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To fulfill is to take the old
and bring it to completion; to bring about the ultimate purpose. God has always had a purpose. He is the God of design, balance, beauty, and
order. In our text today He takes the
ordinary believers of all history, and fulfills their destiny. He takes all the countless and un-named
church members of all ages, including the struggling, loving Philadelphians,
and the lazy Laodiceans, all those martyrs and survivors down through the ages,
and completes what has always been in the heart and mind of God. He gathers the entire family of God, and
makes us feel quite at home in the New Jerusalem, the city of God. This fulfillment has its being in
relationship.
Notice the completion of the
fulfillment of God’s purpose, the perfectly-new relationship. What will it be like?
Intimacy Unhindered
I heard a loud
shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He
will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with
them. Revelation 21:3
God’s purpose, from the time
of Adam’s fall, has been to restore Eden’s intimacy. That was God’s purpose in the first place.
And the LORD God
said, It is not good that the man should be alone; Genesis 2:18
The fact that God made man in
His own image indicates the reflection that it is not good for God to be alone
either. C.S. Lewis said: If I
find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most
probable explanation is that I was made for another world.[1]
Better applied to this text is
the reality that we are made for more than this, or any
other world. We are made for
close fellowship with God. Sin separates
us from that. In the New Jerusalem, the
City of God, we will not have closed gates, space, darkness, or anything else
to prevent free access to the very presence of God. The purpose of God removes every obstacle to
His purpose of intimate fellowship with us.
We shall see Him face to face.
Beside Intimacy Unhindered, there
is:
Integrity Untainted
He will wipe
every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying
or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Revelation 21:4
There is a sense in which
former things dog us all the days of
our lives.
·
How can we have nothing between God and ourselves when the memories of
past failures bring tears to eyes.
·
And the death of loved ones brings sadness.
·
And there is pain in this world.
Integrity is a relationship of
complete oneness. Our sin, and
this sinful existence is separates us from complete rest of mind and soul. We are stuck in former things. New things will require a clean sweep.
As a child I did quite a few
things that caused myself pain. Often, I
cried. I can still feel the cool
washcloth on my face as Mom washed away dirt, sweat and tears. I can remember the way it felt so good to be
near her and be comforted. If that is
possible for a child with a human Mother, how much more the refreshing of our
integrity, our wholeness, when the Father above wipes away all the former
things! Intimacy will be Unhindered,
Integrity Untainted, and
Inheritance Unmeasured
All who are
victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they
will be my children. Revelation 21:7
When someone inherits, it is
based most visibly upon two things:
DEATH...of the person who grants the inheritance. Jesus’ death on the cross was the act that
sealed the Father’s will. Besides death,
RELATIONSHIP...is the other
factor.
As a recognized point of law,
blood kin and adopted kin are entitled to inheritance. The victorious believers of whom John writes are
those who cling to the blood-stained cross, and His name. Even the prodigal son knew it was not enough
to recognize he was in the pig pen, and far from the father, he got up and went
to the father, and was received.
Beloved, the only way to be there when the inheritance is handed out
without measure, is to be related to the Father.
But to all who
believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of
God. John 1:12
Intimacy will be Unhindered,
Integrity Untainted, Inheritance Unmeasured, and
Identity Unmistakable
No longer will
there be a curse upon anything. For the
throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship
him. And
they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. Revelation 22:3-4
The name in the forehead is an
obvious opposite to the mark of the beast.
Those who take the name of
Jesus will have His mark. It may not
a physical mark, but more likely an identifiable
character. We are to be
transformed into the image of Christ[2]. This is what Paul sought:
For God knew his
people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son
would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29
The only real trouble with the
church in any age is our identity crisis when believers do
not live up to the name – when we don’t even try to be conformed to His
image. We have the name Christian, it means little Christ, disciple of His.
Are you becoming what the name
implies?
The passage says that His
servants shall serve Him. The word has a
special meaning. It is only used in the
New Testament to describe doing things for a Master that only the most trusted
slave would be permitted to do. What
that means is that the family will provide for our Lord what nothing else in
the universe can do, or be, family. We
are His, and He wants no other.
Child of God, you should not
have any identity crisis. You are wanted
and loved by the God, eternal. You are
needed by Him. Nothing else will
do!
In the fulfilled purpose of
God your identity will unmistakable!
Insight Unending
And there will
be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them.
And they will reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:5
When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said, My day’s work is done. But I cannot say, My life is done. My work
will recommence the next morning. The
tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes upon the twilight but opens upon
the dawn.[3]
Heaven allows for the fullest
expression of life. All the secrets of
the universe will open in the City of God.
Our line of vision will be unhindered for eternity. Paul said we
shall know, even as we are known.
As a baby in the cradle I
received tender and loving care from my Mother.
I was satisfied to eat, burp a little, and sleep. My universe revolved around warm food and a
dry diaper. As an adult I have
experienced much more. I have held my
own babies, grandbabies, and great-grandbabies.
I’ve stood at the edge of the Grand Canyon in awe. I have flown around the world. I have lived and learned these past nearly 75
years. There was always much more to
life than just the inside of that cradle, and Mom’s arms, and life has been
good.
But then, O, then there will
not just be more, there will be no limit at all in the city of God. God’s purpose, throwing the lid off the
limits for His beloved!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!
[1]James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, (Wheaton,
Tyndale, 1988), 172
[2]
According to Romans 12:1-2
[3]Ibid., 173
