Well, please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter six. We're gonna get back to Revelation shortly, but I wanted to begin with a verse here in Matthew chapter six to set the tone for us. A tone which was also already very well set by our scripture reading in Revelation chapter 21. He who conquers shall have this heritage. Matthew chapter six contains the words of the Lord Jesus Christ there in verse 18, where he tells us that we should not lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, verse 19, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Christ wants our hearts to be on our treasure in heaven. The treasure that we've read about in Revelation chapter 21, the treasure that we were speaking about last week from Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Revelation two and three give us this insight into the promises of God to the conqueror, the one who conquers, to the one who is victorious, to the victor. And the idea that Christians are victors, that we are conquerors, that we are overcomers, is an idea that probably doesn't get enough attention. And so I like to focus on those things that don't get enough attention. And we are, those who are called to victory, to live a triumphant life, to win as far as life goes in God's sight. But winning life in God's sight is very different from winning life in man's sight. And that is the key juxtaposition that we find in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the ultimate winner. He's the ultimate victor. He's the ultimate conqueror. And yet when you look at his life here on the earth, during those 33 years that he was among us, he didn't look like a victor, particularly at the end of his days in the public eye. That he was a man who was acquainted with sorrows and grief, as the scripture says. He was despised, he was rejected. And what is despised in the eyes of man is highly valued in the eyes of God. And what is highly valued in the eyes of man is despised in the eyes of God. There are those who are living among us today who are highly honored in the world. The world follows them and they have millions of followers on their social media. They have millions of dollars in their bank account. They have everyone in the press always putting them on their best side and making them look great. They've got promoters and hairstylists and they've got mansions and they've got everything that the world can give them. And that's where their heart is. They are earth dwellers. They are those who are living for this present age. And Jesus warned us to not be that way. but to be a different kind of people who are not pursuing honor in the eyes of mankind, who are not laying up for ourselves treasures in this present age, but who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ in deed and truth, winning the victory in God's sight. Very, very important. This is the message of Christianity. Normally we think of Christians as being kind of the nice guys who finish last. And those who finish last, as far as worldly fame and worldly advancement goes, if it's for Christ's sake, you've actually finished first and the resurrection changes everything. So come back with me to Revelation chapters two and three where we have our promises to the overcomer. And let's do a quick review of where we are and how we're continuing our message from last week and continuing the series that we've been in. We've been in a series in Revelation 2 and 3, here at the beginning, focusing on faith, hope, and love in the seven churches that Jesus Christ addresses these messages to, and that through these seven churches, Christ speaks to all Christians throughout the church age, in all places around the world, and that Christ is speaking to us today. And that's what we want to pray, is that we will have the ears to hear what Jesus Christ is speaking to us this morning, today, through His Holy Spirit and His inspired Word. The Word of God is alive, it is active, and it's our privilege to be able to sit and listen to the voice of Jesus Christ. Now, as we went through Revelation 2 and 3, we're looking at this particular issue of hope. Faith, hope, and love are the three virtues Christ is looking for among us, and hope is contained in the promises that Christ gives to those who are the overcomers, the conquerors, the victors in his name. Now, we talked a little bit last week about how the hope among Christians in the Western world is somewhat lacking. There's many reasons for that, but one of the quotes that I didn't have time for last week, I thought we could start off this morning with, is the scientist has lost God amid the wonders of his world. And the theologian, and we should all be theologians, is in danger of losing God amid the wonders of his word. that when it comes to studying God's world, the scientist is an expert in studying how the world works. And yet sadly, so many scientists who are in the world, who are spending time every day examining the wonders of God's creation, do not give God the honor and the glory. They do not have a heart of worship, but instead they are just caught up with the creation and they have lost sight of the creator. And so A.W. Tozer, one of my favorite authors, he noted about the church in his time, and I think it's still true today, that there's a similar danger available, not available, there's a similar danger posed towards those who are students of God's word. We are scientifically studying the word of God. And when it comes to the subject of our hope and the future that God has laid out before us, it's possible for us to get so focused on the details and making sure that we have the right information and that our Charts about the end times are the correct interpretation of the scriptures that we lose sight of the purpose of all of that. Remember that the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith, and that faith is the assurance of things hoped for. So you see how faith, hope, and love interact, and that love is the goal. And so if our study of our hope is not producing an increased love, first for God, and then for one another, we've missed the point. Never allow yourself to take more joy in being right about the timing of the rapture than the joy that you feel and experience that you are going to see the Lord Jesus Christ soon, okay? Never allow yourself to take more joy in the lesser thing. You should have joy if you have the right view of the rapture, but it shouldn't be more and you shouldn't feel it more than the joy that you have that you're going to see Christ soon. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. And as we study the promises, our faith in those promises gives us assurance that those good things are going to come to pass and it fills us with hope. And hope is the energy that we need to be able to carry out the Christian life, to be able to do the good works that God has placed before us, to be able to increase in those deeds of love, like Phyllis is doing for the inmates in helping them and encouraging them to study the Bible. that if we're studying our hope, but it doesn't lead us to do the good works that God has in front of us and that God says, here's something good that you can do to love and serve others and to glorify me, well, then we've missed the point. So let's make sure we don't miss the point, but that our hope is powering us to do the good works that God is calling us to. And I might also mention the good work of reaching out to the high school students to the Todd Becker event this week, that our hope is what powers these works. So let's not lose God amid the wonders of his word and have this heartless hope. We don't want to replace hope with eschatology. Eschatology is good in order to produce hope. The information that God has given to us, we study it, we dissect it, we make sure that we understand it so that it can do its work within us. That's where hope is the goal of our study. So then last week we began looking into the promises to the overcomer, the conqueror, and we looked particularly in Revelation 2.7 and 2.11, these first few promises, and the promises there have to do with everlasting life. And the way that everlasting life is promised to us is in regards in chapter two, verse seven, to the tree of life and exemption from harm from the second death in Revelation 2.11. Let's read those verses once again, just as a review and a reminder. As we look into it, there's seven churches, each one receives one of these promises of hope. And in chapter two, verse seven, the message to Ephesus is this. to the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. And that life that comes in the paradise of God, it's contrasted with what is not going to be the case for us in verse 11, where it says, the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. Most people will be hurt by the second death. And the promise to the one who conquers, to the one who keeps the deeds of Christ until the end, is that you will never ever, double negative Christ uses here, which is allowable in Greek, we don't do it in English. But in Greek, the double negative is used for emphasis. You will never ever be hurt by the second death. And this is the ultimate fear. Jesus Christ said that while people fear physical death, what they should really fear is eternal death, spiritual death. The one who after he kills has authority to cast you into the lake of fire, Jesus says that's the one that we should fear and that Jesus is the one who delivers us from that ultimate fear. So to have the ultimate hope and deliverance from the ultimate fear in these promises of everlasting life are really powerful. They're really precious to us as individuals. Now, as we think about the eternal life that God has given to us, then we recognize that these promises in Revelation 2 and 3, they all connect with Revelation 19 through 22, the end of the book. So the tree of life is mentioned in Revelation 22, verses one and two. The second death, the Lake of Fire, is mentioned in Revelation 20 and also chapter 21, verse eight. And that's what we're gonna see as we continue throughout the list that the promises in Revelation two and three connect with the end of the book after that time of worldwide cataclysmic judgment. Now, the second thing, and we began to look into this one last week also, is the everlasting reign that is promised to us as Christians. Revelation 2, 26 and 27 talks about authority over the nations. Revelation 3, 21 has a very similar promise about sitting with Christ on his throne. And then also there in Revelation 2 is this promise about the morning star. And that's the only one, Revelation 2, 26 to 28 is this double promise, the authority over nations and the morning star. And that's the middle one that has special emphasis. So let's take a look Again, what we began to look in last week on the everlasting reign, but I want to continue what we did not have time for. Now, I mentioned. that when it comes to the reign that we have with Christ, some Christians think they're too spiritual to be excited about this because we're all about humility, we're all about service, and we don't want power, and power is bad, and I can understand that. I can understand why you could be confused about why having this authority over the nations and the power to dash them in pieces like a potter breaking ceramic vessels, why that's not necessarily something that is immediately apparent to all Christians as, yeah, can't wait to destroy the nations. So let's talk about this a little bit more. Now, this age that we live in, God is still in control. Christ is on the throne. He has all authority given to him on heaven and on earth. that even from before Christ was born as a baby, he was in heaven, glorious in power, he's the word of God. And so God and Christ have always been in charge of the political rulers of this earth. This is a very important teaching of the Old Testament. that when it was Nebuchadnezzar who came and destroyed Jerusalem and burned the city and sacked the temple and took away all the vessels of God that were holy from the times of Moses, that it was God who had raised him up to do that. And that it was God who was in control. And he had to teach that to Nebuchadnezzar through the book of Daniel. And all the prophets made it abundantly clear throughout the whole Bible, beginning with Moses and Pharaoh, God is the one who raises up rulers. God is the one who takes them down. He has his purposes being accomplished. And so in this age that we live in, God sets up over the nations, worthless men, not all of them, but many of them, pretty worthless. And God does that for his own purposes, for his own reasons. And what we, as Christians are called to in this present age, is a time of testing. a time where our faith in God is tested to find out, are we able to do the will of God in an evil age where everyone else around you is abusing power and authority, where everyone who is in charge is a wicked person who is against God and who persecutes God's people and makes it difficult for anyone who wants to do what is right. When you're living in that age, can you still carry on and do the will of God, even if it's going to cost you everything? like Jesus. Jesus went to a Roman cross because he was willing to do God's will, even if it cost him his life. And so Jesus Christ was put to the test and he was found to be a man who would use the power that God had given him, the influence that God had given him, the money that God had given him, the talents that God had given him, only to do God's will. And God's will is to love and serve others. And so here we are in this age where we are tested to find out what are you going to do with the talents that God is going to give you? What are you going to do with the time and the money that God has given to you? What are you going to do with the little bit of power that you have? Are you going to use it to serve your own pleasures twisted by sin? Or are you going to use it to do the will of God? And the ones who pass that test, who keep the deeds of Christ until the end, who use whatever God has given them in order to serve God and serve others, these are the ones whom God is going to raise up during the kingdom to be the rulers. In the present evil age, evil men are appointed by God and they are allowed to use all their power for evil ends. But in the age to come, it's going to be different. And those who have been tested during this age and proven themselves to be true lovers of their neighbor, true servants of God, they are the ones who are going to be put in charge. And that's what we're looking forward to. That's what we're excited about. That's what this promise is really at the heart of this, that it stirs up our hope. that we groan living in this evil age, but that evil age is going to pass away. And the Christians who have loved the most and served the most, and you can see them around you and you can read about them in church history, they're the ones that God is going to elevate. They're the ones that God is going to put in charge. And I'm looking forward to that tremendously. So this everlasting reign, think about it in those terms. God is examining who is worthy to entrust dominion to, and those who prove themselves followers of Christ, they are the ones who are going to receive the power and the glory in the coming age. You know, the use and abuse of power would be a good sermon. It might be my Christmas message this year, thinking through that. Praise God that Jesus Christ has overcome. Now, as we look into some of the promises here that we didn't have time to look at last week, I want us to connect the promises in Revelation 2 and 3 with what we have at the end of the book. And so let's do that. We're talking about the everlasting reign. Let's read again the promise in Revelation 2, 26 and 27. where it says, the one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earth and pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. Let's take a look at that promise in connection with how the book ends. Turn from Revelation 2 to Revelation 3, Chapter 19, Revelation 19, verse 15. After the hallelujah chapters, the rejoicing in heaven over the fall of Babylon and all that she represents as far as the evil rulers of this current age, We have the coming of Christ conquering on his white horse. And notice verse 15, from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, the Almighty. And so he is the one who is bringing vengeance. And while we are going to rule and reign with Christ, And I believe we will be coming with him when he comes on the white horse. He's the one who is the judge. He is the one who destroys the beast and the false prophet and throws them into the lake of fire. And so we see his victory, his authority over the nations here in Revelation chapter 19 at the end. But we see our reign with the Lord Jesus Christ coming then in the next chapter, look at chapter 20 verses four and five. After Satan is bound for a thousand years so he can't deceive the nations, he'll be released at the end of that. But here at the beginning of that, you see in verse four, thrones being set up. Seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. So this first resurrection is a resurrection to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. And here's where the promise is fulfilled. that was given here in Revelation 2, authority over the nations, now they are seated on these thrones and they have the authority to judge. Come with me also to the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter six. 1 Corinthians chapter six. Power is never to be sought for its own sake. Power is not evil. God has all power. He's not evil. But power must be used to serve and protect that which is good. And so that's what God does with power. And that's what Christians do with whatever limited amount of power we have. We protect and serve that which is good. So in the future, when God gives us this power, we will be free from sin completely. And what a world that will be when human beings who are in authority are those who only use power to love God and to love their neighbor. That is going to be a wonderful world. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 talks about lawsuits in the current time that believers in the church were going to law against one another in the courts of Corinth, the judicial system that they had in that day. That's why he says in verse 1, when one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life? We don't have civil authority over people in the world, but we're a family of God. And we should be able to judge matters within the family with ourselves, with amongst one another. We are the ones who know God's will. We are the ones who have wisdom. We are the ones who have the spirit of God. And should we take one another to court before people who have no knowledge of God? That shows the world that we're not able to handle our own affairs as a family and that we have to trust in them and their authority and their wisdom to be able to settle disputes amongst us. How tragic it is for a Christian husband and a Christian wife to go to divorce court. and to argue their case before a judge who doesn't know God and dishonor Christ, not only that their marriage has failed, but now that also they trust the world to be able to adjudicate their differences amongst one another instead of trusting the family of God to help them to put their marriage back together. Don't do that. If a Christian in the church has a business and you feel that he has wronged you, don't take him to court. We can handle these matters amongst ourselves as a family. That's what the scripture says. You see, the truth about our future and the hope that God has given to us and who we are in this present age and what we're going to be in the future age, it has practical ramifications for how we live our lives today. Do we not have wisdom? Are we not going to rule the earth? Are we not going to even judge angels? Which is quite a statement there that he says. You know, what we've lost in the fall is more than gained back in the salvation of Christ. In God's salvation, we've gained more than we ever lost, that we were not created above the angels, and yet we are going to be exalted above the angels in the future because of union with Christ. Union with Christ makes us have a higher position than we were created with, because Christ is the word of God. He is divinity, and union with him is just a really mind-blowing doctrine. It's hard to really fully understand and appreciate all that we have and all that we have to look forward to by virtue of our union with Jesus Christ himself. Well, that's a little further thought on this subject of everlasting reign, but I wanna also look at verse 28 there in Revelation chapter two. So we didn't touch on this one last week. It's very interesting. this double promise that comes here to the church at Thyatira, when he says, I will give him the morning star. What does that mean? It's in connection with us ruling with Christ. It's in connection with keeping Christ's works to the end as the conquerors. What does it mean that Christ is going to give us the morning star? Well, thankfully, this is one of those promises that also connects with the end of the book of Revelation. And so we know what it means because of its context. Now the morning star as described here is found in, okay, yeah, chapter 22, verse 16. We're flipping back and forth between Revelation two and three and the end of the book. Revelation chapter 22, verse 16 gives us insight into this promise. There, Jesus speaking at the end of the book, reminds us that he sent his angel to testify about these things for the churches, and he says, I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. So Jesus is the morning star, and he says he's going to give us the morning star, but what does that mean? Well, it probably means more than I am able to understand or explain. This is another one of those mind-blowing promises that's put in poetic terminology that pulls together ideas that are a little too immense for our puny little hearts to be able to really comprehend. But to have Christ give us himself is parallel to how a husband gives himself to his wife. We are the bride of Christ, and Christ has given himself to us, and we are betrothed to him, and we're waiting for him to come, and we're waiting for the great marriage supper of the Lamb. But ultimately, this is a picture of God giving himself to us. But why in this terminology, why the morning star? He could just say, I'm gonna give you myself, I'm gonna give you my love, I'm gonna give you all of me, or however we like to phrase those things in our culture. But he says, I'm gonna give you the morning star in somewhat cryptic reference to himself. Well, in context of the authority over the nations, the Morning Star, in biblical terminology, has a connotation. of authority and power and preeminence. And so I think what Christ is really pointing to and giving himself to us as the morning star is not only that we have this special relationship to him as he is the husband of the church, but that he also is bringing us to share in his preeminence, his authority, his power, I think that is what is contained in this metaphor of Christ giving himself as the sovereign one, the morning star. So that's the everlasting reign. A few more words on that to tie in with last week, but we haven't covered all the promises yet. And we wanna get to the third category, and that is the everlasting joy. Everlasting life, everlasting reign, and everlasting joy really are the summary of all seven of these promises when you put them into categories. And let's take a look at one we haven't yet read in Revelation 2.17. Back in Revelation chapter two, this is the promise to the church in Pergamum. And he says this, to the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. And he goes on. not just this hidden manna, I will give him a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. So this isn't necessarily everlasting life, although manna and food do tend to be associated with life. This isn't necessarily an everlasting rain because we have this white stone with a new name. So we put this in a separate category of everlasting joy because the hidden manna really is a source of joy. And you might say, well, I don't see it. It's not obvious to me exactly how I should be excited about this promise of being able to receive from the hidden manna. So let's take a look at it a little bit more in detail and meditate to be able to get excited about it. What is the hidden manna? Turn with me to Hebrews chapter nine, verse four. Hebrews chapter nine and verse four. Here in the book of Hebrews, the author is speaking about the holy place that God had set up through Moses, the tabernacle, and then as it was moved to the temple, and all those objects that were in the tabernacle were then placed in a permanent residence in Solomon's temple for a time. Then as he describes the covenant regulations, he's describing the elements that were there, as you can go back and read in the book of Exodus, and he says there, that there's the lampstand and the table and the bread of the presence, it's called the holy place. Beside the second curtain was a second section called the most holy place, having the golden altar of incense. So in the most holy place, what do we have? You've got the golden altar of incense, the Ark of the Covenant covered on all sides with gold, and which was a golden urn holding the manna, the hidden manna. I take it, is this manna that was hidden inside the Golden Urn, hidden inside the Ark, hidden inside the Most Holy Place that no one among the people of Israel was allowed to go into the Most Holy Place except for the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement, not without a sacrifice so that his sins wouldn't be the cause of his death as he enters into the place on earth where it is the most holy presence of God. And now as you go into the inner sanctum and you go in and the ark, you can't even look in the ark without dying. And now Christ says to the one who overcomes, I'm going to give you to eat of that hidden manna. Do you see what Christ is communicating here? He's communicating an access to God, a fellowship with God that is as close as you can conceive. That is something that goes beyond what you might ever imagine would be God's plan and purpose because of his holiness and our sin and our separation from him. He says, if you overcome, you're going to eat from this hidden manna. I want you to meditate on that. I want you to think about it. Not so much just the bare matter of eating bread. That's not the point. The point is, where is this bread? And what does it represent? And so what does it mean that Christ is going to give you to eat from the hidden manna? Christ tells us his promises in this way because it causes us to meditate. that we are going to be in the most holy place with God eating what is the most holy and sacred food that you could possibly imagine. Once you understand holiness and the beauty of it, the majesty of it, the glory of it, once you understand sin and how awful and corrupting and depressing it is, then this promise of utmost holy fellowship with God is really precious. It's really exciting. But only if you have ears to hear, only if you have eyes to see. Someone who just says, oh, I'm going to get to eat bread. Great. Who cares? Has no understanding, no spiritual insight, is spiritually dead. All right. Let's also continue to talk about the white stone, this white stone upon which is written this new name. Now here's an example in the promises of Christ where we don't have a connection to the end of the book that really helps us to understand it. Why a white stone? Well, it'd be nice if somewhere in the Bible there was a reference to a white stone that would give us a little bit more understanding, but there's not. And so people have come up with a lot of different ideas to try to explain what exactly is this white stone. You can't go to Hebrews like you can, or the manna, there's nothing like that. I mean, people have tried, they've said, well, the Urim and the Thumen that were in the breastplate of the high priest, that the Urim was a white stone. Or they'd say, that the manna that fell from heaven was accompanied by white stones, according to a rabbinic legend that perhaps maybe somebody had heard about somewhere. I don't know. And then some other people would say, well, in the ancient world, amulets were used in their culture. And so this is a promise of protection and safety. Or people would say that the white stones were used in the ancient world to mark special days. And Pliny wrote about that. Or white stones were used in counters and calculations. And somehow this has something to do with our new name. or that it's a ticket as an entry, that they used white stones to grant access, or that it was a victory symbol. And there's all these different ideas, and some of them might have some cultural relevance, but really nobody knows. And that's my bottom line, that we don't know why this white stone is given to us, why it's a white stone, and why Christ writes the name on it, but we do know something about this, Then you might ask, well, why does God do this? You know, most of the time he gives us something in Revelation 19 through 22, so we know what the promise is that he's talking about. Well, I think that God appreciates leaving some mystery in the Bible, that if everything is just laid out and made easy for us, then we get bored and we just kind of take it for granted. But if there's some things that are left mysterious, well then it gives room for people to write articles and papers on what the white stone could be, and it drives interest. So mystery drives interest. And I think God allows for some mystery in the scriptures. So I don't wanna make fun of those people who are trying to figure out what the white stone is. But there is something that we can connect the promise here to, and that's in Revelation 19, 12. And that has to do with the name, the new name, Oftentimes in scripture, God will give a new name to someone that's important to him. Like Abraham got a new name. Jacob got a new name. Peter got a new name. When God names somebody or changes their name or gives them a new name, that shows that God has a purpose for them. That God has a plan for them that their parents didn't foresee when they were naming them, but that God foresees and God foreknows as he has a purpose and a plan for you. And so in the new heaven and the new earth, God's going to give you, Jesus is gonna give you a new name. And he's going to give it to you on a white stone. And it's kind of your secret between you and him. Nobody knows what is on that white stone except Jesus and you. And I suppose if you want to, you can share that secret with others. Or if you want to, you can keep it secret. I don't know, we'll see how it all plays out. But Jesus also has a new name for that new time and that new place. Look at what it says there in Revelation chapter 19. What verse am I looking at? Thank you, Revelation 19, 12. There it says that as Christ comes on his white horse, we referenced this earlier, his eyes are like a flame of fire, on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. So this secret name, this new name, this special name, it seems to correspond quite strongly with the promise that we have that Christ is going to give us a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it. And so, This connotes God's plan, that connotes a special intimacy of friendship that's just between him and me. And it also shows us that this new world that we're going into, that even our identity is going to, while have a lot of similarities, it's going to have some new aspects to it for this new time and place. So it's pretty exciting, I think. Jesus's name, it means Yahweh saves. And that's the perfect name for his first coming because he came to seek and save the lost. But when he comes again on the white horse, he's not coming to save all the people that he's approaching on the white horse. He's coming to destroy in judgment. And so the name Jesus isn't actually the proper name for him at that point, but he probably has a name that has something to do with judgment and victory, conquering. So the different aspects of Christ reflected in his name, and God has new plans for us that are gonna be reflected in his new name as well. Pretty cool. I think that's something to get excited about. Start to think, what might Jesus name me? What name would he give me in that future time? And then find out if you're right someday when you get that white stone. Oh yeah, nailed it, right there. Probably not. All right, so then the other promise here in Revelation 3, 5, let's take a quick look at that. Revelation 3, once again. Here's the promise to the church in Sardis. And it says, the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments. And I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. And so you see, there's a promise of life here that goes along with the first category, everlasting life. You will not be blotted out of the book of life. There's also this joy of the white garments. And he says, he will be closed thus in white garments. And that ties us back into the previous verse where he says, there's a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments and they will walk with me in white for they are worthy. As I said, this is a period of testing. Your faith is being tested to find out whether or not it's genuine, whether or not it's true. And the faith that is tested and shown to be genuine and true, that faith is going to be rewarded in the age to come with these promises. The one who keeps the deeds of Christ to the end is the one who does not soil his garments. The way that the world is involved with immorality and sin that soils their garments metaphorically, spiritually, But instead, the one who has not is going to be clothed in white. So this clothing in white is a picture of righteousness, good deeds, purity, that is also something that connects with the end of the book. The white garments are found in Revelation 19.8. Once again, back and forth, Revelation 19.8. This is the marriage supper of the Lamb. You have the hallelujah song there in verses seven and eight and following. And it says, It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. Who? The bride. The marriage of the lamb, the bride has made herself ready and she's given these fine linens, these bright and pure garments to clothe herself. And notice what it says after that, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. So when you do a righteous deed, This is a part of your future glory. You look into your closet, and we do a pretty good job of clothing ourselves and looking nice on occasion. We've got some fancy clothes in our closet. Well, you have a heavenly closet, so to speak, that is full of white garments that are the righteous deeds of the saints. Now, not everything we do is righteous, and even as I preach and do righteous things by honoring God's word, I still have some sin within me, some corruption, something that needs to be purged out. I'm not everything I need to be, and that's gonna be taken away, and all that's gonna remain are the righteous deeds, and that's gonna be our clothing into the new heavens and the new earth. This is spiritual, this is metaphorical, but you get the idea. that there is a future honor and a glory that is awaiting those who persevere in good deeds, the deeds of love that God has ordained for us to do. You know, our church is a good works rally. We get together and like, here's an opportunity to do good works. Here's more opportunities to do good works. Let's pray for you as you're doing good works and let's honor those good works that are being done. And we just encourage one another to love and good deeds all the time. And so take that encouragement, take it from the preaching of scripture, take it from the example of those who are sitting around you, that we're here on this earth to do good deeds. And so do the good deeds that God has put out before you. Some of my biggest regrets in life are the good deeds that I had an opportunity to do and I didn't do. I look back and I say, well, why didn't I do it? You know, I put it off, I put it off. I thought, well, I'll get to it, I'll get to it. The opportunity passes and you don't get to it. Like, man, I missed it. The whole reason for me being here. And so let's learn from those mistakes and let's do the good deeds that are going to be the honor and the reward that we have at the coming of Jesus Christ. Amen? No reason not to. He's given us everything we need. So if God puts a good deed on your heart, just do it. Like Nike says, victory, conquer, just do it. Do the good deeds. All right, so we have one promise left to look at here, and that's Revelation 3.12. We're going to be made a pillar in the temple. Once again, the unspiritual man hears that Christians are going to be made a pillar in the temple, and they're like, well, that sounds bad. That doesn't sound good. I don't want to be made a pillar. Pillars just sit there and do nothing. They can't even talk or think. Sorry for you, Christians. We'll be having a party in hell while you guys are a pillar in the temple in heaven. So the unspiritual man has no insight into these promises. He has no relish for these promises. And God allows those who are spiritual to be able to understand the value of these amazing promises. So let's take a look at that one. Chapter three, verse 12, the seventh promise that we're looking at here, and this is the promise to the church at Philadelphia, that faithful church, that small church, that church that was suffering but did not deny Christ's name, the church that was promised that they would be kept from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, and then they also get this promise to the one who conquers. In verse 12, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it. And 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 from my God out of heaven and my own new name. So what does this mean? That Christ is going to make me into a pillar in his temple that I'll never go out from it, that he's gonna write on me the name of God, the name of the city, the new Jerusalem, and even Christ's own new name. Well, we are told what that means in chapter 21. Let's go to the end of the book once again. Revelation 21, verse 22. Notice what Christ says, or what John writes here in Revelation 21, verse 22, about the new Jerusalem. We had it in our scripture reading. As glorious as the city is, notice this, I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb. Wait a second. John says we're gonna be made a pillar in the temple in chapter two, chapter three, but then at the end of the book, he says there is no temple. Man, you just can't trust the Bible, it's so full of contradictions. Says the blind man, right? So the fact that there's no temple means that the promise that God is going to make us a pillar in the temple is not to be understood that we are going to be made into marble statues, but that as their whole city is the temple, it's the people who live in that city that are the support and the structure and the glory of that city. You are going to be a pillar in the temple because the temple is the city, and you're gonna live in that city, and that's your home. Just like a pillar belongs in the temple and it doesn't get taken out, so you belong in the New Jerusalem and you're not gonna be taken out. You'll never be cast out of God's holy city. Now, as you begin to read some of the descriptions of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22, once again, it goes beyond what we are able to imagine for its glory and its greatness. God has left us for a short time to be tested in this world, but he says, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I'll come again and bring you to myself that where I am, there you may also be. And that's the promise that is here in this everlasting joy about becoming a pillar in the temple of God. Revelation describes the union of heaven and earth as God's dwelling place. The new Jerusalem is. Like you take the heavenly throne room of God and you take the earth and you bring them together, that's the new Jerusalem. And that's where you're gonna be. That's where I'm gonna be if we keep the deeds of Christ until the end, if our faith perseveres. And how is our faith going to persevere? Well, it's going to persevere because he who began a good work in you is going to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. It's going to persevere because those whom the father has given to the son will never be snatched from his hand, but that he keeps them from the evil one. And you are going to persevere because of God's power at work in you through faith. And as you believe the word of God, It's God working in you to make you persevere through this hour of testing, through this hour of trial, where those who do right end up finishing last, but to finish last for Christ's sake is to be the ultimate victor.