Rev. Dr. Chris Montovino Revelation 21:1-5 January 28, 2018

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1 Rev. Dr. Chris Montovino Revelation 21:1-5 January 28, 2018 Making All Things New 1 Do you have a piggy bank at home? How often do you put money in it? I know some people who, at the end of each day, put all of the change from their pockets into a piggy bank. It may not be a lot of money, but when you add to it every day, it is amazing how quickly it builds up. Whether we use a piggy bank or a savings account at the bank, it is a good idea to have a plan to save money for unexpected emergencies or when we want to do something special. One thing we have to be careful of is that the treasure that we are building doesn't become the most important thing in our life. Jesus warned about that in teaching his followers about money. He told them that they should not worry so much about building up treasures on earth, but that they should concentrate on building up treasures in heaven. Treasures in heaven? How do we build up treasures in heaven? Jesus taught that one way to build up treasures in heaven is to give money to the poor. Can you think of some other ways that we might build up treasure in heaven? I think we build up treasure in heaven when we do things to help others. Things like: Visiting the sick Helping to feed the hungry Being cheerful and thoughtful to someone who is sad Praying for one another Working in a shelter for the homeless Being a friend to someone who is lonely Forgiving someone who has hurt you Saying you're sorry when you hurt someone All of these are things that we can do here on earth that will be stored up as the "treasures in heaven" about which Jesus spoke. They may not seem like much, but if we do something for someone each and every day, it is amazing how quickly they add up. Father, we may never have much in the way of earthly treasure, but help us to be faithful each day in building up treasures in heaven. Amen. 2 1 Sermon series is influenced by John Eldredge, All Things New; Heaven, Earth, and the Restoration of Everything You Love (Nashville: Nelson Books, 2017). 2

2 This past week, the hunger fighting non profit Oxfam published a report that found that the world s most wealthy have become even more wealthy in 2017 while the poorest have been left out of the riches. In other words the richest 1 percent of the earth s population bagged 82% of the wealth created in Meanwhile over 3.7 billion of the earth s poorest got nothing. The Executive Director of Oxfam International said: The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system. The people who make our clothes, assemble our phones and grow our food are being exploited to ensure a steady supply of cheap goods, and swell the profits of corporations and billionaire investors. 3 What Oxfam calls for is a limit on the returns to shareholders and top executives to ensure that all people might share in the rewards by earning a living wage. They also advocate for the elimination of the gender pay gap and protection of the rights of women workers. Finally, they call for the wealthiest among us pay our fair share of taxes so that people have access to healthcare, education and basic survival resources that many of us take for granted. This makes me wonder, what would Jesus have to say about such an imbalance of resource? When he came on the scene two thousand years ago, he said that the Kingdom of heaven was near. If it is so near, how can things be so out of whack? I think it is because we live in the already not yet. True that Jesus ushered in a new age. But it also won t be fully complete until he comes again at the resurrection. And so we live in this between age, waiting and hoping, for the day when Jesus will push the reset button and restore all things. The Apostle John while in exile on the Island of Patmos received a vision from God of a new heaven and new earth a place where the imbalances of power, resource, and talents will be restored. Those who have much now, will have less later. Those who have little, will be given much more. The Old Testament calls this leveling the Day of Jubilee. As Christians, this should get us excited! For the Holy Spirit plants in our hearts this desire to be generous with the resources given to us. If we aren t generous, then we need to question do we really have the Holy Spirit within us. The good news is that we don t have to wait until we die when our excesses are taken from us and redistributed to others. Jesus has a plan now. A plan that involves each of us. A plan that invites us to be part of that redistribution right here, right now by sharing our gifts, talents, and financial resources with those who 3

3 don t have as much. In doing so, we are part of Jesus powerful work in our world as he makes all things new. Would you join me this morning as we read from Revelation 21:1-5 and we hear about how Jesus is going to push the reset button? We heard last week of what God said of him at his baptism at the start of his public ministry. Now we hear from Jesus at the completion of all things. Let us pray. Prayer of Illumination. When we think about heaven, what do we imagine? Clouds? Harps? Robes? Singing songs for hours on end? This vision that John gives us is pretty startling and blows away everything that we might have preconceived. When Jesus comes at the resurrection, there will be a new heaven and new earth, for the first heaven and earth will have passed away. In other words they will have expended their lives and will be exchanged for something new, similar, but different. Better. It will be as if Jesus restores things to the way God intended at the very beginning of time before the fall of humankind. No separation between heaven and earth. No sea between them. That vale that I mentioned last week will be completely removed. The Spiritual world and the material world will be one. We will see angels and the unbroken splendor of this world together. John describes them very much like the previous heaven and earth. Something we can grasp. First he describes the new earth as a city. A Holy City. The New Jerusalem. The dwelling place for all people. A community of faith. Bustling with life. Culture. Flavor of the nations. Everyone living together in unity and harmony. The Church is to be a picture of that Holy City. We get a foretaste of that heavenly community when we gather here on Sunday mornings. Diverse people come in from their corner of the county, reunited with friends we haven t seen all week. Kids are running around playing games. Folks eating Dorman and Sue Holcomb s pancakes. Gathered for one purpose, one ministry. Though we are different. We are part of one big family. That s exactly what the new heaven and earth will be like one day. John describes it like a groom seeing his bride for the first time on their wedding day. And when we see them for the first time, it will be overwhelming. We will be awestruck by God s glory! I remember the day when Karen and I got married 22 years ago. I was standing at the front of the church with my groomsmen each of us with white dinner jackets. Nervous as heck. The bridesmaids beautifully dressed in black!3

4 evening dresses walked down the aisle. Then came the flower girls and ring bearer. The music changed and I could see Karen and her dad standing at the entrance of the church. I lost it. I was so overwhelmed with her beauty that I couldn t contain it. She was so radiant. I sobbed with joy for a good part of the service. Finally, the pastor asked if I wanted to just skip over the vows to the part where we exchanged rings. I said no and was able to pull myself together. It was the best day of my life. Probably the moment that I ve experienced the most pure joy. John says that s what its going to be like when we see the new heaven and earth. He saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a beautiful bride dressed for her husband. And we will be so overwhelmed with joy that we won t be able to contain it. Are we excited yet? We should! One night, God visits a preacher. The preacher has one question, "What is Heaven like?" God replies, "Heaven is like a city. It has the best of everything. For example, the French are the chefs, the Italians are the lovers, the English are the policeman, the Germans are the mechanics, and the Dutch are the politicians." "What is Hell like?" he asks. "Well," God sighs, "the French are the mechanics, the Italians are the politicians, the English are the chefs, the Germans are the policemen, and the Dutch are the lovers. Have we ever thought that maybe heaven is going to be a lot like what we know here on earth but better? What else does John say that helps paint this picture for us? It s says that God will live with us. His dwelling will be among us. God will no longer be hidden as he often is today. But then we shall see God as surely God is. Job of the Old Testament has this same revelation of the resurrection when God would restore all that he had lost in this world. He proclaimed from the pit, I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my flesh has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. I myself will see him with my own eyes -I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! 4 4 Job 19:25-27!4

5 Beloved, do our hearts yearn for God in this same way? Do they hunger, thirst, long for God? Everything we will have ever imagined about God, our lives, the world, everything when we see God will be made clear. Jesus alluded to this heavenly dwelling place with his disciples just before he left the earth. He said, In my Father s house, there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back to take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 5 This longing for home has been ingrained in us from the very beginning. A place where are loved. Cherished. And welcomed for who we are. Not as we ought to be. But just as we are. Sadly it is something that eludes many of us in this life. Which makes the new heaven and earth all the more appealing. This week, Janet VanFleet and I had some very exciting conversations with the Director for the Council of the Homeless, Evergreen and Vancouver School Districts, and their charitable foundations all at one table about how Cascades can be part of supporting families in their districts who are on the verge of homelessness. You see what many of us take for granted are the support networks we have in place that we can fall back on when we hit financial hiccups in life. Increasingly many families in our community do not have such supports. So what happens is that if they are not able to make rent, they face eviction and if they get evicted, it could take up to two years to get rehoused. That s the reality of housing in our county! I want to share a story about one of the Silver Star Angel Tree Tags from this Christmas. It was from a young girl who asked only for a new dress. She wrote So that my friends wouldn t know that I live in a tent and might make fun of me. That breaks my heart! We are the wealthiest nation in the world the 1% who gobbled up 82% of the new riches and we have students at the school just down the street who live in tents! That should never be! This arrangement allows the Family Community Resource Coordinators at the schools to refer families in need to the Council of the Homeless. The Council has expert case managers who understand the intricacies of housing and homelessness in our area. They can draw from these emergency funds to help families with up to 25% of their housing need, assuming that they can come up with the rest on their own. It s a one time request. The Executive Director for the Vancouver School District Foundation said that last semester alone they were able to keep 100 students and their families housed. And it only cost about $100 per student. What Cascades is hoping to do is provide 5 John 14:2-3!5

6 grants through our Benevolence Fund to keep students and their families from becoming homeless in the first place. If we can do that, then we might be able to break the chains of poverty within a young person s life. We re setting the captives free! That s heaven coming to earth my friends. That s Jesus, working through his body, to restore things back the way they were supposed to do. Pushing the reset button on what we call home. And he s using us as part of it. Are we getting excited yet! The last thing that John mentions in this picture is how in this new heaven and earth, God will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away. The victory over death at Jesus resurrection. We will experience it for ourselves! Our bodies will not be broken! We will all be cancer free! There will be no more thing such as diabetes. Our spirits won t be defeated. Mental illness will be erased. All relational brokenness will be healed. Homelessness will be wiped away. No more addictions to things that have us bound. 6 Everything will be made new. You. Me. And everything and everyone we love! But lets not wait until that day. Jesus is seated on the throne of this new heaven and earth said, Behold I am making everything new. Not will make everything new. But I am, actively, right now, making everything new now. Jesus pushes the reset button and ask us Will you join me in it? If we say Yes, we will be part of bringing this new heaven and earth among us today. So may we believe that heaven is not some strange place after all but is something that is right here, right now. May we believe that Jesus has prepared a place called home for us where we can dwell with him in his Father s house. And may we hear the Spirit calling us, Come join me in the work I am doing among you. Will we come? Amen. 6 Romans 6:22-23!6

The B Attitudes. The B Attitudes. The B Attitudes. The B Attitudes. The B Attitudes. Matthew 5:3a (NIV) 3a Blessed are the poor in spirit

The B Attitudes. The B Attitudes. The B Attitudes. The B Attitudes. The B Attitudes. Matthew 5:3a (NIV) 3a Blessed are the poor in spirit Matthew 5:a (NIV) a Blessed are the poor in spirit Matthew 5: (NIV) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:4a (NIV) 4a Blessed are those who mourn Matthew 5:4 (NIV)