Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

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For those joining us online, you’re listening to the Services of the Broomfield Baptist Church of Colorado.

This is the Pastor bringing the Sunday Morning message entitled “Life in New Jerusalem, Part Three, The Delights of That City.”

We invite you to follow along with us in your Bible in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 22 and Verses 1 - 5.

Quote - "The glorious fact is not that the past is sullied, dirty, or unclean, but that the future is unsullied."

[Craig Brian Larson and Brian Lowery, 1001 Quotations That Connect: Timeless Wisdom for Preaching, Teaching, and Writing (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2009), 161.]

Illustration:

God is the true source of life

Nature: Mesquite trees are survivors.

These amazing trees are able to live in extremely arid conditions because they are not dependent on the occasional rainfall for survival.

In seasons of extreme drought, they can drop their leaves to conserve energy.

The key to a mesquite tree surviving is its deep taproot.

The mesquite tree sends its taproot up to two hundred feet below the surface, looking for the water table.

It knows where true life waits.

[J.

Scott Duvall, Revelation, ed.

Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2014), 302–303.]

Main Thoughts: Focus on the hope that this description stirs in the heart of finding that city whose builder and Maker is God (Heb.

11:10).

Draw the attention to the central focus of the city - The Lord, Lamb Temple, God's People becoming the Holy of Holies into Eternity

Sub-Intro: Whereas the devil had his seductive harlot city (Babylon the Great), the Lord has His beautiful virgin city (New Jerusalem).

Note - John's description is completely logical, he describes first the outside of the city (Rev.

21:9-21) and then the inside of the city (Rev.

22:1-5)

Body:

I. New Jerusalem’s  Descent  (Rev.

21:9-14)

A. John'  Invitation  to Behold (Rev.

21:9)

B. John's  Experience  (Rev.

21:10-14)

1.

The Brilliance of the City (Rev.

21:11)

2. The Bars (or Walls) of the City (Rev.

21:12-14)

a.

The Twelve Foundations: The Twelve Apostles of the Lamb (vv.

12, 14)

b.

The Twelve Gates of the City: The Twelve Sons of Israel (vv.

12-13)

Application: The 12 Apostles represent the NT Saints, and the 12 Tribes represent the OT Saints.

Both groups will dwell in the New Jerusalem, and make up the Bride, in this we see the unity among distinction that also is seen in the triune God-head, as well as God's resurrection program in four phases (First Christ, then NT Saints in Rapture, next OT Saints in Revelation, and lastly the Millennial Saints at the end of the Millennium).

II.

New Jerusalem’s  Description  (Rev.

21:15-21)

A. The Broad  Measurements  of the City (Rev.

21:15-17)

1.

The Structure Measured: The City, the Gates, and the Walls ( v. 15)

Note - This is a Protected City

2. The Size Measured: Perfectly Symmetrical (vv.

16-17)

B. The Beautiful  Materials  of the City (Rev.

21:18-21)

1. Jasper Walls & Clear Crystal City (v.

18)

2. Foundation Stones (vv.

19-20)

3. Gates of Pearl & Streets of Gold (v.

21)

III.

New Jerusalem’s  Delights  (Rev.

21:22-22:5)

› Go Slow...

A. The Worship of the City (Rev.

21:22)

Note - "Lord God Almighty" = Triune Godhead

Note - Throughout eternity there will be no more sin, no more separation from God, and therefore no more need for the golden censer (Rev.

6:3; 8:3), golden altar (Rev.

8:3), and the Temple (Rev.

16:17) will cease, as God's saints (believers through the ages) will have free access to their Savior and God.

B. The Illumination of the City (Rev.

21:23)

Note - See also Is. 60:1; 1 Jn.

1:5

Note - That the city will have no need of the sun or moon does not necessarily mean they will not exist

Note - Jesus is the Light of the World (Jn.

8:12; 9:5), as long as we are in His presence we will have His light (eternally)

Note - Consider also Isaiah's description in Is. 60:19-20 and remember that the sun stood still for Joshua for one day (Josh.

10:12-13)

C. The Enlightenment of the City (Rev.

21:24)

Note - This City Is a Peaceful City

Note - The new earth will continue to be governed (Rev.

1:6) by those who reigned with Christ through the Millennium

Note - These will serve the Lord with a proper heart attitude and service.

See Heb.

13:15; Ps. 100:4

D. The Enterprise of the City (Rev.

21:25-26)

Note - This City Is a Prosperous City

Note - Whereas gates were typically shut at night to protect the city (see Neh. 7:3; 13:19), here the gates will be eternally open as the wicked are tormented in the Lake of fire eternally

Note - See Jeremiah's prophecy regarding God's glory in Jer.

9:23-24

E. The Purity of the City (Rev.

21:27)

Note - Notice What Is Missing (who is prohibited from entrance contrasted with who is permitted entrance)

Note - Those written in the Lamb's Book of Life - Rev. 3:5; 17:8, 20:11-15)

Illustration: Reverend C. M. Ward described the new Jerusalem.

The great enclosed cube is nearly 1,378 English miles every way.

That is approximately the distance from Tampa, Florida, to Des Moines, Iowa, or from Dallas, Texas, to Washington, D.C.… Were the city to be divided into blocks as in our American cities, there would be at least 625 blocks.…

But this unique city has another dimension.

It is as high as it is wide and long.

Thus following the pattern already established, and contemplating street over street and yet accommodating the highest buildings yet erected in New York, there would be at least 7,599,000 streets and 937½ billion blocks.

In such a city there would be ample room for ten million houses, each large enough for 12,500 occupants measured by today’s standards.

At this rate the city would afford ample room for one and one-quarter quadrillion of people.

That would be more than 1,000 times as many people as have been born in Adam’s race up until the 1960’s.

—Pentecostal Evangel [Croft M. Pentz, Outlines on Revelation, Sermon Outline Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1978), 62.]

F. The Real Paradise City (Rev.

22:1-5)

Illustration: Axel Rose Got It Wrong!

Conclusion:

There's a light at the end of the road

Follow the Light through the night; the journey home may seem long, but it is navigable by the light of the Lord