His Perfect Love

Guest (Male): A good reminder in perilous times next on His Perfect Love.

Matt VanderVen: I know John had to be peace out, even in the middle of that island when circumstances looked peril. Death looked imminent. John, write. Sometimes we need that reminder. Matt, write, to keep going. I have it for you. You got victory. Don't quit. Don't turn from Christ.

Guest (Male): The Bible makes it clear there are two very different eternal destinations for mankind. The first is the New Heaven and New Earth where believers will dwell with God for all of eternity. But there will also be many people who will experience the second death and will be cast into the lake of fire. Question: where will you spend eternity? Let's look into this today on His Perfect Love as Pastor Matt VanderVen digs deeper into Revelation chapter 21. We'll start with verse 5.

Matt VanderVen: God’s promises are true and faithful. True, that word in the Greek means genuine or sincere. We’ve talked about sincere before. Sincere, that idea behind it meant without wax. It means no hypocrisy. Wax was something that people would take with marble or something else and they would basically try to amalgamate or take the two together so that if a nose got broke off a statue, take wax, form it, put it on there, gel it, it kind of looks like it’s the same thing. But it wasn't. It was an amalgamation of the two. No, it means without wax. It means genuine. It’s not thrown together, put together, or repaired. It is truly new and it’s sincere.

Then he says, faithful. That word faithful in the Greek here means completely trustworthy. Completely trustworthy. What does complete mean? By definition, it means without pause, without error, without inconsistency, without a point of where you could say it’s lacking. It means full, complete. And so he’s using a word here, faithful, to describe his trustworthiness. He’s saying that it’s completely trustworthy. John is probably the apostle so astounded by these words that he did what? You ever when somebody’s telling you something so interesting and you’re part of a story and you’re hearing it and you say, "John, write." Oh, yeah, sorry Lord. He literally had a moment where he had to be reminded, "Oh yeah, I’m writing this all, this vision."

I mean, it is so amazing that John literally had to be reminded to write this. Meanwhile, what’s he been doing the whole time? Writing. He was wrecked. He was standing there seeing all this and saying, "Let's do it now." He’s on the island of Patmos. He’s in the middle of a sea. He’s like holding on. They tried to boil him already with oil. They tried to do all these things. They were unable to kill him at this point. He’s sitting there and he’s ready and he’s saying, "Yes, Jesus, this is a good place." Just like Peter, remember when he was on the mount, he saw the Transfiguration? Yeah, this is good that we’re here, Jesus. We’re here. This is good. He’s like, "Let’s set up booths and tents and let’s not leave this place."

When you have that relationship with Jesus and you see what God truly wants to bless you with, you’re not looking back. You’re not coming and going, "Maybe I want to stay and live a little longer" because of the love of my children or whatever in this earth. No, when you’re with God, you don’t want to leave. When you’re in the experience of God and in the presence of God and you’re going through it, you don’t want to leave because nothing on this earth can compare with being in the presence of Jesus. It is so good that John is like, "Yes."

To experience that hope, I know John had to be peace out, even on the middle of that island when circumstances looked peril. Death looked imminent. John, write. Sometimes we need that reminder. Matt, write. Keep going. I have it for you. You got victory. Don’t quit. Don’t turn from Christ because if we’re being honest, most of us, if not all of us, are barely holding on. We try to pretend we have it all together. We don’t. Friends, I’ve learned it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to hold on to the plow.

Jesus has fitted me with the proper attire. What did he call it? A yoke. He said, "Your yoke." It’s not your yoke he put on me, and he didn’t put my yoke on you. But he gave me the right yoke. He even used the language to help me understand it. And that I can put that yoke on and I can do it. And I just keep going in the promise and the trust and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Whatever comes, comes. The blessings and the difficulties, they give me opportunity to testify to the gloriousness of God, no matter what I’m going through, even if it feels like I’m broken.

Even if the world looks at me and says, "You’re down on the ground all the time. You’re talking about being so thankful to Jesus and you’re down on the ground all the time." Yeah, but I’m going to be glorified in a glorified body with Jesus Christ. I’m knocked down, but not destroyed. Didn’t he write that? I am beaten, but not defeated. So just because I may look like I’m struggling with victory doesn’t mean I’m not living the victorious life. And I think it’s okay that we understand that and we don’t play Christian and we don’t play church.

Look at verse six with me here: "And he said to me, it is done." Boy, I wonder if that is coincidental. You recognize those words in the Greek? It is finished, it is done. He used the same language for us. "I am the Alpha, the beginning and the end, the Omega. The beginning and the end. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts." Just think about that. For him who thirsts. He starts with "It is done." God’s eternal purpose in Jesus is now accomplished. Ephesians 1:10 has been fulfilled. I love the book of Ephesians.

That this is the dispensation or the fullness of the times and he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, in Him. Ephesians 1:10, check, fulfilled prophetically. At this point all things have been resolved or summed up in Jesus. It’s done. And he says, "I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts." Drinking and thirst are common pictures of God’s supply and humanity’s spiritual need. I don’t think he could do it any more perfect than that.

God’s supply and our need. And what does he say? He meets it. And not only meets it, he completes it. Anything we could need, God has already. And remember, it’s in the present perfect. He’s already begun this as the new creation. Put on Christ, he told us. That work’s already begun in us. When we are broken and down, we come to the God of the living water and he feeds us and quenches our thirst. And we get up again and we go a couple more steps and then sometimes thirst and he meets that need and we get up and we go a couple more steps. Drinking is an action.

But it’s really interesting because the action is an actual action of receiving. Did you catch that? It’s actually like faith. It’s doing something, but it is not a merit-earning work in itself. It’s very interesting how God set that up for us. Drinking’s an action, but it’s an action of receiving. Much like faith. It’s doing something, but it’s not a merit-earning work itself. It’s not getting up and grabbing the water and going, "Oh, look at all the water that I just drank and how wonderful I am." It’s looking to the one who has the water and is giving it to us freely, but we’re willing to receive it.

We could spend an hour in a verse, friends. That’s how rich this is. Have you received Jesus Christ? Is there anyone here this morning that hasn’t received Jesus Christ? Do you want the living water? Have you been doing this in your own strength, coming up wanting, broken? You don’t have to do it that way anymore. Come to Jesus Christ and he will give you freely of living water. It doesn’t mean that everything that’s going on or the consequences of your sin or different things that have happened in this life are all going to be erased.

But your inheritance and your future have remarkably changed forever because you now live for Christ and He lives in you. Spurgeon said this so beautifully: "What does a thirsty man need or do to get rid of his thirst? He drinks. Perhaps there’s no better representation of faith in all the word of God than that. To drink is to receive, to take in refreshing, a draught and all that is all. A man’s face may be unwashed, but yet he can drink. He may be very unworthy in character, but he can drink of the water, and that water will remove his thirst."

Drinking is such a remarkably easy thing. It is even more simple than eating. Just think about that. He didn’t set us up for failure. He gave us the simplest thing. Believe on me, faith, receiving. How hard is it to receive a gift? When pride’s in the way, certainly. But when our pride is in check, how hard is it to receive of a gift? It should be very natural and easy. Verse seven: "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son." He who overcomes shall inherit all things. Those who overcome by faith in Jesus, as in 1 John chapter 5:5, should be familiar to us.

We enjoy a special relationship with God. He shall be my God and I will be his son or daughter, ladies. Remember the promise given to the church of Philadelphia? Turn to Revelation chapter three, verse seven. We read this together. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write: "These things says he who is holy and he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens. I know your works. See, I’ve set before you an open door. No one can shut it, for you have a little strength and have kept my word and have not denied my name."

Remember the church of Philadelphia was the church that was most commended for brotherly love and right acts. And he didn’t say, "You are a powerhouse. You are stronger than any other church I’ve ever seen. You have all the financial resources you need. You have the biggest this and that. You got the best this and that. You are mighty and strong." He says, "No, you’re a people that are genuine because you’re called by my name and therefore many times you lack strength and struggle." He says because you’ve kept my word and you’ve not denied my name. That comes at a cost, doesn’t it? Being a Christian, it comes with a cost. Worth it, every time.

Verse nine: "Indeed, I will make those the synagogue of Satan, the worship place of Satan, who say they are Jews but are not, but lie. Indeed, I will make them come and worship before your feet. This whole thing’s going to get turned upside down." And to know that I have loved you. Nobody’s going to be able to question. They may in this life, but they won’t in the next. Because you have kept my command to persevere. What does that mean to persevere? You kept my command to keep going. It doesn’t say endure. It says persevere.

Endure means to take and just endure. Persevere is an action of movement and continuation of God’s plan. Enduring is taking what’s happening to you, but not necessarily implying that you’re continuing the move in the direction. You can endure something and be standing still. You can’t persevere because that implies an overcoming and doing that without moving forward in regards to God’s plan. He says, "I will also keep you from the hour trial which shall come upon the whole world." He’s talking about the time where those books are going to be opened.

"Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown because you’re persevering. Don’t give up the eternal for the temporal." He who overcomes, and he almost says that like it’s a choice because guess what? It’s a choice. What he means by that is the perseverance is a choice to keep moving in spite of your circumstances. He doesn’t describe it as though whether you’re running, whether you’re falling and crawling and just literally getting there. That’s overcoming, friends.

Overcoming doesn’t mean you’re just the champion. Sometimes it’s literally just getting by. Do you know what I’m talking about? Maybe I felt the need to do that because some of us, if we’re being honest, there are days where we feel like we’re just getting by. Do you know that Christ is pleased with that? He’s pleased with that. Because you didn’t do what? You didn’t turn around and go for the easy answer and go to the world for your solutions. You stayed and you persevered in the difficulty. You didn’t pray the difficulty away. You prayed Jesus into the trial and the difficulty. He’s pleased with that. See what it says here.

He says, "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God." What is a pillar? Something that is strong, stable, foundation. It holds everything up. I will make him a pillar. Why? Because he was the greatest on the earth? No, because he was steadfast and he persevered. I find that remarkable. And he shall go out no more. There will not be any more as we’ve already read: no more tears, crying, no more death, no more pain. And he says, "I will write on him the name of my God." Let me ask you a question.

When you write your name on something, what are you ascribing to that? Ownership. It belongs to God. And what is God saying about these people that are willing to do that? They belong to God. Do you want his name written all over you? "I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God." Is he not connecting what we just read in Revelation chapter 21 here? Absolutely, he is. "And I will write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

That’s like you and I saying, "Pay attention. I’m telling you how it’s going to work. Don’t be caught off guard or surprised here." And I just love that he describes it this way, that those who overcome by faith in Jesus, even if we have a little bit of strength. But just like the church of Philadelphia, a small church, but it might be exactly in the perfect will of God because it represents God’s heart and his truth, his love. He says, "You have kept my word and not denied my name." Look at verse 12 back in Revelation 3, what did he say there?

He who has overcome. You’re an overcomer. Did you know that? It’s already written. You have a choice to fulfill that or reject it, but you here seated are victorious. You’re an overcomer. But do you believe that? God’s been telling you that. He makes it clear: "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all the liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Let’s just dive into this with the remaining seconds I have left. But the cowardly. Did you think that mattered? It does. Unbelieving. Does that matter? It does. Abominable. They have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. Notice it’s very clear that Jesus is rejecting individuals specifically prohibited from entering the New Jerusalem. The cowardly. This is self and safety before Christ. If that offends somebody here this morning, maybe there’s something to that. This is self and safety before Jesus Christ. That’s what we’re putting. By definition, that’s what we call idolatry, self-love, self-will.

The unfaithful, not trusting in God, without faith. So not trusting in God, those that are without faith. Abominable, to detest or to turn away because of a stench. Have you ever smelled something that was so abominable that you turn around because if you don’t, you’re going to lose your cookies? The stench. How about murderers? One who takes another’s life with intention. Taking again what’s not theirs. Murder’s a form of idolatry too because it’s making yourself a god, thinking that you have the right to take something from someone else that doesn’t belong to you. Sexually immoral, where we get our word porno from actually, or porneia. It covers all sexual sin here.

It covers homosexuality, it covers sodomy, it covers adultery, it covers fornication. I want to be clear. It covers all of them. It’s an umbrella term. Sorcerers, that’s our word for pharmakeia, a drug, a spell-given potion. A druggist, poisoner. By extension, a magician, not somebody that does illusion. A magician, that idea, a sorcerer, someone who caught up in the occult or the witchcraft. You think about so much of what we see in Disney and so many of these other childhood stories and things. Why do the parents always have to die? Come on, parents, did you ever figure that out? Why do they got to knock us off right at the beginning of the movie? It’s not good.

That sets the whole diatribe up for the whole thing and next thing you know then they turn to dark magic, the occult and all these other things, sorcerers. What’s with all of that? We let it into our homes or we put it on our backpacks. Wonder why our kids are being offered at the throne of Molech. Things add up. It’s an equation. You spend a lot of time eating apples, people are going to say you like to eat apples. You spend a lot of time around darkness and evil and wicked things, people are going to naturally see you gravitate towards evil, dark and wicked things. I think we all understand that.

Idolaters. What’s that? Those are worshippers of false gods. An idolater, a covetous man as a worshipper of Mammon. I just mentioned Disney, but it goes far beyond Disney. I’m not calling Disney individually. I’m saying anything because I’m sure there’s things at Disney that are wholesome. But I’m saying there are other things in life that we put in front of us that come through that screen and it doesn’t represent or glorify Jesus Christ. And we just say, "Okay." I mean there’s board games that do that. There’s all kinds of things that we don’t think are harmful to our souls, but they are because they testify of these false gods that we don’t think are false gods in our lives.

People who worship money. There are people alive that that’s their sole interest is to make money. That’s different than being blessed by something and then using it for the kingdom of God as compared to turning around and making that your sole focus. Jesus told us build treasures in heaven because they’re going to last. Not saying you can’t be successful here. Especially with our young people. He’s not saying you can’t be successful as we would define in human terms, but be successful in God’s terms as well. You can do great things. Go and be a doctor, do whatever you want to do. Do it for the Lord, though.

Do it for God. And if you are so financially blessed by that, praise Him for it and use it for Him. But don’t turn around and say, "Oh, I can’t get a good job." He didn’t say that either. So please understand that. Let’s take it in the right context. We don’t want it to be something we worship. Liars. Are you surprised that that’s in this list? That liars will basically not be in the kingdom of God? Those who are liars are deceitful and they’re a false witness. All these will not be allowed into the New Jerusalem and will find themselves in the lake of fire. We know that is hell. Hell is a real place and the torment will last forever. Jesus never will send me or any other human being to hell. But man, woman, individual sends themselves when they reject Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Pastor Matt VanderVen on His Perfect Love. Thanks for taking part in today’s study of Revelation, a book that comes with a blessing attached to those that read and study it. If you were blessed and encouraged by the Lord, we’d like to know. Email us while it’s fresh on your mind there at our website hisperfectlove.org. Be sure to include your prayer requests.

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