God Will Serve Us

Yes, you read that right. God will serve us. When we arrive in the New Heaven and New Earth and New Jerusalem we will see God’s face, He will dwell among us, He will be personal with each of us, and He will serve us.

“³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” – John 13:3-5 (ESV)

“²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” – John 14:2-3 (ESV)

“11Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.” – Revelation 19:11 (ESV)

Jesus served His disciples in the upper room by washing their feet. He has prepared a place for us. He personally comes to make war against the evil one for us. All of these things He could have others do on His behalf, yet He demonstrates for us the service that we should all ascribe to.

It does not stop with what God has done for us, it leads into what He will do for us in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem. He will make meals for us, wipe away our tears, and remove disgrace. Again, all things that He could command others to do, but NO, He continues to demonstrate service and desires to do so.

“⁶On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food,…

⁸and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,”

— Isaiah 25:6&8 (ESV)

I am overwhelmed by this realization that God will serve me when I arrive in the New Heaven. He will not just be at the top of the hill for me to see. He will not just dwell among me as I worship. He will not just meet with me personally. He will serve me. He will be my host at the greatest bed and breakfast there will ever be. If He will do this for me, the least of them, I can do the same and serve all.

What is your view of God’s actions when you see Him? Did you expect that He will sit on the throne while you worship Him? What about now, knowing that He will serve you himself and not just sit around waiting on you to serve Him?

How Will He Dwell With Each of Us

This morning as I worked through my MasterWork study, there were more questions than answers. In fact there were multiple paragraphs in the study that were just that completely, questions only. This is of course not unusual when it comes to learning that which God has for us. Questions should be a part of learning as it drives to find answers. So, how will God dwell with each of us at the same time when there will be millions of us?

Omnipresent: present in all places at all times – Merriam-Webster Online

Well, let me start with the omnipresence of God. As you can see in the definition from Merriam-Webster Online, it means being everywhere always. God is the only one who is. Yes, there may be groups that are said to be (security teams, CCTV cameras, etc.) but only God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are able to truly be everywhere always. This is a characteristic that is singular to God.

But, what about Jesus when He was here on earth, how was He everywhere always. Well, in the physical sense, He was not. It is true that the physical body of Jesus was able only to be in one place at any one time. But spiritually He was everywhere always and that is demonstrated by His knowing of the death of Lazarus without being told.

“¹¹After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ ¹²The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ ¹³Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’” – John 11:11-15 (ESV)

In this account, prior to these verses, we see that Jesus was days away from Lazarus, and yet He knew that His friend had died. But, I know what you are thinking, knowing and being there are two different things, and you would be right.

In the New Heaven and New Earth and New Jerusalem, Jesus will have the form of man and yet will be able to be with each of us physically. His deity trumps Him physical form and He is able to be in more than one place at a time. On this present earth, His manhood trumped his deity for our sake. Jesus was bound by His human form. When we see Him again, He will not be bound at all.

Again we come to all the question, how will He do it? And that is best answered with scripture and through the understanding that He is bigger, better, and way more than we can imagine.

“²⁰Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” – Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)

As much as we know about God, there is (x) times more that we do not. And that is where all those questions come. The questions should be there. We should be asking. We should investigate for our own. We should look to find the truth and that is done through the daily, weekly, and continual study of the Word of God as it is the TRUTH.

We will see the face of God. He will dwell among us. We will experience Him personally at whenever we need Him. He will be with us all, everywhere, always.

What are your thoughts on how He will dwell with each of us? Are you asking questions to get the answers? What if you were to start with the omnipresence of God and move forward from there?

God Will Dwell Among Us

“³And 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.’” – Revelation 21:3 (ESV)

Read that verse carefully and see that God’s dwelling place is with His people. Our ultimate home is in the New Earth, the New Jerusalem, which is the dwelling place of God. God lives there now and we will live there as well. The New Earth and the New Jerusalem will come down and be established here and God will come with.

So, what about the New Jerusalem. What does it look like? Reading through God’s Word tells us. Revelation 21 & 22 give a detailed account for us to have as a reference. But I also believe that just the description does not do it justice. I think of it as the most beautiful place I have ever seen and amp it up from there to a degree that I cannot even fathom. But, as beautiful as it will be, the fact that God will be there with us is the greatest thing of all.

Unlike rulers of countries and areas here in this world, where they live in a palace that is only visible to the people and yet no one can enter without a specific purpose or being summoned, God’s Home and dwelling place is where we all will be together with Him. God prepared His house for us to live with Him. He has prepared a city for us to inhabit, and as noted in Revelation 21 & 22, it is not just an ordinary city.

“¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” – Hebrews 11:16 (ESV)

“¹Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” – John 14:1-3 (ESV)

God prepared the city for us, a “heavenly” city for us to enter. He has already built it and has prepared our room there. Let that sink in, He has prepared a room for each of us. And, as seen in verse 3 above, Jesus will come again and take us there to be with Him. Not just be there, but be with Him.

So, we will see the face of God in the New Heaven and the New Earth, and He will spend eternity with us in the New Jerusalem, where He is now, preparing for us to arrive. How much better could it be than that. We will be with the greatest gift to man that there ever was and He will be with us for eternity in the beautiful place that He prepared for you and me specifically. And not only do we get to live there, but He will come and personally take us there to be with Him. I don’t know about you, but I am getting a bit caught up in it all right now, and it only continues to build my anticipation for eternity with Him.

What is your view God dwelling with us? Do you see Him as the ruler on top of the hill that lives in the palace that you don’t get to visit? What if you were to shift to knowing that the beauty of the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem were prepared by God for you and that He would be there with you for eternity?

Seeing God

Yes, we will see God, and not just Him, but will see His face.

“³No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” – Revelation 22:3-4 (ESV)

But is seeing God really that big a deal? YES it is. Let’s look back. Remember that the high priest was the only one who could go into the holy of holies to meet with God, and he did so out of an abundance of caution as he may die in the presence of God. Moses asked to see God’s Glory and was denied for he would have died in doing so.

“⁶And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.” – 2 Samuel 6:6-7 (ESV)

“’²⁰But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’” – Exodus 33:20 (ESV)

But, if one would die if they were to see the face and glory of God, how is it possible for us to do so. Well, that comes from the life giving salvation we receive through Jesus Christ and His redeeming blood that was spilled on our behalf. Thanks to Jesus, we are washed clean and out sins are forgiven and when we arrive in the New Heaven and New Earth, we will be without sin and be able to see Him and live.

And just what will we see when we see the face of God? Well, we will see the God who made us for Himself. And as we know that all God created was “good” and we were “very good”, I believe that we will see ourselves through God’s eyes as we were created. I will see myself as the “very good” creation I was meant to be. All my doubts, of myself and my existence, will be laid to rest. I will be in the company of God who created me to have a relationship with me.

What do you believe you will see when you see God? Will you even see Him at all? What if you understood that we will see God thanks to the redeeming blood of Jesus and that you will indeed see God as the glory and goodness that He created in us?

Even at Home We are Homesick

I had this realization this morning as I studied that it is this homesickness that keeps me down. Not that I am down all the time, but when I am, it is the longing for it all to just resolve as if I was finally able to relax at home.

Isn’t it so that we spend so much of our energy and resources chasing something to satisfy us. Whether it is a new whatever, or an escape to wherever. The thing we should ask is when are we the most satisfied? When we are at home. Without a worry or a care. Even if only for a few minutes or hours or a couple of days, we are relaxed and comfortable.

I remember, and likely have written about it, going camping with a friend and his family for a few days. This guy, although a wonderful Christian man, was the workaholic, always on the go. Yes, he and the family would vacation or he would go hunting, but never for more than a weekend. On this occasion, he and the family were away for 3 nights and 4 days with us. On the final night, as we were sitting around the campfire the conversation steered to him and to all of our amazement, he was completely sacked out in the lawn chair. We let him sleep and the next morning he thanked us for the feeling of relaxation. He felt at home.

Isn’t this the feeling that we all long for. Not a worry in the world and the chance to relax and be at home. Aren’t we all looking for that chance to just sack out without a worry in the world. I am here to say that we have that available to us now and should be taking advantage of the experience at all times.

“¹⁴Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.”

— Zephaniah 3:14-15 (ESV)

We are longing for satisfaction. We seek it everywhere. Yet we forget that it is within our grasp at all times. It is okay to be homesick for that place where everything will be glorious. Our eternal home, the New Earth with Heaven at the center. No, are are not there, yet. But we can and should be looking forward to it as Zephaniah indicates. We should “Sing aloud”. We should celebrate that “The LORD has taken away the judgments”. We should hold on to the fact that those times of rest and relaxation and comfort are just on the horizon and that it is okay to be homesick for our eternal home.

What are you longing? Are you looking to satisfy your homesickness even though you are in your earthly home? What if you accepted that it is okay to be homesick for the life you know will be glorious in Heaven and the New Earth?

Our Bodies Will Be Ours, Will New Earth Be As Well

Let me clarify a bit of the title. I am asking will the New Earth be a place familiar to us, or will it be a place we have never seen yet better than what we know.

Let me start with what we know. What is it about “home”? Well, for me home is familiar. It is comfortable, filled with love, and a place I can kick my shoes off and relax in. I remember when Lori and I and the boys moved back to Texas. We enjoyed our time in Maryland and would not trade it for anything, yet when we crossed the Red River into Texas, we felt the difference. We still had about 6-7 hours until we reached our final destination, but we were home. It was familiar and comfortable and a place we felt compelled to kick off our shoes and relax.

The New Earth will be like that. We will be familiar with the surroundings. We will be comfortable. We will feel the love there. We will know people. We will feel compelled to kick off our shoes and rest. So yes, the New Earth will be ours as well. We will know the place as our home and find comfort there.

“¹Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” – John 14:1-2 (ESV)

Randy Alcorn wrote the following that I believe captures what we will find, “This damaged creation cries out to be repaired, and it is His plan to repair it. He’s going to remodel the old earth on a grand scale.” Christ is fixing all the cracks in the wall. He is remodel the kitchen and painting the bedrooms. Jesus is mowing the grass and adding new landscaping. He is fixing the fence and putting on a new roof. But even with all of the fixing up, we will know that we are home. The creak in the floor when you walk in the front door will still be there. The layout from the kitchen to the back porch will still be the same. And He will be there to great us and welcome us HOME.

What is your thought as to the New Earth? Do you believe it will be all new such that you have never seen before? What difference is the feeling to know that it will be familiar and you will know the New Earth to be the place of comfort and rest that you remember, only back to before it was broken?

But The New World is Promised

When and where, could we being seeing it already? I don’t think so, at least fully.

“Not ‘up there’ in a distant Heaven, but ‘down here’ on earth, in Jerusalem” – Randy Alcorn

The where, down here where we are. Remember that the New Earth will be resurrected and descend here where we are now. All that is known to us here in this world will be replaced with the New Earth. We will not “have to” go to find. The New Earth will be presented for us right here where we are now.

“²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” – Revelation 21:2 (ESV)

Now, when. Well, that would be at the conclusion of the final battle. This current Earth, full of sin and death and the curse since the fall of Adam, will be completely destroyed and the New Earth will come. It must happen as the New Earth cannot have any of it. The judgment of the LORD will be upon this earth to the point of full annihilation and replaced with the New Earth as was created in the beginning.

“¹Then 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 21:1 (ESV)

Now, are we seeing it already? I think we are. You see, Christ came to this world to prepare us for His second coming. This was promised in scripture and it came to pass. So the full promise of God has already begun. We have already been made privy to the plan of God, and some of that plan has already occurred. So, we can have confidence that the plan will continue and we will see it all fulfilled. We just don’t know the timeline.

“⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ ⁷He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’” – Acts 1:6-8 (ESV)

We have the plan, we know the where, and we know the when, we just don’t know the timeline. But we do know that where we are now is only temporary and that when the time comes, it will be forever.

“⁵And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 22:5 (ESV)

What are you thinking of the promise of a new world? Are you looking for it today in a specific location? What if you look instead at the plan and find the where, when, and see that it is promised and has already begun fulfillment?

What about the Millennium Question

That question has to do with the thousand year reign of Christ in this present earth. Randy Alcorn adds it to my study and it is fascinating to read and worth discussion.

You see, in Revelation 20 John lays out the thousand years. Here we see that the devil is bound, the earth is no longer deceived, saints come to life and reign with Christ, it is not until it is over that the dead are resurrected, those saints will be priests and kings, and Satan will be loosed for one final battle. All of that will happen during or after those thousand years. Fascinating for sure and begs a lot of questions for me.

The thing is that even with this fascinating information and even as all the questions abound, the fact remains that the New Earth is coming and that will be our final place to be with and glorify God. That is certain.

There are different viewpoints as to the thousand years. Are they a literal thousand and when it will exactly occur. Even within the different viewpoints there are nuances of difference that come up. Regardless of the different viewpoints and nuances, these are centered around the process and not the end result. The end result is the New Heaven and the New Earth and that all agree on.

Just last night I was speaking to my wife about the idea of process and result. I was pointing out that where I (as the man and knowing all, LOL) hold the idea that the way I do things is somehow the “right” way, the reality is that there are many ways to approach things in the process. Whether you hold my view or not, we are all headed to the same place and once we arrive at that place we have success.

That there is in God’s Word the reference to our final home of the New Earth is that arrival point we all agree on. It will be glorious and we will be there forever, not just for a thousand years.

What thoughts have you had related to the millennium? Have you even thought of it or heard of it? What if you held to the truth that our final home will be forever in the New Earth and not just for a thousand years?

But What About Those Who Pass From This World

God’s people and the promised land were prophesied to be united. But what about those who pass from this world before that realization. Well, they will, with the New Earth.

The question today in my study is “Where and When will our deliverance come?”. That is such a great question for us to consider, knowing that we are not long in this world. Where I am looking forward to Christ coming again, the reality is that I do not know when He returns and I could pass from this world before then. So the selfish man in me wonders if and when will I get to experience it. Have I been left out? NO.

I have to remember that this earth is just a temporary location for me. Whether I am here at the second coming of Christ or I pass from here beforehand, I am/will be waiting. I have not been forgotten. As a child of God, my destiny is the promised land.

The Israelite people were ushered into the promised land with Joshua leading them after years in the wilderness waiting. Where looking at this would seem that the promised land is or was already given over to God’s people, that was only the land of this earth before the restoration that comes with resurrection and redemption.

“¹⁷For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. ¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.” – Isaiah 65:17-18 (ESV)

At resurrection and the conclusion of the final battle, the New Heaven will come down to the New Earth and be opened for God’s people to enter. This is the promised land for us all and the fulfilled promise of God. We will be delivered into the promised land at the restoration of the Earth into the New Earth which will be as God created in the beginning.

What is your thought on your inheritance of the promised land? Do you feel as though you will miss or have missed out? What if you look to the New Earth instead, and know that this is the promise of God and we all will be restored into the restored New Earth as promised?

All Things Waiting for Resurrection

Why is everything waiting on us and our resurrection? Well let me start with we are the pinnacle of God’s creation.

“²⁶Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’

²⁷So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.”

— Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)

We were created to “have dominion” over all of God’s creation. He would not have placed us there had we not been the top of His creation. So it only makes sense that the rest of creation is waiting on us to be resurrected and they will them be also.

I know, that seems to be a lot of responsibility. Yes, it is. But here’s the thing. We were created for this role by God and if there is one thing that I know to be true, He would not give us the responsibility for something that we were not prepared to take on. Jesus sent out the disciples to to spread the gospel and heal the sick. The did not have “formal” training in those things, but they were sent as He knew they were ready. We are sent out to “make disciples of all nations” and frankly, I don’t have any “formal” training in doing so, but He knows we are up to the task. All of creation knows that we “have dominion” and therefore creation is waiting eagerly for us to be revealed.

“¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” and “²³And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” – Romans 8:19 & 23 (ESV)

Creation waits on us as we were created for it. And when we are resurrected, we will be revealed as made in the image of God, the pinnacle of His creation. All of creation will look to us for guidance and with awe once again as we take on the role that God created and prepared us for.

What is you view of all of creation waiting on our resurrection? Do you see this as a point of apprehension? What if you looked back to know that all of creation is waiting on you as you were made for the role by God as the pinnacle of His creation?