Eternal Value of Souls 2

On last year, if you'll remember, uh, we prayed for, among other things, our church in Houston, if you remember all of the flooding that took place, and there were a lot of members of of our church that we that we came from who lost everything in the flood. And what I find interesting about instance, is like that when a flood comes, or when a fire comes, or whatever, is what people miss the most, what gives them the greatest sense of loss? What what things have the greatest value? And and when the waters are beginning to rise, what are those things that you go grab and take with you? Have you thought about that? What are those things that would mean the most to you? And usually when it comes to value, there are a number of ways that we determine value. One way that we determine value is how much a thing costs. If it's if it's just expensive. If you have something that's worth a thousand quatcha and something it's worth ten quatcha. I mean, it's easy right that the thing that's worth a thousand is more more valuable. But that's not the only way that you determine value. Sometimes we determine value by what things are connected to, what they're associated with either a person or a moment or a memory. I mean, you imagine some fam if Oprah Winfrey comes to Lusaka and Oprah finds a handbag at some shop in Lusaka and says, this handbag is the greatest handbag I've ever found. And then she goes back and she begins to show everybody this handbag that she found in Lusaka. All of a sudden, that handbag that you used to be able to go and buy at the shop in Lusaka, you can't afford anymore because of who it's now associated with. Amen. But association works other ways as well. There are things that you have that other people would look at and say that is of little or no value, but because of the association. There's a picture that sits on the dresser in our bedroom, and it's a simple picture and for most people they walk in, they never think anything of it. It's a crayon drawing picture of a puppy and a kitten in a frame crayon drawing. Why is that picture of such value? I looked at it the other day and I couldn't help it smile because it's the first gift that I ever gave to my wife I met her January twenty first, nineteen eighty nine. January twenty third was her birthday. College student, I wasn't poor. I was poe. I couldn't afford the other oh in the r right. And so I had a guy who lived on my hall at university, who was an artist, and I bought a card and on the card was a picture of this puppy and this kitten. And I said, I can't just go with the card, So I said, would you please just draw me some Can you draw this? And so he did, and he quickly drew that picture. And so I showed up on January twenty third, nineteen eighty nine, with a card and that picture. Now, in terms of dollars, you wouldn't pay much, if anything, for this picture, but because of its connection, it's priceless. Another way that we consider value is where things are found or where they're kept. There's a picture on the wall in your home. You may think much of it, but I guarantee you it is not of as much value as a picture that you find hanging in the louver in Paris. Huh. When it comes to the souls of men, actually, all of these things apply first in terms of cost. Souls of men is of inestimable value because of their cost. The Bible says, what would it profit a man to gain. The whole world. And lose his soul? What could man give in exchange for his soul? The most valuable thing that you've ever seen, the most valuable thing that you've ever heard of, Everything of value that you know of has a price, but not a soul. Secondly, the whole idea of what it's connected to. Who is it out there that is so important that says that this thing is of value, God himself, the second person. That the Trinity gave his life for the souls of men, folks, that's more important than being connected to Oprah Amen. And then thirdly, where do you find these things? How about the very throne room of God in heaven. How about that for a location? Join me if you will. Revelation chapter four, Revelation chapter four. We'll try to spend the remainder of the time that we have together in the conference in Revelation four and five. Let's look tonight at the relation four. Let's read the whole chapter. After this, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice, which I had heard, speaking to me like a trumpet, said come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne, and he who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian. And around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of Emerald. The throne were twenty four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty four elders clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and rumbling and peal of thunder. And before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal, and around the throne, on each side of the throne four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind, the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around within and day and night. They never cease to say, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come, and whenever the living creatures give glory and honor, and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever. The twenty four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, worthy are you, o, Lord and God, Our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Amen. The eternal value of souls. Again, we find all of these measures of value in Revelation four and five, but in particular here this idea of where souls are found, where souls will be kept, points us to their value. These souls have value because, first of all, they will inherit and inhabit eternity. We have immortal souls. I know. Sometimes we're attempted to say we have eternal souls, but we don't. We don't have eternal souls. We have immortal, immortal souls. In order for our souls to be eternal, they would have to be pre existent like God. Because eternity goes in two directions. Amen, Eternity goes in the past as far as you can go, and in the future as far as you can go. Immortality has a starting point and then doesn't end. We have immortal souls that will inherit and inhabit eternity. We see that in those first two verses. The first thing we need to understand is that in these first two verses we get a glimpse of Heaven, a glimpse of that eternal place. The first three chapters of Genesis, or the first three chapters of Revelation excuse me, we're actually earth bound. Chapter one is prologue and introduction. Chapters two and three we have the letters to the seven Churches in Asia Minor. These seven churches that exist in a circular postal route in Asia Minor very much on Earth. Now there are seven of them, and the number seven in the Book of Revelation represents the number of perfection, or the number of completion. This divine perfection, divine completion. So because there is a reference to seven churches. We know that God is giving us a word for all churches, for the church period, but it is very much a word for what is happening on earth. It is a word for what was happening during John's day and a word for what continues to happen during our day. Because of these universal realities, focus is earth persecution, compromise, idolatry, apostasy, the struggle for survival and faithfulness. And the question that we're left with when we look at chapters two and three is this will the church survive? Remember, the Book of Revelation is a book that's give even to a church in the midst of persecution. A church says, persecuted by Nero and then persecuted by dimission. The mission is known as Nero red vivus, the reincarnation of Nero. Worse than Nero. People are dying, being slaughtered by the thousands. They're being called upon to compromise, and in many instances we see this compromise. So the question that comes when we read chapter two and chapter three is will the church be faithful, will the church endure? Will the church survive? Or will persecution and compromise and apostasy lead to the wiping out, to the extinction of God's Church. And just when we believe that there's perhaps no hope, One speaks to John and says, come up here, let me show you what must come. And he says the door opens up, a door in heaven, and he sees a throne, almost as if to say, yes, what you saw in chapters two and three, it was troubling, But God is still on his throne. Amen. Heaven is not shaken, and it never will be. The focus shifts to heaven, and the focus shifts to the throne room. We see in Revelation four two. At once I saw I was in the spirit, and behold a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. This is reminiscent of First Kings twenty two nineteen, where we read and Mikaiah said, therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the hosts of heaven standing beside him, on his right hand and on his left. We see this also in Psalm eleven four. The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven Isaiah sixty six y one. Thus says, the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What is the house that you would build for me? And what is the place of my rest? Matthew Chapter five and verse thirty four. But I say to you, do not take an oath at all either by Heaven, for it is the throne of God. And then in Matthew twenty three twenty two, whoever swears by Heaven swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it. Our God is enthroned in heaven. This is important because remember, one of the ways that we ascribe value is where you find a thing, and we are going to find the souls of men seated with God in heaven. There is no place of higher esteem, there is no place of greater significance. And in this place of greatest significance we find the souls of the redeemed. This speaks to us about the value of souls. This speaks to us about the eternal value of souls. The souls of men are not things that God creates to enjoy for a while. The souls of men God gives, and these souls actually inherit eternity. To think about this for a moment. The God who needs absolutely nothing, the God who has existed for all eternity, father, Son, Holy Spirit, one God in three persons, perfect unity, perfect harmony, perfect oneness within himself. This God, who is the very definition of perfection, has made man in his own image and for his own glory, and has given man a soul that will accompany this triune God in the eternity, where he has never needed anything but for his own glory. He has made us to dwell with him. Think about that for a moment with God in heaven. In chapter six, the judgment begins and the focus goes back to Earth. In chapter seven, a question is asked in light of this judgment, and by the way we see this judgment in chapter six repeated over and over and over again. Revelation is a very repetitive book, and we see things from various different angles, seven parallel narratives, and in the midst of the judgment of God that falls, the question comes in chapter seven who can stand? Or at the end of chapter six who can stand? And in chapter seven answers the question that when the judgment of God comes, there are those who will stand, and they will be with him, and again we see them with the Lord in heaven. The implications here are clear. While there is compromise and apostasy and sin and impurity on earth, while even the church, as yet imperfect, God's throne remains and the righteous will be with him. Amen. The implications are clear that even though we struggle, and sometimes we falter and fall, God will seek to it that his people persevere. We will be with Him in glory, and the worship of God's people will be pure in heaven, though it is impure here. We'll talk about that more in chapter five. So we see the value of souls and the fact that they will inherit and inhabit eternity with God. But there is a second way that we see the value of souls, that these souls were created by God to bring him glory. And here's where we have to be careful, because sometimes we believe that in order to understand and appreciate the value of souls, we have to depreciate other things. In order to explain this, let me tell you a story before I get to what I'm trying to say here. Picture with me, if you will. A young woman, and a young woman has been summoned to a meeting with a young man. She doesn't know what's going on. The young man is there waiting for her at the appointed place and the appointed time. And as she approaches the young man, she sees a rose in his hand, and she smiles. She likes roses, and she likes him, and he's giving her a rose. And so she walks up to the young man, her pace quickenness. And as she approaches the young man and reaches out, he hands her the rose. And on the stem of the rose, I do it is a diamond ring my my mind. Does she have to depreciate the value of the rose in order to appreciate the value of the diamond? No, because here's what may very well happen. She may spend the next fifty or sixty Lord Willings seventy years with the ring on her finger and the rose pressed in a book. Hold on to that, because the fact of the matter is, for many of us, we believe that the only way that you can appreciate the value of souls is if you depreciate the value of other things. And in doing that we will sometimes devalue, for example, our bodies, and all of a sudden we become Platonists. Platonism Plato the idea that the spiritual realm is superior to the physical realm. Somebody dies and we say, that's okay. They just left their earth suit. That's okay, that's just a body. That's okay. Now they're experiencing real life. News flash, God is going to resurrect these bodies. They will not be thrown away. Jesus has a body. It was not away, it was resurrected, it was made new. And that body now inherits eternity, just like your body will. You don't have to devalue your body in order to appreciate your soul. And this is the temptation that we have because of the influence of Platonism. The body is not valuable. The flesh is not valuable. It absolutely is. It's weak, it's frail, and it's fallen. But so is your soul. Amen. But God redeems your body, folks. This is part of the essence of Christianity. Christianity is not like the pagan religions. The pagan religions, for example, they burn the body. Why because that symbolic of the fact that the physical is not real. The physical doesn't have value. Only the spiritual has value. You've now left the cheap, invaluable body. We burn that to symbolize the fact that the real important part of you is gone on. Christians bury their dead, just like our Jewish brethren before us buried they're dead. Jesus was buried and his body was redeemed and resurrected. You do not have to devalue the body to depreciate the body in order to appreciate the soul. Not only that, but if you look at the next part of this text, what's what we find in the next part of the text. It's not just the body that you don't depreciate in devalue, it's other things as well. And verse two, he who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty four elders clothed in white garments what are clothes with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal. Did you catch all of that? Jasper Carnelian emeralds, crystal, thunder, lightning, fire, Did you catch all of that? And ask you a question, if emeralds, crystals, jasper Carnelian diamonds, gold, If real spirituality means that we say, ah, those things mean nothing, only souls matter, then why do we fund them in heaven? Amen? Somebody, Ah, well, that's just symbolic, Okay, Why use things that are worthless in order to symbolize that which is of inestimable worth in heaven? You still don't escape. Not only do we not have to devalue men's bodies. And by the way, Christians, he doesn't devalue men's bodies. That's why we do things like hospitals. Amen, we don't devalue men's bodies. That's why we do things like feed hungry people because we don't devalue men's bodies. We don't look at the sick and the hurting and the hungry and say, ah, your soul is all that matters. Just starve and die so you can be with God. But we also don't devalue those things that God put in creation that are true and good and beautiful. You ever heard this. Somebody walks into a really nice church building. Ah, the money they spent here, How many souls? How many souls could have been impacted with all the money they spent here, Because certainly, if you're spending that kind of money on buildings, you don't have a passion for souls. Right, turn with me to Exodus, Exodus chapter twenty five. Now, if you weren't here last night, what we saw on last night was that the idea of missions and passion for souls not a New Testament idea, very much a Genesis to Revelation idea. It's in the heart of God. Don't forget last night. A passion for souls is in the heart of God. And yet it is we have to devalue earthly things in order to value spiritual things. Right Exodus twenty five to ten. They shall make an arc of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubant and a half its breath, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold inside and outside shall you overlay it? Most expensive church you've ever seen didn't have this the ark of the Covenant overlaid with pure. Gold. By the way, that whole idea, Ah, the souls that we could have if we could have used this. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Ah, Jesus, that expense is perfume that that woman just wasted anointing you. Ah, how many poor people could we have? That was the treasurer who was stealing money? Don't fall into that trap. Why do I say this is a trap, Because here's where that trap leads. If we walk around this world that God created, where God put beautiful things in this world to inspire awe in us, and somehow we create this warp theology that says the only way to truly value souls is to say that all of that stuff is trash, nothing matters. Here's what you've just done. You've just killed your economy. Because if everything is worthless, eventually even souls are worthless. Because let me ask you this, what is worth and value without something to compare it to? Your soul is incredibly value valuable? Is it really how valuable? It's more valuable than what are you gonna point to if your theology says everything else has to be trash and nothing, And what are you saying about your God who created the world? And even in Genesis one, in Genesis two, what do we read there's gold in that land, the land of hoby Lad, and the gold there is good. Now I turn around, Ah, gold, only souls. You're not gonna like heaven. Amen. You see, the fact of the matter is, it's only when we learn to appreiate the value of the rest of God's creation that we truly learn to appreciate the value of souls. It's not when you say everything else is worthless. You see that picture that sits on our dresser. If we just odd pictures are worthless, then what does that picture mean? Ah? Things, they're just things? Then what does it mean? But if you say, yes, this has value, it costs this much money, it's beautiful, the person who made this an exquisite argent. Yes, this wonderful. Yet that wonderful, this all of these things, Yes, praise God for all of these things. What about that little thing right there worth more than all the rest of them? But wait, that probably didn't cost you a fraction of what worth more than all the rest of them, So you follow them. But if we make the determination everything is worthless, we ultimately devalue the worth of souls. We explained it another way. Why are souls valuable because they're going to inherit eternity, because they're redeemed by God. Guess what your bodies? Your bodies, DC your body and the other things that God has made Ah, this world, Ah, this earth. Newsflash. The earth is going to be renewed and resurrected. Like our bodies. We are going to live with God in the new heavens and the New Earth in new bodies. There's trees. We read about it last night, Revelation twenty two. There's trees. There's food. There's food, Ah food, it's nothing. Really, then why is God going to have it in the new heavenue and the New Earth? If it's nothing, ah, plants, nothing, trees, nothing, It's gonna be a big giant tree tree of life. Do you see? It's only when we are able to say, yes, these things are valuable, Yes these things are beautiful, Yes these things are desirable. It's only when we truly appreciate the value and the of all of the things that God has created that we can now say, even though these things are of such value, the souls of men are worth even Lord. And I'm afraid that for many of us we've actually been cheating ourselves because we've tried to stake out this territory where we're so holy and so pious. Nothing is of value. Nothing matters, only souls. Not even your body matters. Not realizing that the second you've said that, you just devalued the soul. Because the God who created the soul and redeems the soul and will have the soul in heaven with him for eternity also created the body, means the body, and will have the body in eternity with him in heaven. Do you think you can warp your theology like this and still have a proper passion for mission. You won't. You won't. Nor will have a proper passion for God in the world that He's created to bring him glory. You know what you end up doing. Here's what you end up doing. Remember that scenario earlier. Here's the young man. He says, there and he's got the rose in his hand, and he's got the ring. There and he's standing there and here comes his beloved, and his palms begin to sweat, his heart begins to beat. He feels like it's gonna jump through his throat. He can't even stand still. He just got it. You know. She can't walk fast. She's walking in slow motion. No matter how fast she's walking, she's walking in slow motion. And in the back of his mind, something bad is getting ready to happen, and she hurry up so that whatever just get here. And she gets there, and he hands her the rose and she grabs the rogues, and then there's the diamond ring that he gives her, this expression of his love for her, and she takes it, and she throws it on the ground and says, that means nothing to me, But I love you. What you gave to me means nothing to me. The thoughtfulness of your gift means nothing to me. I don't even want to look at it. It has no value or no worth to me, because I want you to know how much you mean to me. Does it sound ridiculous to you? God creates the world and he gives it to you, and the sun rises, and his intention is for to take your breath away. But you think you're being spiritual by saying ah means nothing. God gives you everything in the earth, precious stones, and he gives you the flowers and the trees, and he gives you music and song and art and all of these things, and He presents them to you as love gifts to you. And you think you're more spiritual when you say to God, I don't care about the thoughtfulness of your gifts. I'm so spiritual that they mean nothing to me. Do you really think that that's the way to express and appropriate appreciation for the value of souls? Or is this more appropriate? This rose beautiful, and I think I'm gonna press it in a book and keep it forever. This ring I'm gonna put on my finger, and I hope we get to wear it for fifty sixty seventy years. But know this, they only have meaning and value to me because of who gave it to me, because of the relationship that it symbolizes and represents. Do you see you see here's John, And John's eyes raise up from the earth and hear these letters to these seven churches, and his heart is broken. And now look into heaven, and what does he see? A throne and God on the throne. And here's what John doesn't write. John doesn't write there were some other things, but God is so awesome I didn't even notice them. Uh uh. John goes Jasper, Carnelian, emeralds, a sea like crystal, thunder, lightning, fire. He takes in every bit of it, and not one of those things that he is awed by takes away from the majesty of the one who sits on the throne. But in fact, it enhances the majesty of the one who sits on the throne, because what else would you expect in the throne room of God. Why is this so important? Because tomorrow night we look at the rest of chapter four and here's what I want you to realize. I want you to appreciate Jasper and Carnelian and crystal and thunder and lightning and fire and gold. And I want you to appreciate all of that because the star of the show is twelve human souls. Cause God's not the only one on a throne. The souls of man areva and estimable worth. Our souls will inherit and inhabit eternity with God, and we will bring God glory more glory than the most impressive things outside of us that God has ever made. The heavens and the earth impressive, the sun, moon, the stars, impressive, trees, plants, flowers, gold, diamonds are the impressive impressive. But the greatest glory that God receives in heaven does not come from these impressive things, but from previously flawed, frail, fragile, broken, redeemed men and women. That's where the greatest glory in heaven comes from. You do not have to devalue other things in order to appreciate souls. The problem comes when we devalue souls because of an inordinate appreciation for the other things. Cause it could go like this. He stands there with the rose and the ring, and he's waiting, his heart is pounding, his mouth is dry. And she walks up and he hands it to her, and she looks at the rose and she kisses it, and she takes the ring and she puts it on, and she turns and walks away and spends the next fifty sixty seventy years with the rose and the ring, but not with him. That's when the rose and the ring are problem. Huh. We don't have to depreciate God's other gifts in order to appreciate the value of souls. In fact, it is only when we appreciate these other gifts that we are able to demonstrate the inestimable value of souls, because they need more to us than any of those other things. Alright, let's bring Father. We rejoice in your good gifts. We rejoice in the fact that we can gather here in this building that was designed for form as well as function, that I can stand not just behind the pulpit, but behind a beautiful bouquet of flowers. And yet, in appreciating the beauty of buildings and architecture, and appreciating the beauty of this world that You've created, none of it can compare or compete with that which will always be of greater value, the souls of men. So Lord, grantis grace that we might appreciate the gift, and more so the giver, grandest grace, that we might see, understand and embrace the inestimable value of souls. This we pray in Christ's name,