FELLOWSHIP BIBLE CHURCH ANNUAL LADIES' RETREAT

Flight F-I-N-A-L...We're Going To Meet The King!!

“And He carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” Revelation 21:10

SONG - ”THE KING IS COMING”

The market place is empty,
No more traffic in the streets,
All the builders' tools are silent,
No more time to harvest wheat:
Busy housewives cease their labors,
In the courtroom no debate,
Work on earth is all suspended as the King comes thro' the gate!!!

Happy faces line the hallways,
Those whose lives have been redeemed,
Broken homes that He has mended,
Those from prison He has freed;
Little children and the aged
Hand in hand stand all aglow,
Who were crippled, broken, ruined,
Clad in garments white as snow.

I can hear the chariots rumble,
I can see the marching throng,
The flurry of God's trumpets
Spell the end of sin and wrong;
Regal robes are now unfolding,
Heaven's grandstand all in place,
Heaven's choir is now assembled,
Start to sing Amazing Grace!!!

Oh, the KING is coming!
The KING is coming!
I just heard the trumpet sounding
And now His face I see..
Oh, the KING is coming!
The KING is coming!
Praise God!!! He's coming for me!!!!!!!

(Hallelujah)!!

We all know that when we plan a trip, there is ONE thing we need first of all. A checklist!

#1 - “Where are you going?”

#2 - “Who are you going to see?”

#3 - “How are you going to get there?”

#4 - “What do you need to take with you?”

#5 - “What are you going to do when you get there?”

Tonight, we’re going to talk about the “Trip of a lifetime.” There may be some here who aren’t quite sure whether or not they’re ready for quite a trip and there will be others who can hardly wait to go.

We're getting ready for a trip to....

THE NEW JERUSALEM - HEAVEN!!!!!!!

Now that we know where we’re going #1...(or where we’d like to go), we need to get that checklist out and start checking off what we have and what we need.

#2 - “Who are you going to see?”

Heaven is going to have many inhabitants:

1 - Other believers (God’s people) - John 14:1 - 3 “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

2 - God Himself - John 1:1 - “In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.”

Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

3 - The Angels - Luke 15:7, 10 “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.... “

"Likewise I say unto you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

4 - The Holy Spirit - Psalm 139:7,8 - “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence: If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.”

5 - Jesus Christ our Lord Himself - Now even as I read John 1:1 above, it is referring that God and Jesus are together.... but here are some more verses:

Mark 16:19 - “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”

Ephesians 1:20 - “.....which he wrought in Christ, when he (God) raised him (Jesus) from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,”

I Peter 3: 21b, 22 - “....by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and power being made subject unto him.”

So, as you see, we’ll be in great company.

#3 - “How are you going to get there?”

How many of you have ever heard a “TripTik” from AAA? Well, we all need a TripTik of sorts to get there..

Jesus said in John 14:6 “.......I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME.” So Jesus is your TripTik....And there are two avenues by which we can arrive!

(1) Death - Ecclesiastes 3:1, 2 - “To everything there is a a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to DIE.....”

In Psalm 23:4 .. The Lord assures us.. “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me...... “

I want to share with you some excerpts from a very special book by Max Lucado, “Traveling Light”. (Pages 84 - 87)

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD!!!!!! Never forget it!

(2) Rapture - The word is meant “snatching away” and is never found as such in the Bible, but this is where it is mentioned in God’s Word.

I Corinthians 15:51, 52 - “Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Nothing else in the prophetic time table has to be fulfilled before that happens... that is why it is imminent..... it can happen ANY time.

I Thessalonians 4: 13 - 18 - “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead), that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep (in Jesus) will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall shout with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rises first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. “

Song - “SOON AND VERY SOON”

Soon and very soon.. we are going to see the King.
Soon and very soon.. we are going to see the King.
Soon and very soon.. we are going to see the King.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We're going to see the King!

No more crying there.. we are going to see the King.
No more crying there.. we are going to see the King.
No more crying there.. we are going to see the King.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We're going to see the King!

No move dying there.. we are going to see the King.
No more dying there.. we are going to see the King.
No more dying there.. we are going to see the King..
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We're going to see the King!
Halleujah! Hallelujah!

#4 - “What do you need to take with you?”

Read what it says....

“Jesus paid it all... All to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain....He washed it white as snow.”......the old hymn says. The Blood-Stained ticket we have here holds major importance. In the book of Hebrews we find some detail about the old system of sacrifices for sin and Christ’s perfect sacrifice.

The Old System of Sacrifice - Animal blood sacrifices were not perfect and could only cover the sins of the people. The high priest alone did it for himself and the people once a year. It had to be repeated.

Hebrews 9:7 .....”but into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the sins of the people.”

Hebrews 10:1 “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers perfect.”....

But the New covenant and sacrifice....... Christ did it ONCE for All and He WAS perfect. It wouldn’t just cover but totally remove the stain of sin from our lives forever.

Hebrews 9:11-14 “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come..... neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in ONCE into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. ....for if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of the heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh: How much MORE shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? “

verse 26-28.. “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now ONCE in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was ONCE offered to bear the sins of many: and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

IT IS FINISHED!!!!! Hebrews 10: 11,12 “And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.... BUT THIS MAN, AFTER HE HAD OFFERED ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOREVER SAT DOWN on the right hand of God!!!!!”

Verse 14 - “For by ONE offering he hath perfected FOREVER them that are sanctified.. “

Now.... the icing on the cake!!!!!

#5 - “What are you going to do when you get there?”

What will this marvelous place look like? Open your heart’s eye and try to imagine what John shared with us from his heavenly vision. Revelation 21 and 22 give us this glimpse. I’m just going to skim reading here and there and try to fill in some visual examples. Let’s jump to verse 8 first to see who will NOT be there... “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Rev. 21: verse 1 and following....... “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.. And there was no more sea.... and I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.... AND GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS from their eyes: and neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be ANY MORE PAIN....for the former things are passed away.”

Verse 10.. “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God; and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

Verse 12 ... “And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel: On the east, 3 gates.. On the north, 3 gates; on the south, 3 gates; and on the west, 3 gates. And the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

Verse 16..”And the city lies foursquare (perfectly square) and the length, depth, and height of it are all equal, twelve thousand furlongs... This is approximately 1,300 miles... (there's over 1,000 miles distance between Philadelphia, Pa. and Orlando, Florida.....). And he measured the wall .. An hundred and forty four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel..(approximately 216 feet high)..

Verse 18 and following: “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.”

From the bottom up:

1 - Jasper - Opaque/off white with some gold ore
2- Sapphire - Blue
3- Chalcedony - Crystalline with with brown, red and blue
4- Emerald - Green
5- Sardonyx - Reddish with white
6- Sardius - Ruby red
7- Chrysolyte - Yellow/pale green/black
8- Beryl - Green
9- Topaz - Reddish/yellow and orange/brown
10- Chrysoprasus - Yellowish/green
11- Jacinth - a type of sapphire blue stone
12 - Amethyst - Quartz/light purple/blue and red purple

Verse 21.... “And the 12 gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” (No imitation here.) “And I saw no temple therein for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”

NO SUN...... and No more no utility or power bills.. “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”

NO SECURITY SYSTEMS.. “And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. ...... and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: BUT THEY WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE!!!!!”

(At this point, I showed a book I had made with The Lamb's Book of Life written on it.. )

Is your name written there???

And then....what I look forward to more than anything else in the world...... Chapter 22:4 ...”And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.. “ I John 3:2 also reads “,,,beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him.... for we shall see him as he is.. “

Song... Chorus of "We Shall Behold Him"

For we shall behold Him..
We shall behold Him..
Face to face in all of His glory..
We shall behold Him..
We shall behond Him..
Face to face.. my Savior and Lord.

John ends the book of the Revelation with this.. Verse 20.... “He which testifies these things say... “Surely I come quickly.. Amen... “ EVEN SO ... COME, LORD JESUS!!!!.”

Then, of course, what eternity holds for us is everlasting praise and worship of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.. the wondrous Marriage Supper of the Lamb with our Saviour, and the joyour reunion with all our loved ones and friends that have gone before.

We never know what any given day will bring for us... the Bible says.. “Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” This time next year... one of you.. (or myself..) May not be here... Where will you be when that time comes? Where are you going? Do you know for sure? This is no time to ‘second guess’ with the “I think so’s.” Or the “Maybe’s”...... I John 5:13 reads.. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” You CAN know.. I found out a little over 30 years ago that all my good, all my ‘nice-ness’, and all my trying wouldn’t and couldn’t get it... I did NOT know... or maybe you think... “I’ve been so bad for so long.... and He could NEVER FORGIVE ME... ‘ But He DOES.... And you CAN!!!

First of all... you have to admit that yes ... you do sin..... that’s anything that comes short of God’s glory or perfection.. Romans 3:10.... “There is none righteous, no not one..” Romans 3:23. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Then realize and remember.. That there IS a pay day.... we all have to pay one way or another.... you can either have your “TripTik” with Jesus.. . or not.. Romans 6:23.. “For the wages of sin is death.. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.. “ And God made that way through Jesus...

Romans 5:8.. “But God commended His love for us in that while we were yet sinners... Christ died for us.. “

John 3:16.. “For God so loved.... (put your name in there).... that he gave his only begotten son... that if (your name) believeth in him... should not perish........but have everlasting life..”

Revelation 3:20 reads.. “Behold I stand at the door and knock.. If any man open the door.. I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me... “ How many years has he been knocking at the door of your heart... He was knocking on mine for 23 years before I opened the door for Him.. All you have to do is ask..

Romans 10:9 and 13 says.. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead.. You shall be saved.. For whosoever (your name again) shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.. “ The peace that passes all understanding is waiting just for you.. Forever...and ever..... and ever...

OR.... Maybe as a Christian you’re here doubting your own salvation.... “Did I truly get saved?” “Did He really come in”? “Have I done something so bad, that maybe I’m not saved now?”

Always remember..... I John 1:9 is our way back into that precious fellowship with Jesus.... we’re still His child... maybe a disobedient one..... but what He wants is for us to acknowledge that to Him.... ask His forgiveness... and it’s all ours.. As far as the east is from the west.....and in the depths of the deepest sea.... our sins are forgiven... and forgotten.... never to be remembered again... Welcome back, dear Child... and “so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Close with “WELCOME HOME CHILDREN” Chorus

Welcome home, children
This is the place I've prepared for you..
Welcome home, children
Now that your work on earth is through.
Welcome home, children
Ye who have followed so faithfully.
Welcome home, children.. welcome home, children.
Here where I am you will always be ..
Forever rejoicing.. forever rejoicing.. Forever rejoicing with Me!!!