Easter Sunday Livestream | Revelation 21:1-8 | The Hope of Heaven

You who are grieving see the shore. One day death will be no more. Can you imagine a creation where you'll never have to sit by another bedside watching a loved one die? Can you imagine a new creation where you never have to endure turning a machine off? You never have to go to another funeral. I'll never have to preach another funeral. This will be a characteristic of the new creation because Jesus has defeated death. There'll be no death in the new heaven and new earth. You are mourning and crying, see the shore. There'll be no more mourning, no more crying. You who are in pain, no pain anymore. [01:11:46] (47 seconds)  #HopeBeyondGrief

I am done with sin. I am done with its effects. I'm done with tears, I'm done with sickness, I'm done with disease, I'm done with seeing doctors, I'm done with death, I'm done with mourning and crying and seeing people in pain. I know exactly why John said, come Lord Jesus, come. Because he got a glimpse of heaven. He got a glimpse of forever with the savior and no more sin. And I have no doubt from that day forward that John was homesick for heaven. But in the midst of his suffering, while he was still in the first earth, he was encouraged and filled with hope as he saw the shores of heaven. [01:13:54] (43 seconds)  #HomesickForHeaven

My friends, if you're believing in Jesus who died and rose again one day, you're gonna be with your savior. See the shore my friends. The savior, the one we long for. I have no doubt that those early disciples who spent years with him on earth watched him ascend into heaven were longing to see him come again on those clouds. Not because they were just looking forward to a new heaven and new earth, they were looking forward to the one who was there and they would get to be with forever. That's our hope because Christ has been raised from the grave. [01:08:05] (44 seconds)  #ForeverWithJesus

Now do not answer this question out loud, but I would want you to answer this to yourself and hang on to it for a moment. If someone were to ask you, what are you looking forward to most in heaven? How would you answer that question? I think some would say, can't wait to see that new Jerusalem. I can't wait to see those streets. Some would probably say, I'm really excited to see this new earth. Some would even answer this way, I can't wait to be reunited with my loved ones. Well, you know what the greatest aspect of the new creation will be? Not the creation itself, but the creator who will be there. [01:03:02] (40 seconds)  #CreatorOverCreation

Think about that new creation. You don't have to worry about getting robbed, raped, murdered, or lied to anymore. Because in the new creation, there's gonna be no sin, no evil, no evil doers. And and it gets even better than this. There won't even be the effects of sin in the new creation. It is going to be as if sin never happened in the first place. You who are suffering, see the shore. Verse four, he's going to wipe away every tear from your eyes. You've been shedding tears lately? One day no more. [01:11:08] (38 seconds)  #NoMoreTearsNoMorePain

Because Jesus has been raised from the grave, Peter says, all who believe in Jesus for their salvation, they've been born again to a living hope through his resurrection. To what? Verse four, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this, you greatly rejoice. Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [00:55:13] (37 seconds)  #BornAgainLivingHope

They were surrounded by the fog of sin. They were surrounded by the devastating effects of sins. They were suffering. And what did Peter do for those who were suffering? He pointed them to the shore. He set their eyes on what is to come. He did this to encourage them, to bring them joy in their trials, to comfort them, to fill them with hope. He did this because he knew setting their eyes on what's to come would prevent them from being robbed of their joy, and it would help them make it through their present suffering. [00:55:50] (37 seconds)  #SetYourEyesOnHope

When John received this vision, he was living on the first earth. Like John, we too are still living on the first earth earth, there is also a first heaven. When believers die today, they go to heaven or what Jesus called paradise from that cross. But one day, John is helping us to see there's gonna be a new heaven, a new earth, a new creation. You might ask, well, why? Why does there need to be a new creation? Because the present one has been corrupted by sin. One day, God is going to destroy this earth and he's gonna make all things new. [00:57:16] (38 seconds)  #NewCreationComing