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0:49I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it in the daytime, for there will be no night there. Its gates will never be closed. And they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it, and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written. In the Lamb's Book of Life.

1:34I think, John, I think I've uploaded a PowerPoint maybe a little bit later than that one. You want to just check? But while we're checking on that, and if not, we'll go with that. That's fine. But, okay, kids, I've got a question for you. What would you rather be? An eagle soaring high on a nice, beautiful day, or a squirrel with all the acorns you could imagine, or a horse running in its strength through an open grassland? Or would you rather be a pig with all the mud you can play in?

2:24Or would you rather be my beagle at breakfast? Let me ask you this: which of these do you think would be the most happy? Which of these animals that I just described, which one do you think has more happiness? We'll come back to that in a little bit. But as we've been talking about the glory of heaven, and I want to continue that conversation or that theme this morning. The glory of heaven. It is the so what of the resurrection. The passage very much fits into what we celebrate this resurrection day, because without Christ's resurrection, there is no holy city that comes down. It is the so what of that resurrection. As I read earlier, if you remember, shortly after some Greeks came up to Philip and asked to see Jesus, Jesus uttered those unforgettable words. In John 12, 24, he says this: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. For that seed to go into the soil and cease being a seed, it then gives rise to the plant that then gives rise to many, many more seeds and many more plants and abundant harvest. You see, Jesus understood the relationship between his death and fruit-bearing capacity. There is a relationship between death and our ability to produce fruit for God's glory. And Jesus understood that well. He understood that unless he died, there would be no other human being who could dwell with God. Jesus alone. Would be the human race. And he knew that.

4:35And so he knew he had to die. And he rose again on the feast of first fruits, the feast of first fruits, as that wave offering and the feast of first fruits is all about here. There is more to come, more to come. He himself is the first fruits from the grave. And in these closing chapters of the Bible, we get a glimpse of this full harvest, this holy city coming down, the new Jerusalem. This is heaven. This is that beautiful description of heaven, and it strains every ability of our speech and our imagination to even start to comprehend what's ahead for God's people.

5:29Christ, the first fruits from the dead. Now we see this radiant megalopolis of people living for the glory of the Father, just like he did. Not just one, but a whole city. And you remember, as we looked at it last time, we began looking at the glory of heaven by looking at the physical description of the new Jerusalem. This is what we looked at in part one, verses nine through twenty-one. It's all, as you remember, the glory of heaven, if we can summarize what it's about, it's about the presence of God. God is there.

6:10And it is about life in the physical presence of God. What heaven is about. And remember, we looked at this glory as it's seen in the physical description of the city. John sees the city, looks at its features, its measurements. He takes these measurements. And you remember, it is big. 1,500 miles one way, 1,500 miles the other way, 1,500 miles up this way. It's that cube, that holy of holies, come to earth where God dwells. That's the city. And it has gates, named after the 12 tribes of Israel. It has foundation stones upon the Lamb of the Lamb whom the apostles proclaimed. Access through that covenant faithfulness that God made to Abraham. In your seed, all the nations will be blessed through the access.

7:18And the foundation. We noticed its materials are just absolutely exquisite. And that everything in the city, materialistic. Everything that's there reflects the glory of God. That glory, that Shekinah glory, that presence. Everything in it is for reflecting that glory. Well, today we want to keep looking at the glory of heaven, but this time we want to look at some of the major functions of the new Jerusalem. We've looked at the physical, we've looked at the physical description of the city, and now we want to look at the major functions of the holy city. And so that's what we want to do. And as we're going through this resurrection morn, that as we look upon the glory of heaven described in the function of this new Jerusalem, we want this to impact the way we live today. We want knowledge of what we read about today to shape who we are, what we're about while we're here on our few days on earth. And so I pray this morning that the Lord would use this time to illumine our hearts, awaken our souls, and even call some of the dead among us forth to life.

8:55So that's what we're going to do this morning. So first of all, As we look at the glory of heaven and being in the function of this city, first, it's important to note that it is the place of God's physical presence. The new Jerusalem, the holy city, is the place of God's physical presence. Look at verse 22. I saw no temple in it. Stop there for a minute. I saw no temple. And really, the Greek, it's really emphatic. And a temple I didn't see. You remember when John saw the new earth coming down? And he notices something is conspicuously missing. What was that?

9:45The sea. I saw a new earth come down and there was no sea. Caught his attention. Well, just as John noticed that the sea was conspicuously absent from the new earth, John noticed another glaring absence, and that is the absence of a temple in the new Jerusalem. You remember, according to Old Testament prophecies and Jewish expectations, the concept, the idea of a blessed Jerusalem in the future almost always involves the glory. Of a temple, especially in current Jewish expectations. But Old Testament prophecies bear this out. You remember in Isaiah 44, when Isaiah prophesies, speaking about Cyrus, who is going to become his shepherd, and he will perform my desire. Isaiah 44, 28. What is that desire? And he declares of Jerusalem, she will be built, and the temple, your foundation will be laid. So, in an attempt to encourage those who are going to undergo the exile, God, through Isaiah, says, you're going to return, and there's going to be a temple that's going to be built. And then in Isaiah 60, verse 13, looking further beyond, he says, This, the glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the box tree, and the cypress together to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I shall make the place of my feet glorious. So, there again, a picture of a glorified Jerusalem with the nations coming and bringing supplies to beautify the temple.

11:50And then, when you get to Ezekiel 40 and chapter 40 through 48, you have eight chapters, and then some pretty much devoted. To describing the new temple. Very detailed. You see, at the heart of a blessed Jerusalem, from Old Testament angles, from the majority of the Old Testament prophecies and the Jewish expectations, a glorified Jerusalem-involved temple. But what John saw departs from all of that. And by this time in Revelation, such a temple as Ezekiel's has come and gone during the millennium. Ezekiel's temple, it hasn't happened in history, by the way. And you know how I know that? Because I've been to Israel several times, and I've been to the Dead Sea several times. And guess what? I've never seen. I've never seen people fishing there. Never have. Go read Ezekiel 47. Just watch the water. Where are the water coming out of the temple in Jerusalem? And it will change the Dead Sea and the area into a place of great fishermen and great place.

13:19That hasn't happened yet. It will happen in the future, but it's not the temple being spoken of here. That's coming. And gone. We know that for many reasons that God has such a plan. But he gives us the reason why there isn't a temple. Look back in 22. We don't have to speculate. For the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. I saw no temple for the Lord. The reason there isn't a temple is because the bodily presence of the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

14:09Think about this space. We looked at it in detail last time. A cube, just like the Holy of Holies. Cube, just like in the tabernacle, just like in Solomon. Temple. This description of the new Jerusalem coming down is that holy of holies. It is the place where God Himself dwells. So you didn't go into the Holy of Holies and find another temple in there. There was the presence. And so in this city, you would not expect another temple. There is no need for brick and mortar, even if that brick is made out of diamonds. There's no need for brick and mortar, regardless of how splendid those materials can be. It's the flesh and blood of the Lamb is the immediate place of God's physical presence.

15:01That's where he is. I would love to just take a moment and talk to you about temple thoughts, how, what Christ did, how through the temple and the temple ministry, we understand what Christ did and does and continues to do. But that's going to be revelation on revelation. We'll have to come back to that on another time. But sufficient to say this: the body of God and the Lamb is the temple that houses the presence of Yahweh.

15:55And at one glance, you think about there is no temple. And the temple helps us understand. It explains. It doesn't just foreshadow what Christ is going to do. It does that. But it explains. At one glance at this slain lamb, the lamb who looks like he was slain, we'll see the sacrifice. We will see the unblemished sacrifice right there. One look. And by the way, when you came into the tabernacle or the temple, guess what? The very first thing you were confronted with? Big altar of sacrifice. You knew that the way in to the holy God was through sacrifice. That was ingrained over and over. And that's the first thing that came to your mind: the need for sacrifice. And the very moment that we see the lamb who was slain, immediately, sacrifice. There he is.

16:56Sacrifice. The priest. He's not just a sacrifice, he's the one who made the sacrifice. We see him there, the king, the standard. This is the standard for humanity. It's not the old Adam, it's the new Adam, the one who would lay down his life for the glory of God, who so trusted God to the point of giving himself absolutely, completely, totally in whatever God called him to do. He gave it all. That's the new humanity. And he laid down his life for those he loved. That's the new humanity. That's the king.

17:34And then we see, at the same time, we see God himself. We see the father in him, the one to whom we must be reconciled to. We see the one we need to be mediated with. We see the sacrifice. We see the mediator. We see the one that we need to be mediated with, all in the flesh and blood, the slain lamb. It's all there. And it's more than just this. It's more than all of this. If you could go beyond this, but to see him is to see the Father.

18:16You see, look, there was no need for a temple in the Garden of Eden, was there? Adam, oh, yeah, you need to get in this temple here. I need to talk to you. No, he walked with him. God himself was a temple. And so here we are, looking at a time, the new heavens and a new earth. God is that temple. There isn't a need for brick and mortar because we have the flesh and blood, the physical, bodily presence of Almighty God. This is what heaven is about. It's the place of God's physical presence. You know, today we have spiritual access to union with God, but not physical access. That day we will have both.

19:14But the union we have with Him today is just as real. We're going to have both a physical connection and a spiritual connection with Him in the future. Today we live by faith. Is no need of a temple. But the next thing we notice, there's also no need for the sun. Look back at verse 23. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the lamb. In verse 24, the nations will walk by its light. You see, the glory of heaven is seen in the function of the city. First, it is the place of God's physical presence, but second, it illumines the nations. Now, get your mind around this.

20:09We're talking about something very different than this creation that we have grown accustomed to. There is no need for light-illuminating bodies like the sun or light-reflecting bodies like the moon. Why? Because the creator is there, his glory is there, and it is sufficient to light up the city and the whole world. Notice the glory of God has illumined it. See, there's no reason for the sun, the moon. Why? Because the glory of God has illumined it. The light of the Creator is present. So you don't need the light of a created entity. There because the light of the Creator is there.

21:05He lights up the city. And the lamp is the lamb. Notice that. And its lamp is the lamb. That source. The lamb is a light-giving entity, both spiritual and physical. One day, physical. Spiritual now. Remember John 8, 12? Jesus said to them, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. Do you walk in darkness now? You know why? It's because you don't follow the Lamb.

21:45John 12, 35, Jesus said this, for a little while longer, the light is among you. Walk while you have the light. Verse 36, while you have the light, believe the light, so that you may become sons of the light. Listen, we are reading. We are experiencing light this morning from his word. While you have the light, believe this light. Believe his word so that you may become children of the light. This is what Jesus says in John 12, 44. And Jesus cried out and said, He who believes in me does not believe in me, but believes in him who sent me. Incredible. Statement. He said, Look, if you believe in me, it's not that you believe in me, it's that you believe in the one who sent me. And he who sees me sees the one who sent me. I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness. You know why you remain in darkness this morning, this resurrection morning? You know why? It's because you do not believe in Christ. Believe in Christ, and up from the grave you come.

23:01That's what we celebrate. But as we keep reading, you know, we get to chapter 22, verse 5, listen to what this says. And there will no longer be any night, and they will not have need of the light of a lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them, and they will reign forever and ever. There it says the Lord God will illumine them. In our text here, it says the lamp is the lamb. So who's the illuminator? The lamb or the Lord God?

23:39As we shared this past Good Friday, we spent some time looking at the unity of God, shared judged. They share the judgment of all of everything. There's God the Father, God the Son, involved in worship, both receiving worship. See them both in that, in the temple. As the temple both shared, and here the two, the one, share in illuminating God's glory. And the result of this, looking, the nations will walk by its light, verse 24. The nations will walk. You see, now that's an incredible statement, especially as we keep reading. The illuminating glory of the city will be sufficient to light the new earth.

24:38Sound unbelievable? Yeah. Strains us. But so do great big walls, 1,500 miles up and around, 72 yards thick, made of diamond. That's also hard to get your mind around. No sea. Yeah, we're talking about something beyond our ability to take in. Yet this is what God testifies. The illuminating glory of the city, sufficient to light the whole world, and all nations will ultimately, both physically and spiritually, walk by its light. The nations will walk, will go about, they will conduct themselves, they will live life by its light.

25:30Now, this brings up some interesting questions. A lot of interesting questions. One of the glories of heaven is that it's clearly that he illumines the nations. And that comes up to a question: who are these nations? And there's a lot of conversation about this, a lot of speculation. I'm just going to give you several views. Number one, there are those that suggest that this is the millennium, that what we're talking about is happening in the thousand years. And this is in accord with the Old Testament expectations. And they'll cite things like Micah 4:1, and it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of mountains, and it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us about his law, of his ways, and that we may walk in his paths. For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Sounds great. They would point to that. The problem is the last days are over by this time in Revelation. Others point to Isaiah 60, verse 5. Then you shall see and be. Radiant, and your heart will thrill and rejoice because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you. The wealth of the nations will come to you.

27:10Again, the problem with this view is that the millennium is over. There is no sea, there is no need for the wealth of the nations to come in, to rebuild. That's come and gone. Last days are over. There's another view that sees this city as the redeemed are inside the city, the new Jerusalem, and the unregenerate are outside the city. And the nations are unregenerate. And the ones coming into the city are those that will be saved under the influence of the New Jerusalem. And there are many variations of this thought: redeemed inside, unregenerate outside. They suggest that maybe these could be leftovers from the tribulation or the millennium who didn't bow to the beast but didn't have faith in Christ. Some even go as far as to say, see, there it is, proof, everybody's going to be saved. Universal salvation, that there's going to be the holy city, and eventually everybody is going to come into it and be saved. The problem with this view and many strains of it is that the great white throne judgment has already taken place.

28:30And you remember in chapter 20, verse 15, and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Death is thrown into the lake of fire. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire. And everyone whose name is not found in the book of life is also in the book, is also thrown into the lake of fire. Verse 21, verse 1, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. It's after the great white throne judgment that the new heaven and the earth come. There will be no unregenerate in the new heavens and the new earth. They are completely out of the order altogether. They're in the lake of fire. That has been their inheritance.

29:16Then there's a third view that says, well, there's just meaningless. It's the meaningless view, I call it. They would spiritualize the nations outside simply, well, they're not really nations. It's just God's way of saying he's got universal reign over everything. The problem with such an approach is that it fails to deal with the distinctions. It talks about the nations. He's not just throwing out a literal idea of nations to communicate some universal reign. And a universal reign without the nations doesn't make any sense anyway. So it's kind of meaningless.

29:59Now, the best View is that these are redeemed nations, masses of people whose names are written in the book of life. Listen, not everyone stays put in the holy city. Now, we met some in Revelation 3:12, permanent fixtures in the holy city. They won't go out or come in anymore. But this indicates that there are going to be many nations. Not everyone is going to stay put in the holy city, even though they're residents. They have their permanent resident there.

30:43Not everyone stays put. Think about what's come down. We just looked at it last time. And the majority of this text is all talking about that holy of holies, that new Jerusalem with gates going in every direction, big gates with angels hosted to make sure it's open. There's a new world that comes with it. And all we've been looking at is the central city. But there's a vast new world. And God created it to be inhabited. So what would that be like?

31:28It doesn't go in to Much detail about that. It just says it's there. But it's not too difficult to imagine that the new earth will be much like the Garden of Eden. Think about at the time that Adam and Eve were created, all that was needed was a garden. They're just those personas. Two people. Right? What would have happened if they just kept multiplying, multiplying, multiplying? The idea of a mega-city, a place where one could go and walk with God, is not hard to conceive of.

32:16So what's more happy? I mean, I know it's probably a question maybe going on in your mind. Okay, well, is there distinctions in heaven? Yes, one people, but have you haven't figured it out? God loves distinction. He saved people from every tribe. He loves the nations. There's distinction. We see it in the very gates. The names of Israel, the tribes of Israel. We see the foundation stones with the names of the apostles. We see every single nation, every tribe, every tongue. God loves distinctions. Yes, one people, but don't miss the distinctions.

32:56But, friends, there's no second-class citizen. Heaven. Thinks more happy? Okay. Who thinks the eagle's the most happy? All right. Who thinks the pig is the most happy? I see some hands. Who thinks my beagle at breakfast is the most happy? Yeah, those of you who've seen my beagle, and yeah, he's happy. You see the point I'm trying to make with all of this is that God, so they're all just as happy as they can be in their setting. There is no second-class citizen in heaven or a second-class place. And God has created and fashioned every person that He calls out of this world and into His light. He gives them a place, and there is no second-class citizen. And what's nice is the greater ones enjoy serving the lesser ones. I was walking with my wife last night, and I said, You know, the good thing about heaven is like, if you're much greater than I am, that just means I have one person, one more person that's serving me.

34:11Isn't that great? But do you see the nature of this? I mean, and it's only the foolish that start thinking, well, I need a higher, you got that place, you got that post. And Jesus said, Look, that's so worldly. That's a worldly way of thinking. No, the greatest ones serve. So, look, it's a place of serve and being served. It is just beyond our ability. But there is no second-class citizen. And what's more is there kings. As the next verse makes clear, the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. There are kings. There are places that God has put his redeemed.

35:02You're good. So we look at the glory of the heaven, seen in the function of the city. It's seen in that it's the place of God's physical presence. It illumines the nations. So if you've fallen off the wagon, get back on. It's also where the glory of the nations is presented. We need a place. Where do we bring it? When we make great discoveries, when we discover what God has created and done and celebrated, where is that place that that glory is brought?

35:37Well, I think our text gives us an indication where that might be. Look at verse 24: the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it in the daytime, for there will be no night there. Its gates will never be closed, and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. It's going to be daytime only there because there is not going to be night because the glory of God doesn't go out. It isn't eclipsed.

36:09It will be daytime there. Gates will never be closed. And its purpose, the radiance, look, the glory of the nations, the radiance, the splendor of the nations will be brought into it, into the very presence of the Lord. And this is exactly what didn't happen under the worldly system that matures into Babylon the Great. It didn't bring glory. Remember in Revelation 16:9, even after great judgments upon them, and God's patience giving them time to repent, at the end of Revelation 16:9, it says, and they did not repent, so as to give him glory.

37:01What the old system, the matured Adam kind, produces that they will not give glory. But in this city, the nations, and the kings of the nations, will come giving glory, bringing their glory. And the idea is it's never shut. There's an emphasis here. Just as Like there's no sea, there's no temple, there's no sun, there's also no need to ever close the gates. Never shut. It's like this, this language speaks of, it's like there's this constant parade of national glories being brought into the city in abundance.

37:54Glories from the new earth, new discoveries, new ways to celebrate, new ways to bring in and give thanks to God and to honor Him and to celebrate the glories. I think there is going to be continual discovery in the new heavens and the new earth. We're going to continue to marvel and understand God and glory in what He's done. What do they do? They bring their glory into the presence of God to honor Him, as is appropriate. That's the way it's going to be. That's what we're going to be doing one day, somewhere, some way.

38:40Why don't we do that now? But it's important to note that the splendor of the heavenly city is not based upon man. What's being brought into the city is that of celebration. It's not that God needs anything from the Nations, nor is he even using it to build the city. The city comes down from God. It's made by God. It's of God. Its materials are of God. Its wealth is from God. All of that he speaks into existence and he brings it. This is the bridal city.

39:16The daughter-in-law. You can even use that word. It's a creation of God. So, what are all these nations doing? They're bringing in their glory. Did you guys ever do show and tell growing up? How many of you guys understand? Do I need to explain what show and tell is when you're in school and like, okay, you bring something, you show it, and then you tell all about it? Well, that's kind of the spirit here. It's like all these discoveries and blessings in the new earth, it's coming in with this show and tell and excitement, and the whole city is able to rejoice with them.

40:04Excuse me. Move on. The function of the city is also seen in that it is the home of the saints. It's the home of all the saints. And before I jump into that, I just want to look here real quick and notice that heaven is a Place of perpetual purity. Sorry, my John's getting me some water. I'm just too excited this morning. The singing was so great, and I knew when I was singing, I actually was singing, and I realized that I better not sing so loud because my voice will probably go out when I'm preaching. And so, thank you, John.

41:04But notice, this new city is a place of perpetual purity. It's not susceptible to corruption, it's always going to be holy. And this is evident in verse 27 by who will not come into it and who will come into it. Notice, first of all, in verse 27, notice those who will not come into it. Verse 27, and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it. The glory of the nations will come into it.

41:47But then there is something that will never come into it. What is that? Nothing unclean, nothing evil, the idea, nothing, nothing. No form of moral corruptness at all will enter. Nothing less than pure moral perfection. Nothing except for clean, nothing except the most perfect motivation, innocent, all that. That's what's coming into it. No form of moral corruption at all is going to come into it, even the slightest amount. No one who practices abominations who does the detestable things. Read a lot about that in Babylon the Great and America the Great.

42:46One who practices abomination. And anyone who practices lying. There's three prohibitions, little verses that describe who won't be there. And in every case, the liar is at the end. No one who practices lying will ever enter the city. Friends, let me ask you something. Have you told a lie in the last 48 hours? How do you feel about that lie? Will you leave here today going to whoever you lied to and speak the truth? Truth. Or are you at peace with being living in a lie? Have you lied to your parents? Have you lied to someone? Have you lied to? Are you at peace with that? Let me tell you something that the scripture is saying right here. You will have absolutely no part in the heavenly city.

43:55It serves as a warning to call you out of your darkness to walk in the light while you have the light. If you're caught in a lie right now, make it right. Ask God to forgive you. Go speak truth. Run from that with all your strength. And I don't care how old you are. Kids, are you hearing me? Walk in truth. Walk in truth. Only those who walk in truth have access to this holy city. But notice those who will enter the city, verse 27, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Only those who specially marked out, redeemed, cleansed, renewed, like Christ.

45:00Only they will enter the city. This is the bridal city. It's home to all whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. And certainly by this time, we are talking about all the saints. All the saints of all time. Old Testament saints, New Testament saints, tribulation saints, millennial saints, and any other saints that we've missed along the way. Now that covers it pretty much. Old Testament, New Testament, tribulation. Oneness. All of them, one people, all caught up in this bridal imagery. All.

45:46In this bridal city, their names, they are permanent residents of this city. Even if some of them go out and come in, this is their home. Oneness with many distinctions. Sounds familiar? Oneness with distinctions? God, three, one, one God, yet clearly distinguished in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. We're made in his image. We would expect oneness and yet distinction. Something to point out is that such a book exists. The Lamb's book of life exists. It's the Lamb. It's Christ who says whose name is in it. That's why we come to Him. And He says, if you come to Him, He will not cast you out.

46:53He promises to receive all who will come to Him. What do you think? Do you think your name is written in this book? Why? Perhaps why not? You can settle it today. Come to the Lamb and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and to write your name in His book and say, You know, I may not even understand all this stuff, but Lord, do whatever you need to do to bring me into a right relationship. Will you pray that today? If you do not know Him, you see, these verses are here to encourage the believers. This is our home, but it's also given to serve as a warning to unbelievers. If you do not have a relationship with the Christ, this is not your city, but it's also an invitation. This can be your city.

47:52I'd love to spend time. I spend a lot of time just trying to think about what heaven is like and. And just come up bankrupt. But take 10 of your favorite places, 10 of your favorite scenes in this world. Take 10 of the best, your best company. Take 10 of the best ways you've been served. Take 10 of the best of everything that you can possibly imagine. Put them all together and find the best of all of them. And guess what? You'll have something that is a gross comparison to what life in this new city is going to be like.

48:33Well, the glory of heaven is seen in the function of this city. It's the place of God's physical presence. It illumines the nations. It's where the glory of the nations will be presented, and it's the home of all the saints. And these truths should impact us today. Today, we may not have physical access to God like we will one day, but we do have spiritual access to union with Him. Let us live in union with Him. We know one day that all the glory and honor is going to be brought before Him.

49:20Why don't we make every moment of every day that we live a tribute to Him? Why don't you wake up each day, Lord? I want to live this day as a tribute to you. And the days you do, whatever. He's called you to do, big or small, and everything in between, let them be a tribute. Say, Lord, here is my gift to you today. I want to walk by your light. And as we do, Christ who is in us will illumine our place. Yes, with the spiritual light. You know, it's interesting that Jesus Himself is speaking to the seven churches who are lampstands. They are to give light to their communities.

50:01We have the light of Christ because he dwells in us. And there are those around who need to see, as you live out your life, paying tribute to him and going about your days, people will see Christ. They will come under and walk in his light. Let the thought of heaven grip your heart. Let it relax you. Let it strengthen you. Let it give you stability. Let it give you reason to celebrate. As friends, as Jesus pointed out and knew very well, death to self-interest is necessary for eternal fruit. And Jesus had to make the decision: do I die?

51:00Or do I abide alone? Praise God. He went to the cross. And as that seed died, God glorified him through that. There is an abundance of people today. There is a heavenly city coming because of the work of our Lord. He is risen. And Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for these truths. We thank you that you sent your Son. Father, we couldn't make it right. There was no one in the realm of humanity that could undo what Adam did. Father, we had no mediator. We had nothing that we could bring. We were condemned, lost. Death reigned over us.

52:04But it was your gift to send us a mediator. You took upon flesh, walked among us. Father, and your mediator became the mediation, the sacrifice, the new standard. Father, you brought us together through the work of your Son. Thank you. Father, may Each day and each moment of our lives be a tribute to Him and to you, our Heavenly Father. In Christ's name.