Running the Bases: Perseverance in the Light of the New Creation

• Perseverance and Faith [00:31:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of running all the bases in baseball to explain that believers must persevere through the entire Christian life to receive the reward, rather than stopping midway.
• Doubt and Intellectual Honesty [00:34:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses why people leave the church, citing research that many leave because their doubts were not taken seriously, and argues that the church should be a safe space for wrestling with questions.
• Eschatology (New Heaven and New Earth) [00:36:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor analyzes Revelation 21, explaining that the 'new' creation is 'pre-owned' (transformed, not obliterated) and that the absence of the sea symbolizes the removal of chaos and confusion, allowing for clarity.
• The Problem of Evil [00:39:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the tension between God's power/love and the existence of evil, arguing that evil is an aberration resulting from human freedom, not God's original design, and that God will wipe away all pain and death in the new creation.
• Relevance of the Church [00:45:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor counters the doubt that Christianity is irrelevant amidst societal crises by asserting that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, meaning God's redemptive work through the church is the 'big print' or central narrative of history, while worldly events are merely footnotes.
• Moral Failure and Hypocrisy [00:49:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor distinguishes between repentable sin (where believers should respond with grace) and unrepentant spiritual abuse, warning that mere church attendance does not guarantee salvation and that unrepentant sinners face judgment.
• Perseverance and Apostasy [00:51:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that being in church does not make one a child of God, citing Revelation 2:8 to show that even those within the religious community can be 'cowardly' or 'unbelieving' and face judgment.
• Church Hospitality and Inclusivity [00:54:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor acknowledges that the church often fails to be hospitable to various demographics (poor, rich, people of color) and admits this is 'on us,' urging the congregation to remove barriers.
• Imperfect Community [00:53:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that 'imperfect community' is a primary reason people leave church, but asserts that this imperfection is expected until the final state of the church as the 'bride.'
• Eschatological Hope [00:55:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the imagery of the New Jerusalem as a bride beautifully dressed to contrast with the current 'ugly' state of the church, encouraging perseverance toward this future reality.

• Sermon Illustration [00:29:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a story about a 1999 Mets playoff game where player Robert Ventura hit a walk-off grand slam but failed to touch home plate due to celebration, resulting in his run counting only as a single. He uses this to illustrate that one must 'run all the bases' (persevere) to receive the full reward.
• Sermon Illustration [00:36:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of buying a car to explain the Greek concept of 'new' in Revelation 21, distinguishing between 'brand new' and 'pre-owned' to argue that the new earth is a transformation of the current one, not a complete obliteration.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts swimming in a pool (clear, visible feet) with swimming in the ocean (murky, stirring up sand) to illustrate the biblical symbolism of the sea as chaos and confusion, which will be absent in the new creation.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy comparing the ocean (stirring up confusion, hard to see) to a pool (clear visibility) to explain that the current world order involves confusion ('the sea'), but the new creation will have clarity with no more sea.
• Sermon Illustration [00:42:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a childhood story of riding a bicycle too fast around a circular driveway, crashing, and sustaining painful scars that have since faded, illustrating how God uses past pain and evil to shape believers into Christ-like individuals, even though the scars of pain will be gone in heaven.
• Sermon Illustration [00:47:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a house closing where an attorney highlights the 'big print' (the bottom line) versus the 'small print' (verbiage) to explain that while cultural events are important, they are footnotes compared to the 'big print' of God's redemptive history through the church.
• Sermon Illustration [00:55:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about conducting wedding rehearsals, using painter's tape to position the bridal party, dealing with mistakes, and the contrast between the messy rehearsal and the beautiful final wedding day where everyone focuses on the bride's magnificent dress.
• Sermon Illustration [00:57:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the metaphor of 'running the bases' in baseball to describe the Christian life, noting that people stop running when they feel discouraged, but must keep going toward 'home plate' (eternal hope).

• Pastoral Charge [00:45:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor instructs the congregation to physically write down the scripture verse for memorization and emphasis.
• Pastoral Charge [00:57:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor humorously challenges those seeking a 'perfect' church to recognize their own role in the church's imperfection, implying a call to self-reflection and acceptance.
• Pastoral Charge [00:57:57 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor leads a prayer asking for divine strength and hope to persevere through the week.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:51] Good morning, church. We're going to try that again. Good morning, church. Welcome to Corinth, where our mission is to proclaim and worship Jesus as Lord.
[00:00:59] I'm just going to keep talking. I don't care if you keep talking, too. I used to be a teacher. I could do this forever. It is on. All right, we're going to talk to people. Can you turn me down?
[00:01:15] You know what? We're just going to try the other one.
[00:01:27] Let's try it. Wow! I got to tell you, I want a mic problem every week because I just love when you clap for me. That's so good for my self-esteem.
[00:01:38] All right. Y'all are great. Anyway, let me start all over again and say welcome to Corinth where our mission is to reclaim and worship Jesus as Lord. Whether you're watching online or you're joining us in person, we're just glad that you are worshiping with us today. If we haven't met
[00:01:55] yet, my name is Amy. I'm one of the pastors on staff here, and I would love to get to know you a little bit better a little later on. I've got just a handful of announcements that I want to
[00:02:03] draw your attention to. The first is that we've got black friendship pads. They're all along those end aisles. If you see one of those near you, would you grab it, sign in, let us know that you
[00:02:11] were here, pass it down your aisle, let it work its way back or whatever. It's a really great way for us to know who's been here and who we ought to follow up with if you stop showing up for church.
[00:02:19] Also inside there, there's a blue visitor connect card. If you're new to Corinth, we would love for you to go ahead and fill one of those out. That helps us to connect with you and also helps us find ways for you to connect at Corinth. There's also a QR code there if you'd
[00:02:32] rather scan it and fill it out online. It's the exact same form, just online versus in paper.
[00:02:37] So there are four announcements I'm going to draw your attention to this week. Most of these. Maybe all of these are in your bulletin, but they deserve a little extra attention.
[00:02:45] The first is this Thursday, the 18th, we are having date night here at Corinth. What date night is, is it's a free talk for couples, and we've also got free child care. So Kip and Myra
[00:02:54] McDonough are going to talk this Thursday evening briefly, and then you'll go out on a date on your own. The only reason you need to sign up for that is if you need child care, and that's just so we
[00:03:03] know we have enough workers and food for the kiddos. So join us Thursday night for date night.
[00:03:08] One week from today is Children's Sunday.
[00:03:11] Children's Sunday is a really fun tradition at Corinth where we invite our children to help us lead in worship.
[00:03:16] And we do that on the Sunday right before Vacation Bible School starts.
[00:03:20] So about eight days from now, Vacation Bible School is happening at Corinth, which means next Sunday, we've got two worship services only.
[00:03:27] We're not doing all three.
[00:03:28] So next Sunday, you can come to the sanctuary at 8.15 or 10.45.
[00:03:32] It's gonna be basically a mirror service at both times.
[00:03:35] But what's gonna be really special about it is you're going to hear Corinth kids leading our prayers, helping us to read our scripture and do all kinds of other parts of our worship service. We haven't turned over the preaching, but most
[00:03:46] everything else they're going to be involved in. So join us next week at 8.15 or 10.45 for that blended style worship. Two other things that are coming up a little farther out. One is the Corinth
[00:03:56] adults over 50 are going blueberry picking on Saturday, June 27th. You don't have to be a Corinth person for that. You just need to be 50-ish and up. They're not going to card you. So if you're
[00:04:05] like 48 and you want to go pick blueberries, you go pick some blueberries. It's totally fine.
[00:04:09] There's information in your bulletin about how to sign up for that so they know you're coming.
[00:04:13] And finally, looking even farther out, this one goes all the way to August 20th. If you or someone that you know has some struggles with how technology is affecting us and our children, I want you to mark your calendar. And like I said, he's going to be here talking about parenting in
[00:04:30] the digital age. I've got some teenagers at home, and I'm sure I'm not the only parent in the room who's a little concerned about what that means to have teenagers in 2026.
[00:04:38] So join us for that.
[00:04:39] Like I said, it's gonna be the first one in that Extending Hope series.
[00:04:41] If you wanna know more about it, we've got a QR code that I think is somewhere, or we've got a hard copy of the schedule out there in the Shuford room out there.
[00:04:51] We'd love for you to grab that on your way out as well.
[00:04:54] So there's more in your bulletin about a lot of other things happening.
[00:04:56] Do check that, but this is all I'm gonna talk to you about for right now.
[00:04:59] But as our worship team comes forward and gets set, I would love for you to stand up, greet some folks around you for the next minute or two. Good morning, church. If you'll make your

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:06:09] way back to your seats, we're going to begin our time of worship. Let's open up our time this morning in Hebrews. I'm going to read to you from Hebrews chapter 12, verses 22 to 29. And this is
[00:06:21] a section of scripture that's focusing on the new covenant available to us for those of us who believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is verse 22 in chapter 12.
[00:06:32] But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.
[00:06:38] You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled
[00:06:57] blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will
[00:07:09] we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words
[00:07:22] once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken, that is created things, so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming
[00:07:41] fire. So what a powerful scripture that is. We're going to be opening with the song Washed, and we sing the words, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood. I'm as good as new,
[00:07:52] oh, hallelujah, right? And hallelujah is praise God. So, you know, what this song is, what we're celebrating, what we're praising God for is that our right standing with God, it is not earned by us. It is not earned by anything that we have done. And this scripture that we just read
[00:08:07] reminds us that Jesus serves as the mediator. It says, Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word, right? The blood of Jesus is grace and mercy
[00:08:19] rather than vengeance. And we can approach God with confidence, not because of anything we've done, but because Jesus' blood has satisfied the demands of the judge, right? So, and it says here, therefore, because of this, because we are washed in the blood, because we have this new covenant,
[00:08:35] this new hope to look forward to, let's worship God in reverence and in awe, right? So that's our call this morning. As we sing these words, do you realize what's available to you through the blood of Jesus Christ. Let's be thankful. Let's bow our heads in prayer. We praise you,
[00:08:50] Father, that we can approach your throne of grace with confidence, Lord, because of the blood of Jesus. We praise you for the assurance that we are citizens of an unshakable kingdom, Lord.
[00:09:00] We worship you with reverence and awe this morning, God. Help us to grasp the magnitude of what you have given us through the blood of Jesus Christ. We praise you that we are clean, ransomed, and redeemed. Father, we choose to dance in your victory and to celebrate what you have
[00:09:14] done. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, sing with us. We're going to start off clapping our hands this morning.

[00:18:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:18:28] And now from Revelation 12.
[00:18:58] wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Pray with me. Lord Jesus, thank you for your loving kindness and mercy toward us, that even while we were still sinners, you died for us because you loved us that much. Thank you, Jesus, for washing us clean with your blood. You are so
[00:19:16] worthy of our praise. I pray that we would glorify you with this next song, because you deserve our worship. Help us to lift high the cross today and every day. In Jesus's name, I pray. Amen.

[00:20:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:20:21] that turned the tender to the cross.

[00:25:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:25:08] Our attention this morning, God, to our distractions.
[00:25:11] Would you help us to focus solely on you and your word?
[00:25:14] Prepare our hearts and our minds for the word that you have for each of us today.
[00:25:18] In Jesus' name we pray.

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:25:24] Tithes and offerings.
[00:25:25] And we do that in part because we support a ton of wonderful ministries here in town and around the globe, but also because when we give what God has given us, it's a reminder that we don't need those resources.
[00:25:36] We only need God.
[00:25:37] So I'm going to give you just a minute or two while Stephen's going to continue to play.
[00:25:41] You can give online.
[00:25:42] You can bring your tithes and offerings to those boxes.
[00:25:44] Or you can just say a prayer of thanksgiving for all God's given.
[00:25:48] Let's pray together.
[00:26:24] God, we thank you for the many, many blessings that you've given us and the ones that we've been able to share today.
[00:26:29] We pray that where these tithes and offerings are used, that your kingdom would grow, that people would come to know you and to trust you and to follow you, maybe in new ways or for the very first time.
[00:26:37] We pray that your name would be lifted high and that people would come to proclaim and worship Jesus as Lord through these gifts.
[00:26:43] We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:26:48] Our scripture reading this morning comes from the book of Revelation.
[00:26:51] We are in chapter 21, starting in verse 1.
[00:26:55] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
[00:27:05] I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
[00:27:13] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look, God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.
[00:27:22] They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
[00:27:27] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
[00:27:30] There'll be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
[00:27:37] He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new.
[00:27:42] Then he said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.
[00:27:48] He said to me, it is done.
[00:27:51] I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.
[00:27:55] To the thirsty, I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
[00:28:00] Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
[00:28:06] But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Morning, church. Now, I know that in some ways

[00:28:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:28:44] basketball season ended in March, but there's this thing called the NBA, and my team was in it, New York Knicks, and yeah. So during this series, I was wearing my lucky New York Knicks socks here,
[00:29:02] And they seem to work, because last night they won the NBA Finals over San Antonio Spurs, so they went home champions.
[00:29:11] But here's the thing.
[00:29:12] It's been 53 years since New York Knicks last won an NBA championship.
[00:29:17] 53-year drought.
[00:29:20] Let me tell you about another New York team that's also suffered some drought, and that's a baseball team called New York Mets.
[00:29:28] I hear some Mets fans in here, all right?
[00:29:30] So the last time the Mets won a World Series was in 1986, and they came close a few times between now and 1986.
[00:29:39] So they went to the World Series twice, lost twice in those World Series since 1986.
[00:29:45] They also had four other pennant games or series that they lost.
[00:29:51] So they've done a lot of losing.
[00:29:52] But I want to tell you a story about this one particular memorable pennant game in October of 1999.
[00:29:59] It was against this team called, oh, the Atlanta Braves.
[00:30:03] And the Braves are up 3-1 in the series, had the best of seven series.
[00:30:07] And the game goes into extra innings.
[00:30:09] So it's the bottom of the 15th inning, and the player is up to bat, and his name is Robert Ventura, and it's a 2-1 pitch.
[00:30:19] The pitch comes in, and he winds up and smacks it.
[00:30:22] Now, the bases are loaded, and that ball is going, it's going, it goes over the right wall, it's gone.
[00:30:29] It's a grand slam to end the game.
[00:30:33] And as he's rounding first, the other New York Mets come out and they mob him, and he never finishes running the bases.
[00:30:42] Now, here's the thing.
[00:30:45] At the end of the game, they scored him for a single because he never touched home plate.
[00:30:51] So his team still won, but he would have been the first one in the record books to hit a walk-off grand slam in Major League Baseball postseason.
[00:31:03] So he had this reward coming to him, but he didn't finish the job.
[00:31:08] He didn't run all the bases.
[00:31:11] Now, it works that way in life, too, for us.
[00:31:17] You can't have the reward coming to you unless you make it home.
[00:31:22] And you haven't made it home until you've persevered through all the bases.
[00:31:28] Now, I want to put up the slide that has the last final portion of the Nicene Creed.
[00:31:32] We've been going through this Nicene Creed series, and this is the last week.
[00:31:36] i've enjoyed it i don't know what you think but i just love like just being reminded of what we believe and here's what the nicene creed finishes on i confess one baptism for the forgiveness of
[00:31:48] sins and i look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come the life of the world to come is our hope and it's important as we've been going through this
[00:32:01] nicene creed that we're clear on who the father is who jesus the son is and who the holy spirit is but it's also important that we hope.
[00:32:10] Why? Because our hope is the basis for our perseverance.
[00:32:14] We need a clear hope in order to persevere.
[00:32:25] And, you know, if it's really true that in order to make it to this new world, we have to run all the bases and make it home, It raises the question, why do some Christians not run all the bases?
[00:32:41] Why do some Christians, they start off well and they're excited, but then they lose interest, stop going to church, or maybe they just stop believing in Jesus altogether.
[00:32:51] Or they kind of believe in him, but believe in him like this fact, but he's not part of their lives.
[00:32:58] Why is that?
[00:33:01] Maybe you're here this morning and you're actually struggling with that.
[00:33:03] Maybe you're here this morning, and you're just barely here because you're just barely holding on to your faith.
[00:33:08] Or maybe you're here, and you've got a family member or a friend, and they've checked out.
[00:33:16] They made it on to first, and they're running the bases, and they slow down, and they've stopped in their faith.
[00:33:24] You know, the Barna Group is a research group that looks into all things Christian and churchly.
[00:33:32] And about five years ago, they did this study, and they focused in on millennials, demographic of people now between ages of 30 and 45.
[00:33:40] And they said they focused in on millennials who left the church or who left Jesus.
[00:33:45] And they asked them, why?
[00:33:48] What made you leave?
[00:33:50] So this morning, I want to be in conversation with the main reasons people say they left the faith.
[00:33:57] And I want to explain how actually this passage from Revelation can provide an answer, not to everything, but to a lot of the concerns that people flag up as they leave the church.
[00:34:09] But here's John's point for us today is, like, you know, we have to persevere.
[00:34:15] In order to run all the bases, you're just going to have to persevere and do that despite the challenges.
[00:34:22] Because challenges there will be.
[00:34:25] So I want to talk about some of those challenges.
[00:34:26] First, there's doubts.
[00:34:28] So you must persevere despite your doubts.
[00:34:34] One of the principal doubts that people leave the church over, according to the research, is this, is they feel like their church experience was a place where their doubts weren't taken seriously.
[00:34:48] So the reason they're doubting Christianity is because they go to church and they're wrestling with these legitimate doubts.
[00:34:55] And people say, oh, no, you can't ask about that.
[00:34:58] Oh, no, no, no, no.
[00:34:59] And so they're looked down upon for asking honest questions.
[00:35:02] And that's really unfortunate because the church, above all, is supposed to be a safe place.
[00:35:09] And we all have brains, and if you use your brain, there's got to be a moment in your life, in your Christian life, where you've wrestled intellectually with some of the central tenets of what the Bible has to say.
[00:35:23] I know I have.
[00:35:24] We have to allow people that kind of space and wrestle alongside with them and say, you know, questions are okay. I wonder why people think questions aren't okay. Especially after reading verse 1 of Revelation 21. Here's what John says, I saw a new heaven and new earth
[00:35:46] for the first heaven, the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. Now this is the end of time. And John says he sees this new heaven and new earth, the first heaven, the first
[00:36:02] earth have passed away, and in this new heaven, this new earth, there's no longer any sea. Now, when John says new, in Greek, there's really a couple ways to talk about new. There's brand new,
[00:36:17] and then there's pre-owned. You can walk into a, you know, when you buy a car, I always say, wait, what kind of car are you getting? Are you getting a brand new car right off the line,
[00:36:28] or are you getting a pre-owned car?
[00:36:32] They're both new cars, but one's got some mileage on it.
[00:36:37] You know what word this indicates?
[00:36:39] This word indicates that when the new heavens and new earth come along, this might surprise you, is pre-owned.
[00:36:45] In other words, there's continuity between this world that we're in now and the world to come.
[00:36:51] God doesn't obliterate every element of our existence in the here and now.
[00:36:56] Rather, he takes it and he transforms it So it's qualitative, radically, fundamentally different from anything we've ever known.
[00:37:06] I wouldn't be surprised when we get to heaven that we live in Hickory, North Carolina still.
[00:37:14] But I'll tell you what, there might be a Hickory, North Carolina, but you go keep driving east, don't go to the beach because you'll be disappointed.
[00:37:25] There's no beach.
[00:37:27] There's no beach because there's no Atlantic Ocean.
[00:37:30] There's no Atlantic Ocean because Bible says there's no sea.
[00:37:34] And I believe that literally, that we will be on planet Earth without any ocean.
[00:37:39] And there's a symbolic reason why that's true.
[00:37:42] It's because in the Bible consistently, the sea is the place of where evil originates from.
[00:37:49] It's also the place of chaos and confusion and not seen clearly.
[00:37:57] Now, some of you all have pools at your house.
[00:38:01] We don't.
[00:38:01] We hope the neighbors invite us over for the pool this summer.
[00:38:04] Still hasn't happened.
[00:38:06] But most of us have been in a pool.
[00:38:08] And the difference between, and if you've been in the ocean and you've been in the pool, you know one of the big differences is when you're in the pool, you can look down and you can actually see your feet.
[00:38:16] If you go to the ocean, you look down, it's just sand and water.
[00:38:21] You can't see anything.
[00:38:23] And that's because the ocean's always stirring things up and making things hard to see.
[00:38:28] Now, that's interesting because God says, and through his word, that when the new heavens and the new earth come, there'll be no more sea.
[00:38:35] there'll be no more confusion. We will see things with utter clarity. That doesn't mean we're going to know everything. It doesn't mean we're going to be omniscient. That's God's job. But we're going to see things with this clarity we've never had before. In this world, in this world order, we
[00:38:52] have the sea, which means there's a lot of stuff that still confuses us. And that's okay. That's part of living in this world, in this space of time that we're in. So we can be a place where
[00:39:07] we don't have neat and tidy answers for everything. We can be a place where questions are asked. So what kind of doubts do people struggle with? Number one doubt that people struggle with is the problem of evil. The problem of evil. Well, you say, well, what's the problem of evil? The
[00:39:26] problem of evil is simply this. It's if God is all-powerful and if God is all-loving, then why did he create creation where evil is possible? Why did he make this creation where people get hurt, where people do mean things to each other, really cruel and insensitive and painful things
[00:39:46] to each other? How can God hold all that together if he's all-loving and all-powerful? Maybe you've been bothered by that. But here's what Revelation says. And I heard a loud voice from the throne from Jesus. And here's what Jesus says. Look, God's dwelling place is now among people,
[00:40:08] and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There'll be no more death or mourning
[00:40:21] or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away.
[00:40:26] Can you imagine existence where death isn't even possible?
[00:40:33] Even if you tried, you couldn't die?
[00:40:37] We're mourning.
[00:40:38] We're grieving over things that you've lost.
[00:40:40] It doesn't happen because there's nothing to grieve.
[00:40:45] Where you can't even cry because there's nothing to cry about.
[00:40:49] And there's no infliction of pain.
[00:40:52] That's this world.
[00:40:54] that we'll be walking into one day.
[00:40:56] But in the present, we have this old order of stuff.
[00:41:01] But that order is passing away, friends.
[00:41:04] And I tell you what, when somebody says to you, God can't exist because no God who's all-powerful and all-loving would create a world with evil in it, you just stop them right there and say,
[00:41:15] God never created the world with evil.
[00:41:17] He created creation good.
[00:41:20] It's humanity and turning away from God that made them evil.
[00:41:24] God gave humanity the freedom to make the decisions, and with that decision, all the cosmos was plunged into death and mourning and evil and crying and pain, and we've been there ever since, but that's not normal life.
[00:41:41] Sometimes people say that.
[00:41:42] People say, well, you know, death, it's just the way things is.
[00:41:48] Now, I see what they're saying, but part of me wants to say, wait a minute, brother.
[00:41:54] Death is not the way things are supposed to be.
[00:41:58] God never created this world for death.
[00:42:01] When we go to a funeral, what we're doing is we're observing this reality that this world is not the way it's supposed to be.
[00:42:08] It's not the way God designed it to be.
[00:42:10] It's an aberration, a distortion, a perversion of God's design that he had back in Eden.
[00:42:16] But the good news is God, through the Spirit, is working through his church to restore us to this new created reality.
[00:42:26] And it's kind of like this.
[00:42:27] I remember when I was a kid, the house we grew up in had a circular driveway, and me and my brothers, we'd get on our bikes, and we'd just drive around the driveway, and it
[00:42:38] was a summer day, like today, where I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
[00:42:42] I don't know how old I was.
[00:42:44] I was just a kid, and I'm riding my bicycle, and I'm thinking, you know what I'm going to do?
[00:42:48] I'm going to see how fast I can go around this circle.
[00:42:51] So I'm pedaling fast, and I'm picking up some speed, and I'm cutting the corners tight, and I just want to go faster and faster and faster and I'm cutting the corners tighter and tighter and tighter
[00:43:03] and I walked out.
[00:43:07] And I went flying and I left a lot of skin behind in the driveway that day.
[00:43:14] And I get up and my legs are covered with blood, my arms are covered with blood and I was in such pain, I felt like it was the end of the world.
[00:43:25] I still have a scar on my elbow from that incident.
[00:43:28] I can see it.
[00:43:29] It's a little indentation from that accident.
[00:43:31] And I look at it, and I don't feel that pain anymore.
[00:43:35] I just smile.
[00:43:37] Why?
[00:43:38] Because I've transcended that pain.
[00:43:43] When Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins, he picked up scars in his body and on his arms, and he showed those scars to his disciples.
[00:43:52] And that's what makes Jesus' risen body different from ours.
[00:43:55] You know, when we get to heaven, our scars will be gone.
[00:43:59] When I get to heaven, I'm going to look at my elbow, and there ain't going to be no scar there.
[00:44:05] Jesus is unique in wearing scars.
[00:44:07] all the scars we pick up in this life, not just physical scars, but relational scars, emotional scars, and we all carry it. We carry ourself. All the scars will have shaped us for who we are, just like I've been shaped physically. God uses all that evil to shape us to be more
[00:44:28] Christ-like, and yet we won't bear the scars on our body anymore. So you think, the thing is, when people wonder about evil, on the other side, evil will look very different because of how God
[00:44:44] has used evil. Here's the second problem people struggle with, their second doubt. People say, the church, it's not relevant. You know, you guys, you got your prayer meetings, you read your Bible, and what kind of difference does that make? I mean, we've got inflation crisis, we have a cost
[00:45:03] of living crisis, we've got a healthcare crisis, we've got immigrants being treated badly, we've got, you know, we've got environmental justice issues. We've got all this stuff going on. I'm going to give my life to stuff that matters, not your religion stuff. And so sometimes people will
[00:45:17] say, I'm done with Christianity because I want to give my life to something that's worthwhile.
[00:45:25] Here's what I say. Look at verse 5 and 6 again. Jesus says, I'm making everything new.
[00:45:33] Write this down because this is true. It is done. I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. We don't have the ability to take old stuff and make it new.
[00:45:48] We don't have the ultimate ability to take stuff that's bent and broken and make it new. Only God has that ability, and he does that through the gospel. But here's the other thing that Jesus
[00:45:59] says. He says, I am the alpha and the omega, the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. I am A, I am Z. I'm the beginning, I'm the end. In other words, Jesus
[00:46:11] is the beginning of history, and he was there when it all started because he made it, right?
[00:46:16] Amen? And he's at the end of history because all of history is moving to Christ Jesus. And oh, one more thing John doesn't mention. He's also the center of history. So everything that moves in history is moving around him. Now, the reason I stress this is because when I went to college
[00:46:32] as a freshman, I got my big history. I had to take my, you know, history class, and the history class had like a three or four hundred page history book and Christianity gets all of like a paragraph or
[00:46:44] something like that. Like, well, you know, there's the real important stuff like Babylon and the Greeks and the Romans and the Christianity, you know, it's just like footnotes. You know what God's history book looks like? Just the reverse. You see, God's redemptive history is like this
[00:47:02] in all the world events from the fall of Rome to the rise of the United States. It's just like footnotes to what God is doing through his church, through his people. First time that Kim and I
[00:47:16] bought a house, day of closing. Some of you know how this goes. You walk into a conference room, there's pens there. Sit down, your attorney's there, and there's a stack of papers about this tall. And those papers are just covered with verbiage and verbiage and verbiage. And you're
[00:47:34] like, oh, do I have to read all this? I don't have all day for this. But the attorney said, don't worry. I'll explain it to you. And the attorney takes this piece of paper, puts in front
[00:47:46] of you. He says, don't read every word. I'm going to read the big print for you and what this is about. And so you, okay, you sign it. Next one, attorney gives you the bottom line. Don't read
[00:47:57] the, you know, small print matters, but it doesn't matter that much. Focus on the big print. You know, when we look at our lives, our stories, make sure you focus on the big print. The big print
[00:48:12] of our culture is different from the big print in God's book. The big print in our culture has to do with world contemporary events. Not unimportant. We should be engaged. We should be involved. Don't hear me wrong on that. But it's small print. It's footnotes compared to what God
[00:48:29] is doing in his church and has been doing and will do. That's the big print. And that's because he's the alpha and the omega. So we must persevere despite your doubts, our doubts. We must
[00:48:43] persevere despite moral failure in the church. That's another reason that people leave the church flagged up by the Barna survey. People see leaders in conspicuous places who are high up in organizations and they fall. They say, yes, it's the hypocrisy and it's the moral failure. That's
[00:49:06] what drove me away from Christianity. Let me say two things to that. The first is the Bible very clearly states that even though we come to Christ, we all retain sin. We all have the sea that we
[00:49:21] swim in and struggle with and our personal seas within. And when a brother or sister falls, our first instinct is not to judge them, but to say, there but for the grace of God go I. We have this
[00:49:37] sin active within us. There is no sin beyond the pale for any of us. The Bible clearly teaches that.
[00:49:48] And often those leaders repent and get on the right path and take care of themselves and do what they need to do and praise the Lord. God will make them all the more glorious.
[00:49:59] Righteous man falls seven times but gets up every time. We will fall just like our leaders will because we have feet of clay.
[00:50:11] But then there's a second category of moral failure where what happens when there's no repentance?
[00:50:16] What happens if they never say I'm sorry?
[00:50:18] What happens if they keep doing it again and again and again?
[00:50:21] What happens when there's spiritual abuse going on or other kinds of abuse going on in the very church of God and people aren't turning from it even when they've been outed and they continue on that path?
[00:50:34] That can be so damaging to our faith.
[00:50:36] I know it challenges mine when I see brothers and sisters unrepentantly taking a path that's just pure evil. And I'm like, is the gospel even true? Has anyone else ever had moments like that?
[00:50:51] I know I have. Here's what I want to say. It's just because you're in the church doesn't make you a child of God. Here's what John has to say in the next passage in verse 7 and 8.
[00:51:06] those who are victorious, those who overcome, they will inherit all this new creation.
[00:51:13] I will be their God, and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
[00:51:32] Now, you look at verse 8, and you say, oh, well, John's talking about people who don't go to church.
[00:51:37] You know, like the pagans, the people, the non-religious.
[00:51:41] And yeah, they'll be judged.
[00:51:44] Surely it's not talking about people in the church.
[00:51:47] And actually, it is talking about people in the church.
[00:51:52] Because if you look at the words that John uses, and then compare that with the first couple of chapters of the book of Revelation, where the Spirit writes seven different churches and pinpoints different types of sins,
[00:52:03] just about every one of the sins the Spirit pinpoints is in this list.
[00:52:08] Leading with cowardly.
[00:52:10] The reason why John flags up cowardly first, that's interesting, isn't it?
[00:52:14] Is because the churches were undergoing persecution and he's saying, don't be a wuss.
[00:52:21] When the culture tries to conform you to its image, don't be a wuss.
[00:52:28] Be brave and stick with Jesus.
[00:52:32] Persevere.
[00:52:33] Sometimes we capitulate in our faith because we're just afraid and we're afraid of what people will think of us if we're Christian.
[00:52:44] The reason I point this out is because don't ever come to the point where you think that just because people are in church or even in leadership that they are 100% certain children of God.
[00:52:57] We hope that they are. I hope that they are.
[00:52:59] But the reality is, in the end, God will sort it out.
[00:53:03] And for those who have spent their whole life in pretense, who've used religion to abuse others unrepentantly, God will be the judge.
[00:53:16] Here's the third reason we have to persevere, and it's despite imperfect community.
[00:53:22] And this is the last reason that people are turned off by church.
[00:53:24] They say they come to church and they just never fit in, and so they go and find another friend group, and that friend group doesn't share their values, doesn't share their faith, and they start joining the friend group
[00:53:36] and pay more attention to the friend group than their church group, and pretty soon they pay less attention to their church group and they get so tied up with friends that they become just like their friends
[00:53:46] in all their beliefs.
[00:53:49] That's called socialization and enculturation.
[00:53:53] One of the reasons we meet Sunday by Sunday is so we don't forget who we are and whose we are.
[00:54:00] We have to be reminded of that.
[00:54:03] And that's why church is important.
[00:54:06] But here's the other thing is, yes, sometimes people come to church and we fail to be hospitable.
[00:54:13] Maybe there's people who say, hey, you know, I'm poor, I'm lower middle class, and I just don't feel welcome here, and that's on us.
[00:54:25] Or I'm rich, and I'm upper middle class, and I don't feel welcome here, and that's on us.
[00:54:29] Or there might be people of color who come here and say, I don't feel welcome, and that can be on us.
[00:54:34] You know, there are things we can do to be inhospitable.
[00:54:36] Maybe we don't even see it.
[00:54:37] Maybe we don't even know it.
[00:54:38] But our calling as a church is to be as hospitable as possible.
[00:54:42] So we want to make this church hospitable to men.
[00:54:45] We want to make this church hospitable to women.
[00:54:48] And so anything that creates barriers with the very people we're trying to attract, we should stop and say, wait a minute.
[00:54:56] This is not part of God's design.
[00:54:58] We are getting ready for this marvelous banquet.
[00:55:01] It's a wedding banquet.
[00:55:02] And John talks about this in our final set of verses.
[00:55:08] Verse 2, I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming out of heaven, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband.
[00:55:17] I want to focus in on the bride.
[00:55:21] John says the bride is beautifully dressed.
[00:55:26] This past weekend, Pastor Amy did a wedding.
[00:55:29] I did a wedding the weekend before.
[00:55:31] It's just part of what you do as a pastor, right?
[00:55:33] You do weddings.
[00:55:36] And often what happens at the weddings is Friday night you have the rehearsal, and I get out some painter's tape and put it on the floor and say, okay, bridesmaids, you stand there.
[00:55:46] Groomsmen, you stand there and we practice and there's mistakes and we get it wrong and I got it wrong and we get through it until it's perfect.
[00:55:56] And then the day of the wedding, there's the bride and everyone stands up and what do they do?
[00:56:02] They turn to the bride.
[00:56:05] They see her in the magnificent dress and they go, wow, that's when she's most beautiful.
[00:56:15] You know, there's a day coming for us as a church.
[00:56:18] We've got our pockets of ugly.
[00:56:21] That's the way it's going to be until we're that bride.
[00:56:25] So we have to put up with each other.
[00:56:28] We have to realize that, yep, there's going to be times when that somebody's a jerk to you.
[00:56:32] You know what?
[00:56:33] Because we're not a bride yet.
[00:56:34] There's going to be somebody who's going to snub you and ignore you, and they're at the church.
[00:56:38] It's not because they're wicked.
[00:56:40] It's because we're not a bride yet.
[00:56:41] There's a day coming when we'll all be a bride, and God's going to need every one of you to be a jewel in that veil.
[00:56:50] That day is coming.
[00:56:52] If you feel like you're here and you're experiencing imperfect community, I'll tell you this now, it ain't going to change.
[00:57:01] And if you want to join a church that has perfect community, I encourage you not to join because you're part of that imperfection, even as I am.
[00:57:12] There's reasons why people stop running the bases.
[00:57:18] John sets forth a clear hope of what to expect in life to come as a way of encouraging us to persevere despite the challenges.
[00:57:25] If you look forward to the world to come, then you too must persevere despite the challenges.
[00:57:32] Let's pray.
[00:57:36] Lord, in this world, among the people we live in, we can be supplied of plenty of reasons to give up running the bases, to not touch home plate.
[00:57:50] And Father, we feel that struggle we'll feel tomorrow morning, Monday morning.
[00:57:57] Give us the perseverance that we need, not our own strength, but put before us a clear and vibrant hope, reminding us of what's awaiting for us at home plate.
[00:58:12] Do this by your power this week.
[00:58:15] Amen.

[00:58:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:58:19] Will you stand and sing one last song with us?
[00:58:22] This is called Old for New, and it celebrates how God takes the broken and destroyed and rebuilds and makes whole and makes things new.
[00:58:30] Let's sing.

[01:00:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:00:34] Thank you for this time of worship together

[01:02:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:02:36] and for the message that Pastor Nick shared with us.
[01:02:39] Thank you, God, that we are believers and that we can look forward to eternity with Christ where all things will be made new.
[01:02:46] I pray that you would bless each person in this room and help us all to be bold in sharing the truth of the gospel in love this week.
[01:02:53] Amen.

[01:02:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:02:54] This blessing.
[01:02:57] Now to him who can keep you from stumbling and present you in his glorious presence without fault and great joy, to the only God our Savior, be glory, honor, majesty, and power, both now and forevermore.
[01:03:10] Go in peace.