Heaven-According To Jesus Series

Title: Heaven- According To Jesus

Place: BLCC

Date: 4/23/17

Text: John 14.1-4

CT: Jesus has promised us a future with Him.

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FAS: Imagine you have two women of the same age, the same socioeconomic status, the same educational level, and even the same temperament. You hire both of them and say to each, "You are part of an assembly line, and I want you to put part A into slot B and then hand what you have assembled to someone else. I want you to do that over and over for eight hours a day." You put them in identical rooms with identical lighting, temperature, and ventilation. You give them the very same number of breaks in a day.

It is very boring work. Their conditions are the same in every way—except for one difference. You tell the first woman that at the end of the year you will pay her thirty thousand dollars, and you tell the second woman that at the end of the year you will pay her thirty million.

After a couple of weeks the first woman will be saying, "Isn't this tedious? Isn't it driving you insane? Aren't you thinking about quitting?" And the second woman will say. "No. This is perfectly acceptable. In fact, I whistle while I work."

What is going on? You have two human beings who are experiencing identical circumstances in radically different ways. What makes the difference? It is their expectation of the future. This illustration is not intended to say that all we need is a good income. It does, however, show that what we believe about our future completely controls how we are experiencing our present. We are irreducibly hope-based creatures.

Tim Keller, Making Sense of God (Viking, 2016), page 153

LS: Doesn’t how we view our future color how we live today? As followers of Jesus we believe there is a heaven. We believe this because Jesus tells us so.

Jesus was reclining at the Passover table with trusted disciples. The one he couldn’t trust, Judas, had already left. That was OK though since what we are about to hear Jesus say probably didn’t apply to Judas.

At this point Jesus knew he was about to die and his time had come. Tomorrow he would be crucified on a cross. Tonight he had to prepare his disciples for what was about to take place.

In John 13.1-17 Jesus had already shown them about being a servant by washing their feet. He showed them with a towel how they should treat one another.

But then he lays the big issue that is going to rock their world and is still rocking the world today. He says in John 13.33, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

The disciples became distraught. They were fearful and their hearts were gripped with despair. They looked to Jesus for some sense of hope in this seemingly hopeless situation.

Don’t we need that too? Aren’t we often found in hopeless situations? Don’t we need to hear words of hope and encouragement still today?

What Jesus says to the disciples does still apply to us.

Jesus looks at the confused and worried disciples. I have to believe he had a calm about him, as he was about to give them back their hope and sense of assurance.

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Jesus says: “1 Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.

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2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? [Screen 4] 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. [Screen 5] And you know the way to where I am going. John 14.1-4, NLT.

This one short scripture speaks volumes about the future of the disciples and the future we can expect as followers of Jesus. [Screen 6]

TRUST ME

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled”, Jesus said. This was not a rebuke to them for being scared or upset. Jesus Himself knew what it was to be troubled. He had said, “My heart is troubled,” just two chapters earlier in John 12.27. He knew of worry and trouble. This command was not spoken to correct the disciples; it was given as a loving word of encouragement.

Then Jesus said what the disciples needed hear the most. ‘Trust in God.” “Trust also in me.” The disciples needed to know that whatever the coming days brought they needed to trust their Master. Whatever the world threw at them they must trust that Jesus was still in control of the situation no matter what.