"The Purpose of Gifts" Sermon: I Corinthians 12:1-11

“The Purpose of Gifts”

[I Corinthians 12:1-11]

November 8, 2015 Second Reformed Church

            We are stewards of everything we have and are.  That means that we do not own anything – we do not have the ultimate say over anything.  We understand that God is the Owner of everything – even the Creator of everything – including everything we have and everything we are.  God has appointed us to be stewards of His creation – He calls us to have “dominion” over everything that is.  We are to care for and use everything that God has made and everything we are in ways that are pleasing to God – in ways that are glorifying to God – in ways that show God to be God.

            Now, if someone gives you or me a gift, whose is it?

            “If someone gives me a gift, it is mine, mine, mine!  It is for me and I can do whatever I want with it.  No one has authority over me to tell me what to do with a gift that is given to me.”  Right?

            The church in Corinth was in Greece along the trade route.  Since it was along the trade route, all kinds of products came through it – as well as all different philosophies and religions.  Having all these competing views coming through caused confusion in the church, and Paul wrote his letters to the Corinthians to correct errors and to lead them in right biblical understanding and living.

            The text we heard read this morning is part of Paul’s response to the disunity that had arisen in the church over spiritual gifts.  We may remember that Paul gives several different – and, thus, incomplete – lists of spiritual gifts in his letters.  He gives an overview of what some of the gifts are, but doesn’t list them all.  And some of us have taken quizzes or “inventories” to figure out what our spiritual gifts are.

            Briefly then, what are spiritual gifts?

            Spiritual gifts are those gifts, giftednesses, abilities, inclinations, and so forth, that God the Holy Spirit gives Christians.  A Christian usually has one – or a few gifts – that he or she is specifically gifted in – though each of us may have many areas in which we are inclined and helped by the Holy Spirit.

            One description Paul gives is this:

            “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8, ESV).

            Paul lists a number of gifts that Christians are given:  prophecy – and by this he does not mean what we think of “prophecy” today, but (primarily) preaching, service, teaching, generosity in giving, leadership, and mercy – and there are others.  And all of these are not done in drudgery, but as Paul indicates, in joy – the proper use of the gifts of the Spirit give joy.

            So, if you love to teach and get great joy out of teaching – helping people to know and understand Christianity – that may be your gift.  If you love to serve people for the sake of Christ and His Gospel – to make sure everyone has what they need – to make sure everything is in its place and clean and fresh – that may be your gift.  If you love to give to the church in thanks to God – money – time – things – if your greatest joy is giving to others that they may have joy – that may be your gift.  If you get joy out of taking charge and leading people in the church – that may be your gift.  If you love to help people in the church who are in need and you are filled with joy when needs are met – that may be your gift.  And so forth.

            With that background, we turn to our text and consider what Paul tells the church at Corinth, and us:

First, only Christians have the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

“Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.  You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.  Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”

Paul begins by explaining that there is a difference between having gifts and abilities and being gifted by the Holy Spirit – even though they can look very much alike.  Paul reminds them that before they believed in Jesus savingly – when they worshipped idols, they and others with them exhibited excellence in teaching and serving and mercy and generosity and so forth.

Don’t we all know non-Christians who – as far as we can see – are wonderful, giving, merciful, knowledgeable, etc., people? 

So the Corinthian Church had people coming into the church with what seemed to be the gifts of the Spirit, but they were not Christians. There were people coming into the church with what seemed to be the gifts of the Spirit, and the Corinthians were saying, “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.”  But Paul explained that that was not the case.

In fact, there were people coming into the Corinthian Church with what seemed to be the gifts of the Spirit, but they were denying that Jesus is God the Son and Savior – they were denying the Gospel – they were denying that salvation is though Jesus Alone.  And they were not denying Jesus in a casual or polite way – no, they were saying, “Jesus is accursed!”

That is still a very polite translation – the word Paul uses is the word we bring into the English language as “anathema.”  They were saying, “Jesus is anathema!  Jesus be damned to Hell!”

And Paul tells them that there is no way that someone who denies Jesus as God the Son and Savior can receive the gifts of the Spirit – especially when they are verbally – unashamedly – calling for Jesus to be damned – because they disbelieve Him  and His Gospel so much!

No, only true believers receive the gifts of the Spirit, and true believers are those that unashamedly confess, “Jesus is Lord.”

And again, we miss something in English – the word that Paul uses here for “Lord” is the Greek translation of the word that was used for the Name of God that God gave to Moses at the burning bush.  What that means is that here Paul defines a Christian as someone who confesses with their heart and mouth that Jesus is the Almighty and Sovereign God of Israel.  If you do not believe that Jesus is the One True God, you are not a Christian, and you do not have the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

So, Paul tells the Corinthians – and us – that anyone who seems to have the gifts of the Spirit – no matter how “gifted” and persuasive they are – if they deny Jesus is God the Son and Savior, they are not Christians and they don’t have the gifts of the Spirit.

And, if you are a Christian – if you confess with your heart and mouth that Jesus is Lord – that He is the One True God – that His Gospel is the One Way to salvation – the Only Way to be right with God, then you have the gifts of the Spirit.

Christians, and only Christians, have the gifts of the Spirit, and all Christians have gifts of the Spirit.

Second, all of the gifts are from the same One God.

“Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”

As Paul issues his next corrective, we see that there was a lack of humility among the Christians in Corinth with regards to their gifts – different Christians were claiming that their gifts reflected different Persons of the Godhead or were innately better gifts, and they were being prideful about it.

People were saying things like: 

“I have the gift of prophecy – no one has heard the Scriptures explained as well as I can explain them, so, obviously, I am obviously a greater person that everyone else in the church.”

“Well, I have the gift of humility, and everyone wants to be humble, don’t you think?  It’s a great burden to be so humble, but I am great enough to carry it.”

“Oh, you have the gift of service?  Well, we do need you people, don’t we?  I am a teacher – like Jesus, nobody greater than Jesus, right?”

“Well, I have been gifted in languages, and I can proclaim the Gospel to many different people groups because of it – the first and best gift of the Spirit.”

Paul counters this sinful thinking by telling them that there is One Spirit and One Lord and One God; the Three Persons of the Trinity are the same One God, and, similarly, the gifts that God gives and empowers are varieties of gifts and service and activities; the gifts of God are one – just as there is a unity in the diversity of the Godhead, there is a unity in diversity in the gifts.

God Who persons in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Who is One God, gives a variety of gifts to Christians, which are different, but equal.  No gift is “better” than another – they are just different. 

We who are Christians have been given gifts by the Spirit in Trinity which are different, but of the same ministry and in the same service to God.

Third, the Spirit manifests Himself in various ways in each believer for the good of the Church.

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

            The purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is that they be used for the common good of the Church.  Whatever way God the Spirit has gifted you and me with gifts of the Spirit, those gifts were given to us – not to keep to ourselves – not to brag about to and against others – but to use for the sake of each and every Christian in the church.

            And God has called a specific group a people together in each church and gifted all those Christians in the church with the gifts that we need to share with one another to be the church in this place.  If you are here, this morning, and you are a Christian, you have a gift (or gifts) from God the Spirit that He has given you to use in this church for all of our good and to His Glory.

            God knows each of us and each church, and He knows what each church needs, and He calls us to the churches in which we worship so we might complete each other and our usefulness in Christ.  If you are a Christian, you are here because we need you and you need us to be the church in this place.

If you have been gifted to preach, then we need you to preach, for our sake as the Church and to the glory of God.

If you have been gifted to be generous with you money and things and time, then we need you to give in joy and thanksgiving to the church and to each of us as is fit, for our sake as the Church and to the glory of God.

If you have been gifted with compassion, then we need you to listen to us and hear us and mourn with us and rejoice with us, for our sake as the Church and to the glory of God.

If you have been gifted musically, then we need you to play and sing with us, for our sake as the Church and to the glory of God.

If you have been gifted with tidiness and organization, we need you to help keep the church tidy and organized, for our sake as the Church and to the glory of God.

If you have been gifted with a passion for the lost, we need you to help us to have zeal to proclaim the Gospel to the whole Creation, for our sake as a Church and to the glory of God.

If you have been gifted with leadership and scriptural understanding, we need you to teach – and serve as an elder, if you are called, for our sake as a Church and to the glory of God.

Do we understand?

All we who are Christians have been gifted by God the Holy Spirit for the sake of the Church – we are all different, but we are equal and necessity to the Church.

What gift or gifts do you have?

What gifts has God given you that you are able to share with this church? 

What are you empowered by God to do that reflects Christ and His Gospel and gives you joy?

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we ask that You would be with each one who is here and convict each of us as to whether or not we have believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ – whether we truly believe that He is God the Son and Savior.  We ask that any who have not believed would be changed and confess Jesus as Lord for the sake of the Church and to Your Glory.  We ask that each of us would be assured in our faith and understand what gifts the Holy Spirit has given us to use in this church for this community of believers and for Your Glory.  Keep us from pride or from thinking that the gift the Spirit has given us is unworthy, for we are all necessary parts of Your Body who belong to the Church.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Review: "Hoping Against Hope: Confessions of a Postmodern Pilgrim"

John D. Caputo's Hoping Against Hope:  Confessions of a Postmodern Pilgrim is the first and only book I have read by Caputo -- it is a memoir -- his "confessions" in a self-conscious Augustinian, non-Augustinian way.

Although Caputo tackles what he dubs "the nihilism of grace" in this book, it is entertaining and very accessible.  As Caputo fleshes out his ideas, he dialogues among "Jackie" -- his youthful, Roman Catholic self, "brother Paul" -- his novitiate self, "professor John" -- his latter scholar self, with interaction from existentialist philosophers and Middle Ages mystics and their progeny.

Caputo begins by considering whether there is any hope for humanity, given Lyotard's arguing for the progressive inhumanity (in an essential, non-essential sense) of humanity (10).  Caputo answers "yes," through a reimagining of religion (20).

Caputo discusses what he admires about the mystics, concluding that "religion...is a matter of unconditional affirmation)' (39, italics his).  "God insists but dares not exist.  Everything I mean by God and by hope, and by the God of hope, everything I mean when I speak of God flows from this.  God insists without existence" (114, italics his).

In the end, we are to have hope, Caputo argues, because it is suited to the grace in the reception in the gift of the life we have -- whatever it is and whatever it is becoming.  To ask for a reason or purpose is to deny the gift, and to attempt to see the meaning "of" life (there is none), rather than the meaning "in" life (174).

A rose is a rose.  It comes as a gift.  To attempt to find purpose, meaning, and the answer to "why" in it is to despise it.

Caputo's work is engaging and fascinating and wholly unsatisfying.  In the postmodern denial of universals, have we done anything more than raised subjectivism to universalism of the individual?  And if so, if I want the rose that you received as a gift, who's to stop me?

This review appears on my blog and Amazon.com.  I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  #HopingAgainstHope

"The City of God" Sermon: Revelation:21:1-5

“The City of God”

[Revelation 21:1-5]

November 1, 2015 Second Reformed Church

            To the best of our knowledge, All Saint’s Day – and All Hallow’s Eve (“Halloween”) – were first celebrated in 609 A.D. as a time which “commemorated all those martyrs, known and unknown, who in heaven enjoy the beatific vision of God” (J. C. J. Metford, 115).  It is a time when we purposefully meditate on the fact that all those who have died before us in the faith are not dead, but are with Jesus now in Glory and will return with us in the Kingdom which is to come.  It is a time when we remember what Paul wrote:

            “I tell you this, brothers:  flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Behold!  I tell you a mystery:  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then it shall come to pass the saying that is written:  ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?’  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

            “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (I Corinthians 15:50-58, ESV).

            We still mourn when our loved ones die – as we have seen this past week – but we do so as Christians – we do so as those who have hope that there is a resurrection of the physical body to come – death has been defeated by our Lord Jesus Christ – Who Himself has physically risen from the grave – death is not the end – glory upon glory is coming in the Kingdom!

            The apostle John was exiled to the isle of Patmos, and while he was there, he received visions from God about the end of the age and the coming of the Kingdom.  John wrote down what God allowed him to write, and sent it out to the churches around the world that we suffering under the persecution of the Roman Emperor, Nero.  The book of Revelation, as we know it, or the book of the Unveiling, as it may also be translated, is a book of hope and encouragement for all we who suffer for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

            In the section of the letter that was read, John takes what we know and believe – the dead in Christ are alive with Him now, and they shall be physically resurrected at the end of the age – and explains what will happen so that all the glorious, resurrected saints – all we who believe – are received into the City of God.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”

We see first, this morning, that the Creation will be made new.

John confirms the vision of the prophet, Isaiah, who recorded God saying, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. … For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain” (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22, ESV).

The heavens and the earth – everything that God created that has been corrupted by sin – with all we who believe in the Savior that God sent – shall be restored – shall be made new.

Paul put it this way:

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in the hope that the creation will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.  And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:18-23, ESV).

Paul explained that the whole Creation was punished for our sin – as we see in the book of Genesis, and the Creation is looking forward to being delivered from that state – to being restored to its original state – at the time that we who believe are resurrected in our bodies – immortal, perfected, and sinless, because when we are glorified, the Creation will be set free to be what God created it to be in the Garden.

Peter uses different language to express this restoration:

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done in it will be exposed.

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in living lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heaven will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!  But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10-13, ESV).

Now, we have to understand, Peter is not saying that the Creation will be annihilated – as some of have taught – that is not what he is talking about here – he is talking about purification – restoration of the Creation through purifying it.  He is using the symbolism of metal workers who heat up metal until it is molten and then take a tool to skim off all of the dross – all of the impurities – leaving only the pure metal.  Peter explains using different language that God is going to purify and restore the Creation that exists

But, then, what do we do with John saying that “the sea was no more”?

I am a beach person, and I used to think this was a terrible thing that John was saying. 

But we need to remember that the book of Revelation is written in symbols that would have made sense to first century Christians.  When they heard the word “sea,” they would have thought of the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea, both of which can become suddenly uncertain, violent, and deadly.  With this in mind, we understand that John is not saying there will be no physical sea – that there will be no sea life in the Kingdom – no, what he is saying is that in the restoration of the Creation, everything that is uncertain and violent and deadly will be removed – all those things that came into existence through human sin – all of the corruption that the Creation suffers for us – which also affects us – will be removed – it is dross – it is imperfect – it is corruption – and it will be no more.

So, as we hear these words that the Creation will be made new, we understand that the Creation will be restored to the way it was prior to human sin, and it will be perfected and glorified – like we who believe will also be – so it can never be corrupted or a danger to us again.

As Isaiah describes it:

“The wolf shall lie down with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fatted calf together; and a little child of Israel shall lead them.  The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.  They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6-9, ESV).

Second, God will unite with the Church.

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

After God makes the Creation new – after it is restored, and we who believe have all been glorified in our resurrected bodies, God will send the holy city, new Jerusalem, the new “city of peace” to earth, from heaven – the Church prepared as a bride for her Husband, Jesus Christ.

Again, remember that John is using symbols – it is unlikely that we will see a city coming through the skies and landing on earth.  What John is telling us is what Paul explains:

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27, ESV).  And Paul goes on to say that the relationship that is intended between a man and his wife is symbolic of the relationship between Jesus and His Church – all we who believe.

Although we do not unite with Jesus physically in the same way a man and his wife unite with one another, we are united with Him physically in having the same resurrected flesh, and through our spiritual union with Him and all Christians throughout time and space, which we remember as we receive the Lord’s Supper.

John is explaining that the unity that exists between all those who believe and Jesus – and all of us with one another – will be perfected and glorified at the end of the age – in a perfect portrayal of the marriage union.  We will be united with God, through Jesus, permanently, securely, and beautifully.

Isaiah writes, “Lift up your eyes around and see, they all gather, they come to you.  ‘As I live, declares the Lord, you shall put them on as an ornament; you shall bind them on as a bride does.’ … I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels” (Isaiah 49:18; 61:10, ESV).

At the restoration of the Creation, our unity with God as His Church and Bride will be as a permanent, perfect, and beautiful marriage.

Third, God will be with us.

“And 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 will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’ 

In the restored Creation – in the Kingdom – in the City of God – we will be in the immediate presence of God.  God will be with us in a way that we who are living have never yet experienced.

Have we ever wondered about what the angel said to Joseph?

“’Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:20b-23, ESV).

Does something seem strange?

The angel told Joseph to name the child, “Jesus,” which would fulfill the prophecy that the child would be called, “Immanuel” – but the name Jesus means, “God saves,” and the name, Immanuel means, “God with us,” and Jesus was never called Immanuel.  So what’s going on?

What’s going on is the name Jesus is what people called the Incarnate Son of God, but Immanuel is Who He is and will be – “God with us.”  Jesus is 100% God and 100% human in one person, so when the man Jesus is with us, God is also with us.

When Jesus walked on earth with His disciples, God was with them.  Now, in Paradise, Jesus is with the physically dead saints, so God is with them.  And when Jesus returns to earth in His Second Coming, God will be with us forever and ever in an immediate and present way.  We will be before God – the Incarnate Son – for all of eternity.

We have considered before that we cannot see God the Father or God the Holy Spirit, because They are spirits, and to look upon God in His unmediated state would kill us. Our eyes are finite, and even perfected in glory, we will not be able to see what is invisible to our eyes, so we will see the evidence of the Father and the Spirit, but we will see Jesus in His Glorified Body – God with us – God mediated through human flesh so we can live and worship the God we see.

Later in this chapter, John explains:

“And 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 it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and it gates will never be shut by day – and there will be no night there.  They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.  But nothing unclean can ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:22-27, ESV).

In the Scripture, we who believe are called the temple of the Holy Spirit – both in our bodies, and collectively as the Church with Jesus as our Head.  This is fully realized in the City of God – where there is no need of a physical temple for us to worship in – because we will eternally be in the Glory of God and the Lamb of God will be before us as our Temple, as the Object of our worship – God with us.

Fourth, all suffering and sin will be banished.

“’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, for the former things have passed away.’

            God, like a loving father, will comfort all we who believe – He will give us peace in the City of Peace – New Jerusalem.  We will never experience sorrow or death or any type of pain ever again – they will all be thrown into Hell – never to come back into God’s perfect Creation.

            As we heard Paul before – the greatest suffering that we possible suffer on this earth is insignificant – though it certainly may not feel that way at the time – in the light of what we will receive in glory when we are brought into God’s Peace – our past suffering and sorrow will all seem like nothing.

            Understand, suffering and pain and death are real, and we are right to mourn with each other and comfort one another in the hope that we have in Jesus.  With that, we ought to remember that we brought sin and suffering into the world, and the glory that God will bring us into at the end of the age – with its comfort and peace and lack of suffering and sin, will be so much more that we can possible understand or imagine, that our suffering here will seem like nothing.

            The day is coming, beloved, when we won’t see our loved ones die any more, we won’t be sorrowful and cry anymore, we won’t experience any time of pain anymore, and we won’t be able to sin against our God anymore, because He will have made everything beautiful and right and holy – to His Glory.

            Finally, we see that God swears to renew everything.

“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’  Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”

            Let us notice two things:  first, God promised to “make all things new” – not “to make all new things.”  No, everything that is in the Creation and all we who believe in Jesus Alone for salvation will be received into the Kingdom – this Kingdom, this world, this Creation – but perfected and holy – all sin and evil having been permanently sent away from us.

            God is not going to create all new things out of nothing – He is going to restore everything that is to what He originally created it as – with the impossibility of our sin corrupting it and ourselves again.

            And second, notice that God told John to write these things down because they are “trustworthy and true.” 

            God gave His word that everything He revealed to John would happen as He said it would and that the City of God would come to earth in all glory at the end.  The Creation will be restored; we who believe will be resurrected to eternal glory in the presence of God, never to sin, but to be eternally filled with joy.  God gives us His word – and God cannot lie.

            So, let us mourn for sin and suffering and death, but look forward with hope, knowing that God has given us His word – which must come to pass:

            The Creation will be made new.

            God will unite with the Church permanently, securely, and beautifully.

            God will be with us in a new and permanent way.

            All suffering and sin will be banished.

            Reason to rejoice.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we thank You for the plan that You have set out and are bringing to pass to bring all of Your Creation and all we who believe into Your holy and eternal city.  Help us to be encouraged that the physically dead in the faith are with Jesus now, and we will all be together, physically alive, in Your glorious everlasting Kingdom at the end of the age.  For it is in Jesus Name, we pray, Amen.