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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-skates/transparent-glass/
Revelation chapter 21. We'll read at 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. Now come further down. Verse 18. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
Verse 21. And the twelve 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. Now the Lord will bless to us the reading from his word this morning.
I don't want to speak so much on the city as on the last two words of the last verse that we read. Transparent glass. Quite a thing to think of pure gold, as it were, transparent glass. Now what is transparent glass?
Well, it is very simply and very literally glass that light shines through. That's the idea. But what kind of light? Well, we're told right here in verse number 11, as John saw that great city, holy Jerusalem, verse 11, having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone.
Jasper stones are of varied color, and the light is clear as crystal. So we think of crystal clear scintillating multicolored light that is the glory of God filling that place, shining through the street of the city.
Into every corner it penetrates. There's nothing hidden. There's nothing dark. There's nothing murky. There's no shadows caused by turning. Jehovah Shammah the Lord is there, and his glory is shining through every part, every corner, every aspect of that city, of that place.
The place of God's eternal throne, the dwelling place of God, the Father's house, heaven. And here it is seen as a city of habitation, where eternally, eternally now, 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.
What a glorious place. That's our destiny. That's where we're headed. Let us never lose sight of it. Dwelling with God in all the holiness of that place, and dwelling with him eternally. Now that's really how our Bible began, isn't it?
We go back to Eden, back to Genesis. And there we see man dwelling with God. That's how it begins, eastward in Eden, the very paradise of God. A sinless place, pure, a pristine environment that's good, that's very good.
And there's a tree, and there's a river, and there is gold, and the gold of that land is good. And there's precious stones. So we see the echo of Eden, don't we, as we come to Revelation 21. This is how God began dwelling with men.
Accommodation. Adam placed in that garden under God's authority, although Satan would question that. And man brought in to a place of responsibility to dress it and to keep it. So there was administration, a place without sin.
There was an atmosphere of holiness in Eden. Well then, sadly, there's the disruption of sin that comes in. Adam disobeys God, listens to the... Eve listens to the tempter. Adam joins in the transgression, and the human race falls in Adam.
But God is not done with the human race, is he? Selecting a man from the ruined family, he takes up man in faith. And Abraham, that Syrian ready to die, begins that chapter of the great drama of grace and redemption.
And from Abraham there will unfold a people of faith. He wasn't the first one moving in faith before God, of course, but God takes up Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and then the nation of Israel that follows.
And so we come to Jacob. And we come to Genesis 28, where we have the first mention of the house of God. That is a place where God's authority is known, and you remember how that Jacob on that occasion took that stone and set it up as a pillar, and so we get a hint of a structure of accommodation.
And he saw the angels on that ladder, ascending and descending. Interaction between earth and heaven, we have a system of administration, the gate of heaven, and certainly an atmosphere of holiness. How dreadful is this place, says Jacob.
And so we get hints there in Genesis 28, where house of God is brought in, of that which will pertain to the eternal state. And there's an echo of Eden here as well. That will follow through into the the tabernacle that was revealed to Moses, given to Moses according to the pattern that was showed to him in the mount.
I take it that God revealed the truth of the tabernacle and that structure by showing him, perhaps in vision, something like an architect's model. God showed Moses how not only there would be constituent parts, but how it would all go together.
And we still, as we study that, we still try to figure out how it all came together, but it was certainly a structure of accommodation. It was a place of administration, a place of God's authority, and in that holiest of all, there was that atmosphere of holiness.
And then we're told explicitly in the book of Hebrews that it was a shadow of good things to come. The tabernacle system was still not very transparent. It was a shadow of good things to come, and we'll be looking at that more in the Bible reading tomorrow morning in the will of God.
Solomon's Temple was a more permanent structure. Again, a structure of accommodation, a place of administration, a place of God's authority, and an atmosphere of holiness. But any that have tried to study Solomon's Temple will find it a difficult study, and again, it's not very transparent to our view.
But it carries on the thought of the tabernacle and the teaching of that touchable, tangible system of sacrifices and incense and priesthood and a literal house here on earth. And yet, even while that temple is still standing, God has something more in mind.
You remember how Isaiah said, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone. And God had something else in mind. And it brings us into the New Testament, where we find another dwelling place for God.
You remember the Lord Jesus said, I will build my assembly, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The universal church, as we call it. It is a habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2 .22.
And then we have the assembly, not only in its universal aspect, in the dispensation, but we have it in its local aspect, and there it's the assembly in responsibility. And you and I are a part of that.
And we are to bring into it gold. I'm not thinking of the offering on Sunday morning, 1 Corinthians 16, but truth relating to the person of Christ and his absolute deity. We're to bring silver, the truths of redemption, the gospel message.
We're to bring precious stones, truths relating to that which would fit the people of God for sanctuary experience. You remember the precious gold that was on the garments of the—or the precious stones in the garments of the high priest who represented the people in the sanctuary.
Truth relating to the fitting the people of God for sanctuary experience. So, in responsibility, we are to bring these things into God's assembly. It is a building of God, but that building has a function.
1 Corinthians chapter 3, what? No, ye not? That ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. Accommodation. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy.
The local assembly has an atmosphere of holiness. Which temple ye are. The word temple is the same word that conveys a thought of the holy of holies, the inner sanctuary. And that's what the assembly is before God, where God dwells among his people.
We were reminded the other night, Paul writing to Timothy about responsible behavior in the local assembly. He calls it the house of God, which is the assembly of the living God. And so when we think of that, we recognize that the assembly, purchased by the blood of his own dear son, belongs to God.
And we do not have license, brothers and sisters, to bring into it anything that we just fancy. We do not have license to march to the beat of the drum of evangelical churches. But all things should be according to the pattern set out for us in the New Testament, where God's authority is found in his word and in his word alone.
And as that is carried out transparently, transparent glass, God's administration is carried out amongst his people, structured by his word. So there are overseers to guide, there are shepherds to care, there are elders that maturely will discern the needs of the saints, will bring ministry to bear that is appropriate.
There will be deacons, as we thought in the Bible reading, whether male or female, to serve others in their sphere, and thereby serve God. It's a place of administration, and all done without ulterior motive.
Transparent glass. Serving God with godly fear, the local assembly. Dwelling place. I hope we value it. A dwelling place of God. But I want to come closer, because we find that God has another dwelling place in this dispensation, and that is the believer's body.
Paul, writing to the Corinthians chapter 6, he says, what know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you? Which ye have of God, and ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Glorify God. The glory of God in that heavenly city is seen right throughout the city because there's transparent glass. Now here's my point.
Our lives should be transparent, so that the glory of God shines through and brings blessing to others. That's the point of my ministry this morning. So the question is, are we transparent? Transparent in our hearts.
Transparent in our thinking. Transparent in our behavior. Transparent in every aspect of our lives. The psalmist was exercised about this in Psalm 139, you remember? And his prayer was this. And it would be a great conference if this became our prayer and the longing of our hearts.
As the psalmist says, search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Now that's transparency. He speaks of his own heart.
He speaks of his own thoughts. His whole life is open to scrutiny before God, for God himself to discern. Is there any wickedness in it? He has left himself open, and so to speak, naked in the presence of God.
No hidden corners are allowed to remain. The presence of God and the searching eye of God penetrating into every aspect of his life as he longs to be led in the way everlasting. Longing for that only which will stand the test of time and eternity.
God's test of time and eternity. That is what is for the glory of God. That is what is expressed in the Word of God. And coming to that standard and allowing it to penetrate into every corner of my heart.
How do we stand? How do we stand before God this morning, brothers and sisters? No holds barred, nothing held back, but the penetrating truth of the Word of God reaching into our very innermost beings, into our very motives.
It would be a grand conference if we were open to that. Transparent glass. You know, we live in a day when personal rights and individualism means that I can do anything I want. And dare anyone say anything against it?
Yeah, I'll be transparent. I'll be in your face transparent, with an attitude and with an edge, and push your buttons into the bargain if I can. Now that's not what is meant by transparent glass. Transparency is not a virtue if it is merely anything goes and I don't care what anybody thinks.
But it's what does God think. That's what matters. It's being open to the penetrating gaze of God and what the Word of God condones. That other thing is just arrogance. That's a proud look. God hates that.
I have that in good authority. As your brother Alec would say, I have the Bible for it. Transparent glass in my testimony is when I am open to all that the Word of God indicates is for the glory of God.
So the test of transparency is this. Whatever activity I engage in, is it for the glory of God? Or is it for the glory of man? The test of transparency is not whether or not I'm bold enough to put what I'm engaged in on Facebook.
The test of transparency is is what I'm engaged in for the glory of God. Or is it for the glory of man? If it's merely for the glory of man, then it is not for the glory of God. It is not for the glory of God, for no flesh should glory in his presence.
Now our destiny is a place that is transparent. Our destiny is a place that is replete with a penetrating glory of God. A beautiful place. A place of splendor. A place of majesty. A place of greatness.
Our eternal home. And in the meantime we are given the privilege of enjoying a little bit of heaven on the way to heaven. Of living our lives for his glory. So may God help us to live in view of that coming day.
Even that coming day of review. When life on earth is no more, we're all going to stand before the judgment seat of God and of Christ. The Bema. And I tell you what, we'll be transparent then. There were no corners to hide in then.
There'll be no shadows there that we can conceal anything. It will all be naked and open before the eye of him with whom we have to do transparent class. With only one life, it will soon be past. And it's only what's done for Christ will last.
May the Lord bless his word to our hearts.