Eternal Life
(Rev 22:1-5)
Qinshihuangdi, the first emperor of the united China bet half of his country on the elixir plant in vain. No matter how excellent AlphaGo or cybots are in their missions, they dont give us eternal life. What princess wealth we would have if we could enjoy eternal life! Imagine we could enjoy it with our names being enrolled in the glorious book of life. Eternal life is not only what we enjoy only after death but what we can enjoy on earth. Lets see todays message, which describes how we can enjoy it.
1. The water of the eternal life flows out of God. From the holy city New Jerusalem, flows the water of life, whose origin is the throne of God and the Lamb. As we are Gods temple, the water of life flows into and out of us. The source of the heavenly water is Gods throne. Therefore, its as clear as crystal, holy, and flawless. The flowing river of the eternal life, which stands for the presence of the Holy Spirit, enables us to enjoy the fullness of life void of darkness. The kingdom of heaven is not for the sinless, but for those who recognize their sins and are forgiven by God. We can enter it with our own righteousness. We all have different kinds of sins. None of us are righteous. We dont deserve the eternal life because we are the source of sins, ready to overflow at any time.
2. The eternal life can be shared by everyone. God made the river of the water of life flow down the middle of the great street for everyone to see and drink from like the rivers of the Eden soaking the garden after being restored. Enjoying the great overflow of the living water, we spare nothing and want no more. We open up ourselves and show everyone how we were saved. Our salvation is to be known not only to ourselves but also to others. Do you think How dare you say such a thing about the heavenly kingdom? Then you still have a long way to go. One deacon went to a restaurant for dinner after a conference, whose owner was a member of Wooridle Church. He used to drink before but not now. If he had been in the situation where he had to drink, he might have been embarrassed a lot. The water flowing down the middle of the street refers to carrying your own cross by faith. Our constant meditation on Jesus precedes our glorification.
3. Those who deserve the eternal life are the ones who give birth to life. The tree of life standing beside the river of living water enjoyed the abundance of the overflowing water. After man was cursed to death because of his sin, God sent us Jesus Christ, the source of life in order to provide us with new life. This was to fulfill Gods promise that we will be brought to eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ. Earthly trees bear only one only kind of fruit, but the tree of life bears twelve every month. Thus God prepared various kinds of fruits for us. In the kingdom of heaven, we will enjoy eternal life, eating the fruits of life and drinking the living water. But theres one thing that doesnt exist in the heavenly kingdom. As in Luke: 34ampsim35, the people of our time marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that time and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, Therefore, we wont meet our physical family there as our own spouse or children. The purpose of life is not happiness, but holiness. Through marriage, we will be spiritually and physically restored by healing our wounds and sorrow with the living life and the leaves of the tree of life. A homosexual young man confessed that he would use his tough story as a healing herb for those are under the same suffering as his. Thus we can be the flowing water of life by coming forward to our mission after repenting our sins.
4. There are three rewards. The rewards for those who overcome the worldly by their faith and actions are as follows.
amp#9312 His servants will serve Him. In the heavenly kingdom, where justice and righteousness flow, servants will be treated like kings and kings will serve like servants.
amp#9313 They can see God face to face. We are to die when we see Gods face because of our sins. However the pure in heart will see God.
amp#9314 They will have His name on their forehead. Those who stand against God will have the mark of the beast on their forehead. However, we Christians will receive Gods holy name, which is to say 'You are mine. I will protect you. Im in charge of you. Thus those who receive Gods award will enjoy the life of peace and rest where there will be no more night as in verse 5. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light because of the God, the sunlight of righteousness. One deaconess confessed in our Thailand outreach that she restored her relationship with her daughter after repenting of her sins focused on worldly prosperity. Thus she fed others with her fruits of the tree of life through her confession, bringing them to the eternal life. May God bless us all to serve God, enjoying the living water and to give birth to many souls by understanding the Word with pure heart!
'Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.' (Rev 22:1)
