A joy to be up here again. The more you get to preach, the more that you realize it is a thing of worship. A thing of worship. Just as much as hearing and responding to the sermon, the preacher gets to proclaim the things of God and worship in that way. I've felt the prayers this week and I've heard I think for more than usual of you Of how much you were praying for me. I assume that means you saw we were going to be in Revelation So if you haven't noticed already you can turn your Bibles to Revelation chapter 21 Maybe you're like my daughter Claire who was just really curious last night saying why in the world? Would you just? Jump off into the back of the book on a one-off sermon. When you don't regularly preach it, you're not going through it. And to that I just say, because we can. Because we can. And the Lord has given us revelation like the rest of the Bible that we may go to and that we may be edified. may be blessed, that the church may be built up, and that we may receive endurance for the fight. So if you have your Bibles, you can turn to Revelation 21. Real quick before I read, I don't mean to use the term much today, but it may pop up. Some of you may be familiar with the term eschatology. Eschatology is just a big word that means the study or theology of the end times. But I want to flip that on its head this morning, if I could, not just to get us thinking about the study of what we call the end times, but I want us to focus as a church on the study of the beginning of eternity. What does the church have to look forward to? Not at the end of this time, but beginning of all of the rest of time, forever and ever and ever in the glory of eternity. What does the church have to look forward to? Not, can we speculate in? Not can we focus on that we only have just minor details about, but what can the church long for and hope for, not at the end of this age, but the beginning of the next age. And that will be our focus this morning in Revelation chapter 21. We'll look at the first eight verses. This is what God's Word said. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with Man, He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give them from the spring of the water of life without payment. To the one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second death. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would be gracious and good to us concerning this text this morning. We ask that you would help us to set our minds on the things above, not just this morning in a text but as a way of living the Christian life that we would know, that we would know deep in our souls as we trust a true and faithful God, that we would know what our future holds. Father, would You equip the church with perseverance? Would You equip the church with faith? Would You equip the church with strength? that we would not be cowards, that we would not be liars, that we would not fear anything that has sent our way in the last days, but that we would set our minds fully and wholly on what we know to be sure and what we know to be coming, Your perfect and right reign, where we will join You in Your glorious presence. Father, would You help us this morning As we consider this text, we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. The New Testament teaches that one of our fundamental motivations, that means one of the baseline starting motivations for holiness and godliness, is in fact the second coming of Christ. And we hold that second coming of Christ in conjunction with the new heavens and the new earth. So, not just the knowledge of these things. Understand this. When we go to Revelation, it's tempting to try to gather knowledge. So that either draws us really to becoming obsessive with details, or it just pushes us away because it's hard and it's frustrating. So when we come to eschatology, the study of the beginning of eternity and the end times, it's not just this knowledge of these things, It's the waiting. It's God's church learning to wait and learning to expect correctly, learning to anticipate, if you will, what will be. In our confession this morning, we saw where Peter, in 1 Peter, calls us to set our hope on the revelation of Jesus Christ, and that being something that is crucial for holiness, for a life of godliness. Peter again, in 2 Peter, ties a pursuit of godliness to the second coming of Christ, and the new heavens, and the new earth. Listen to what he says here in 2 Peter. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what? What sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn. But according to His promise, we are waiting for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish and at peace." The second coming of Christ, the new heavens and the new earth are crucial for us pursuing holiness and godliness. But honestly our growth, if you're with me here, if you're tracking with me, honestly I feel like our growth is often times stunted because we have an underdeveloped view of just what we are supposed to be waiting on. Right? We have a lot of influential sources that aren't what we would call biblical, affecting our view of heaven. Affecting our view of the new heavens and the new earth. Are we to get all hopped up on holiness right now so that we're ready for our mansion and the streets of gold? What's that got to do with holiness or godliness? Or because we get a giant mansion, we get to live somewhere greater than this place, kind of like what our dream house would be here on earth? Are we finally going to be able to fly or walk through walls? Right? Are we going to finally be free to enjoy what I want to enjoy without any hindrances? See, oftentimes, Many of our views of eternity are sadly more affected by pop culture and that around us than it is scripture. Many of us can be so frustrated with the various interpretations and options that we have to choose from of revelation and the end times that we just avoid it. Still yet, some of us are perhaps so wrapped up in a particular system of working out the end times of Revelation that we obsess over these details, right? And we actually forget to be in awe of a bigger and grander picture. The glory, if you hear nothing else this morning that guides our thoughts and our meditation on 21st chapter of Revelation is this, the glory of the second coming and the glory of the new creation is that we will be fully changed to fully enjoy the presence of God. We will be fully changed at the second coming and at the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth, to fully enjoy the presence of God. What we are dull and lazy to, even as those with a regenerated heart on this side of eternity, what we are dull to, we will be able to fully enjoy in the full presence of God. We will know the presence of God as it has never been known in this old creation. And that is the real heaven. The real heaven is the presence of God. Wrap your mind around that for our entire text this morning. The real heaven is the presence of God, the presence of God in all of its fullness, and His glorious presence makes everything new. So we jump to the back of the Bible this morning, to the end of Revelation even, to see just what we should be longing for. And I want to show you three things that are clear in the text that we're going to look at as what is actually new. What is the newness of these three things? So this morning, highlighted from John's vision, we have the newness of a new creation. We have the newness of New Jerusalem, and we have the newness of glorification. Look again to verse 1. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. Revelation 21, right on the heels of Revelation 20, where we see towards the end of chapter 20, there is this great white throne judgment, where Christ will judge all according to their belief or unbelief, and the final verdict of everyone's eternal destination, the outcome of whether they're conquerors, who have overcome by faith, or those who have rebelled and lived lives of disbelief, that verdict will come down at the Great White Throne of Judgment. Revelation 20.11 says, from His presence, from His presence, from the Great White Throne, earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them. Okay, so see here what the judgment and the presence of the God do to the former things. The judgment of God, when He pronounces, when He slams the gavel down, we see that the old earth, the old heavens, cannot stand in the presence of God. At the judgment day of the old. will not be able to stand in the presence of God. The old will not remain. The old will flee. The old will also be made new. John at the end of this stunning vision that we call the book of Revelation sees the new heavens and the new earth. There's this vision for the old. Why does he see it? Because the old has passed away. So behold, the new are coming. The new are in. So keep this connection from Revelation 20.11. We have the presence of God at judgment, okay? Causing a fleeing away, but also a bringing in. You see the contrast here of first heaven and first earth. Look at those words in the text. You see a first heaven and a first earth. And then you also see them not contrasted with a second heaven and a second earth, but you see them contrasted with what? A new heaven and a new earth. So not just a second, but a new one. So this word new here, I don't know how to pronounce it in the Greek. I just take my word for it. It's like Kainos or Kainos that this word here for new doesn't mean something else Another new one another one in line But it means the the quality of something or or the essence of something it is newness and quality Not just as a second one not just as I get a new car not just that I get another one or this is the next one but it's new in essence and As in this, it's made new. It's made new. This new heaven and new earth carries an idea of a transformation. And I'm even going to say this, it carries the picture and idea of a resurrection. The new heavens and the new earth, they're made new. Perhaps from something old, listen to the new verse old of former language in the prophecy of Isaiah 65. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people. No more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress." Or we see in Isaiah 43, 18-19, Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? You see, God isn't just making new things, but God is making things new. God is making all things new. Paul in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 5, a very familiar passage, he links our union to Christ and that of His death and resurrection to this same language of new creation. Listen to what he says. For the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this, that one has died for all. Jesus died physically for all. Therefore, all have died. those with faith, speaking spiritually. And He died for all physically that those who live might no longer live for themselves spiritually, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised. Physically died, physically raised. From now on therefore, because of this resurrection, because of this death, Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Listen to this language that's there in Revelation 21. The old has passed away, and behold, the new has come. We are made new by the death. and resurrection of Christ when we put our faith in Christ. In some sense, this old heaven and earth will be resurrected, will be made new. This shouldn't sound too crazy to us. If you remember Romans, which we weren't in that long ago, even just if it was from our scripture reading. If you look at Romans chapter 8, we know that there speaks of this curse of creation. Right? I'm going to read just a few verses, starting in 19. Paul says this in Romans 8, "...for the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage, to corruption and to obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. You see this connection here, the redemption of our bodies, what we wait for eagerly in the redemption. There is something also there that is tied to God's creation being made new as the old and former ones pass away. Just as we are set free from bondage by the redemption that we experience, creation will be set free and obtain that freedom of glory. Now, you may be remembering the passage I read from earlier, 2 Peter 3, where the heavens are set on fire. And it says they melt away and they burn away and they dissolve. It sounds like total destruction, doesn't it? It sounds like Peter is talking about that this whole thing is destroyed and we need a new heaven and a new earth. But before that passage, Peter brings up the flood. Peter brings up the flood and talks about the destruction of the flood, that the world perished by judgment. You can turn there or just listen. I want to read before that passage that we looked at earlier. Starting in verse 5 of chapter 3 of 2 Peter. He's speaking here for the context. He is stirring them up for the last days. And you know there will be scoffers in the last days that come. And they're gonna say, where is the promise of His coming? Where is the promise of His coming? What is this faith of yours? And this is what Peter says, starting in verse 5, For they deliberately overlook this fact that the heavens existed long ago, And the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word, the heavens and the earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction for the ungodly." We know that God didn't have to create another world after the destruction of the flood. Perhaps He doesn't create wholly ex nihilo, out of nothing, a whole world after the old passes away. This could very well just be a picture of judgment. With judgment, the picture is this. God will destroy everything that is former old earth and old heavens, everything that is associated with the former, sin and death, will be judged and by that holy judgment, it will be destroyed. This is this picture of fire, one of destroying, one of judgment on all that is former, all that is linked to sin. will be destroyed. God will destroy, but we don't have to necessarily think in terms of annihilation here, but we could think in terms of resurrection. He will make all things new. He didn't destroy us, but He made us new. He didn't destroy our hearts, but He made our hearts new. It's not that we just see this old world that we saw before the fall, before the curse, in Genesis 1 and 2 being good, perfect. It's not that we just see God as being done away with that, but God as He does in everything, making things new. God will destroy, but God will make things new. Further, this fleeing away of the old by the presence of God brings about something else. Look back at verse 1. Behold, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, and the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Did you catch this? And the sea was no more. Now, for all you beach vacationers, Hold the phone. Hold the phone. We don't have time to get into it. I've been jumping all around it today. This is a very... interesting genre of scripture, right? It is called prophetic, apocalyptic, and a whole host of other things, okay? We have to look at things and see sometimes, are we meaning something literal here? Are we looking at figuratively? Are we looking at metaphorically? Or what in the world is happening, okay? And what in the world are we to be making of this statement to take my favorite part of the old creation, the beach and the sea and to say that it is no more. Okay? The sea will be no more. That's not sad news yet, but even if it were to be sad news on this side of eternity and we get to the other side of eternity and there's no sea, guess what? You won't care. Okay? That's just Adam. But for apocalyptic language, I want to share some things. For apocalyptic language and literature, the sea was associated, you have to know this, for Hebrew literature, the sea is associated not with beach vacation, but with chaos, and unrest, and evil, and wickedness. Listen to some of these passages from Revelation, and some others from the Old Testament. Revelation 13.1, I saw a beast rising out of the sea. We know the beast to be a figure of great evil and wickedness and rebellion in the book of Revelation. Where is this beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, an ugly thing with ten diadems on its horn and blasphemous names on its head? Revelation 15, 2, And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire. And those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. Revelation 16.3, the second angel, speaking of pouring out wrath, it says, the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. Revelation 20, 13, and the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each of them according to what they had done. Go back to Isaiah 57, verses 20-21, But the wicked are like the what? The tossing sea. For it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked. what had to be overcome in the great exodus. Look at this, this connection of water. Not so much talking about its evil, but talking about something that had to be overcome. Isaiah reminds the people in exile of what that exodus was like. Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep? Who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? And the ransom of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." We have something new to hope in, to look forward to, but not something altogether unfamiliar to us. Something actually very familiar to us, but perfected. Something made new. Something no longer under the curse of the great judge. Something that is redeemed. Something that is renewed. Something restored by the glorious presence of God. See or no see, I don't know. It's probably figurative. There's probably going to be a see there. That's my take. But no more chaos from evil. There will be no more evil represented here by the sea. There will only be pure and true peace from God. This new heaven and new earth will be our forever home. Everything we now enjoy about God's creation, yet somehow feels incomplete and unsatisfactory, will be fully and perfectly complete, causing only pure joy and gladness in eternity, and it will never get old because the former old things have passed away. Look at verse 2 and 3. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God." We have the newness of New Jerusalem. John next sees this glorious picture, part of the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth, is this glorious picture of a holy city. I want you to notice these two words, from God and prepared by God. We see this holy city, like a beautiful bride walking down the center aisle to the groom. Jerusalem is called new. Jerusalem is called new. There's something new about Jerusalem. Let's look at Revelation 3 verse 12. It's one of the seven letters to the seven churches. Listen to what we have here in Revelation chapter 3. The one who conquers, the one whose faith Perseveres. The one who conquers, 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, the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God. It comes down from my God out of heaven and my own new name. Coming down out of heaven in this vision John has, it's from God. From God. That means God is going to do this. God is preparing it. It's a new Jerusalem. This whole city. Holy city. It's a picture of the church. We've got to cut straight to the chase here because we're running out of time. But this new Jerusalem is a picture of the church. It's a picture of the church finally and fully perfected and holy. Is the New Jerusalem a place? Yes. Is it a city? Yes, perhaps. But what is a city without the people? You want to obsess over something about eternity? Look what God does for us. Look what God does to us. Look at His faithfulness. Look at His glory. Look and tie this back to so many prophecies of the Old Testament that were just sort of fulfilled in the New Covenant era that we see all the way fulfilled in eternity. He perfects and beautifies His church. He takes this church, this messy people, though while yes, we are able by His grace to reflect His glory a little bit here, and yes, we are to grow in sanctification a little bit here, and while yes, we are learning to fall more and more in love with Him, a small measure, a little bit here, He prepares finally and fully a spotless, stainless bride prepared perfectly for her groom. That is what eternity is. You want to know how much God loves His church? Look to the future. Look what He will do to His church. Revelation 19, 7-8, listen to this. A couple chapters before us at the marriage feast of the Lamb. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready because it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. One of the clearest pictures we have on this side of eternity is marriage. Look what Paul says about marriage, and ultimately not about marriage, but the gospel in Ephesians chapter 5. Husbands, love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy without blemish. That's the love of Christ for a messy church. You know why we pour our lives into the church now? You know why we push back on individualistic, Lone Ranger view of Christianity? Why do we think the church right now, the church that has hurt several of us, the church we found to be lacking in several points, the church that we found to be unloving at several times, why do we put so much stock in this church on this side of eternity? Because of this. Jerusalem. Verse 3, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Covenant echoes of covenant language brought to completion. Real quick. We see this back in Leviticus 26, when God is showing that obedience is required. He says this, "...I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people, if you keep My statutes." Ezekiel 37.27, "...My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." right after the New Covenant. Jesus has made it possible for God to come and dwell with us. Covenant echoes of covenant language brought to completion in the New Jerusalem. what could never be brought about by obedience, what could never be achieved apart from the work of redemption of Christ. God has prepared a holy city, one that He will dwell in, to dwell among His people for eternity. One that is actually coming down. Not one that we go up to, but God will be pleased to bring and reside at when the holy full presence of God will make everything perfect. God has prepared that holy city that He would dwell in for eternity. God has prepared us. And He will be preparing us. And He will finish us. And heaven, which we need to think in terms of the presence of God, will come down to earth to dwell among us forever. 21, 9 through 11, it goes into this new Jerusalem more. Just see the beauty of this. Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me saying, Come, I will show you the bride. the wife of the Lamb. And He carried me away in the Spirit to a great high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal." You can go on and you can say, is this a city? Is this a place? Is this a people? It's all. But there is no city without its people. It will be glorious. It will be beautiful. It will be perfect. The church, New Jerusalem, is beautiful in eternity. You see that. See that the church is beautiful in eternity. Let's now start viewing the church even as Christ does, longing for the day when she is perfected. And finally, we turn to verses 4 and 5. We have no time for even what we need to look at. I've left Warren no time for the Lord's Supper, but he's still going to do it anyway. Look at verses 4 and 5. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. We see here lastly the newness and the fullness of glorification. A new, nearly unimaginable, near impossible to imagine reality of a glorified state in the presence of God. What will that be like? You see, oftentimes when we try to conjure up thoughts of what heaven may be, we just think of something that is better down here. I get more of something that I want. I get to have more of something that I never could here. Okay, but what is heaven? What is the presence of God? Look at this prophecy that's fulfilled here in the end from Isaiah 25.8. He will swallow up death forever. This couldn't just be coming back from exile. He said, He will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. And the reproach of His people will be taken away from all the earth. For the Lord has spoken. The newness of Glorification. Other passages in Isaiah having to mean more than just this return from exile, because the prophet is declaring in these prophecies that sorrow and sighing shall flee away. After the people of God came back from exile, sorrow and sighing still remained. Everlasting joy. Sorrow disappeared. Can you imagine? Think about your life just this week. Think about your life in this past year. Think about your life in this past 10 years. Think about your life as a whole and say this with me. Think this with me. Can you imagine life without sorrow? Can you imagine life as only pure joy? We can't, but we try. Death is done. Pain is vanished. It's gone. Sorrow is erased. Sorrow and sadness erased. There's no trace of it. When He says He will wipe away every tear from your eye, I don't think that just means that you'll stop being sad, but that somehow everything that is wrong will be made right. Nothing but righteousness will be known. Nothing will be experienced but righteousness. We won't even be able to remember anything that's not right. Not the slightest bit of sadness. Not the faintest memory of grief or pain. or depression. Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. And what does He say in Isaiah 65? The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. What happens when you remember something? We have the feelings. aroused again, right? We have the senses of whatever that memory holds. There will be none of that. There will be no memory of pain. There will be no memory of sadness. We won't know it. We won't know sickness. We won't know weakness. We won't know frailty. We won't know struggle. We will not know grief. We won't know guilt. We won't know shame. We won't know fear. And on and on and on. Anything associated with sin and death, we will not know. We won't remember. Former things have passed away. We won't be bored. We won't be indifferent. We won't be fake. We won't have bad motives. We won't have false intentions. We won't have impure thoughts. It will be impossible because the former have passed away. I mean, that's glorious. We're probably too dull to it on this side of eternity. But just imagine with us, there will be none of that. And there will be no recollection of it because even memories bring the pain back. It's all gone. The former old things have passed away. It is all new. Behold, I am making all things new. There will be no injuries. There will be no lack of clarity of thought in losing our minds. There will be no fogginess of thought. There will be no broken relationships. There will be no wondering what somebody thinks of me. Behold, I am making all things new. Heaven is being fully changed by the fullness of His presence to fully enjoy Him in fullness of joy and happiness and to know only joy and happiness and full rest in the full presence of God. We can't fathom. But we should try. We should try. We should set our minds on these things as our great motivation to live holy and blameless, to be continuing to be changed into the image of Jesus Christ. We look to what the Lord will do one day. And I don't know, I'm going to trust that the Lord Continue some of this in the Lord's Supper, but listen, to the thirsty, the one who has overcome, this will be your reality in the new creation. But as for the coward and the faithless, as for the rebel and the unbeliever, if you do not trust in Jesus Christ, there is another reality. It's called an eternal punishment. dealing only forever and ever and ever with the wrath of God. Be thirsty for God. Be thirsty for redemption. Be hungry for a Savior. Come to Christ. And church, look to that time when all things will be made new. We don't know all the exact details. If anybody tells you they know the exact timeline of everything in the end of the book of Revelation or anything, run. Discuss it. Long for His return and long to be made new. Amen? Let's pray. Make us a people. Change our hearts even now to long for glory. Father, as we long for glory, as we long when your perfect judgment will be executed, as we long for your perfect righteousness to be all that there is, would that be the fuel that pushes us to Christ on this side? Would you work in your people? Would you even now sanctify us? Make your church worthy. Make your church beautiful. as we look to them. Amen.