He Has Prepared A Place

John 14:1-6 He’s Prepared A Place !

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. [KJV]

The Bible describes his preparation

Rev. 21:1-3

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. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, 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. [KJV]

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Philip. 1:23 PAUL SAID

I’m torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. That would be far better for me, [NLT]

We are too busy looking at the worldly things to realize that eternity is the real treasure !

Matthew 6:20

"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; [NASB-U]

I. The Benefits:

1. Jesus & The Father are there !!

( 2. In my Father’s house )

In one of his books, A.M. Hunter, the New Testament scholar, relates the story of a dying man who asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and he had his answer. "Do you hear that?" he asked his patient. "It’s my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn’t it the same with you? You don’t know what lies beyond the Door, but you know that your Master is there."

A.M. Hunter,

Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 208.

2. Man had no part in designing it !!

( I go to prepare )

Often when you ask someone what heaven is like they will tell you their fantasies.

This in fact is their inability to deal with the absolute reality of God.

A sinful person will hope that heaven resembles their sinful life.

God is not a senile old man.

We can’t even control our life how do we expect to have any control of the afterlife!

This is a great benefit.

3. It is the winner’s circle for this life !!

( I will come again, and receive you unto myself )

Paul compared his life to a race.

One of my favorite songs talks of heaven, it says:

" One of these days I’m gonna finish all the races that I’ve run, but I’ve never won"

I can relate to running a race

Often fatigued

Often falter

Often in need

Sometimes lag behind

But I know that it is all in stride with the ultimate goal – So I press toward the mark of the high calling

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

C.S. Lewis,

Mere Christianity, New York, Macmillan, 1960, p. 119.

Hebrews 13:14

For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

[NASB-U]

A widely respected man known as "Uncle Johnson" died in Michigan at the incredible age of 120. Perhaps his advanced years could be credited in part to the cheerful outlook that characterized his life. One day while at work in his garden, he was singing songs of praise to God. His pastor, who was passing by, looked over the fence and called, "Uncle Johnson, you seem very happy today." "Yes, I was just thinking," said the old man. "Thinking about what?" questioned his pastor. "Oh, I was just thinking that if the crumbs of joy that fall from the Master’s table in this world are so good, what will the great loaf in glory be like! I tell you, sir, there will be enough for everyone and some to spare up there."