Take your Bibles this evening, and we're going to start you in 1 Corinthians 15. When you go to different locations, especially when you travel outside of the United States, but when you go to places like Hawaii, which is part of the United States, which is what some people forget, but it is part of the United States. You try and figure out what you're supposed to dress like. What's the norm for the culture? And there have been different places that we have been and others have been that we've known of. And so sometimes you go there and you purchase items that you would probably never purchase in the United States. But you wear them because that is a normal part of the culture. Grace came back from Indonesia a couple years ago. She brought me a gift back, and I have not worn it in this culture. And you go, I wonder why. It's a hat that looks like this. And it's not quite the right size, but you know, you wear this in formal occasions in Indonesia. Along with other shirts kind of a white shirt with an open collar if I remember correctly and everything else and so you wear This on formal occasions. This is not something that you would wear normally out in public But it's a fancier hat and so you would wear this kind of thing if you're a man over in that culture and there are a number of things as far as the ladies that you have to wear when you go over there and There's other cultures that you go to, and there are certain things that you wear, and it's the result of showing respect for the place that you're going to. And when we went over to Israel, there are certain places that they tell you you must wear a covering of some kind. And so you can wear a ball cap or that type of thing, but in order for you to fit into the natives, you go and buy something that looks like something that they wear. And so you have this thing that people would call a, it's properly called a kippah, but others would call it a yarmulke. and you put this on the back of your head, and you wear this, and if you wear it properly, you can barely tell that it's there. No one can see it until they look at the back of your head. And I even have a bobby pin to attach it to my hair, which is probably the only occasion I've ever worn a bobby pin of any kind in my life. But that is there, and you would go into the temple complex or places like that. that they have there, the Western Wall, or perhaps there was an evening meal and you would wear your kippah to a meeting like that. So you have kippahs that are worn in some cultures. Nowadays, if you go almost anywhere, you wonder if the fashion statement is one of these. And that is kind of the standard thing to go, am I going to fit in because they require me to wear this or I'm not having to? And I think that's kind of our unconscious thing when we walk in any door nowadays is just kind of look to see if there's any sign that is, you know, hidden away that says I have to and you kind of ignore it because you didn't see it and whatever else. But, you know, that's kind of what we do in our culture. You'll look at these things and you go, well, what am I supposed to wear? Am I supposed to go mask or no mask? What's the event today? And where am I going that might require these things? And so it is, when we get to heaven, we kind of wonder what we as individuals and people will look like. Because we're gonna look like that for millions and millions of years. And so you kind of wonder, what am I going to be like and what is everyone else going to be like? And what I want to do this evening in our series of just kind of going through and talking through as a traveler's guide to heaven, I want to talk about what we're going to be like when we get to glory. One theological statement that you may wanna write down that goes along with all of this that is probably one of the best statements of what we're going to be like is found in 1 John 3. 1 John 3, one starts this way, and you can turn there if you want to, but we're coming back to 1 Corinthians 15. It says this, behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew not him. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Now the challenge of that is that one day we're going to be like Christ and see him as he is and be like him. The challenge presently is this, and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure, that we live lives that match up to the Son of God as we go through this life. Because one day we will be like him. But 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is a passage that we had you turn to and kind of gives us the other theological bearing passage on what we're going to be like in our bodies. You know, if we were to die presently, we would go to heaven and it would be our soul and spirit that would go to heaven. And you say, how does it function up there? It seems that people are identifiable up there in some way, shape or form, because people can identify Abraham and Lazarus and others that are already in heaven, but they don't have their bodies. But our body is not able to actually go into the presence of God because no person has seen God at any time and lived. And you go, why is that? Well, because our body has been cursed by sin. It's been marred and it is the major portion of our personality that falls into sin, that draws us into sin. It's our own flesh. In our flesh, our body is not fit for heaven. We couldn't go there the way we are right now. And we wouldn't wanna go there the way we are right now. But the Apostle Paul in his passage is dealing with the resurrection and that the resurrection did occur and it did happen. And if we don't have a resurrection, then all of us are most hopeless because we've lived our life looking for that blessed hope. And if it's not there, then we've lived a life for nothing. But in the whole process of talking about the resurrection and what it's like, he then begins to talk about what it's like when the dead is raised up. What's that raised up body like? In 1 Corinthians 15, you get to verse 35. The Apostle Paul makes a statement, but some man will say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Because there were still people in the congregation there at Corinth that didn't believe, they had a Greek worldview, and they didn't believe in the bodily resurrection. And so there would have been individuals mocking the Apostle Paul. What kind of body do people rise from the dead with? Their body that comes up out of the ground. And Paul's response is first this, thou fool. Why thou fool? Well, because across the scriptures, it indicates that we will have a body that rises from the dead. So it's a person who's not really paid attention to all the scripture, but he says this, thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, not made alive, except it die. And that which thou sowest, you put into the ground with seed, sowest not that body that shall be but bare grain, that body that shall be, but bare grain. It may chance of wheat or some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him and to every seed his own body. And so he just simply talks about this. When you take a grain and drop it into the ground, it doesn't come back exactly the same way you put it in the ground. It's the still, you'd say that's the grain, but it's now grown into something that is different. Different type, different material that is made. And so God says this, the person that you put into the ground, when they rise again from the dead, it's going to be a different kind of body. It's gonna be the same person, same material, but it's going to be a different. And then it says this in verse 39, all flesh is not the same flesh, but there's one kind of flesh of men, another kind of beast, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial. The glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the terrestrial is another. Basically he's saying you go throughout the world and you see different animals, and then you see different things that are glorious in heavens, and you see different bodies of material that are on the earth. There's all sorts of different types of body. So, verse 42, so also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, means it's falling apart. It's raised in incorruption, never to fall apart again. It's sown in dishonor, but it's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It's sown a natural body. It's raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam was made a quickening spirit, a making alive spirit. How be it that was not first, which is spiritual, but that which is natural. As we're saying, we go through this body right now that falls apart, this natural body, but afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. I mean, what's the pattern we're gonna follow? It's the Lord from heaven's body when it comes to the second thing. And verse 48, it says this, as is the earthy, such are they are earthy, and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. And then this statement, now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. That there's something that has to happen to our bodies for us to be fit for glory. Something has to change. As we go through the scripture, You say, well, is there any indicator what it's like for a body to change from an earthy body to a body that is fit for glory, fit for heaven? And there's one example of it. You say, who's that? The Lord Jesus Christ. Because Lord Jesus Christ, when he was risen from the dead, was the firstfruits of them, as it describes it, them that are asleep. And we said those that have been buried and put into the ground, those that are asleep. If he's the firstfruits, there's more coming like him. There'll be others that are raised from the dead with a body like unto his. And so for us to kind of get a picture of what it might be like for our new body, we just kind of need to look at what is the description, not so much all the details of all the events when Jesus rose from the dead, but there are some details that you see about the resurrection body that Jesus has. I want us to turn back to Luke chapter 24. We're gonna look at two gospel accounts. Luke 24 gives a major portion of details about some of the speaking and the events that Jesus had after he rose from the dead. When he rose from the dead, it was known that he was risen. We don't have the one account of it, but I will say this, that Mary Magdalene that had been a follower of Jesus Christ, though it may have been because she was in tears when Christ initially came up behind her and spoke and she turned, she did not recognize Him immediately. Which would indicate perhaps some physical change, though the person is still identifiable as who they were before. When she heard the voice, then she knew it was the Lord. But you have the story in Luke chapter 24 of these men walking along on the road to Emmaus. And in verse 15, these two men are talking about everything that's happened, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, his burial. In verse number 15, it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But in this case, their eyes were holding that they should not know him. And he said unto them, what manner of communications are these that you have one another as you walk and are so sad? And so these two individuals, one of them, Cleopas, goes through and basically says, do you not understand what has happened in Jerusalem these past couple of days? It's like you turned off your internet and didn't know what was going on. You have no idea what's going on. How could you not do that? Well, let's talk through this. And so they begin to tell him of Jesus and Nazareth and everything that went on with this. And verse 25, Jesus says unto them, O fools, kind of the same terminology that Paul used for those people that didn't understand the resurrection body and the possibility of it. O fools and slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And so what the Lord did is he began at Moses and the prophets. He expounded all them and the scriptures, the things concerning himself. And you find out that they constrain him because it's evening to tarry with them. And so in verse 30, it came to pass as he sat at meat with them, he took bread and blessed it and break it and gave to them. And it's immediately that point that it's not because Jesus was unrecognizable, there did seem to be some holding of their attention that it's in that instant when they hear the voice and they hear the prayer, they immediately recognize who it is, but Jesus is immediately taken from their sight. He vanishes, okay? So you go, is that a possibility for us? And there's a lot of debate about this. Will we have the ability to do things like this? Because you go, this is kind of a miraculous thing. Can our body actually do those type of things? Or is this just a miracle of the Lord because he's God? You read, as it goes on, Verse 36, and thus spake Jesus. He comes into the middle of where the disciples are at. And thus as they spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said unto them, peace be unto you. They were terrified and affrighted and supposed that they had seen a spirit. He said unto them, why are you troubled? And why do thy thoughts arise in your heart? Behold my hands and my feet. That is, I myself, handle me and see. For a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have. So here you're talking about an individual who has flesh and bone. Okay, so he's got a body, he's got mass, he's got structure. He's not just merely a spirit. He can be touched, he can be held, he can be felt. His parts can be seen that are there. In verse 40, when he had thus spoken, he showed unto them his hands and his feet, and they believed not for joy and wondered, and he said unto them, have ye here any meat? Do you have any food? Verse 42, and they gave him a piece of boiled fish and a honeycomb, and he took it and did eat before them. Okay, you go, now that's good news. It's not that I get this new body and I never eat again. No, the Lord here eats broiled fish. And he has the honey along with this and eats this in their presence. Now it's not that it's because the Lord needs the nutrition. Because when you get to heaven, it seems like the food is just merely there for enjoyment. That's all it's for. You don't need the strength from it, but it is created to bring joy and delight. And here you have the Lord doing that. And then you read the story and you have this account where he begins to talk about what went on and what is going to go on, and then it concludes. I wanna go over to another gospel account, and I want us to go over to John chapter 20. John chapter 20 gives us a little bit of a different account of what took place. And you have this story of Martha seeing Jesus and recognizing him, and Rabbani is the same master, and you have this story. But verse 19 of John chapter 20, you see this statement. On the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews. There came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them, peace be unto you. So what we get in this account is that the doors were closed, and yet Jesus suddenly appears in the midst of them. They, verse 20, when he had so said, he showed to them his hands and his side, and then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. And Jesus said unto them, peace be unto you, as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them. So he's got breath. And saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost, whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. The problem with the story is this, but Thomas, one of the 12 called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, we have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. So verse 26, and after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. And then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, peace be unto you. And saith he to Thomas, reach thither thy finger, and behold my hands, reach hither thine hand, and thrust it in my side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, yet have believed. Really a challenge for individuals in future generations that have never seen Christ. They're blessed having not seen, but believe. There's one other passage, and I don't necessarily, you don't have to turn there, but in Matthew chapter 28, There's an account where Jesus told his disciples that they needed to go up to Galilee, where he would meet with a number of the disciples. And it seems like there was a gathering there of many of the disciples, not just the apostles, but many of them. In verse 16, it says this, then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. You're kind of going, why did they doubt? I thought about that for a long time, and you read commentators in this. They're still getting used to this new resurrected Christ. He's slightly different in appearance. And there's still some that are thinking, he's not really truly raised from the dead. I can't believe this. But the indications are is that they're still going, well, I don't know, until they hear his voice and go, oh, that's Jesus. The sheep hear His voice and they know Him. And so you go, that's an account, as you look at this, of one who has a resurrection body. He's able to do some things that we aren't able to do. But he's physically able to do what we do because he's got flesh and bones. He's able to eat. You read the account in John chapter 21. He's fixing a meal there for his disciples and able to do those kinds of things along with just teaching. All of these things are part of what he's capable of. Will we physically with a new body be able to suddenly move from one place to another? I don't know. Will we be able to go through doors? I don't know. But will we be able to eat? Yes. And will we have a new body? Yes. And I will make this one side comment. I think the only one that's going to have any scarring from sin is Jesus Christ. He's the one who bore our sins. He's the one who obviously bore them, who stands before God. And the scars that he has are the only markings of sin in heaven. But it is the reminder that this one is the Lamb of God that was slain. And even in Revelation, you kind of have this picture where the lion of the tribe of Judah is sitting on the throne. And when John looks at it, it's as there was a lamb there that was slain. And to me, I think that the Savior is the only one that has the markings of sin. You go, why is that? Because there's no other sin in heaven, it's removed. There is no sin there, the effects of it. But in glory, the Savior is there. His resurrected body has these scars. So you go, what are some of the things that we are going to have when we get to heaven? Thankfully, we aren't absorbed into just a massive group and become a number. Get absorbed into some greater mass, and that's just the rest of our existence. No, because you hear the accounts of individuals that are talked about in heaven. They are talked about as individuals. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Lazarus. These are all individuals, and they still have names that are identifying them, that they are persons. It's not like what some cultures believe, that when we finally get to our final destination, we just get absorbed into some sort of soul, and that's how you exist for eternity, mixed up with everybody else. No, we enjoy heaven as individuals. And we will be able to. And it is kind of an interesting thought when you think about Matthew 8 and verse 11, where the Lord is going against His own nation, the Israelites, who think that they're going to be in heaven. And He says, there's going to be people that come from the east and the west and the north and the south. And they're going to be able to feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You realize that that's part of the activities, that we're going to be able to converse and enjoy conversation with individuals. about their life and who they were and what they were like, and all of these things, we're going to be able to converse with them, have conversations, all these ones that have gone on before. Now, there are some people that ask the question, when I get to heaven, am I an angel? We need to set aside that idea. Angels are unique creations of God. They have no relatives. Each one is made individually, and they have no relatives, they have no family. And they're unique creations of God, but it's not that when a child dies that they suddenly become an angel. You go, okay, what do they become? They are a person in glory. Which leads us to the second question, what am I going to look like age-wise when I get to heaven? And I would suggest the fact that as you read the story of the first two people who were enjoying paradise and glory, they were young enough to have children, but old enough not to be children. And what are we going to be doing for eternity? We're going to be enjoying the new creation and a new heaven. And so I say this, what were the most healthiest and best years of your life? I would suggest that's what you're probably like. It's not that you have small children walking around. That would be kind of unusual. And think about all the children that have been boarded and never had a chance to live life. They're not going to be wandering around as babies. They're gonna be as full-grown adults, like unto Christ, who in his resurrection body, you think about this, he was 33 years of age when he got his resurrection body. So I would suggest that just from that standpoint, I can't be dogmatic on it, but I would suggest that that's what we may be like when we get to glory. Now think about this, you say, am I going to be an individual who has my own name when I get to heaven? Will I be identified by the name that I had here on earth? As you look at the scripture, it seems to indicate the fact that the people that are in heaven are known by their names that they had here on earth. Lazarus is still Lazarus. Abraham is still Abraham. Jacob is still Jacob. Isaac is still Isaac. So your name that you had here on earth is more than likely the name that you're going to have in heaven. Think about the foundation stones that are for the walls of the city are the 12 names of the apostles. But I do want you to consider this as a possibility also. I want you to turn over to Revelation chapter 2. Revelation 2 and 3 is these messages that Paul gives to the churches. And at the end of each one of those churches, he kind of gives a commendation or a reward for those that overcome. Those that actually hold to the faith in the face of opposition or false teaching. And when it comes to the church of Pergamos, At the end, it says in verse number 17 of chapter two, this statement. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna. So you kind of go, we're eating in heaven. I get to enjoy manna, whatever the hidden manna is, I don't know, but I get to enjoy that. What is it was what manna was. and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." You have that hymn that goes, they have a new name written down in glory, and it's mine. You're also going to have a new name. Kind of go, well, you know, that sounds kind of strange. Well, think about throughout the scripture, you had a whole bunch of people with multiple names. We talked about one this morning. Go, who's that? He had a whole bunch of sons that were eventually named after him. You have Jacob, and his name was also Israel. And you go throughout the scripture, and that name is interchangeable. Usually when God talks about Jacob, Israel's not being that good. And when they're Israel, okay, usually the Lord's talking about that they're doing things right and they're following after God. But Jacob went by both those names. You read the account when he finally receives that name in Genesis chapter 32, that it flips back and forth between Jacob and Israel. You had one of the apostles, but not one of the normal apostles, but a man by the name of Matthias. When you look at him and the choice that was made there and the whole account that is given there in Acts chapter one, you have a person there that has actually three names. There was this one who was called Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justice. He had three names. And more than likely, Barnabas's name, as you read the account, that wasn't his name, that was his given name by the church. He was a descendant of Levi and the like, and his name was Joses, but his name eventually became Barnabas. And you go, what does that mean? Son of encouragement. If encouragement had a son, he would have been it. It's not the only passage in Revelation 2. Revelation 3 in verse 12 makes this statement about a new name and glory. In this passage, it's talking about the Church of Philadelphia, and it says this, him that overcometh, I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name. So that's something to look forward to. You know, I can remember as kids, you always tried to come up with your own nicknames. that type of thing, and usually they never caught on because no one else really saw what you were trying to say in that and why. But the truth be told, we're gonna have a new name in glory. And if the Lord is talking about it as something special, it will be. Something exciting, something glorious, probably pointing to what Jesus Christ has done in transforming us. What are our bodies like? You know, this is the question. I do think that we will keep some of our ethnic features and some of our national features, because you read in Revelation where it talks about that before the throne of God are people of every language, tribe, people, that you're going to keep those characteristics of nationality. And for some of us, there's a whole lot of them. But we'll keep those characteristics. I was reading and somebody asked the question, will we be all the same height? I have no idea. Scripture does not tell us whether we change heights. And some of you that are going, oh, it would be glorious to be slightly taller. And those that are taller are going, I wish I was slightly shorter. And that, I don't know that answer. But I do know with our bodies that God is going to take care of all the scarring, all the deformities. You go, how do you know that? We read a passage that made it very clear. Those things that shame us, the things that dishonor us, the things that fall apart in our body, when we get the new resurrection body, aren't gonna be a part of that anymore. I was reading an account of Joni Erickson Tada, You go, who is that? Well, she was a young girl. She dived off a cliff and lost all the use of her limbs. She's now a speaker and speaks to a number of individuals, but she speaks to a number of individuals that are discouraged by the fact that they've got a body that doesn't work and minds that don't work. And you read some of the accounts of her testimony. She just goes, I can't wait to get to glory because these withered limbs that haven't worked and have never worked since this has happened, those will work and they will move and I'll be able to walk and I'll be able to run. And the mind that gets foggy all the time and doesn't work right at different times, that will change. My mind will work. And for some people, that is a glorious change of body, that it works because they've been hindered by all of those things. I can at least say that about our body, and I don't know exactly what our strengths are going to be. There doesn't seem to be any indicators, you know, people have talked about, you know, are there going to be sporting events in heaven? I have no idea. But I think we're going to enjoy getting some exercise going and seeing God's creation and climbing and doing all those things. So what are our bodies like? I don't know. One of the questions that's commonly asked, are we going to glow? Now think about this. When you have stories of accounts of individuals that are in glory, we do have one account of this. where in the Mount of Transfiguration, you see a conversation between the glorified Lord, and then you have Moses and Elijah that are there, and they're bright and shining. And this is without their bodies. This is their spirit and soul. And even with Moses, who got to see a temporary afterwards vision of what God was like, because God passed by and he was held in the cleft of the rock, but when he came out after that and talked with God, there was a glowing that took place. And when you think about the God of glory, whose glory is reflected in light, will we have some of that glory reflected in us? The answer is, yes, I think so. There's two passages of Scripture that you can turn to that kind of indicate that there is going to be something that even in our appearance, there's going to be a shining forth. Matthew chapter 13 and verse 43, middle of these parables that are there. It makes a statement about the fact that the individuals that are part of the terrors are going to be cast into the lake of fire. They'll be wailing and gnashing of teeth. But then verse 43, it says this, then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. I mean, how does that work out? They're going to shine as the sun. There's another passage, it's in the Old Testament in Daniel chapter 12. It's at the end of the story they're talking about what's going to happen in the end. In Daniel chapter 12 and verse 3. Actually, let's look at verse two. It says this, many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall wake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. So just from that, there's indicator of the fact that we will be much brighter in personality. There will be light coming from us as a reflection of the one who's transformed us for eternity. What that's going to be like, I don't know. But it does seem to indicate that that's going to be the case. And then you go, well, what are we going to wear when we get to heaven? I want us to turn to Revelation chapter 3. We have to remind ourselves that there are parables of the Lord inviting individuals to come to His feast. And in that one story that He tells is that the one who's inviting the feast actually gives garments to individuals, and there's this one that comes in with his own garments, and he's cast out. into outer darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth because he did not have the right garments for that feast. But in Revelation chapter 3, and there's several passages that hint at this, Revelation 3 and verse 11, this is in the note, the section that's the letter to Smyrna. It says in verse 11, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt by the second death. I got the wrong verse. I'm wanting Revelation 6.11, I'll get there. 3.4. 3.4, this is to the church at Sardis. Thou hast a few names, even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. Then in Revelation chapter six and verse 11, talking about those that were slain for the testimony of God during the tribulation, and they're crying out, how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avent our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Verse 11, and white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, and to their fellow servants also, and their brethren should be killed, as they were should be fulfilled. You say, what does that depict? The righteousness of Jesus Christ. Revelation 7, 9, you can look there, just keep going. It says, after this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all the nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes. and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." He's saying, well, is that all we'll be wearing for eternity? There's no other indicators of what we might wear during eternity other than these white robes. And for some in our congregation, it's not white shirts, or else we'd be wearing white robes, too, for church services. But we'll be wearing white. It'll be a reflection that our righteousness is not our own. We're clothed in garments that someone else has given us. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden where God had to come along and provide a garment that was fitting for Adam and Eve. They couldn't provide it themselves. And the garment that we will wear will be a reflection that we are white. Though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be what? As white as snow. And the only indicator of someone with different colored clothing, you just kind of look at the descriptions of Christ, the glorified Christ in Revelation chapter one, you do see angels having golden sashes and things like that, that they're wearing. But it does seem that our, at least our main garment, if there's any others, we're not told. But the fact is, is it's going to reflect the fact that we are individuals that are clothed in someone else's righteousness. that it's not garments that we've created, it's garments that God has made, reflecting that he made the sacrifice to cover for us. And so what will we look like as far as what we wear? The only indicator that we have is that we'll be wearing white robes. And you think about this, we will eat. The Lord ate broiled fish, the Lord ate honey. We're told that the nations will eat from the tree of life that lines the river that flows from the throne of God. Jesus told his disciples that he was not going to drink of the vine again until he sat with them in the kingdom. And so there seems to be that we're going to enjoy things to drink and eat. And so as we think about what glory is like, we're going to reflect what our Savior is like by what we're wearing, but also we will be different because he's the one who paid the penalty for our sins and we will be like him. The most glorious thing about our bodies, in closing, and we've mentioned this time and time again, is that we will no longer sin. We'll know what it's like to have no sin. We will reflect what Christ is like, Him who knew no sin. We will live for an eternity without the temptation of sin, without the influence of sin. That won't be a part of our body structure and part of our, well, I don't know, DNA is a good term, but part of who we are that will no longer have sin. And I think that is the glorious thing about what we're going to be like in heaven. People aren't gonna know us for our flaws. People are never going to see us sin. They're not going to have to face our anger and our wrath and sometimes our failures and lack to keep promises. No, that sin part of our character and who we are is gone. and it will never ever draw us again because we're going to reflect what Christ is like, him who knew no sin. So there's a lot to look forward to. As you get up this week and bones creak, and you feel like crawling from the bed to the bathroom because you just don't really wanna get up, remind yourself of this. The affliction that we have now is temporary, but the things of heaven are eternal. And that that body that we will one day have. will never feel an ache, will never feel a pain, it will never feel sorrow. There'll be emotions, there will be emotions, there'll be joy, praise, happiness, those type of emotions. It's not that we become robots, but those things that are the negative parts of our life that will no longer be a part of our existence. And so when you read passages of scripture like this, you kind of go, You know, I can kind of agree with John at the end of the book of Revelation, his statement where he says, even so come, Lord Jesus. I hold on to this life so much and say, oh, I've got so much to do in this life, and then your body doesn't want to do all those things, and you just kind of say, you know what, there is a day coming where my body will never say that. I'll have the energy to do what I need to do. I'll have the ability to do those things. My body won't shame me. My body won't fail me. My body won't do that. And it's because we have a body that's likened to him that rose the first one, the first fruits, Jesus the Christ. And so we look to become more like the master in this life, looking and reflecting him. But one day we'll rejoice when our body is like his. and rejoice in that and experience that fully one day in heaven. Lord, we thank you. You've given us the blessed hope and our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The hope is that we'll be in heaven with you, but not only that, that our body will be in the image of that son who rose from the dead. had victory over death and the penalty of sin, and one day we'll be able to enjoy a body that does not fail. Lord, we spend a lot of time with people that their body's failing them. Maybe ourself, that's like that. But may we be lifted by the gracious gift that you will change us one day. We're undeserving of it. We deserve everything that our sin cast at us this life. But we are thankful and grateful that we can look forward to a time where our body will reflect perfectly the Son. We look forward to that day. May we encourage others with that thought, that know Christ, that struggle with what's going on with them physically. May we encourage them with that hope that it's not going to last forever and it will change permanently for the better, for eternity. We look forward to that day where we can see each other without sin, wearing robes of righteousness, reflecting what Christ has done, but be able to rejoice with one another that our bodies are no longer like what they used to be. What a great gift you've given to us. We love you, Lord. Thank you for first loving us. And we praise you in the name of Jesus, the Savior. Amen. Yeah.