Sermon on

Vespers

By Brian Pepper

It was a sad scene. The mother was sobbing her heart out. The father though not so visibly touched was going through great anguish. Their only daughter, a beautiful golden haired girl of only a few years was dying. The doctor felt the fading pulse. Sadly he exclaimed, “I am afraid there is no hope.” Rousing herself for a few moments the girl exclaimed, “my hope is Jesus.” Jesus Will Wipe Away all Tears There would be no hope but for Jesus. We are told that one day soon He will wipe away every tear; that sorrow and sadness will be swallowed up by joy and gladness. Revelation 21:1 says, "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." Verse 4 says, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Isn’t that a wonderful comfort? That Jesus will wipe away all the tears. That day He will take His handkerchief of love and wipe the tears from our eyes. Whenever I read this text I cannot but help thinking of a young man that I knew very well. He was one that loved life and he enjoyed it to the full. His laugh in itself was a tonic. Have you ever heard a laugh that made you laugh, you could call it a contagious laugh. Well when this lad laughed you just had to laugh to. The tragedy of this young man was that he was dead before he reached the age of 22. Friends I am glad  that Jesus will wipe away all those tears. I am glad that I will hear the laugh of this lad again. We Shall See His Face There is something else that cheers my heart. We are told that we will be able to look into the face of Jesus. And when you look into His face you will say, "thank you Jesus for all you have done.” In Isaiah 66:23 we read, "From one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before me.” From one end of the Earth to the other the people of God will came up to the celestial city. Streams of people with their faces lightened with celestial glory will pour into the great city, the New Jerusalem. There will be none staying behind, everybody will be there. For Jesus will be the preacher, the prince of preachers. I have heard some great preachers in my time, men who have held an audience spellbound for two hours and more. Perhaps the most vivid example of this was the occasion when Pastor Vanderman preached in the college chapel at Avondale. For over two hours he held his audience spellbound. But when Jesus preaches it will be the most wonderful experience of all. The Sabbath Friends I am looking to that day. Is that what you desire in your heart? And it will be, if we find the Sabbath a blessing now. If the Sabbath gives a refreshing to your heart and to my heart, then we can be sure that those heavenly Sabbaths will be thrilling occasions. Above all things I look forward to this wonderful experience. And it will be if I have the right spirit If my heart, if my heart is clean and pure. In Isaiah 58:13,14 we read "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my Holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words. Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." If we put away all the things that hinder us from gaining a blessing from the Sabbath, then God says that He will bring to us such a wonderful abundance of good things be that they are more than we could take in, that the blessings will overflow like a fountain. A marvelous experience; every Sabbath in heaven will be just that. May the LORD bless us as we prepare for that day.