WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:21.900 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.380 --> 00:00:25.500 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:29.980 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:32.080 the latest message. Thanks for listening. 00:00:44.940 --> 00:00:52.740 Well, good morning. I hope you guys had a wonderful, wonderful Christmas. I know that we did. I know 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:59.960 that I did. Our day was filled with gifts, with food, with family, celebrate the birth of Christ, 00:00:59.980 --> 00:01:05.340 and I just want to share that in my experience yesterday, there was another Christmas miracle 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:10.880 that happened yesterday. I share this with a few different people, but yesterday I got three naps 00:01:10.880 --> 00:01:15.840 in three different recliners, and that was just fantastic, right? It just progressively moved 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:20.680 throughout the course of the day. Different ones, wherever we went, I found my spot, and at some 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:26.480 point in time, the people in that place heard me snore, and it was just absolutely, absolutely 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:31.960 wonderful. But we're glad that you're here, right? It's that Sunday after Christmas. A lot of people 00:01:31.960 --> 00:01:35.980 were traveling. A lot of people were getting ready to travel, were getting ready to come back, but we 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:42.540 are so grateful that you are here worshiping with us today, so thank you. If you've got your Bibles, 00:01:42.660 --> 00:01:49.380 go ahead and open up to Revelation chapter 21. It's where we're going to be this week. As you turn there, 00:01:49.440 --> 00:01:54.580 there's a lot of things. We look to the beginning of the new year, of starting off around here at Willow Ridge Church, 00:01:54.580 --> 00:01:59.640 and one of the ones, it's kind of over the last several years, become a new tradition for us, 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:04.620 and we're changing it a little bit this year. We've had our chili cook-off. Well, this year, 00:02:04.700 --> 00:02:09.660 we've decided, because maybe your thing is chicken noodle soup, all right? Or maybe you make a good 00:02:09.660 --> 00:02:13.780 chicken stew, or maybe you got something else that you like to cook and like to do, so we're going to 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:21.400 have a chili and soup night cook-off here at the church, and so we'd love for you to bring your dish, 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:26.160 and in typical Willow Ridge fashion, right? There is a little bit of a competition, right? You can't earn 00:02:26.160 --> 00:02:32.100 your salvation, but you can earn first place, right? In this, and so sign up. That night, we'll be given 00:02:32.100 --> 00:02:38.360 out the 14 karat gold. They are solid gold, all right? Spoons for the winners of that. There'll be a chili 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:44.820 category and just a general soup category. Would love for you to come and be a part of that, all right? 00:02:44.820 --> 00:02:53.280 So, as we look into the new year, we are beginning a new series called All Things New, and what we're 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:57.540 going to do over the course of three weeks is, is beginning this week, we're going to look at the 00:02:57.540 --> 00:03:03.160 truth of what God does in the course of eternity of making all things new. It's going to be that 00:03:03.160 --> 00:03:10.240 refresher of hope of what we long to, of what we look for as we look at Revelation 21. But then next 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:13.980 week, we're going to, we're going to come back here together. We're going to talk about that God makes 00:03:13.980 --> 00:03:20.980 us new. And what does that mean that God makes us new? That in salvation, we become new. And what 00:03:20.980 --> 00:03:29.320 God does is He takes what is broken and He uses it. But He takes what is also broken and changes it 00:03:29.320 --> 00:03:37.180 and makes us new. We're going to look forward for that of how God uses our story before Christ, how God 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:44.020 uses our story in Christ. And then week three, how God's going to use us after we have our relationship 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:50.060 with Christ. And God gives us a new purpose. That through salvation, through the gospel, we have new 00:03:50.060 --> 00:03:57.660 purpose, we have new meaning, we have new joy. And the beauty of it is for all of us, no matter where we 00:03:57.660 --> 00:04:04.200 come from, no matter how long that we've been saved, no matter what our past was, no matter what our 00:04:04.200 --> 00:04:12.740 current situation is, that we share a commonality in ministry and how God uses the work of the body 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:19.060 to bring Himself glory. And so we're, we're looking forward to, to, to spending that time in these next 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:23.400 three weeks of going through this series together. So before we dive into this though, let's, let's go to 00:04:23.400 --> 00:04:29.680 the Lord in prayer. God, I thank you so much for this morning. I thank you for the hope that we are 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:35.880 reminded of in the gospel. We thank you for this special season that we are in right now, Lord, where 00:04:35.880 --> 00:04:42.640 we celebrate the birth of Christ. And Lord, I pray that as we dive into your word today and we look at 00:04:42.640 --> 00:04:47.380 the newness that comes with a relationship with Him, the newness of the hope of eternity, Lord, that if 00:04:47.380 --> 00:04:53.080 there's anyone here who does not know you, Lord, by the end of the service today, they will place their 00:04:53.080 --> 00:04:59.780 faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, Lord, receiving your forgiveness and walking in the 00:04:59.780 --> 00:05:06.040 newness of light. And we will celebrate you because it's your work, not ours. And it's in Jesus' name 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:12.600 and we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, I want to kind of show you something real quick. I got a new shirt 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:17.220 on, all right? Some of you have come up and already said, hey, is that a new shirt? Did you get that 00:05:17.220 --> 00:05:22.000 shirt for Christmas? Yep, I got this shirt for Christmas. Now, if you know me, you're really 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:27.080 surprised because it's plaid, right? If you don't know me, plaid is my favorite color. I tell my kids 00:05:27.080 --> 00:05:31.780 that all the time, right? I love plaid. Plaid's my thing. I think every button-up shirt that I own, 00:05:31.780 --> 00:05:37.720 unless it's a dress shirt, is plaid. So when my kids went shopping for me for Christmas, they got 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:43.920 me this shirt and they knew that I would like it because it is plaid, right? So what they did was, 00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:48.560 and I don't know if all of this has been put together, but I'm beginning to remember a trip 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:54.040 that we took to the Mass General Store this past, like, late summer, early fall. And we were walking 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:59.060 through, and I walked through a section that had shirts that looked just like these. And very 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:05.360 strategically, I made a couple of comments, right, about how much I liked these shirts. And whether 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:12.980 it was them hearing and processing the hints that I was dropping or the grace of God working in their 00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:18.700 life to know that this is what Dad liked, they pulled their money together and they bought me this shirt. 00:06:19.640 --> 00:06:26.860 And yesterday morning, as we gathered around in our living room and gifts were opened and gifts 00:06:26.860 --> 00:06:33.020 were exchanged, I had the opportunity. They gave me this and opened it up and immediately thought, 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:40.020 man, I am wearing this shirt tomorrow. I love this shirt. I was excited to get it. Excited that my kids 00:06:40.020 --> 00:06:44.820 put their money toward this, that they thought through this, that when they saw this, they knew that Dad 00:06:44.820 --> 00:06:52.840 would like this shirt. It was a wonderful experience for me. But imagine, like, if I had to open up the 00:06:52.840 --> 00:07:04.740 package and it wasn't this shirt, what if on Christmas Eve, my kids realized, oh, we didn't get Dad anything. 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:14.760 And they scramble up to my closet and they said, we know Dad likes plaid. And they begin to look 00:07:14.760 --> 00:07:21.300 at the shirts that I've owned. And they grab out a shirt that I've owned for years. And so we see him 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:28.460 wear this a lot. He'll appreciate this shirt. And so they take the old used shirt that probably has 00:07:28.460 --> 00:07:34.680 some stains on it, right? Probably has a few buttons that are missing, maybe. Got a seam that's coming 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:42.440 loose. And they thought, but I got a lot of good memories of that shirt. I've seen Dad wear it before. 00:07:42.440 --> 00:07:49.060 I know it's comfortable for him. So let's give Dad that shirt tomorrow. Now, don't do that ever, 00:07:49.200 --> 00:07:57.700 please. But what if they did that? I'd be a little disappointed. I'd be a little sad that they didn't 00:07:57.700 --> 00:08:06.980 think, that they didn't plan, that they weren't intentional with this. But they weren't. And on 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:14.140 Christmas morning, when I opened up the package, what was in there was a new shirt. 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:23.060 Here's where I'm going with this as we look at this with all things new. Some of us, spiritually 00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:30.720 speaking, practically in our lives, wake up every single morning and the opportunity to walk in the 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:38.020 newness of what Christ has for us. But we walk up and we choose the old. We choose that which is 00:08:38.020 --> 00:08:45.380 comfortable. We choose that of which we've owned before. We've choose what we've experienced. 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:49.520 And instead of walking in the newness of what God has for us. 00:08:50.640 --> 00:08:56.340 Now, when we look at the first of the year coming, we're all going to make New Year's resolutions, 00:08:56.340 --> 00:09:02.960 right? And my New Year's resolutions typically start on January 1st and they typically end sometime 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:10.020 around five o'clock of that same day. All right. We want to think of things new. We want new spending 00:09:10.020 --> 00:09:18.460 habits. We want new exercise habits. We want new disciplines in our life. But what if for the body 00:09:18.460 --> 00:09:24.180 of Christ, if we just said, you know what, what's already been made new for us, if we just walk in 00:09:24.180 --> 00:09:30.180 and experience that every single day of what God has for us? You know, I've said this. I heard another 00:09:30.180 --> 00:09:35.980 pastor say it. I don't want to take credit of it, but I say it all the time. God loves us too much 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:44.380 to save us from what we were and then just leave us that way. But he's constantly working and moving 00:09:44.380 --> 00:09:52.620 in our lives, making us new, sanctifying us. But the decision that you and I have to make on a day in 00:09:52.620 --> 00:10:00.380 and day out basis is that do I choose to walk in the newness of that and the hope of eternity that 00:10:00.380 --> 00:10:06.860 comes with that. And so this morning, we're going to begin by looking into the future and begin by 00:10:06.860 --> 00:10:15.740 looking into eternity. And so let's start reading in Revelation 21 verse 1. John writes and he says, 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:24.860 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first earth and the first heaven had passed away and the sea was 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:33.900 no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride 00:10:33.900 --> 00:10:41.920 adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is 00:10:41.920 --> 00:10:51.960 with man and he will dwell with them and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them as their 00:10:51.960 --> 00:11:02.080 God. In verse 4, he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:10.040 there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore. For the former things have passed away. And he who was 00:11:10.040 --> 00:11:20.080 seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Also, he said, write this down for these words 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:29.340 are trustworthy and true. And he said to me, it is done. I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and 00:11:29.340 --> 00:11:37.940 the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers 00:11:37.940 --> 00:11:45.400 will have his heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, 00:11:45.980 --> 00:11:52.260 the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion 00:11:52.260 --> 00:11:59.100 will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. You know, it's hard 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:08.920 hard to effectively see the brokenness of the world we live in if we live practically like this is as good as 00:12:08.920 --> 00:12:22.200 it gets. If what we see in this world is the culmination of the best that things can be, it's hard to see the 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:29.120 depth of brokenness and the impact that sin has had. We see things that are broken. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:36.980 We look out into the news, into the relationships, into the world. We see the sinful things of this 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:44.680 world that from person to person may be hit differently at our core, but we hear the tragedies, 00:12:44.780 --> 00:12:52.540 we experience them ourselves, we are hurt by other people, and in that we sense the essence of the 00:12:52.540 --> 00:13:02.140 brokenness of the world. But we are sometimes, we miss the understanding that all things are broken. 00:13:03.420 --> 00:13:13.540 All things. Sin has affected it all. Think about the most beautiful sunset you've ever seen. 00:13:14.780 --> 00:13:22.680 It's been affected by the brokenness of sin. It's why even the most picture-perfect marriage 00:13:22.680 --> 00:13:31.860 at its core is difficult because you take two people that have sin in their lives 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:39.940 and you place them together and you ask them with the perfect picture of what you think of what 00:13:39.940 --> 00:13:44.520 marriage should be. You ask a couple with what that looks like, of what their marriage is like, 00:13:44.520 --> 00:13:52.500 and if they're being honest, they'll tell you, it's work. It's hard. It's not easy. Why? Because sin has 00:13:52.500 --> 00:14:00.840 taken it and broken it. You take the most wonderful meal that you've ever experienced in your life 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:07.700 with the company and the service and the people who are there, and yet at its very core, at its aspect, 00:14:07.800 --> 00:14:14.380 that's what's there. There's still a piece of it that is broken and that is missing because of sin. 00:14:14.520 --> 00:14:22.500 You take the most perfect day you've ever experienced in your life, your wedding day, 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:35.480 birth of your birth of your child, the day you graduated. You take all of those days when you think toward them and the fond memories that you have for them, 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:48.620 and at the very core of even the most wonderful day that we could ever possibly imagine in our life is still affected by the brokenness of sin. 00:14:49.460 --> 00:15:03.020 And so what's so beautiful about Revelation 21 of what we look at into the future is what God will do is he takes everything, 00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:14.740 everything that has been broken by sin and makes it fully new, not just for a season, but for all of eternity. 00:15:16.160 --> 00:15:19.780 Everything that was broken will be made new. 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:30.560 And so this morning, pretty quickly, I want us to look at the four things that can just set our mind and the hope of what God is doing that will be made new in all of eternity. 00:15:30.560 --> 00:15:36.500 And number one is this, we will be spiritually and morally new. 00:15:37.420 --> 00:15:43.160 Apostle Paul writes in Romans 7 verse 23, and I apologize, these words aren't on the screen. 00:15:43.880 --> 00:15:44.160 But he says, 00:15:44.160 --> 00:15:54.920 But I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 00:15:55.680 --> 00:16:00.840 Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? 00:16:01.020 --> 00:16:03.420 Paul talking about himself here. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:10.100 The battle of sin that the apostle Paul has in his life. 00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:15.360 The battle of the war that rages within him. 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:21.760 And as a follower of Christ, what we know is while we are new, while we are born again, 00:16:22.020 --> 00:16:25.760 while we know that we have been purchased by the blood of Jesus, 00:16:25.940 --> 00:16:30.600 there's still this battle of sin that rages within us. 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:35.340 And that while we have been freed from the condemnation of sin, 00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:40.360 but we have not yet been freed from the battle of the desires of sin. 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:41.160 And Paul says, 00:16:41.520 --> 00:16:44.640 This is what is raging war within me. 00:16:45.680 --> 00:16:51.520 But John tells us in Revelation that God makes this new. 00:16:52.780 --> 00:16:54.100 Makes all of this new. 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:57.100 And one of the themes that we get in Revelation 21, 00:16:57.340 --> 00:17:00.620 and there's another theme that is there throughout all of Revelation, 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:09.660 is what God is doing is making the bride, the body of Christ, new for the bridegroom, Jesus. 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:11.100 Right? 00:17:11.520 --> 00:17:17.580 Perfect, ready, acceptable, and pleasing. 00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:19.420 Right? 00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:22.580 Talk about perfect days. 00:17:23.520 --> 00:17:25.780 I remember the day that we got married, Aaron and I. 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:32.620 I remember Matlock Baptist Church on a middle of nowhere road 00:17:32.620 --> 00:17:37.380 stuck somewhere between Beach Island, South Carolina, and Jackson, South Carolina. 00:17:37.380 --> 00:17:40.700 Now, raise your hand if you can get to both of those places without your phone. 00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:41.740 Right? 00:17:41.840 --> 00:17:42.600 A handful of us. 00:17:42.620 --> 00:17:43.380 Yeah, I appreciate that. 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:43.560 Yeah. 00:17:44.300 --> 00:17:44.560 Right? 00:17:44.840 --> 00:17:45.720 Middle of nowhere. 00:17:46.820 --> 00:17:52.500 And I remember standing there at the top of the stage that was there, 00:17:52.620 --> 00:17:56.780 this country church, the bright blue carpet that was in there, right? 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:59.260 The doors open. 00:18:00.380 --> 00:18:06.040 And there stands the bride, ready for the groom, right? 00:18:06.040 --> 00:18:15.420 Revelation gives the same picture of what God is doing to solve the battle that rages within us. 00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:15.720 Right? 00:18:16.860 --> 00:18:17.860 Let's be honest. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:43.700 And this list could go on and on and on, but not in eternity with the Lord. 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:49.420 In eternity, and I think this is what's hard for my human mind to wrap around. 00:18:50.260 --> 00:18:55.640 That in eternity, not only is sin gone, but the desire to sin is no longer with us. 00:18:56.600 --> 00:18:56.900 Right? 00:18:57.300 --> 00:19:00.900 The impure thought has left us never to return. 00:19:01.460 --> 00:19:09.220 The impure motive will never creep back in again because of what God is doing in making us new. 00:19:09.600 --> 00:19:09.820 All right? 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:14.320 Number two, I just feel like we should get some amens for this. 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:17.000 Our bodies will be new. 00:19:17.120 --> 00:19:17.360 Right? 00:19:18.540 --> 00:19:18.980 Amen. 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:20.060 Amen. 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:21.300 Right? 00:19:21.520 --> 00:19:23.520 Now, a couple things, a couple misunderstandings. 00:19:23.600 --> 00:19:23.840 All right? 00:19:24.760 --> 00:19:29.240 In this, we will not be spirits floating around. 00:19:29.360 --> 00:19:30.820 Number one, that's not who we are. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:32.500 We are not disembodied spirits. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:34.840 And number two, we are not angels. 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:37.080 That's not who we will be. 00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:40.340 Angels are separate created beings by God. 00:19:41.140 --> 00:19:47.660 But in the newness of eternity of what God has for us, our bodies will be new. 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:52.100 In death, the body that we know, it dies. 00:19:53.580 --> 00:19:56.460 And then we will see there is a change of things. 00:19:57.260 --> 00:20:02.280 Revelation says there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more death. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:12.900 Well, if death is gone, if pain is gone, if tears is gone, the body that we know, the body that we've existed in, 00:20:13.140 --> 00:20:18.960 the body that our mind, it's all that it's ever been, is now gone, and it is changed as well. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:21.240 Paul writes in Philippians 3, starting verse 20, 00:20:21.520 --> 00:20:23.640 But our citizenship is in heaven. 00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:35.820 And from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, 00:20:36.020 --> 00:20:43.460 by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:45.800 Our bodies will be new. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:51.360 And it's hard to picture, it's hard to imagine. 00:20:52.120 --> 00:20:55.540 Right now, I've got some ideas of what I'd like. 00:20:56.260 --> 00:20:59.400 Like, I thought this morning, like, when did I peak? 00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:01.800 You know, like, when was that? 00:21:01.940 --> 00:21:03.860 Like, is that what God does? 00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:05.300 Like, takes my peak, right? 00:21:05.560 --> 00:21:08.040 But no, it's still broken. 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:11.880 And I probably never really fully peaked, right? 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:14.140 I don't know the age. 00:21:15.560 --> 00:21:16.740 I don't know the condition. 00:21:18.040 --> 00:21:21.040 I don't know the BMI number that we'll have, right? 00:21:22.320 --> 00:21:23.700 I know we all have a preference. 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:26.400 But here's what I know. 00:21:27.520 --> 00:21:30.780 It won't matter, because it'll be perfect. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:33.540 It won't matter, because it'll be perfect. 00:21:34.360 --> 00:21:44.300 Because God takes all that pain, all those tears, all that suffering, all of that sickness, all of that hurt, 00:21:45.420 --> 00:21:52.080 and he says, in the new body that you're going to have, you won't experience that anymore. 00:21:53.740 --> 00:22:05.560 The physical pain of sickness, but the emotional pain of brokenness, the spiritual pain of persecution, 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:13.080 and the new body that we'll receive, all of that will be gone. 00:22:14.180 --> 00:22:18.060 Never to be experienced again. 00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:20.460 That's the goodness of the Lord. 00:22:21.620 --> 00:22:24.820 Number three, creation will be new. 00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:27.360 Look back at verse one. 00:22:28.780 --> 00:22:30.720 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. 00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:36.420 For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more, right? 00:22:36.540 --> 00:22:39.300 We could spend hours working through this. 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:42.420 And don't worry if parents of little kids in here were not, all right? 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:46.300 But there's a newness that's going to be found in creation. 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:54.220 Paul writes in Romans 8, 21, the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption 00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:58.700 and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God, all right? 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:02.480 As pretty as it is, it's broken. 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:06.940 As pretty as it can imagine, it's broken. 00:23:07.860 --> 00:23:12.620 How many of you have ever gone through a renovation in your home, right? 00:23:12.780 --> 00:23:14.580 Raise your hand if you've ever gone through a renovation, right? 00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:16.120 That's a painful process, right? 00:23:17.080 --> 00:23:21.800 Whether it's a simple bathroom, and I say simple bathroom because we've walked through that. 00:23:21.840 --> 00:23:23.420 It ain't simple, all right? 00:23:23.840 --> 00:23:25.260 Or the entire house. 00:23:26.280 --> 00:23:28.080 It's a long process. 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:30.300 It's a painful process. 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:33.040 It's a costly process. 00:23:33.380 --> 00:23:37.440 But do you remember the feeling when it was finished? 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:42.500 Do you remember walking into that room, and you're like, man, the floor doesn't slant anymore. 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:45.140 The pipe doesn't leak. 00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:47.920 The wallpaper isn't coming down. 00:23:48.600 --> 00:23:51.540 And you walked in, and you could see it. 00:23:52.280 --> 00:23:53.760 You could see that it was new. 00:23:54.620 --> 00:23:56.920 You could touch, and you could feel. 00:23:57.120 --> 00:24:00.540 This is new tile that is down, and it is new. 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:08.180 You can smell the new fresh paint and the cleanliness of the new furniture, 00:24:08.380 --> 00:24:10.460 the new appliances that have been brought in, 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:14.140 and your senses are overloaded because it's new. 00:24:15.060 --> 00:24:17.140 And then you come back a few years later. 00:24:18.080 --> 00:24:19.520 You're like, where did it go, right? 00:24:20.580 --> 00:24:23.280 And it's broken again, and it's busted again, 00:24:23.360 --> 00:24:25.440 and the pipe is back to leaking again, 00:24:25.560 --> 00:24:29.080 and the paint that you chose isn't the paint that you wanted anymore, 00:24:29.260 --> 00:24:32.440 and it ages, and it's broken. 00:24:33.900 --> 00:24:35.040 But not with God. 00:24:36.320 --> 00:24:43.820 With God for eternity, as creation groans in itself because of the brokenness of the world, 00:24:44.320 --> 00:24:47.180 God takes it, and God makes it new. 00:24:47.820 --> 00:24:50.760 And in that new, it never gets old. 00:24:51.760 --> 00:24:53.080 And it never breaks. 00:24:53.980 --> 00:24:59.500 And it's never going to let down because the word that we have of revelation, right, 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:03.540 is that the beauty of it is it is finished. 00:25:04.340 --> 00:25:05.340 It is finished. 00:25:06.280 --> 00:25:08.400 And then lastly, and we'll wrap up with this. 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.200 Number four. 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:15.320 The newness of relationship with God. 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:17.000 Look at verse three. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:23.080 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 00:25:24.620 --> 00:25:28.920 Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:35.040 He will dwell with them, and they will be his people. 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:42.540 And God himself will be with them as their God. 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:46.080 A couple of things real quick. 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:51.900 Right now, what we can know and what we can cling to is the words of Scripture. 00:25:52.060 --> 00:25:55.580 That right now, in this very moment, through the power of the Holy Spirit, 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:57.600 that God is with us. 00:25:58.040 --> 00:26:02.760 That if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you are indwelt by the very Holy Spirit of God. 00:26:02.760 --> 00:26:04.980 And that he is with us. 00:26:05.040 --> 00:26:06.020 That is true. 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:12.720 Jesus, in his very own words, promises to never leave us or forsake us. 00:26:12.800 --> 00:26:17.420 But the Bible also says that as you and I go on this journey of life, 00:26:17.580 --> 00:26:20.880 is that we walk by faith and not by sight. 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:24.300 So while the Spirit of God is in me, 00:26:24.380 --> 00:26:28.120 while Jesus promises to never leave me or forsake me, 00:26:28.120 --> 00:26:30.160 as I walk on this journey, 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:36.980 I walk by what I know and what I trust of who God is and not what I see. 00:26:37.840 --> 00:26:40.180 While God is with us, 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.940 the truth of the life that we live and the brokenness of this world 00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:50.700 is that there's a painful reality that we still feel that we are far away from the Lord. 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:52.760 And God changes this. 00:26:54.260 --> 00:26:57.180 The best illustration that I could think of this morning, 00:26:57.340 --> 00:26:59.920 and it's still probably limited, is this. 00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:02.780 My family and I, we love to go to the beach together. 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:05.200 Our favorite beach that we like to go to, 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:07.880 and I know a lot of you here like to go to this beach as well, 00:27:08.040 --> 00:27:09.140 it's Harbor Island. 00:27:09.340 --> 00:27:13.940 It's a little, small, tiny island off the coast of South Carolina off of Beaufort. 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:17.060 And we love to go there, and we love to go there for a lot of reasons. 00:27:17.700 --> 00:27:19.100 It's very quiet there. 00:27:19.660 --> 00:27:27.940 And because it's very quiet, what we love is the wildlife that we get to experience while we're there. 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:31.440 We get to see deer while we're there walking around. 00:27:31.580 --> 00:27:35.400 We get to see different birds that we don't get to see in other places. 00:27:35.580 --> 00:27:39.140 We even get to see alligators from time to time that are down there. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:41.040 And some of you are like, well, then I'm never going there, right? 00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:44.160 But we like to look at those from a safe distance, right? 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:48.040 But our favorite, our favorite are the dolphins. 00:27:49.300 --> 00:27:53.020 And because of the way Harbor Island is set and the tides that come in, 00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:56.280 like you can be out in the water kind of up to your waist, 00:27:56.360 --> 00:27:58.260 and the dolphins, they'll get pretty close. 00:27:59.700 --> 00:28:02.040 And I remember kind of, I think it was probably our first year there, 00:28:02.120 --> 00:28:05.920 our kids were young, so young they don't even remember this trip. 00:28:06.040 --> 00:28:07.980 But I can remember we would be out there, 00:28:08.020 --> 00:28:10.380 and we'd be sitting underneath our tent on the beach, 00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:14.800 and you'd see the dolphins are coming up and jumping through the water that are there. 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:17.580 And, you know, if you've seen, there's that brief moment. 00:28:18.820 --> 00:28:20.100 They come out, they're back under. 00:28:21.280 --> 00:28:22.480 And you, look, look, look, look. 00:28:23.520 --> 00:28:26.940 And I remember taking them like maybe four years old the first time we went, 00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:27.640 and we took them there. 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:29.380 And you're like grabbing them, 00:28:29.460 --> 00:28:32.320 and you're trying to like aim their head like a water cannon, right? 00:28:32.380 --> 00:28:35.700 Like you got them behind their ears, like, no, no, there, there, there, there, there, there, right? 00:28:37.120 --> 00:28:38.200 And you're like, look, see it? 00:28:39.300 --> 00:28:40.280 And I'm like, no, I didn't see it, Daddy. 00:28:40.860 --> 00:28:41.700 I didn't see it. 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:46.520 And then finally they saw it. 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:53.600 And the joy that came from them when they saw the dolphin. 00:28:54.560 --> 00:28:59.820 But then the disappointment because the dolphin was gone. 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:03.260 Now, was the dolphin gone? 00:29:04.080 --> 00:29:04.440 Nah. 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:06.480 He's still out there. 00:29:07.300 --> 00:29:12.420 But because of the limitations of us, we couldn't see him anymore. 00:29:14.760 --> 00:29:18.320 And in eternity, that is removed. 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:24.480 I know the Lord and praise him that he knows me. 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:32.720 But if I'm being honest with you, there are times, there are days, there are seasons of life 00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:45.780 that while I know that while I know he is with me, while I know he is in me, that while I know he will never leave me or forsake me, 00:29:46.320 --> 00:29:48.940 he feels so far away. 00:29:50.100 --> 00:29:51.380 And I can't see him. 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:59.280 And I feel like a little child out on the beach just looking for a glimpse of him in the moment. 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:04.600 And God tells us in Revelation 21, it's different. 00:30:06.120 --> 00:30:10.960 Because the dwelling place of God is with man. 00:30:12.040 --> 00:30:18.080 And in that, the newness of the relationship is just different. 00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:20.100 It's just different. 00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:23.040 He doesn't love us less. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:27.400 We're just there with him. 00:30:27.840 --> 00:30:30.620 The hope that we have. 00:30:32.120 --> 00:30:33.720 He's not going to feel distant. 00:30:34.700 --> 00:30:36.220 He's not going to feel away. 00:30:37.320 --> 00:30:39.100 And we're not going to have wondered. 00:30:40.080 --> 00:30:42.560 Because we're with him for all of eternity. 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:46.780 Now, all of these things are new. 00:30:47.860 --> 00:30:51.500 All of these things we'll get to experience. 00:30:52.280 --> 00:30:54.920 But only for those that are found in him. 00:30:55.180 --> 00:30:59.480 And only through a relationship found in Christ. 00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:03.020 And so this morning, I'm going to wrap up. 00:31:03.060 --> 00:31:05.600 And we're going to sing one last song as we celebrate together. 00:31:05.760 --> 00:31:08.480 And as we think back and look, I just want to ask you this. 00:31:09.380 --> 00:31:10.020 I'll ask you this. 00:31:10.840 --> 00:31:14.660 Your newness is not going to be found in what you've done and what you've achieved 00:31:14.660 --> 00:31:15.780 or what you've set for it. 00:31:16.300 --> 00:31:20.960 But your newness is going to be found in Christ and in Christ alone. 00:31:21.520 --> 00:31:24.760 And this morning, have you placed your faith in him? 00:31:25.220 --> 00:31:27.540 Have you received the good news of the gospel? 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:32.880 Do you walk in the faith and the trust of him and in him alone? 00:31:33.420 --> 00:31:39.160 If not, why not today to experience something new? 00:31:39.580 --> 00:31:40.320 Would you pray with me? 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:50.380 Lord, I thank you so much for who you are. 00:31:52.820 --> 00:31:55.960 Lord, you and your kindness and in your compassion. 00:31:57.480 --> 00:32:02.100 Lord, in Revelation 21, you just give us a glimpse. 00:32:03.700 --> 00:32:11.100 Through the best way that John could share with us what he was seeing and what he was experiencing. 00:32:13.120 --> 00:32:20.180 Lord, we celebrate that the battle that rages within us will be over. 00:32:22.760 --> 00:32:25.020 Lord, we will just love. 00:32:26.560 --> 00:32:27.760 Lord, we will just worship. 00:32:28.980 --> 00:32:30.920 Lord, we will just celebrate you. 00:32:31.700 --> 00:32:35.520 And the struggle of sin will be gone. 00:32:36.940 --> 00:32:40.240 Lord, we thank you that our bodies will be new. 00:32:42.840 --> 00:32:49.120 And Lord, while we have such a hard time of separating our vanity from our hope of the new body. 00:32:50.420 --> 00:32:55.280 Lord, what we'll see is the purpose of the new body is because there's a new way. 00:32:57.180 --> 00:32:58.320 There's no longer death. 00:32:59.600 --> 00:33:00.780 There's no longer pain. 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:03.240 There's no longer tears. 00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:08.220 As in death in our body, it is gone. 00:33:09.300 --> 00:33:12.420 And what we experience is something else. 00:33:15.120 --> 00:33:16.820 And we don't know what it will be like. 00:33:18.380 --> 00:33:19.780 But we know it will be perfect. 00:33:21.780 --> 00:33:30.440 Lord, we look to the opportunity when creation, as beautiful as it is now, will no longer groan. 00:33:31.540 --> 00:33:35.380 Will no longer be held in bondage to the corruption of this world. 00:33:37.260 --> 00:33:39.880 But will be made as it is in perfection. 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:49.920 And that, Lord, to look at that, to appreciate that, to see that, will bring glory and praise to you. 00:33:51.680 --> 00:34:14.280 And, God, we thank you that we will no longer walk by faith, but by sight of a hope that we would know fully as you were with us and we are with you. 00:34:15.600 --> 00:34:26.000 Lord, I pray if there's anyone here who doesn't know you as Lord and Savior, I pray that today would be the day that a new decision is made. 00:34:28.160 --> 00:34:44.440 As they admit that they are a sinner who needs to be saved as they believe in who you are as Lord and Savior and confess that. 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:47.560 And it's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:34:48.620 --> 00:34:48.940 Amen. 00:34:50.460 --> 00:34:52.980 We're going to stand and sing one last song. 00:34:54.160 --> 00:34:57.200 There's prayer encouragers on either side of our auditorium. 00:34:57.920 --> 00:35:04.800 If you'd like to talk with somebody, you'd like to talk about a relationship with Christ, if you'd like to talk to someone about a prayer request, have them pray with you, they would love to do that. 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.940 After the service, several of our pastors back here at the welcome table, we'd love to talk with you there as well. 00:35:10.420 --> 00:35:12.760 If you're a first-time guest, please come and see us. 00:35:13.260 --> 00:35:16.360 We'd love to thank you for being here and thank you for worshiping with us. 00:35:16.740 --> 00:35:19.840 But we just ask that you respond this morning as Christ leads. 00:35:20.120 --> 00:35:21.380 Would you stand as we worship Him? 00:35:33.380 --> 00:35:36.460 Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:35:36.980 --> 00:35:39.260 We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message. 00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:48.320 If you'd like to learn more about who we are or explore additional resources, visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:51.880 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook and Instagram. 00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:53.880 Willow Ridge Church 00:36:03.380 --> 00:36:33.360 Thank you.