As it is in Heaven

Well, it doesn't come as any surprise, you know, if I say, you know, to you that we we live in an unusual time and in a troubled world. You know, I think as we have gone through this process for the last month and a half now with the coronavirus and watching everything that's going on in the world around us, I think we are we are in awe how quickly all this has come about.

We're in awe at the measures that have been taken, you know, that were probably appropriate to control the virus. I think we may be a little stunned at some of the things that have occurred along the way and even the things that may occur afterwards that we keep hearing about. Of course, I've talked several times about and I think we're all aware of what the economic toll of this coronavirus period could have on the nation and a lasting effect that could take who knows how long to recover from.

No matter what projections there are, there has been so much damage to the economy and so much money poured into it that you just have to stop and think about it to realize just what a devastating effect this had on the United States economy, not to mention the global economy. You know, we are, I think, in awe that the whole world has literally come to a stop.

You know, we have nations around the world that are shut down. We have nations around the world that are our handicapped. We have reports of nations, you know, where leaders have taken some autocratic approaches to their people. And even here in the United States, you know, it's the first time in our lives that anything like this has happened where the whole world is pretty much shut down because of a virus. And that's fine and good. We learned a lot of lessons from it. You know, as a church we've learned a lot of lessons from it.

As people of God we've learned a lot of lessons from it. At least I pray that we've learned a lot of lessons from it. And no one knows where this is going to go, right? I mean, you know, it may all be resolved.

We may enter into a time of peace and safety. Or it may keep going and keep going and we have no idea what it is. It's in God's hands. But it's a time to reflect on where we are, who we are, what we're doing, and the time that lies ahead of us. Because no matter what happens after this period of time we're in, we are in a realization now that the time of the end is near.

And the time of the end is coming. And it's going to be a time that takes us and rivets us to God if we are thinking of things right. You know, as we go through this and we might think of what's happening next, we might have finally aimed ourselves a little bit fearful of what the next thing is.

And thinking about all those prophecies and what God says will happen between now and the time of the return of Jesus Christ. We might find ourselves wanting to bury our heads and pretending it's not happening and that this isn't really real. You know, and only God knows, like I said, but it's not time for us to shy away and it's not time for us to run away and it's not time for us to bury our heads and say everything is going to be okay because someday things are not going to go back to the way they were.

Things will become much more difficult as time goes by and we may look back on this time and say, boy, was that mild compared to what we, that we, what we, and not only we, but the world will go through because the Bible foretells the time of great tribulation that will come upon the the world and the physical nations of God. So it's time, you know, we can, we should, we should look and we should reflect. We've come through the Passover time, we've come through Unleavened Bread, and we've committed ourselves to God and we look to Him and we should have renewed our commitment to Him and even more so this year with the circumstances that we've been going through.

But you know, as Jesus Christ said in His last words to the disciples, He said, you know, let not your heart be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled. And in the last words He said before He went into His prayer in John 17, He said, you know, be of good cheer or in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer.

I have overcome the world. So in times of trouble, in times of upset, in times of uncertainty, in times when we catch ourselves and think we're going into uncharted waters, we don't know what we're doing, what do we do? What do we do? Of course the short answer is we turn to God or we return to God if we ventured from Him.

We look to Him. We don't look to ourselves and say, how can I manage myself out of this? Or what can this person do or this government do? Or whatever. We look to God because He's the only answer to the future. He's the only answer to the problems that the world is developing now and the world that will continue to develop until the return of Jesus Christ. We look to Him and that's a simple short answer. But you know, it's Jesus Christ prepared His people. When He was on earth and even in the Old Testament times, He gave them something else that you and I need to cling to and you and I need to develop as we go through this time and as we look to the future, whatever the future is and how much longer it might be until the return of Jesus Christ.

If you turn with me to Matthew 16. Matthew 16, Jesus Christ has worked with His disciples, His apostles. During that time He's been on earth and in chapter 16, you remember, He tells them that He's going to build His church and He's going to build that church on Him, the rock.

And He talks about that and in that chapter, you know, God reveals to Peter and the apostles, this Jesus Christ, He is the Son. He is the Son of God. And if you look at verse 21, after Jesus Christ tells them that His tree will begin His church and the church will continue until the time of His return, in verse 21 it says, From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, He must suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised the third day. He told them, tough times are coming. There are times coming that are going to try your soul. There are going to be times coming that will trouble you. But I'm letting you know they are going to come. And He didn't wait until the last minute before. He did it at that time. And so, you know, He goes and He talks to them about that. And then what does He do? In verse 28, He says, Assuredly I say to you, There are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. As He tells them what will be, as He tells them they're going to start, He's going to start His church. There will be trouble ahead. There will be times that just capture them and that maybe rivet them. And as we see from the reactions of the apostles that make them scatter, they have to learn something about themselves. What does He do? He gives them a vision, a vision of the kingdom. Chapter 17 verse 1, After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. And behold Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. Peter was overwhelmed by what he had seen. Look at this vision! Look at what Christ is showing them. Look at what their future is. He's overwhelmed by how good and how pleasant and how awesome that place is that he was taken in vision. Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it's good for us to be here. If you wish, let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

This is a good place to be. He might have said later, I'm sure, thank you for letting us see that vision. Thank you for giving us the hope of what we're going to, what you have called us for, what we will be doing, the reason that we're on earth, the reason that we will be serving you, the reason that we will be serving your church, the reason we may go through the things we do because you will bring a kingdom to this earth that surpasses everything that is on this earth today. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him, listen to him. If this vision motivates you and stimulates you, this is what I have called you to, this is your eternity, this is your future.

Listen, listen to my son. And when the disciples heard that they fell on their faces, and they were greatly afraid, as well you can imagine, or maybe we can't even imagine, what it is that they saw at the time that they were in that vision.

But you know, when we see people who come before God and have a vision of what he what he is, what his throne looks like, what the kingdom will be like, you see them falling on their faces. They're in awe. But you know what else happens to them? They're motivated to do what God called them to do.

They do it with renewed vigor. No matter what it costs them personally, no matter what it costs them physically, they are motivated to do what God says. Vision.

Vision, you know, you all know this scripture in Proverbs 29 verse 18, where there is no vision, the people perish. Where there is no vision, where we don't keep an eye on where we're going, and if we don't believe in what God says where we're going, we will perish. So at a time, a time that we're in now, where we don't know where the world is going, we don't know have the answers of what will be the long-lasting or even the short-term effects of what we've gone through. What will happen next? What will be the next wrinkle in this story that we're living and in this time that we're living? What we need to do as a people, we need to sharpen our vision. Of course we need to grow closer to God. Of course we need to use all the tools at our disposal and make Him our priority and examine our lives and make sure that even in our daily lives and when we return to work and return to things, if they get back to that point, that we are turning to Him and forced and foremost we rely on Him. But we need to be focusing our vision on the time that God has called us to and that is to His kingdom. You know Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ in the model prayer.

He gave us that in Matthew 6 and He said, after this manor pray. And when you look at that prayer, He kind of outlines how our lives should be.

Matthew 6, you know, we begin, our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be your name.

Remember who we're talking to. Thy kingdom come. We pray that every day. And Jesus Christ, you know, says be thankful to God, recognize Him. And at the outset of our prayer, keep in our minds, thy kingdom come. Before we get into the thing about asking the things we need for ourselves or others, thy kingdom come.

That's the vision, that's the purpose, that's the reason God has called us now to serve Him, to serve others, and to serve Him today, but also in the kingdom.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So when we pray those words and we say, we pray, God, that thy kingdom come, let things be today or let them come to earth and let them be as it is in heaven. Well, how is it in heaven? What are we praying? Do we think about how it is in heaven? And we pray those words, Father, let it be on earth as it is in heaven. How is it? Is that at the front of our minds? Is it the things that motivates us that no matter what would befall us going forward, we would say, I have that vision in our mind? You know, much like our forefathers, we have a great example in American history. They had an idea. They had a vision of democracy and freedom for people, and they were willing to sacrifice everything, including their lives, for that vision that they had. Are we willing? Are we willing to sacrifice anything and everything for the vision we have of a kingdom and a government that will come ruled by Jesus Christ that will surpass anything that this world has to offer or has ever had to offer? It's vision. It's vision that can direct and that motivate us and keep us on track. Well, let's go to the Bible, and let's ask the question, how is it in heaven? If we pray as it is in heaven, can we get a vision just from the words of the Bible of what heaven is like or what it's like in heaven today that we pray, let it be that way here on earth? Well, yes, we can. Let's go back to the very back of the Bible, Revelation 21.

Revelation 21. And after the thousand years are completed of Jesus Christ's reign, we get a vision of what will happen. And if we're praying for God's will to let things be as they are on earth as it is in heaven, we can see what happens to the earth and say, oh, that's how it is in heaven today. Chapter 21 of Revelation, verse 1. I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no more sea.

And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. An interesting analogy he puts there. Keep that in mind. We'll come back maybe to that a little bit later.

Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. He will be with men just as he is with all the heavenly hosts in heaven today. As it is in heaven today, it will be on earth when God comes and dwells with men. And verse 4, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. So in heaven today, there are no tears. There's no death. There's no sorrow. There's no crying. Those things were for the earth that we live in today. Because it says those things have passed away. We pray as it is in heaven, where we pray to come, what we want to be part of. And what God is preparing us for today is to be part of a world where there is no more of these sad situations that we have just lived with all our lives.

Crying, sorrow, death, no pain that precedes that. All those things are not in heaven. All those things are of this earth that will pass away. And verse 5, it says, Then he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. Three times, he says, similar words, like in that last sentence there, these words are true and faithful. So we see some of what it will be like when it is on earth as it is in heaven today. And all the former things of this earth that we are so accustomed to pass away.

The first one mentioned there is death. Death. We just see death as part of life, a very sad part of life, if you will. A time that we mourn and grieve when our loved ones and our family members die. And we know it's all part of all of our futures. That's the way God created us. And we go back to Genesis. You know, we could go back to Genesis, but you know that story well. When God told Adam and Eve, you know, there's these two trees in the garden. There's the tree of life.

There's the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Don't take of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For the day you eat of it, you will surely die. You know, those were monumental words when you think about it. Because prior to that time, there's no record of the Bible that death was ever part of anything that it occurred before then. You know, God is life. And the indication in the Bible is that the elders, all the heavenly beings that we come to know, were given eternal life. But then on earth, you know, after the iniquity of Satan, which we'll get to here in a minute, God said, if you disobey me, if you take of that tree, you will die. And perhaps, perhaps for the first time in history, if I can use that word, it's really infinity. Perhaps the first time a being that was alive actually ceased to live was able, was able, when Cain murdered him. So it's kind of riveting when you think about how it is on earth and versus how it is in heaven where there is no death. And we're going to a time where there is no death, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more crying.

That's for this world. That's for this earth. A time for you and I to show God we are yielded to him and that we are committed to him and that we would yield whatever he would like us to yield to him. You know, you go back to Satan. Well, let's go down to verse 7 here of Revelation 21. In verse 7, it says, He who overcomes, well, that's you and I, right? God has given us the opportunity to know these things and he calls us to overcome. He who overcomes, and we don't overcome by our own strength, we come overcome by God's Spirit. He who overcome shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my son.

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death. There won't be any of those sins or those type people when it is on earth as it is in heaven. There won't be the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, the sexually immoral, the liars, the murderers. You know, some of which were some of us that God says overcome, overcome by using my Holy Spirit and be committed to me and part of that is having the vision of what things will be like and letting that drive and motivate us. But you know here in verse 8, two of the things that he mentions are liars, liars, and murderers. And you remember the verse in John 8, 44, I believe it is, where Jesus Christ, when he's talking to the Pharisees that are gathered there and he said, you know, you're like your father. You're like your father, the devil.

He is, he is the father of murders and he is, he is the chief liar. I'm paraphrasing a little bit here. Those were introduced, those were introduced in heaven by Satan and they're part of our lives today but they aren't part, they aren't part of how it is in heaven today. Lying and murder and those things will be part of the past, they won't be in the kingdom that you and I are looking forward to. Not the thing that God has called us to be part of his army, part of his group, part of his family today that will help usher it in, that he wants there to be part, part of the people who will administer and serve in that kingdom. But also in verse 21 or chapter 21 here, we see that John was taken to the throne or as he was in this vision here says, he who sat on the throne said, I make all things new. We know we don't know what heaven looks like exactly but God has opened and taken people in vision to parts of the, to his throne before. Let's go back to even Revelation 4, you know, as God is beginning to give this prophecy of the end time to John. Again, as John was going to face many things and as John was going to do this, he gave him a vision of what he was living for, where he was going, where the end of his life would be, and after he died and was resurrected, what was it that he had spent his life serving God to do? Revelation 4, let's look at verse 1. After these things, John writes, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying, come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne.

And he who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. Well, John is describing in human physical terms what he saw. It was an overwhelming sight what he saw. There's brilliance there. There's brilliance in this throne. And he sees something familiar like the rainbow. You know, God puts some of the things that are in heaven on our earth today. You know, we put the rainbow after the great flood and he said, you know, this is my covenant with mankind. I will not destroy all of mankind from earth again. There's a rainbow in heaven. We see the things and up there and we have a picture of that John is praying for us of how tremendous the throne area in God in heaven is. And then he talks about some of the beings that are around there. Around the throne were 24 thrones. And on the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting. We don't know when those elders were created. We don't know what their purpose is. But we know they have a purpose just like God has a purpose for us. There's something they do. We'll learn what that is later. Around the throne were 24 thrones and on the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting. Clothed in white robes and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. You see the picture that John is seeing. How mesmerizing it must have been. How motivating it must have been. How inspiring it must have been to see God in His element. Before the throne, verse 6, there was a sea of glass like crystal.

You know, we talked about the sea of glass not too many weeks ago. Revelation 15, when it talks about the people who will be standing on that sea of glass in Revelation 15, singing, singing the new song that they are taught. And John sees this. Before the throne there was a sea of glass like crystal. And in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. Again, he's seeing these things. He's capturing him. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and they worship him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things and by Your will they exist and were created. You see the majesties, you see the unity, you see the harmony as it is in heaven. They all are of one accord. They're all doing what God had designed them to do, whatever those roles are. And there's the contentment and joy that you can feel and that John was there in the vision. As we get the vision, as we look at the Bible, we say, wouldn't we like to be part of that? Wouldn't we like to be part of an environment where everyone is working together? Everyone has their job. Everyone is skilled and has been trained by God to do what they want and they're all working toward a purpose and they all honor the King. They all honor the King. There's no dissension. There's no second-guessing. There's no Monday morning quarterbacking. We worship you.

Everything belongs to you. What a tremendous and invigorating environment that would be, especially when you work for a God and a King of kings and Lord of lords who has endless, who has an endless plan in mind for whatever we do for eternity, just as He has had that plan from the time before the foundation of the world all the way back into infinity, which we can't even fathom.

And that's what God has called you and I too. And it will happen. Jesus Christ said, write these words. They are true and faithful. They are true and faithful.

Well, there are other places in the Bible that we see God's throne as well. Let's just look at a couple of them here. Back in Isaiah, even in the Old Testament, Isaiah was a prophet of God. Legend says that Isaiah was sawn in two at the end of his life. He was willing to live the life God because he had a vision of what God called him to because he believed God, because he was there and he committed his life to him. Let's just read through a few verses here in Isaiah 6. It says, in the year the king Uzziah died, I, of course, as Isaiah writing, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above it stood Seraphim. Well, now we have angels. We saw four living creatures. We saw 24 elders. Now we have Seraphim. Each one had six wings, and with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. So we get to introduce to some more angelic beings. In Ezekiel, we'll turn to Ezekiel in a minute. They're called Cherubim there. The Bible says there's ten thousands and ten thousands of angels up there that God has created millions and millions of them. And one cried to another, saying the same words that we saw in Revelation. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. They know the plan. They're committed to the plan. They can see past today and tomorrow to the future and what God has in mind for mankind and for all the heavenly beings. Because his will is, as we pray every day, that it will be on earth as it is in heaven. And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

Well, Isaiah recognizes in the face of this majesty, in the face of this throne, in the face of this vision, I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. I'm not clean. I'm not pure.

I'm not worthy to be part of that environment. Those beings in that environment calls for purity. That calls for perfection. That doesn't, that isn't who I am, Isaiah realizes. And so he says that. And then God sends this to him and he touches his mouth in verse 7. It says, Behold, this has touched your lips.

Your iniquity has taken away and your sin purged. Just like it is with you and I when we repent and when we're baptized. And we receive the Holy Spirit because none of us in our current state are worthy. But one day we will be when we're perfect, when God resurrects us to perfection based on the character and the commitment that we've shown and demonstrated in our life and the choices that we make today. And then notice what God says. It says, I heard the verse of the Lord saying, Well, who will I send and who will go for us? Isaiah volunteers, you know, I'll go. I'll go. I'll go. Send me. He's eager. He's eager to preach this gospel. He's eager to lead people to this God. And God says, Go and tell this people, keep on hearing but don't understand. Keep on seeing but don't perceive. Make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return and be healed. Strange message. Maybe at another time we can talk about that. But he says, but Isaiah is motivated. I'll do it. I'll do your work, God. I'll do whatever you say. And here's God says, Here's the message. Isaiah says, How long? And then he says, Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, until the houses are without a man and until the land is utterly desolate. Things that didn't happen in ancient Israel. The Lord has removed men far away and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land, but yet a tenth will be in it. Yet a tenth will be in it, in prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled and will return and be for consuming as a terebeth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down, so the Holy Seed shall be its stump. We've read recently God will not allow his physical nations of Israel to be totally decimated. They will remain and when he returns they will be brought back to their promised land. He tells Isaiah, motivates, you know, Isaiah has a vision and Isaiah spends the rest of his life doing God's will, leading to a death if legend is true, a very horrible death, if we can say that. Let's let's go back to Ezekiel or forward to Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 1, there's a very well, a lengthy description that Ezekiel has as God is calling him to be a prophet to Israel, which had already been taken into captivity, and Judah. And as you read through the book of Ezekiel, you see the things that Ezekiel had to undergo. He was willing to undergo them all. His life was more difficult than yours and mine have been. But let's see how God introduces, you know, to Ezekiel here. And I'm not gonna, I'm gonna read through, but I'm not gonna comment on a lot, except for a few things through here, but I want you to have a vision of what God does, and when he's preparing the people, he gives them a vision. And as a people, he's preparing. We need to have a vision.

And you know what? We can ask God for that vision and to hone that vision in us. Christ says, whatever you ask in my name, I'll give it. We ask for his Holy Spirit, he gives it. We need to be living the life. We need to be walking the walk and not just talking the talk. But if we ask for a vision and ask him to hone that in us, he will. Ezekiel 1 verse 1, it came to pass in the 30th year in the fourth month. On the fifth day of the month, as Ezekiel was among the captives by the river Kaibar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, the word of the Eternal came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzai, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Kaibar, and the hand of the Eternal was upon him there. Now, just pause for a moment, you know, and that is a very comforting verse, you know, a very comforting phrase should be for us. And the hand of the Eternal was upon him there. There he was in a foreign land, not in his land, he'd been carried away captive, but the hand of God was on him.

You know, we live through troubled times. We'll live through more troubled times than these. It'll be a great comfort to us if we're close to God and God is using us and we are allowing him to use us to have his hand on us. What does his hand on us do? It'll strengthen us. It'll calm us. It'll assure us. It'll give us the confidence to go forward and faith to go forward because we know God is there just as Jesus Christ said that he would never leave us open or orphans, that he would always be where with us. And as we go through life and his trials and whatever is, wherever this leads and whatever happens between now and the return of Jesus Christ, we will very much welcome feeling the hand of Christ on us and knowing he's there. But we have to do the work now. We have to stay close to him now. We have to be committed to him now.

I looked and behold, verse 4, a whirlwind was coming out of the north and a great cloud with raging fire. You know, it's an interesting study maybe and maybe some sermonettes can be given on sometimes. You see cloud and fire appear at many places in the Bible, in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, in heaven.

God uses cloud and fire and I'll leave it at that and let you look into that a little bit. A great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber out of the midst of the fire. Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures, just like Isaiah or I guess John saw. Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures and this was their appearance. They had the likeness of a man. Each one had four faces and each one had four wings.

I remember some time ago I gave a sermon titled, The Voice, The Face of an Angel. It talks about those four faces and if you're interested in that you can go back and look at that sermon on the web that's somewhere somewhere in our archive on our YouTube channel. Each one had four faces and each one had four wings. Their legs were straight and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves' feet.

Remember, Ezekiel is describing this in human terms, but what he sees, remember, as it is in heaven, God has put many of those things on earth today that we have around us. Their legs were straight, the soles were like soles of calves' feet.

Their legs, they sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. The hands of a man were under their wings on their foresides and each of the four had faces and wings. Their wings touched one another and the creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straightforward. Now, isn't that interesting? God created those creatures for the purpose that they fulfill in heaven today and all they do is go Go straight forward. It reminds me of Exodus 14. When God was commanding Moses as Israel had his back up against the Red Sea, don't be afraid. Stand still. See the salvation of God which He will work for you today. Go forward. Keep your eyes looking ahead. Keep your eyes looking ahead. And as we go through whatever we go through today and tomorrow and in the rest of our lives, physical lives, we need to keep our eyes on God. We need to keep looking forward. We need to have the vision of the kingdom in front of us. As God gives that to us and as we work and as His Holy Spirit motivates us, calms us, strengthens us, and does all those things that will bring us to where He wants us to be. And those four living creatures, that's all they do. They go straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, verse 10, each had the face of a man, each of the four had the face of a lion. On the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox, and each of the four had the face of an eagle. When Ezekiel saw them, apparently he saw the face they were facing him with the face of a man. Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward. Two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. And each one went straight forward.

They went wherever the Spirit wanted to go, and they didn't turn when they went. Wherever the Spirit led them, they went. Wherever the Spirit leads us, even in uncharted, choppy waters, we go. We go straight forward. And for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. And the living creatures ran back and forth in appearance like a flash of lightning.

Can you imagine Ezekiel? We made a movie of this. How would you even picture it? Can you imagine Ezekiel seeing these things and then writing them? The awe that we'll see he had as we come to chapter 2, that he had at that time, he couldn't even digest it all because it was so magnificent. Verse 15, as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. The appearance of the wheels of their workings was like the color of a barrel, and all four had the same likeness.

The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. God had created all those things. They all do their things. They all have their function in heaven. And things work perfectly. When they moved, verse 17, they went toward any one of four directions. But they didn't turn aside when they went. Now, these can go northeast, west, south, right? But when they were headed in the direction, they didn't turn aside to the right or left. They headed where they were going. You know Jesus Christ or the Bible in Deuteronomy 12, it says, you know, follow my principles. Follow them exactly. Don't add to them. Don't take away from them. Don't turn aside to the right or the left. Keep moving in the direction that God gives you. Keep moving in the direction that the Word of Truth, the Bible, His Word tells us. Don't turn aside. Just keep moving in the direction that He would have us move. Verse 18 is for their rims. They were so high, they were awesome.

And their rims were full of eyes all around the four of them. When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them, and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the Spirit went. And the wheels were lifted together with them, for the Spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. God's Spirit will direct us. It will lead us to wherever He wants us to go. Not the quickest path, not the most direct path, not the path maybe that we want to go in, just like when He moved Israel out of Egypt. He didn't take them on the most direct path, but it was the path that He intended them to be on, and we're on the path He intends us to be on. Well, let's drop down to verse 22. The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal stretched out over their heads. Here we have this crystal, this sea of glass, this sea of glass that's in Revelation 15, right? In our futures. That was there even in Exodus 24. If you turn back to Exodus 24, you don't have to do it right now. You can look at it later. Even Moses talks about that when he was given a vision.

The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal stretched out above their heads, and under the firmament their wings spread out straight one toward another. Each one had two, which covered one side, and each one had two, which covered the other side of the body. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult, like the noise of an army. And when they stood still, they let down their wings, a majestic, a majestic noise. A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads. Whenever they stood, they let down their wings. And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne. In appearance like a sapphire stone, on the likeness of the throne was the likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of his waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber, with the appearance of fear of fire all around within it. And from the appearance of his waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.

They saw the likeness, they didn't gaze upon the one who sat on the throne. They didn't see his face, but they saw the likeness and Elijah describes the brilliance of it. In verse 28 he says, it was like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. So was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the eternal. So when I saw it, I fell on my face and I heard a voice of one speaking. He was overcome. Overcome by what he saw. He was overcome by what he saw, but he desired what he saw. Just like you and I, when we catch a vision of what God's kingdom will be like, what it will be like when those prayers bring it to earth as it is in heaven actually comes to pass. And the world that we will live in and the people who live during that time and all humanity have an opportunity to live in a world that is totally different than the things that we live in today. A lot of times of so much more unity and peace and harmony where everyone is trained to do what they do and they do it willingly and they do it to the best of their abilities and to do all those things as those in heaven do it today. Elijah was overcome and then in verse chapter 2, God gave him the vision and said to Elijah, Son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak to you. The Spirit entered me when he spoke to me and set me on my feet and I heard him so spoke to me and he said, to me, Son of man, I'm sending you to the children of Israel to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me this day and God sends Ezekiel out to preach a warning message to them. Was Elijah motivated to do what God called him to do? Absolutely. That vision was before him. Elijah endured so much physically, but he did it. That vision never escaped him like it never escaped Peter, James, and John or Isaiah as they saw that vision as the vision should never escape us if we take the time to contemplate it and let God create that vision in us that will motivate us and that will help us to be more committed to him and give our lives to him completely and wholly. All those things that God did and does that he will bring to earth when our prayers are answered, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Let's go back to Revelation and see more. We did that from Revelation 21, verses 1 through 8, but let's look at chapter 22 in Revelation because it will show us more of what God is bringing to earth, more of how it is in heaven today and what his will is. Chapter 22 of Revelation verse 1, he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life. That God planted there in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve to partake of, but they rejected it. In the middle of the street was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. And there will be no more curse, the curse that God put on the earth when Adam and Eve submitted to Satan, there shall be no more curse. But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. Not like it is on earth today where his people that he created chose to serve Satan and themselves. Then they'll serve him. Verse 4, notice, they shall see his face.

They shall see his face. You know, we notice in Ezekiel and in Isaiah, and in John's vision, no one saw God's face. In fact, in John 6 and verse 4-6 and other places, the Bible says, no man has seen God. No man has seen God, even when, you know, the YHWH of the Old Testament appeared to Moses and the burning bush at that incident. He just saw his back.

No man has seen God, but at that time, at that time, they shall see his face. They're part of his kingdom now. Just as it is in heaven, we will be able to see his face. And his name will be on their foreheads. His name will be on their foreheads. We can keep your finger there in Revelation 22. We just read this, I think, last week, Revelation 14. Verse 1, talking about the first fruits. Talking about the first fruits in chapter 14 of Revelation, verse 1, I looked and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his father's name written on their foreheads. That's what's in your and my future if we continue to follow God, if we're motivated to follow him, if we have the vision, and if we really want the kingdom to come. And it's not just words that we say because we've been trained to say them, but words we say with meaning, as God leads us to and gives us the vision of what shall be, that will motivate us and that will draw us closer to him. They shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there, Revelation 22, verse 5. There shall be no night there. They don't need lamp or light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. You know, God and Genesis 1, he created the lights of the earth for the appointed times. In heaven, there's no need for a sun. There's no need for a moon. God provides the light. He is the light of the earth. Jesus Christ said, I am the light of the world. As it is in heaven, so it shall be on earth. Verse 6, and he said to me, these words, these words are faithful and true. Write them down, John. They're faithful and true. Count on them. This is what is going to occur. Well, there's one other place that Jesus Christ made a statement like that. Let's go to Revelation 19, just a couple of chapters back. Let's look at verse 7. Speaking of the marriage of the Lamb, a time that is yet to come. Chapter 19, verse 7 says, Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be an arrayed and fine linen, clean and bright, for the line linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, write, Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And you can recall, as you're even thinking now, the times when Jesus Christ used the analogy and the symbolism of a marriage supper, and who's called to that marriage supper, and what the reaction to those people who were called to the marriage suppers were.

And his response to them, if they didn't take it seriously. And then in verse 9, he colludes by saying to John, These are the true sayings of God. This is true. Count on it. This is true. This is what's going to happen in the future. You'll be part of the Bride of Christ. You'll be part of the Bride of Christ. Well, let's take that and let's turn over to Revelation 21. And let's look and read through several verses here, beginning in verse 9. We read the first part of chapter 21. And then take those three times that Jesus Christ said. These words are true and faithful about the marriage of the Lamb, about how it is in heaven, how it will be on earth when God makes things on the new earth and in the new heaven as it is in heaven today. Verse 9, chapter 21 of Revelation, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me saying, Come, I will show you the Bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. That same vision that we had in the first part of chapter 21.

Showed me the great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

She had a great and high wall with twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square. Its length is as great as its breadth, and he measured the city with a reed, twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured the wall, 144 cubits, according to the measure of a man that is of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper, and the city was pure gold like clear glass. The foundations of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third calcedon, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth barrel, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysophase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

There's a picture brewing in your mind of what that might be like, and whatever that picture in your and my minds are as we read these verses, the reality of it is so far superior. It hasn't even entered into the hearts of man, God says, the wonders that He has prepared for those that love Him. So whatever we imagine as we think about all these things, it doesn't even compare to what we'll be. It hasn't even entered into our minds because the mind of God is so far, so far above, and His capabilities are so far above infinitely that we could even imagine. Chapter 20 or verse 21, the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each individual gate was one pearl of the street, was pure gold like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. They are the ones. That's where they dwell. The city had no need of the sun of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

And the nations of those who are saved will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honor to it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day, and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter in anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie. Nothing evil, nothing abominable when God brings heaven, as it is in heaven, to earth. When the new earth is as it is in heaven, there will be no evil. It's a beholden upon all of us that those things that we just rehearsed and passed over in Days of Unleavened Bread to work hard, to work yielded to God, to be beseeching Him, and as we fast and as we do the things and use the tools of God, to do the things that He has called us to do, to be mindful of what needs to happen in us, that we can become the people that God will allow into His kingdom. Because He's not going to take any imperfection. Everything we read is perfect. Everything we read and everything, every attitude we see in heaven, apart from Satan and his demons, is perfect. They're unified. They're in harmony. There's peace. There's calm. There's people dedicated to the work. And it keeps moving forward. And they believe God and they have faith in Him. And they do whatever He says. And whatever they were prepared for, they're happy to do that. They're not second-guessing. They're not looking around the other side and saying, what are you doing? They're doing their job. And it is a perfect, perfect picture of unity and harmony. And beyond that, things we cannot even imagine. We today can't even imagine the harmony and the joy that must be in heaven. We know it's great because for Jesus Christ, it says, for the joy set before Him. He was willing to go through all He did to give His life for us and all the agony and torture He did for the joy set before Him. He knows how it is in heaven.

And He wanted that for you and me. He wanted that for you and me and for us to experience how it is in heaven, what God wants for every living being. But the choice is up to us.

The choice is up to us just like it was up to Adam and Eve. When God says, take the tree of life, when He says, do these things, yield yourself to Me. I will be with you. I will guide you. I will direct you. I will give you the strength. I will see you through the good times. I will see you through the tough times. I will deliver you into My Kingdom. These words are true and faithful.

We have to believe Him, and we have to do it, and we have to yield ourselves to Him just because it's His will to do it. It has to be us. It has to be us who chooses to do it and yield ourselves to Him. Do we have the motivation to do it? Do we see God's kingdom as better than the world we live in today? Are we happy with the way things are today?

Where is our motivation? What makes our heart beat when we think about it? What do we really want going forward when we pray the words that Jesus Christ told us to pray? Do we really mean them? Or are we just repeating them as vain repetitions because they're said in the Bible?

It's time. It's time for His people, you and me, and I include me in that a lot, to realize, you know, whatever we've gone through today, at some point in the future, this is going to look really mild, right? It's not going to be. We're going to look back and say, wow, we can't believe we ever thought that was tough having to stay at home during the coronavirus. We can't believe that it was that and the things that we went through because things will get worse.

And let's not bury our heads and think they won't, okay? Let's not bury our heads and think God's going to just take us and we're not going to have to suffer or anything. We will. He says He will.

We will. He will test our faith. We have to be close to Him. There's no other way through it because if we're not close to God, we will certainly fall. We will certainly go back to the way we were. And if we have no vision, if we don't see the kingdom of God, if we don't desire the kingdom of God the way Jesus Christ did, the way the apostles did, the way Ezekiel and Isaiah and John did, we'll fall. We need to do the things. We need to hone. We need to take the time that we have now and take this time that God has given us that He's caught all of our attention and given us time to prepare, time to assess, time to go forward and keep His kingdom in mind.

I want to close here with just five quotes that I pulled off of the internet that kind of summarize what I have today. And sometimes quotes can help us focus on what we have. Interesting as I look through several of them, of the five, three of them were of anonymous source. But I'll tell you who did the other one. The first one is from an anonymous source. It says, we are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision. We are limited not by our abilities, but by our vision.

You know, that is so true. In the business that we do, in the things that we do in life, God didn't give us a limited vision. God didn't give us, He doesn't limit us, He gives us a vision, but we have to hone it. We are not limited by our abilities, but by our vision. The second one is also from an anonymous source. A man without a vision for his future always returns to his past.

A man without a vision for his future always returns to his past.

Now that should send a shiver up your spine like it does mine.

Because we know if we return to our past, what the future holds for us.

You know, I'm mindful of when Jesus Christ was speaking to the multitudes in John 6, and He was talking about Him being the bread of life.

And the multitudes didn't understand that. It says at the end of chapter 6 there that the multitudes disappeared. They couldn't digest what Christ was saying, and they left Him.

They didn't understand it. Christ turned to His apostles, His disciples there, and He says, Do you want to leave also? Do you remember what they said? They said, where would we go?

Where would we go? You have the words of eternal life. And you know we're at a time where, and we'll be in a, we're at a time now, we're at a time later, we might think, man, I want to turn back.

I don't want it. I want to go back to the way it was before. That's not an option if we're looking at it.

God, and we know, God knows that He has given us the words of eternal life.

Words of eternal life. There's only one way to the kingdom.

Going back, turning back, going back to the world, choosing that is not an option.

Today is a time for us to train ourselves and train our mind and use God's Spirit that, no matter what occurs, I look to you. That's where my future is. A man without a vision for his future always returns to his past. And a returning to our past is the death, is the death toll for us.

This one comes from Steve Jobs. All of us know Steve Jobs of Apple fame. He says, if you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed, the vision pulls you. It isn't that true. If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed, the vision pulls you. Does the vision pull us?

Does the vision of God's kingdom motivate us? Is it in our minds? Do we think about it? Do we ask God to help us have a clearer vision? This one is from an anonymous source as well. Make your vision so clear that your fears become irrelevant. Make your vision so clear that your fears become irrelevant. You know, I'd be remiss to say, when we look at the future, and maybe some of these have gone through this and realize what this is the beginning of, that it can be fearful when we look at it from a human perspective and to see what's going on. But you know what? If our vision is so clear, it'll make your fears irrelevant. You know, in 1 John it says, perfect love. Perfect love. Being so in tuned with God, perfect love casts out fear. That's what that quote reminds me of. Make your vision so clear that your fears become irrelevant. And finally, this one is from an anonymous someone I don't know, but his name is Vance Havner. It says, the vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps. We must step up the stairs. And so we must, if we have the vision and we grasp the vision, we have to be at work. We have to do the things. We have to walk toward it. And you know what that means because we've talked about it today and we've talked about it in times past as well. So as we go from here and as we look toward the future, let's keep God's vision in mind. Let's hone it. Let's be motivated to do His will.

Let's walk with Him. And let's pray with sincerity. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.