A Prepared Place
John 14: 1-7 April 20, 2008
This morning I want us to take a look at a very familiar scripture. Jesus has just had the Passover meal with his disciples (his last meal). He has announced that Judas was going to betray him. He has told Peter that Peter would deny his three times. And then he tells his disciples that he has to go away for awhile and they can’t follow him to where he is going.
A lot of things have just happened. The disciples were probably feeling a little down. Their hearts and minds were uncertain about what was going to take place next. And Jesus surely must have sensed this. Because Jesus said to them, “Let not your hearts be troubled…” And then he gave them a word of encouragement. He said, “Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also…” (John 14: 1-4)
These verses have been shared at funerals over and over again.And rightfully so, because they assure us that death is not the end. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us and he is coming back to take us to be with him.
This morning, I want us to think about that promise of Jesus and the place that he has gone to prepare for us.
First of all, it is a PREPARED PLACE. Jesus said in verse 2, “that he goes to prepare a place for us.” If we take that image that Jesus gives us, what is Jesus doing? He has gone back to heaven to his Father’s house to prepare a place for us.
Jesus is busy preparing a place for us in heaven. When we prepare something for someone, it means that we are getting ready for them. For example, if we prepare a meal for our family, we are expecting our family to get together to share the meal.
When I prepared my sermon for this morning, I was expecting you to be here so I could share it with you. I was expecting you.
So, if Jesus is busy preparing a place for us, that means that he is expecting us to be in heaven one day so he can share the glories of heaven with us.
In fact, in verse 3, Jesus says, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to be with me, so that where I am, there you may be also.”
Church, make no doubt about it, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” If you are a Christian, you have a prepared place in heaven. And one day, Jesus Christ is going to come get us and take us to be with him, so that we might be with him to live forever more.
Illus: One day a preacher was preaching on the subject of heaven and asked the congregation, “How many of you want to go to heaven?” Everybody raised their hands except one ole man on the back row of the church. So the preacher stopped his sermon and said, “Bro. So and So, don’t you want to go to heaven?” The man said, “Yea, I want to go to heaven, I just don’t want to go today.”
Friends, when I die, don’t weep for me! I’ll be honest with you – I’m ready to go to heaven today! I can’t wait to go to heaven. I can’t wait to meet Jesus. I can’t wait to see my loved ones in heaven. I can’t wait to see what Jesus has prepared for me in heaven.
Jesus has promised me that he has prepared a place for me and that he is coming back to get me and I am prepared for his coming. Are you?
But not only do we have a prepared place, but it’s a PRECIOUS PLACE. Do you know how I know it’s a precious place? Because the Bible says that Jesus is the one that is preparing it for us. Our place in heaven is being prepared by the very hands of Jesus. The One that loves us so much, the One that cares for us. The One that loves and cares for us so much that he would die for us. The very hands that were nailed to the Cross are the hands that are busy preparing a precious place for us in heaven. Everything about Jesus is precious, so why would our place in heaven be anything less than precious.
You know, we really don’t know that much about heaven, but in the book of Revelation, we have the vision that John shares with us as God gives him a glimpse into heaven.
John tells us in Revelation that heaven is like this: It has streets of gold, gates of pearl, and a great white throne that’s surrounded by a rainbow that looks like an emerald. And on the throne sits the Lamb of God and the throne is surrounded by twenty-four thrones with twenty-four elders dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. And in front of the throne there is a sea of glass, like crystal. And there’s a river, the water of life that flows from the throne of God and through the streets of heaven and on each side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit.
And heaven is a big place, plenty of room for everybody. It’s 1500 miles long, 1500 miles wide, and 1500 miles high with a wall around it built of jasper with its foundation adorned with 12 different precious jewels.
And then John tells us what’s NOT in heaven. No more pain, no more tears, no more suffering, no more death and no more sin.
And this is just a glimpse into heaven. For the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 2: 9, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Friends, we can’t even begin to conceive what heaven is going to be like but we know it’s precious because God created it and Jesus is there now preparing a place for us.
But there is something else about heaven that makes it so precious. HEAVEN IS POPULATED.
We don’t know what the population of heaven is and it grows every day, but we know that it’s populated. We know that God is there and we know that Jesus is there. We know that 24 elders are there and we know angels are there. But do you know what makes heaven even more precious? Our loved ones are there!
And one day you and I are going to be reunited with our loved ones who have died and gone before us. Isn’t that a precious thought?
But it all depends on one thing. Because in the book of Revelation, John tells us about something else that he sees. For he saw the Book of Life. And inside this Book of Life is written all the names of those who love the Lord. And heaven is only for the person whose name is recorded in the Book of Life.
I know that my name is written in the Book of Life because I love God and I have personally accepted His Son Jesus as my Lord and Savior. And that’s the only way that we can get to heaven.
Go back and look at verse 4 with me. Jesus said to his disciples, “And you know the place where I am going…” And Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” And Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus said that no one comes to the Father (or comes to heaven) except through him. That he is the way, and the truth, and the life.
If you want to be a part of heaven – you’ve got to be a part of Jesus. And we do that when we call upon on the name of Jesus and accept him as our personal Lord and Savior.
You know, we Methodist like to preach on God’s grace and God’s love. But grace and love are not going to get you into heaven. There is only one way to heaven and it’s through Jesus the Son, who is the way, and the truth, and the life. If you want to be a part of heaven – you need to be a part of Jesus.
But not only is heaven a prepared place, a precious place, and a populated place, but more importantly, HEAVEN IS A PERMANENT PLACE.
Jesus tells us that all who believe in him will have an everlasting eternal life and that we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
The Bible is clear that after this life, we have an eternal life. A life that lasts for eternity, forever. So once we get to heaven, it’s our permanent place, we will be there forever and ever and ever.
You see, once you get to heaven, there is no more dying. We will live there forever and ever and ever, never to be separated from God and never to be separated from our loved ones in heaven. Heaven is a permanent place that has been prepared for the believer.
But the Bible tells us of another permanent place, a placed called hell. Hell is a bottomless pit of fire that has been prepared for the non-believer. It’s a place to where you are separated from God, a place where you are burned but not consumed, a place of pain and suffering. In Matthew 8, Jesus said there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
There is NO question about whether there is life after death. For we all shall experience eternal life after death. The question is: Where will we spend it?
Do you know where you are going to spend eternity? That depends on whether or not you know the way to heaven. And that depends on whether or not you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Because Jesus said in verse 6, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
I had 5 funerals this week. One was a two-year old baby. One was a man that didn’t have a church, didn’t have a pastor, and didn’t have any family. One was a lady that did have a family, a pastor, and a church. One was my Sunday school teacher for 12-years and he had a big family and 5 preachers preach his funeral. And one was a man who was a deacon in his church and a man of prayer and a man of God (and the brother to Joan and Bobbie Nell).
Do you know what they all share in common? Eternal life! They are all living an everlasting life. I don’t know where, because it’s NOT for me to judge and it’s not for you to judge. But the Lord does leave it up to each of us to decide for ourselves where we will spend our eternity.
Don’t let your hearts be troubled about this. Believe in God and believe in Jesus, for Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life.
And the good news for the believer is that you and I have A Prepared Place, not built with earthly hands, but prepared and built by the hands of Jesus.
So let us march on to the victory that awaits us!
Rev. Mike DuBose
Newhebron United Methodist Church
www.newhebronumc.com
