“HE’S PREPARING A PLACE FOR YOU!” John 14:1-6
FBCF – 11/14/21
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Maren Nichols, 4 y/o Trey & Katie’s daughter talking to her mom back in May. Their dog named Josey died & Maren had something she needed to say about that:
Maren: I really miss Josey.
Katie: I know, baby. I miss him too.
Maren: Heaven don’t give NOTHING back!
Katie: No, baby, is sure doesn’t! If it did, I would want my mama, all my grandparents, Aunt Meg, my dog, Lecile, & Josey back…
Maren: ALL THE GOOD STUFF IS IN HEAVEN!
Katie: It sure is!
“ALL THE GOOD STUFF IS IN HEAVEN!” – What a statement from the mouth of a child! And how true it is! It’s all good b/c it’s ALL JESUS! Listen to these statements about heaven:
"Hearts on earth may say in the course of a joyful experience, “I don’t want this ever to end.” But invariably it does. The hearts of those in heaven say, “I want this to go on forever.” And it will. There is no better news than this." – J.I. Packer
“I believe Heaven is a literal place. Out there in space, where there are millions of galaxies, many of them a hundred thousand light years or more in diameter, God can find some place to put us. I’m not worried about where it is. I know it’s going to be where Jesus is.” – Billy Graham
Today & next Sunday, we are going to talk about the wonder, the joy, the promise, & the hope of heaven – all the good stuff about heaven!
EXPLANATION – John 14:1-6
Martin Luther said this passage is “the best & most comforting sermon the Lord Christ delivered on earth, a treasure & jewel not to be purchased w/ the world’s goods.” And Jesus’ disciples definitely needed some comfort right now. Their lives were about to disintegrate into chaos in just a matter of hours. They were going to experience fear like they’d never experienced before. They were going to be more discouraged & distressed than they’d ever been before. They were going to grieve deeper than they’d ever grieved before.
Jesus knew what was coming – the suffering, torture, the scorn, the ridicule, the humiliation, the agony of the judgment of God upon the cross. It would have been easy for him to turn His focus on Himself, but that’s not who He was or is. His focus was on comforting His disciples. His focus was on giving them words of hope & promise. These verses gave them the foundation for their comfort & they are the foundation for our comfort, too. John MacArthur: “If you ever get to the point where you think you’ve run out of escapes & there aren’t any more places where you can rest, you’ll find a tremendously soft downy pillow in John 14:1-6.” (https://www.gty.org/library/articles/P24/the-solution-to-a-troubled-heart)
For the Christ-follower, these verses bring comfort. They bring hope. They bring joy in the midst of sorrow. They give promises that give us strength to carry on. They give great assurance that is needed when our world is caving in.
APPLICATION - Knowing Jesus assures us of the promise of heaven & eternal life.
5 comforting facts about this place called heaven:
A SAFE PLACE – “In my Father’s house…” – Lot of different houses in our world: White House, firehouse, doghouse, House of Pancakes, Waffle House, steak house, haunted house.
But there’s no greater, safer house that our Father’s house. Our world is so dangerous, so scary. Uncertainty everywhere in every arena of life.
Our comfort comes in knowing that, no matter what we go through in this life – no matter how bad it gets – we can look forward to the day when we will be completely & eternally safe in our Father’s house.
A BIG PLACE – “…many rooms” – Audio Adrenaline “Big House” – Heaven is HUGE! It’s got plenty of room for everyone who has given their lives to Christ & for anyone here today who needs to be saved. Understand this: You do NOT have a room there if you haven’t given your life to Christ.
There will be room for us to worship Jesus, room for us to fellowship w/ our brothers & sisters in Christ, room for us to rest from all our work that we’ve done for the Lord here on earth.
Many people have the idea that there will rows & rows of glittering mansions for us to live in. Southern Gospel songs talk about the mansion over the hilltop, or having our mansion next door to Jesus, or holding a clear title to our mansion. While those songs make us feel good in a sentimental way, they don’t have a biblical basis. What this verse literally says is that God’s house is a place for all of us who are in His family to live together. When we see the glory & splendor of our Savior, we won’t be worried about any mansions. Having our place to live in God’s big house will be enough.
A PREPARED PLACE – “I go to prepare a place for you” – What an incredible moment of comfort for the disciples, to hear that Jesus wasn’t just leaving to get away from them – He was leaving to go get things ready for them! In fact, He HAD to go in order to prepare heaven for them & for us.
We may have the mental picture of Jesus getting to heaven, putting on His heavenly toolbelt & getting to work on all our mansions. Since we already know that there aren’t any mansions to be built, how did He prepare our place for us? He did it by dying on the cross, purchasing our salvation for us, making it possible for every born-again child of God to have a place in God’s house. “I go to prepare a place…”
- He had to go to the cross
- He had to go through God’s judgment for our sins
- He had to go into the tomb for 3 days
- He had to go back into heaven where He is right now at the right hand of the throne of God
- And one day soon, He’s coming back to get us so WE can go w/ Him to our place in heaven.
- ONLY Jesus has the authority to prepare our place for us.
A DESTINATION PLACE – “…where I am, there you may be also” – Destination wedding – takes place at a location other than the couple’s home. Usually a place that is special to them in a personal & meaningful way.
There’s nothing more special or meaningful than knowing that our destination is to be where Jesus is! A destination wedding means you leave your home. For us as believers, we are going TO our home – our home w/ Jesus!
AN EXCLUSIVE PLACE – “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Robert Jeffress article: “Christianity’s Most Offensive Belief: Jesus Is the Only Way to Heaven.” One study showed that majority of Christians in America believe that religions other than Christianity can lead to heaven.
The truth of Jesus’ words make it clear: Heaven is exclusively prepared & reserved only for those who trust Christ ALONE! Have YOU done that? If not, call out to Jesus RIGHT NOW & be saved!
