All Saints Day Nov 1, 2009 "Driven by vision" Revelation 21:1-6a
Welcome to all saints day. It is the day that the church has picked to recognize all the saints that have gone before us. When I say saints, I mean true Christians, those who confess that Jesus is their Lord and savior and whose lives bear good fruit.
The church that we sit in today is not the result of our work alone. It was handed down to us over the years, tenderly cared for by many saints, our parents, their parents, friends, relatives, brothers and sisters in the faith. These same people shared their faith with us. Saints who believed in something beyond what they could see with their eyes. People of faith.
I have noticed here in Western PA that many people are very much are a "what you see is what you get" kind of way of thinking. They have a show me or I won't believe in it attitude. Kind of like they're worried that someone's gonna pull the wool over their eyes. Difficult to have faith in God with that kind of outlook. Believing in God is foolish to many people. If you're afraid of being seen as a fool then you probably aren't cut out to be a Christian.
All the saints that have gone before us since the time of Jesus all have one thing in common beyond their faith in Jesus; they had a vision of a better life. A vision of heaven. They believed that God could make our current world a better place and that a better place awaited them when they died. They were driven by a vision of God's alternate community amidst a world of chaos and hopelessness.
Are you driven by a vision of God's kingdom? If you don't have a vision of how God wants this world to be or what awaits us in the next life, then you may just be going through the motions as a Christian. Sooner or later whatever is driving you may run out of gas. You may find yourself burned out by serving others and become bitter. Actually, if you don't have vision, I can pretty much guarantee you, if you aren't burned out already, you will be.
Today's text is God presenting a vision to John as recorded in the book of Revelation. It is a vision that has driven Christians around the world since the first century. It was meant to drive you too. Let's read.
(Read)
This vision given to John follows on the heels of a less positive one. The previous chapter talks about the judgement of all people and those whose names are not written in the book of life is thrown into the lake of fire. That was just as sobering a thought back then as it is today. I find many people's casualness about hell really something. I think it more wise to believe in hell and seek a guarantee to avoid it than to ignore it altogether and hope for the best. It seems best not to gamble with one's eternal future. But many people go down that road and that is why Jesus said wide is the path that leads to destruction and many will travel down it.
Getting back to the brighter side of things. Those of us going to heaven through our confession of who Jesus is. John sees a vision of this current world passing away. You know when somebody dies, we say, "they passed away" - well this is the same phrase used here. Heaven and earth die. Why do they pass away? Because God has something even better in store than the current world that we live in. John notices that there is no longer any sea. The sea, all throughout the bible, represents chaos and evil. So what is said here is that chaos and evil are no longer a part of this new earth. Chaos and evil have served the purpose of strengthening God's true believers through trials and tribulations, but now they are no longer needed.
The Holy City is compared to a bride. Christians will be the bride and Jesus is the groom. They have made a commitment to each other and now they are to be married. You notice that this new city of people is not a created thing, it was already in existence in heaven. That is because it is made up of all the saints that have gone before us. An interesting note here is the Greek word for "prepared". The verb in Greek is cosmeo. It means to put into order. It is where we get the word "cosmetics" from. Women use cosmetics to put themselves in order. You know, when we first get up in the morning, roll out of bed, look in the mirror and it's like, yikes, I need to put things in order. That's cosmeo. So God is saying here that Christians will be put into order, their lives will make sense, they will finally understand their purpose and place in the cosmos. We will no longer be scratching our heads, going "I don't understand why God does this or allows that." Everything will be in the perfect order that it was always intended to be before humanity messed it up.
God will be with us. God is with us now in the person of the Holy Spirit, but we live with chaos and evil. So we do not experience God in the fullest sense as we will know him without chaos and evil. Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see him face to face. No more death, mourning, crying or pain. Hard to imagine, isn't it? This vision is especially for those that yearn for something more beyond this life. Who feel pain, seeking God's comfort daily. If we don't feel a sense of struggle, discomfort in this life, why would we yearn for something more? This vision means nothing to us, if we are not wrestling with the evil and chaos of this world. The more we are wrestling with the ways of the world, the more we are trying to live out the gospel and therefore face persecution, the more this vision means to us. This vision is meant for the persecuted Christians, Christians who have been beaten up by the devil's forces. It is not for those who call themselves Christians who just think Christianity is all about self-improvement; living as comfortably as they can without getting their hands dirty. To them the vision lacks power; it lacks refreshment.
This vision has driven the saints who live in this new city. You know who they are. They were the ordinary ones who served Jesus and his followers behind the scenes, without wanting recognition. God's good pleasure was their satisfaction. Are you driven by this vision? Or are you driven by something else? God has a glorious city prepared for those who persevere to the end. I encourage you; don't lose sight of the vision. Amen.
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