December 27th 2020 New Birth – A New Heaven and A New Earth Revelation 21.1-6 Pastor Jacqueline Hines
The bible tells us to give thanks in all things, not
necessarily for all things, but in all things. We are in our 38th
week and we thank and praise God for every one of our blessings. None of them
do we want to take for granted.
Continuing in the spirit of Christmas, let’s listen to Donna playing a reminder of Jesus birth in our hearts.
Hear now the words of the book of Revelation chapter
21 verses 1-6.
21Then 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. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3And I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making
all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and
true.’ 6Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the
spring of the water of life.
The writer of the book of Revelation is said to be a
disciple named John, not John the Baptist and not John the beloved disciple.
This John is called John the elder who lived almost a hundred years after the
resurrection. John the Elder was no doubt, open to hearing and seeing God in a
way that one can only hear and see when one carefully pays attention. John
wrote, “I see a new heaven and a new earth.”
Not long ago, a member came to a church meeting
through a new glass door that had just been installed. He was focused on the
contents of the meeting and when everyone else was admiring the new door, he
said he had not even noticed. That member, however saw a vision for renovations
to make God’s house beautiful as well as accessible. He saw it when others did
not. God helps us see something good in order to do something good.
John the Elder wrote his vision down so that WE who love God could see something
good and new that God has in store for us. We have mixed feelings about
something new. My grandfather had the most raggedy bedroom slippers you can
imagine. Every year well-meaning grandchildren would happily buy him new
slippers for Christmas, and the next year he would be wearing those same old
slippers. Sometimes we prefer the old because it is just so much more
comfortable than the new. There is a saying “The only one who likes change is a
baby.” At the same time, there are many new things that are refreshing and that
make us happy. Even more so, sometimes, new is necessary.
John’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth is
most appreciated by those who are desperate for something new. No matter where
we come from or where we are going, all of us have been desperate for something
at one time or another. We may have been desperate for a new job, a new
relationship, a new car, a new home.
At times, we may live lives marked and marred by
more desperation than some others. We may be suffering some health or emotional
crisis. We may be stuck in a cycle of sadness and despair from which we can see
no way out. We may be paralyzed by fears or petrified by our past. At times, we
may be desperate for a new start.
John the Elder was no exception. He was in exile on
the island of Patmos. He was suffering. Any family and friends he had who
happened to be Christians were living their lives in an atmosphere of political
turmoil and persecution.
In desperate times, what can we make of God speaking
to us about a new heaven and a new earth? Does it bring to mind the climate
changes wherein whole towns are wiped out by fires, or miles of glaciers are
melting, leaving whales and penguins homeless, or viruses that mutate as fast
as vaccines, or pollution so pervasive in some countries that there are literally thick,
fog-like clouds everywhere, including inside their homes. Such atrocities are
dramatically intense and new. Does God intend to destroy the earth with
catastrophes in order in make the new earth and heaven that John writes about?
Dr. David Jeremiah has a new book about heaven. Chapter 8 is called A New Heaven and A New Earth. In it he contends
that God does not destroy anything in order to create something. God renovates.
So when Dr. Jeremiah talks about hell, he does not talk about an ever burning
fire, but rather a purification, a purging, a restoring, a putting a light on
the subject. Or as I have phrased it from time to time, God deals with us.
When we hear John talk about a new Heaven and a new
earth, do we think of a perfect place that has all the pleasures and provisions
for which we could ever hope? If we do, we are not off base. What can be more
pleasant than peace and joy down in our heart? What more could we ask for than
to have the safety and security of the presence of God almighty! That is how I
have often imagined Heaven, a place where I could rest under a blue sky and
shades of ivy in peace without fear.
A televangelist testified that he had a taste of
Heaven in a dream. He walked into his new heavenly home and it was furnished
just the way he liked it. The colors of Heaven were out of this world, the
fruit on the trees, and the streams of water that flowed were beyond
breathtaking. There was magnificent music and every time someone gave thanks
and praise to God it would awaken in him a spontaneous and energetic praise as
well.
During a prayer service I attended many years ago,
we were asked by the preacher, “Who wants to hear angels sing?” One young woman
raised her hand and while the rest of us were worshipping, the service
continued and later the preacher asked her what she heard. She was crying and
barely able to talk when she spoke saying, “It was just so beautiful. I have
never heard anything like it before.”
We know what it is like to weep for joy when we hear
a beautiful song or see a beautiful sight; how much more will we praise God,
weep for joy
New is nice, but in a time of desperate need, new is
necessary. We serve a God who wants to give us nice things as well as the
things we need.
We all need to remind ourselves in good times and
tough times that God’s word shows us that there will be a new heaven and a new
earth. There will be purging, restoring, and renovating in order to create something
new.
From time to time, we may hear just a few of the
musical notes that will resound in heaven.We may get just a little taste of that heavenly fruit or a mere
glimpse of something special our creator has prepared just for us in Heaven.
But, when at last, we reach Heaven, we are sure to hear the unmistakable voice of
the lover of our souls greeting us. He will wipe every tear from our eyes, death,
mourning and pain will end. The thirsty will be given a gift, water from the
spring of the water of life, a new life, a necessary life. Let us pray.
We praise you God for the triumphs and
victories of this life. We praise you for the sorrows that you have helped us
to bear and the burdens that you have carried on our behalf. Open our eyes that
we might see most clearly what you showed your son John, a new heaven and a new
earth. Show us that trouble does not last always, that weeping may endure for
the night, but joy definitely comes in the morning. We put our trust in you to
heal the sick and brokenhearted among us, to anoint us with the will to speak
the truth in love and to do justice and love mercy.
We pray as you taught us…
Our
father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be
done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive
us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
May
your eyes be open this day that you may see what great things God has in store
for those who love God.
Next week we go to Isaiah 60 verses 1-6 with
the message “Arise and Shine.” If you would like to make your contribution to
the great ministry and mission of Bethel, the website is
Or
you can send it to 952 Bethel Church Road, Spring City, Pa. 19475. God bless you!
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