walk out of here this morning thinking this is some phony pipe dream. No, this is reality. This will be our eternity. Or yours will be in the lake of fire. There are only two eternal destinations. Would you pray with me? Father, you taught us while Jesus was here, how to pray. And I remember you said, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And I believe this is a future, this is an illusion to a future reality. And it's motivating our faithfulness now. Because as Christian people in this room, led by the Spirit of God, We become instruments of God's kingdom crashing into this old earth. We're instruments in your hand bringing about this already taste of what's to come. You said I'm coming soon and I believe you. And I know there are a bunch of people in this room that believe you too. But I pray for those who don't. God, in this moment, they'll quit playing games. Or maybe it's the first time they've heard this truth, that Christ came to die for sinners. I pray that they will lay their life down, receive your life, receive your death, receive your resurrection, and find forgiveness that they've been longing for. and find hope for now and forever. Your time of response is now. Whether it's celebrating the future reality, whether it's being reminded, whether it's being encouraged, whether it's coming forward and kneeling and just sobbing and giving it back to the one who owns it all. Your pain, your success, and everything in between. Remember, when you fix your mind on heaven and see this present life in light of eternity, even the little choices become tremendously important. After death, we'll never have another chance to share Christ with one who can be saved from hell. To give a cup of water to the thirsty. To be able to invest money to help the helpless and reach the lost. Or to share our homes, our clothes in love. with the poor and needy, said a pastor named Randy Alcorn. You gotta have your way, in Jesus' name.