The Beatific Vision

Coming up next on Renewing Your Mind. The Bible tells us that the end of our site of Acacian is our glorification were all vestigial remnants of sin are removed from our character. It's all gone. No more doubt no more fear no more error. No more pain, no more evil all gone.

In these days of political strife and civil unrest, one for heavenly home. Please would God more supremely parts can worship on welcome you to the Friday edition of renewing the mind and today Dr. RC Sproul gives us a glimpse of what lies ahead for every believer. It's a message titled beatific vision in our last session today, I want to talk about the end of our Christian experience, not the end, in the sense of the terminal point, but the end and sense of our purpose and what are we looking for, and I want to turn your attention. If I may, to the first letter of John, beginning in chapter 3 verse one first drawn 310 look in the Gospel of John. You will find it. The epistle of John first John, I like the first word of this text in Latin. It's Acta it is the word behold, and it is used as a kind of summons to particularly close attention. It's as if I were to say to listen or look here right call for you to rip it.

Your attention on what is about to come in here the apostle is writing to the church and he says look behold what manner of love is this stops the center track and he said wait a minute. Think about it. What kind of love is this, is if we could take the category of love and divided into all sorts of different species. There's puppy love. There's erotic love.

There is romantic love their spirits look we go through all these different garden varieties of love but John says wait a minute, what kind of love is this, that we should be called the children of God, is there not something similar in this inquiry.

In terms of the intensity of the question with that which was raised by the disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee in the midst of the storm.

When Jesus was resting in the back of the boat and the violent turbulence erupted without warning, as the winds came down that final area off the Mediterranean and stirred up the waters and the seasoned veterans were afraid that they were going to perish, and in their terror.

They come in they awaken Jesus and they say Lord do something we perish. You know what happened.

Jesus assess the situation look to the disciples and said, take an aspirin and call me in the morning a look at the fury of the blowing of the wind and the way in which the waves were threatening to capsize the boat and then he did something uncanny. The incarnate creator of wind and water in a manner reminiscence of the divine imperative of creation itself gave a verbal command to the elements, saying peace be still and instantly the Sea was his glass. There's not even the slightest Zephyr or whisper of wind in the air.

Absolute call and we would expect that with the calling of the sea, there would be a corresponding calling of the fears of the anxiety of the spirits of the disciples. You know what happened. The Bible tells us, and they became very much afraid after the immediate threat is been removed. Their terror increases. Why read article on the 10 most frequent phobias that besiege American people and in the top 10. One of them is this xenophobia what xenophobia, fear of strangers were a foreigner's people whose customs are different from ours, and we don't know why they behave the way they do black people fear white people and white people fear black people in eastern people fear Western people in western people say that Eastern people rinse global and all of that when were all human beings what so inscrutable about a human, but when were different we experience fear. When you see a stranger approaching you on the street. Your mind is like a computer, making all kinds of instant data processing take place. As you look at the look in their eyes.

The expression on her face, friend or foe hospital friendly is this somebody to be avoided. This is somebody I could ask to help me in a time of need. You make those judgments all the time because we sort and classify people in the types, but what you do when somebody shows up who can talk to the wind and talk to the sea and command instant obedience. The disciple said hold it were in the presence of an alien who is far more threatening to us than the sea was behold what manner of man is this, they had no category that would capture Jesus. Jesus was sui generis Jesus was in a class by himself and because he was in this extra ordinary class he terrified these people because the manner of man that he was transcended and exceeded any other example any other kind of humanity. They had ever experienced to see that and it is the same type of driving question that we find here when the apostle says and what manner of love is this will have a category for there's nothing common or ordinary about it.

Beloved, you your living on this side of the 19th century this side of 19th century liberal theology and the rise of comparative religion. This side of the leveling of the dynamic character of Christian truth this side of Adolph on hard knocks, the invasion of Christianity which is translated into English.

What is Christianity and he summarizes the Christian faith by saying that the essence of Christianity is the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man, and from the time you were children you were taught in the public school and in the media of America, the world God's children and everybody's a child of God and were all brothers and sisters were family in this world we been praying from the first time we ever prayed by addressing God with the title father saying our father who art in heaven, so we've become a new Lord we become accustomed to the idea that God is our father and we have discounted it significance so radically that the whole idea doesn't mean anything to us, but here we are in the first century reading from apostle who is beside himself with astonishment, he saying what kind of love is this, that we should be called the children of God. For John it was a thing incredible that the Lord God in their petition would look at you and call you family and adopt you into his household. Many, many years ago I heard the first sermon preached in the United States of America by the late great African bishop festive look of injury, festive look of injury that a price on his head with thereby Idi Amin stood up to this podium in front of hundreds and hundreds of people everybody waited to hear this great African Christian preacher and you can see that his hands were trembling and his lips were quivering and he couldn't seem to get started with his sermon and in broken English. He said into the microphone me.

Sorry may shake shake too much said let's pray. So we prayed and humbly ask that God would calm his spirit when he said a man and he lifted up his eyes to this mass of people that were assembled in his smile the way only festive could smile and he said may shake shake no more, and then he proceeded to preach a sermon on the Old Testament's laying son of Jonathan name for process how after the death of Saul and of Jonathan, the zealous general.

So David scoured the land to destroy any possible survivors from the family of Saul may prove to be a hostile rival to the throne as it was now being transferred to David and this was not David's desire and when David found out about this he said wait a minute, stop this and is it is there anybody left from the family of Saul. There's been rumors that there had been a lone survivor. This crippled in both legs. This son for process had been secretive the way into hiding and so the soldiers of David went on a search mission throughout the land. And finally for the Seth was discovered.

Now imagine the Guardian.

The lady taking care of this crippled boy and there's a knock on the door and the thing that she has feared the most mall takes place because bursting into this home are the soldiers. David and they grab my fingers in the Bible you know it gives us the normal person's the same summary of it. We can only guess about the details, but I see this young boy terrified crying, pleading, helpmate calling out to the lady that's taking care of and there's nobody listening, and they carried them off and he is sure of one thing that he is being taken to his execution, and when he is brought into Jerusalem. The soldiers bring him to David and David says bring me my for process and when the sun is brought to David.

David said closing with the garments of the house prepare a place for him to stay, let left for process dying at the Kings able and festive said what do you think happens every time you come to the Lord's supper, you who are spiritual cripples who have no claim to a dinner reservation in the presence of the king are invited to come to his table because you have been adopted into his not because of some inherent greatness in you, but because of the father's love for the sun.

You are adopted into his family.

It wasn't because David was crazy about an a for process that he invited them to the Kings table. Why did he do it for his love of Jonathan. I can think of no reason why anybody in this room is in the family of God, other than that the father has been determined from the foundation of the world that his son would see the travail of his soul and be satisfied as Christ prays in John 17 you are the ones that the father has given to this and it's because of this in major mobile love that the father has for the sun that you are called the children of God, because the father loves you her older brother.

You have been adopted into his family and had been seated at his table dear dear dear dear friends don't take that for granted every time you pray and you say to God father think of the extraordinary love that makes that possible. John says what manner of love is this, that we should be called children of God, therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know him Bible tells us that the end of our site evocation is our glorification were all vestigial remnants of sin are removed from our character. It's all gone. No more doubt no more fear no more error. No more pain, no more evil all gone working to be like Christ totally sanctified, for we shall see him as he is in his and veiled splendor and glory working to see something that dwarfs the vision that Isaiah had of the holy one, now are we going to be able to see him because first, God is going to purify us and glorify us, which makes it possible for us to see him because the reason why can't see God now is why not because there's a problem with our eyes the problems with our hearts and God will not allow himself to be seen by anybody who's anything less than pure in heart than we are not pure and so we can't see beyond that dimension. I can see things in three dimensions, but I can't see beyond this, I can't see into the realm of super nature because I'm not allowed to see into the room of God and there still is an angel at the doorway to paradise with a flaming sword that bars access. No man shall see him live. I can't see I ever see him until I'm purified right so is this what happens that God purifies us and then the lights come on and we bask in the immediate apprehension of the glory of Christ.

Maybe I don't know or is it the thing that totally purifies us that he shows us his glory so that the instant we see him as he is the very sight of him is that power that he uses to perfect us. I know now which comes first, as I don't care which comes from Earth.

What I want is to see what I want for everybody in this room is that someday they will open their eyes may not even open their eyes. The eyes of their soul and see the holy glory of Jesus Christ unveiled that's what you were made for. That's what you feel is missing in the deepest chambers of your solar people in this room probably right now who are Christian, but they know that there is an emptiness that everything that they've looked at in this world to fill has not been able to do because what you need and what you were made for was to enjoy the presence of your maker, the presence of your God, what were renovated, but I know this really be like. We shall see him as it was a little more than three years ago. The doctor scroll experience the reality of what he longed for and faithfully taught being in the glorious presence of our heavenly father.

I hope his message today on Renewing Your Mind focused your gaze on heaven and what a beautiful way to wrap up our series this week. It's the essential truths of the Christian faith throughout the week. We've heard from Alastair big John MacArthur and the Sinclair Ferguson on the basics of Christianity would encourage you to request this complete series alert about justification by faith alone. The Holy Spirit and the authority of Scripture would like for you to have all 12 messages simply contact us today and give a donation of any about to look at her ministries and we will send you the full series on a USB drive.

In addition will include Dr. Sproles, classic collection that stead of his most requested messages you can give your gift online@themrenewingyourmy.org or you can call us want to buy college is standing by to take your call at 800-435-4343. The teachers we featured this week on Renewing Your Mind, are also regulars on ref net that's our 24 hour Internet streaming radio station will also hear music, audiobooks, and helpful commentary. Many people have told me over the years how they turn ref that on and leave it on throughout the day as they go about their tasks and home or on the go. You can listen at any time@refnet.fm or you can download the free ref net app politically doctor scroll examines the end times. What did Jesus say about the last days that will be our focus, beginning Monday. On Renewing Your Mind