Waiting with Perseverance

Well, let me begin tonight by saying if anyone needs to talk before I leave, I want you to know that's what I'm here for. Tonight is my last night with you, and if the Lord has used me in some way to speak to you and you think it would be profitable for maybe Pastor Chris and myself or whoever it may be just to sit down and hear about what is going on with your soul, then I sure want to do that. Number two, let me say thank you so much for your hospitality and your care. I am filled to the brim. I am so joyful. I've had a blast. You all got some of the best eating places in the world.

I was really impressed by that little side note, but just thank you so much for how you've taken care of me this week. I want to thank the Lord Himself for His presence with us. What we have felt and experienced this week isn't what happens every time and all the time. And so I'm thankful that His Spirit has been at work among us. I do again want to say thank you to those of you who have labored and cooked and served for dust, a special thank you to those who have worked in the nursery this week last night when Pastor Chris was talking about everyone receiving a reward no matter what you do.

And he started naming all of these small things and I just wanted to interject and say, "I think nursery people get double reward." I'm not sure, but I mean you have no idea how much I as a pastor appreciate my nursery workers and those of you who served in the nursery this week. And Brother Keith, man, just phenomenal job. You are a great worship pastor, brother. Thank you for what you and your team have done this week. Thanks to Pastor Chris who has become a dear friend of mine. And it has been a joy now to have a partnership in the gospel with him and I'm very humbled that you would entrust me to your pulpit. That means a lot.

Let me make sure that I say this for your edification and admonition. If you don't know this, you have a fantastic pastor. You have a great, one of the best pastor wives that I've ever been around. Your kids honor you and the Lord in the ministry here. And Maggie and Annie, I thank you for doing that. Pastor Chris is not only a great pastor, he's also a great preacher. Sometimes you've ever been to those churches where a guy's a great pastor but he's okay preaching or he's a great preacher and not so great pastor, well you have been blessed to have both of those, a great preacher and a great pastor.

And I'll say for the last time to those of you who are praying and seeking a church home, I make my last recommendation to you. Come be a part of a church that's striving to be a biblically healthy church to the glory of God. You know you're going to get that when you come here. Come give your life to a church that you know is going to be Bible centered, Christ exalting, free of God focused and you know in your heart of hearts will be profitable to you and your family both in this life and the life to come. You can't beat that.

I anticipate, and I told Chris this today, oh sorry, Brother Chris, I told him this at lunch today at, what's the name of that place? Bob's? Wow! Bob's! Bob's, that I really think somewhere over the summer and the months to come I'm going to be getting some text from you about some of the people that I've met by name that have become members since I left. I'm really excited to hear that. Alright it's time to get down to it. Take your Bibles and turn with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter number one and I want to preach our final message on the subject of waiting with perseverance, waiting with perseverance.

Now I want to begin with a question tonight. How many of you believe, I mean you truly believe that Jesus Christ is coming again? Now question number two, and you don't have to respond, how many of you thought about that today? How do we do for all of us who truly believe in the Second Coming of Christ, how many of us are living in light of that reality? And it stays on your mind and maybe you're somewhat like the Apostle John who lives in a posture of come, Lord Jesus.

As we conclude this focus on perseverance and finishing the race, listen this is kind of a thesis statement here, I believe the primary biblical motive for finishing the race and persevering is the expectation of the Second Coming of Christ. We could not leave this meeting if we're focused on perseverance without saying hey the number one thing we ought to be doing is looking for the return of our Lord Jesus and living in light of that and waiting in preparation and anticipation.

I want to go through a series of verses before we get to our text tonight and I just want you to listen to what the Bible says about this being our primary motive in persevering for the glory of God. Second Timothy chapter four verse seven, you know we've said this a couple of times this week, Paul writes, "The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight. I have kept the faith. I have finished my course.

Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not to me only who else is going to get this crown of righteousness, Paul, and to all who love His appearing." You can see Paul saying I have ran, I have persevered, I have endured and what I've been waiting for it's coming and that is the Lord Jesus Christ giving me my reward at His return and not just me but everyone who loves the thought of His appearing. Hebrews 9.27, "It's appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.

And so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many." That means Christ died once as well as a man. Listen to this though, "And to those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation." Who is Jesus coming back for? According to this text, those who eagerly wait for His salvation. Titus 2.11, we're talking about the primary motivation for perseverance in the church is the return of Christ. Titus 2.11 says, "That the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." This would be the gospel, Jesus Christ coming here to live a perfect life, die in our place and rise again.

That grace has come and it teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age. Why Paul? Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now that we have known Him, we've been reconciled to God. We ought to live in a way that would please Him, kind of looking out of the corner of our eye that He might return at any time. That should be our primary motive. Luke 12.7, the Lord Jesus says, "Blessed are those servants whom their master, when He comes, will find watching." I mean we can just run over statements like that.

Remember when we sang, brethren, we have met to worship and at the end it said Christ Himself, Christ will gird Himself and serve us? Watch what verse that's in. That one I just read to you, "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when He comes, will find watching. Assuredly I say to you that He will gird Himself and have them sit down to eat and will come and serve them." Who's He coming to do that for? Those who are watching. Last verse, 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 10, you can't get any clearer than this.

"The day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a roar." Now just try to begin to imagine what's being described here. "The heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." Peter says, "In light of knowing this is what's coming and all of this is going up in smoke, how should you live your life?" Peter answers it.

"Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, 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?" If you know that day's coming, Peter's just simply saying, it should drive everything that you do. It should drive how you live your life. It should cause you to persevere and to endure waiting for that promise.

Brothers and sisters, if we believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth 2,000 years ago according to the promise, then these same scriptures teach us that He is coming again and He is coming in power and great glory to establish His kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth and that we will be His people and we will dwell with Him. That needs to motivate every aspect of our lives. That's what we're living for. Amen? So my point was what? Your primary, I believe the primary biblical motivation for perseverance is that Jesus is coming. Now look with me at 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 3 through 10 which will be our text tonight.

And I believe that this text does as good as any on teaching us how to wait, why to wait with perseverance. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 3 says, "We are bound to thank God always for you, as it is spitting, because your faith grows exceedingly," he's writing to this young church in Thessalonica, "and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God." Well that'll make you stop and think for a minute.

How can I be counted worthy for the kingdom of God for which you also suffer? "Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you and to give you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, inflaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, these shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes in that day to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe because our testimony among you was believed." I want you to notice three things out of this text about waiting in perseverance.

Number one, I want you to notice the righteous judgment of God in the saints. So Paul's going to talk about there is a righteous judgment of the saints while we wait. Verse five, again, oh and by the way, this was the part that I said would be a little deeper and that you're going to have to work to track with a little bit, okay? Verse five, "This is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer." What is the righteous judgment of God that he's talking about is happening to the saints? Also, how can a saint be counted worthy of the kingdom?

No one's worthy of the kingdom, right? And I thought all judgment on believers was passed. And yet here it says that they're giving evidence to the righteous judgment of God upon them and that they're doing something that's causing them to be counted worthy of the kingdom. So let me see with the Lord's help if I can explain this to you. What do judges do? Judges make judgments. They give sentences. They pardon and they condemn. They declare verdicts. And that is what the righteous judge has done in this text. God has made a judgment concerning the saints. And do you know what his judgment is?

He has declared his people, the saints, not guilty, pardoned, justified, not going to hell, free to enter heaven. How could he do this? We're all sinners, right? The judge grants this pardon, this justification according to your faith. When a person places their faith in Christ alone for salvation, his perfect life, his sacrificial death, his resurrection and ascension in order for us to be right with God, he stands there on our behalf. When a person places their faith in the work of Christ, the Bible teaches that the judge of the universe declares that person righteous, not guilty. Now you should probably understand that.

That's the doctrine of justification by faith. And the judge of heaven does that. Now what this is teaching is there is a way in which we give evidence that God's judgment was right. There is a way that we give evidence of this righteous judgment God has made on us and that we truly are worthy to enter his kingdom. My question would be, well what in the world were they doing that would give evidence that God's judgment was right in counting them worthy to be in the kingdom? Look back at verse number five. This is manifest evidence. Here's the proof that God was right in just and declaring you worthy to enter his kingdom. This, what this?

What he just said. What's prior to that verse? So let's see what that was, verse number three. We are bound to thank God always for you brethren as it is fitting because one, your faith grows exceedingly and two, the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. Three, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience, which by the way, NIV and New American Standard Bible translate that perseverance. Just so we have our key word there. We boast of your perseverance and faith and all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.

This is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment that God made in declaring you not guilty by faith. Hang on, here's the last part to tie this all together. Your faith growing exceedingly, I'll say it this way, their faith growing exceedingly, their love abounding toward one another and their perseverance in trials was the evidence that they were worthy to enter the kingdom because it was the evidence that their faith was legitimate on which God justified them. Does that make sense? So God justifies them by faith.

The judge declares them not guilty and you can come into the kingdom and then their faith grows and their love abounds and they persevere and he says you give evidence of saving faith. You give evidence that my judgment is right and that you're worthy to enter the kingdom. You, Grace Life Church of Brookhaven, friends, growing in faith, growing in love, persevering in trial is evidence you're the real deal. God Himself said that about His people. When you look at your life and your testimony is I'm growing in faith, I'm growing in love, I'm persevering in the faith, you manifest evidence of true saving spirit wrought faith.

Romans chapter 5 verse 3 says, "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations." Paul's timeout, hold on, as we wait for Christ to come that we've already said we believe in, Paul is saying we're down here glorying in tribulations. Is that what everybody's doing? Sometimes, sometimes maybe, but Paul is able to do it while he's waiting because he's got a hold of something. Y'all wanna see what it is? Let's keep reading. We also glory in tribulations because we know that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character, and character, hope.

Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Here's what Paul says. What ordains trials for our lives? And I have so come to know God that what he's doing is he's testing me. He's seeing if I'm the real deal. Do I give evidence in my persevering and in my transforming, in my faith growing, in my love abounding? Do I give that evidence because Paul says if so, that produces hope. I'm the real deal and the Holy Spirit bears witness to you. Yes, you are. So Paul says when I have trouble, this is an opportunity for me to manifest that I have true faith.

And that brings me great joy because when Jesus comes, I'm getting the crown. First Peter, chapter 1, verse 6 essentially says the same thing, with a little twist, in this you greatly rejoice. Though now for a little while, if need be, I don't want to run by that for people who are in that trial, that fiery trial tonight. Though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. Why Peter? That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that parishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Listen to me bring this point home.

You persevering when your faith is on trial and tested by various trials gives evidence that your faith is genuine, just like gold, listen, that is tested and refined. Your faith is tested and proven. And what Peter says, the only difference is your faith coming out the real deal is far more precious than gold. And you will know how precious it is, the moment that Jesus splits the sky and you're transformed and you're His. That'll be a whole lot more valuable to you than any gold you could ever accumulate here. I am the real deal and you know how I know it? Because I persevere by faith.

I manifested evidence of the righteous judgment of God and I've got real faith. That's how you wait. That's how you live in light of Christ's return. Did y'all get that okay? We good to move on? All right, it gets easier from here. Point number two. Normally we see the righteous judgment of God on sinners in testing their faith, but we see the righteous judgment of God, did I say sinner there? I meant saint, sinner's next. Now we see the righteous judgment of God repaid on the sinner. Verse six, it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you.

So you might want to transition this way and say, "I know you're going through a hard time and there's a purpose for your hard time, but I want you to know that I will repay those who are bringing this trouble on you and will give to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, inflaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes in that day." So in our first point we see the saints are suffering. They're suffering persecution for their faith. They suffer fiery trials of every kind. I think of the pastor whose daughter was killed in the Nashville shootings. Did you guys see that? I cannot imagine serving the Lord and walking with the Lord and of all the people that could have been killed, God, my daughter, giving you all I got. I'm serving your people, but you know what?

His perseverance will provide manifest evidence that God is right in counting Him worthy to enter the kingdom. But what about the shooter? I know how to apply to the pastor, but we're in point two now. What about the shooter? What happens to the one who committed murder? Will justice be served? This is the question now that Paul is answering. The murderer who gunned down three children and three adults, if they do not cast themselves on the mercy of God through faith in Christ, then God will take vengeance on those who do not know Him and do not obey the gospel.

So there is a possibility that God Almighty would extend mercy and grace and salvation to this murderer. If they do not, justice will be served, and He wants His people to know that. There is a world, you might say out there, who hates God, hates Jesus, hates Christianity. They do not want His rule over them. And He were coming, healing the sick, I'm talking about the United States of America, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, raising the dead, feeding the hungry, they'd kill Him, just like we did the first time He came.

As Jeff Noblet said, if they could, and right now I'm talking about those who do not know Him and do not obey the gospel, if they could, they'd kick God off His throne and put themselves on it. This world that does not know God and does not obey the gospel, the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 2, they follow the prince of darkness in their rebellion against God. It's not that they're just a little wicked, it's not just that they are liberal and you're conservative, no, they said we don't want God, we want to be on the team that's rebelling against Him. That's what's going on.

Now lest we forget, hey, listen up right here, I was on that team too. You were on that team too. So before we get on our high horse and come down on them, I was a child of the devil, I served his team and I was with him and trying to throw God off his throne and put me on there and God had mercy on me and put Christ in my stead. That's why I love Him, that's why I serve Him, that's why I want to wait in perseverance until He comes, my blessed Redeemer. But to those who make war with God and His people, hear me as we wait. They will one day receive justice. The Bible says in verse number seven that Jesus is coming with His mighty angels.

Here's how I see that. You guys ever been to a fight or watched something on TV where there's like these two gangs that come together? I hate to say it but my mind goes to Greece because you really shouldn't watch that. You know, I'm going to get myself in trouble right here about Greece. So anyway, I didn't know what was in Greece when I was younger and when I was older I said hey kids, let's all come watch Greece. Bad idea.

But that's the picture that comes to my mind when you got these kind of two opposing crews coming against one another and you got the one lead guy, that was my Johnny interpretation, and then you got the guys with him and then you got the other guy and his guy. And that's the picture that we see here. And so you've got the world with whoever their leader is and if you want to throw the Antichrist in there, that's fine. But here they come and they're literally at the end of the age making war against God. Alright? Here's mankind and all they got. And Jesus splits the sky making His entrance. And He doesn't appear with squiggly in them.

The Bible says when He splits the sky and He shows up for war, He comes with His mighty angels. I don't know the last time you read about one of these guys, but in the Old Testament one angel took out 185,000 Assyrias with one swoop. There are angels that can stand over an entire city with a sword and destroy the whole thing in a moment. That's who Jesus shows up with. And by the way, these same beings who are this mighty, which by the way, I said this to somebody, we were talking about this in the fellowship hall, there you go. If one of them showed up in here tonight, we'd all get under the pews. We'd fall on our faces, dead men.

And those beings in the presence of Jesus cry holy, holy, holy. Jesus is awesome, y'all. He's better than anything down here. That was a side note. But Jesus comes in flaming fire or with His mighty angels. And then it says in verses 8 and 9, that when He comes, He comes in flaming fire, taking vengeance on all of those who do not know Him and do not obey the gospel. And they will be punished with everlasting destruction. So let's just slow down for a moment. Just in case you are here and you do not know Him and you do not give evidence that you have genuine faith, if He were to come, this is what would happen.

The same Bible that teaches there is eternal life in heaven teaches that there is eternal life in hell. Everyone created is an eternal soul. It's not like, oh, if you get to go to heaven, those people live forever. These people just kind of drop off somewhere and they're never heard of again. Uh-uh. No, everlasting destruction. And everybody on the planet is in one or the other category. There's not another category. You're either with Christ's army or you're against Him. Spurgeon said, "The hell of hells is that it's forever." I, uh, I like to build fires back home. Do I have any fellow pyromaniacs in here? Just curious.

I think somehow it just gets passed along from father to son, right? We just love building fires. And this is a simple and maybe terrible illustration, but it truly is real. I can still remember where I was at in my backyard not too long ago. It would have been this winter. And you're sitting there, and for guys, you know, this is the place where you really just contemplate the world, right? Sitting around the fire by myself, none of my girls will hang out with me. The dog won't even come out there.

And I literally look at fire, and you know, usually you burn yourself a little bit doing something, and just thinking, "Man, I cannot touch something for one second that's on fire in that little fire pit that I've got." And I'm telling you the truth, and I'll just think this about once every year. Like, if I wanted to, how long could I hold my hand in the fire if I wanted to? It's unbearable. And this is what the Bible that we believe tells, that when Jesus comes, if you're at war with Him, you are cast into hell for everlasting destruction.

I would pray that that truth alone would cause you to run to His team, because I promise you, He's not saying He doesn't want you. Come, come, come! That's so awesome! Anybody who wants to come tonight, come! Be saved! Before I close this point and move to the last one, are you certain that you will escape this judgment to come? How about this? Do you give evidence of saving faith? You're growing in faith, or abounding in love, or enduring in trials for His name's sake? The answer is no. Why don't you just throw everything aside and run to Christ tonight? And let me, I see this more and more.

I said it some more, and I'm going to say it again. Don't place your faith in you. We have this terrible tendency to like, "Am I doing everything right? Am I meaning it enough?" Like, it's still pointing back, you're looking at you. I said it Sunday morning, don't place your faith in faith. Like, here's where my assurance comes from, is my faith enough? Your assurance comes from the object of your faith. Your assurance comes from the righteousness of Christ. Your assurance comes from God accepts Christ. All you do is run to Christ, and you will be saved. Repent just means, I hear what you're saying, I'm going the wrong way, and believe.

Turn and say, "I'm throwing it all on Christ," and the Bible says, the Bible says, the Bible says, "Repent and believe, and you will be saved." Done. Done. There's your assurance. Number three, we see the revelation of Christ's glory in his saints and by his saints. Verse 10, "When he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed." Two things. One, the revelation of Christ's glory in his saints. What does this mean that when Christ comes, he's going to be glorified in his saints? I bet the church at Thessalonica didn't look like much.

What do you think? Probably just a small ragtag group of believers that nobody even knew. I bet there weren't many mighty or many noble called at Thessalonica. They probably got pushed around, run over. They weren't looked at as anything at all. But you know what Paul is saying here when he says, "To be glorified in his saints?" He's saying, "One day they will. One day they'll look like something. Just hang on." You know what else Paul is saying? We don't look like a whole lot in here tonight, do we? I don't know. We might have 80 folks here tonight. The world, no one is reporting on the news about what's going on down here today.

Most people don't even know what's going on, and to be honest, they probably don't care. I bet that not many mighty and not many noble are called here. But one day, one day we will be something when he is glorified in us. What I mean by that is this, and you better like it, all right? When he comes in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, we will all be changed. This little group around here, young, poor, middle, old, nobodies, in a moment of twinkling of an eye, we will all be changed. And this mortality is going to put on immortality, and this corruptible is going to put on incorruptible, and we are going to be... You listening to me?

The believers at Thessalonica, the believers at Grace Life, Brookhaven, we are going to be transformed into the image of Christ in the moment in a twinkling of an eye. That makes him look really good. First John chapter 3 verse 1, listen to this, "Behold what manner of love the Father has was sowed upon us that we would be called the sons of God. But it does not yet appear what we shall be." But here's what we know, when he appears, we shall be like him. Say what? One day in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, we are going to share the glory of the Son of God. Don't know about you, but that makes me want to persevere.

That makes me want to finish the race. But just in case you stumbled at what I just said that we would share in the glory of God, John just nails it. John 17 verse 22, he says, "To the Father in prayer for his people, the glory which you gave me, I have given them that they may be one just as we are one. I in them and you in me, the glory I have, I've given to them." Folks, this in the Lanaiqah might not look like much. First Baptist like Butler might not look like much. Grace Life Church, Brookhaven may not look like much. The bride of Jesus right now in this world may not look like all that much.

But on the day when Jesus comes, the Church of Jesus Christ will be the most glorious bride the universe has ever seen. That's what he's talking about. When he receives his bride and we're transformed into his glory, he will be glorified in his saints in what he's done. That's me and you. Let me add to that. If you've never looked at this verse, go off path here just for a second. Colossians chapter 3 verse 3 says this, "Your life is hidden with Christ." No, man, my life's right here right now. That's not the way the Bible looks at it. The Bible says you haven't even seen your life yet. It is hidden with Christ. What's that mean?

I do need to thank John Piper for answering this for us. Right now, your resurrection is hidden. That's who you really are. That's who you will be for all of eternity. Right now, your resurrection is hidden. Your glorified body is hidden. Your glory is hidden. You haven't even seen it yet. Piper says when you taste that life, when Jesus come, you will say, "I scarcely ever even knew life." One instant at home with Jesus and you'll know you've been in a foreign land your whole life. Spurgeon writes. I left him for the last because nobody can meet Spurgeon, right? Here's what he writes about that day. The saints will say in that day.

We thought he would do great things, but this, sorry, this surpasseth conception. Every saint will be a wonder to himself. I thought my bliss would be great, but not like this. All his brethren will be a wonder to the perfected believer. It's almost like we're going to be looking around and saying way beyond what I thought. Look at you, you too, man. The bride is going to be in stunning glory and all anyone's going to be able to do, him. It's because of him. He did this with us. That's what's going to happen when he comes. Don't know about you, but I think I'm going to persevere by the grace of God looking for that day and that close.

Kind of sad, y'all. This is the last point of the whole shebang. Feel like I ought to say doggone right there. There will be the revelation of Christ's glory in his saints, but Paul also says, "By his saints." He uses the term that he will be admired among all those who believe. We did not... You ever said this, "Boy, I wish I could... I wish I had lived when Jesus lived. I would have loved to have seen." You ever said that? Well we did not get to see the first Advent, but we get to be at the second one. This is when he comes in glory. The Bible says, "Here's what we're going to do.

We're going to admire him." That word also means marvel, to be astonished. Do you mind me telling you just a few things that I think we'll marvel at and we'll wrap it up? Number one, we will marvel that we're even there. William Poole wrote, "To raise up such a number of poor, sinful, despicable worms out of the dust into such a sublime state of glory and dignity will be admirable." Amen. We will... Listen to me. We will look at others as they are cast off into everlasting destruction and we will marvel that we get to stay. We will marvel at his nail-scarred hands that purchased our redemption.

We will marvel at how he kept us through every trial. We will marvel at the rewards he has given us. We will marvel, our loved ones are with us. We will marvel at how by his power he's made all things new. We will marvel at the glory that he had with the Father before the world began. We will marvel that he took on human form for all eternity. That one still blows me away. Listen, he didn't just take on a human form while he was here on earth. He then took on a glorified humanity for the rest of eternity so that we might become the sons of God. Blessed be his name. We will marvel, lastly, that this will be our lot forever.

Is this going to end? When we've been there 10,000 years, bright, shining as the sun, well, we have no less days to sing his praise than when we first begun. Amen. Can I invite you to that day? Come marvel with me and God's people for all eternity. Can I invite you to covenant together with God's people and let's persevere till he comes. I'm a father. To you be all praise, honor.