ETERNITY MATTERS PART 2: HEAVEN OUR PROMISE
JOHN 14: 1-14
JANUARY 12, 2003
INTRODUCTION: WHICH WAY YOU WENT
Years ago a man was searching his family roots and visited several cemeteries and read many inscriptions on the tombstones. There was one tombstone on which was engraved "Pause now stranger as you pass by; as you are now, so once was I. as I am now, so soon you will be. Prepare yourself to follow me!"
Next to the tombstone someone placed a piece of wood engraged with this note... "To follow you I am not content until I know which way you went."
TRANSITION THOUGHT: Today we will continue to discuss Heaven and Hell: ETERNITY MATTERS!! Today I want to talk to us about the promises of HEAVEN! Just like the wood states, I only want to follow those whose destination I know! Heaven is the place easiest to consider. I wondered if I should even preach on the place, because about 80% of all Americans believe in the place anyway, whether Christian or not, but then as I started digging into the word, a strong truth came to me: Heaven is more than a Place, it is a promise!!
THESIS SENTENCE: HEAVEN IS A PROMISE!!
I. HEAVEN IS A PROMISED PEACE (V. 1)
A. PEACE is finding comfort in another.
Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
1. Jesus had been building relationships since he was born. Just like us, he belong to a family and then to a community and surely to a Synagogue. But now he is about to wrap up his ministry and has built a core group of followers around him.
2. Jesus knew it was about time for him to meet with the destiny God had set before him. He knows all things and knows that we have need. He knew his disciples needed comfort for the days to come.
3. Jesus knew that the disciples were about to be thrown for a loop. There earthly relationship was about to be terminated.
4. How would you feel if your best friend was about to move across country and you would not be able to see them?
5. If you look back a few chapters, Jesus has already predicted his death (12:20ff), that he will be betrayed (13:18), and that Peter will deny him (13:31ff). With all of this information, the disciples were surely confused and perplexed.
6. IN the midst of the confusion of life, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled (14:1).”
B. PEACE IS BEING KNOWN
1. Jesus knows our hearts.
2. He knows that you are in need of peace and grace. He says to you, don’t let your hearts be troubled, have faith in me and I will see you through.
C. PEACE IS OVERCOMING THE UNKNOWN
1. Our greatest fear is the unknown.
2. He knows this and He is with us to calm our fears.
D. PEACE IS BUILT ON TRUST
1. Jesus says, “you Trust God, Trust also in me.”
2. Now the disciples knew Him and knew of His Trust worthiness. But, God was the end all. God definitely can be trusted. Jesus says, “I am no different.”
ILLUSTRATION: KEITH BARTS, a friend of Eric Taylor, spoke to me ON HIS FATHER COMING TO KNOW JESUS. THIS WAS BASED ON WHAT HE HAD SEEN IN HIS SON, DAUGHTERS AND WIFE. “YOU HAVE FAITH IN US, NOW HAVE FAITH IN WHO WE HAVE FAITH IN!”
NOT ONLY DOES HE PROMISE US HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF PEACE, HE ASSURES US THAT:
II. HEAVEN IS A PLACE PREPARED (vv. 2-3)
A. JESUS PREPARES THE PLACE!
1. Jesus holds out before us the hope of eternal life as He tells the disciples of a home not prepared by human hands, but made in the heavens by Christ Himself. He will prepare a place. Today, the work is done. He assures us there is NOW room in the INN, unlike when he came to find no place to live. Even as a man, Jesus said that the son of Man had no were to lay his head, unlike the birds who had nest or the foxes that had holes to sleep in.
2. PLACES ARE IMPORTANT:
a. When my Grandma and Aunt Linda moved into a new place, they had the old house torn down. Now that old house was special to me. I always liked the smell of the place. Probable the aroma of thousands of wonderful meals cooked. But it was a place of Sanctuary, if I can use that big word. It was a safe Haven. It was a place to rest my weary soul when life was too overwhelming for me.
b. Heaven is no different. It is a safe haven! It is our eternal Sanctuary!! It is a place where our weary souls will rest!!
3. Jesus assures us that we are going to have a place to rest our weary souls. A place of peace -- SHALOME -- as the Jews called it.
B. JESUS BRINGS US HOME
1. There is also the promise that he will return to gather us to Himself. He has promised us that not only can we belong to him, but that He himself will return to lead us home. He is the Maker of the House as well as the one who invites us to come. He stands at the door and knocks (Rev. 3: 20), and whoever will answer the door, He will come in to them and they will be together!
2. What is the point of Heaven: It is that Jesus will be there and we will be with him there!!!
3. Back to Grandma’s old house, the one she had torn down -- My counselor tells me I need to let it go, BUT...
That old house would have been of NO meaning what so ever if Grandma wasn’t there. Why was that house so Special to Me? When I was stressed out, I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time, Grandma always knew what to say and what to feed me. There was always comfort at Grandma’s house. I knew I was safe, I knew she would side with me, even if I was wrong, and I knew I was LOVED.
4. DID the HOUSE LOVE ME? NO! Grandma LOVED and LOVES me. Heaven is not about Heaven! Heaven is about Jesus! Heaven is about being with the ONE who loved me and LOVES me STILL!
5. Hear these words of Jesus, “THAT YOU ALSO MAY BE WHERE I AM (V. 3).”
ILLUSTRATION: When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, We’ll sing and shout the victory! (P 324) Are we going to shout when we get to heaven? I know it says rejoice, but the writer of the Hymn makes it Clear, it is Jesus that will make us sing and shout. Heaven is about our future promise of forever with Jesus!
THE PROMISED PEACE IS GIVEN, THE FUTURE TOGETHER IS PREPARED, BUT HERE WE ARE NOW: HEAVEN IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE PEACE OR THE PLACE, IT IS ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS WE NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FORM AND ENJOY!
PEACE IS PROMISED, AS WELL AS A PLACE PREPARED FOR US, NOW HE ASSERTS:
III. HEAVEN IS A PATHWAY PROVIDED (vv. 4-7)
A. THE PATHWAY IS THE TROUBLE!
1. This is where we have trouble. We believe in heaven and often we say we believe in God, but we like Thomas can’t seem to find the way.
2. Jesus again holds out hope for us!
ILLUSTRATION: I remember reading an article in Rolling Stone shortly after becoming a Christian. Ozzy Osborne, now famed for the reality show, The Osbornes, was asked if he was a Christian. He said yes. Then he was asked what he thought of God. His reply was that he was okay with God, it was that Jesus he had a problem with. I can’t remember if these were the exact words, but they were close. The problem is that Jesus is what makes us Christians and Jesus is the one who shows us the way home. Without Him, we’re LOST!!
B. THE PATHWAY IS JESUS!
1. He tells us that if we know him, we know the way. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. He is our way to eternal reward.
2. The WAY: He is the path to follow, He is the guide to life and He will show us how to live, act and speak. He knows how to get us through life without falling in the pit holes and hitting the big rocks. He knows the way, because He is the way!
ILLUSTRATION: THE 23RD PSALM ALWAYS COMES TO MIND HERE: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Jesus will Guide me on the way, Because He is the way. Have you really ever noticed that phrase, “He leadeth me in paths of Righteousness for His Name’s Sake.” The Psalmist says that not only is Jesus the Way, but He will guide us in the way, Just to honor His name. Not because of who we are, but because of who HE IS!
AND PLEASE DO NOT FORGET, WHEN IT COMES TO BEING THE WAY, JESUS SAYS, “NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.” HE IS THE WAY!
Jesus says, “Trust in God, Trust also in me. I am the Way!
2. HE ALSO tells Thomas, “I am The Truth…” In a life of uncertainty, He is certain. In a life of falsehoods and Scams, He is reality. In a world of Lies, HE IS THE TRUTH.
ILLUSTRATION AND THOUGHT: Jack Nicholson coined a phrase years ago. It was in a movie when a young Lawyer tried to Get Nicholson, who played a military commander, to tell the truth. Nicholson’s reply was: “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH: In the last couple of years, we have seen key public figures try to skate around the truth. A lie seems less painful than telling the truth. The only problem with telling a lie is that often it requires more lies to keep the original lie afloat.
Jesus is like the Old Coke Add: It’s the real thing.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like imitation drinks. NOW don’t get me wrong, I am as poor as the lot of you, but I just can’t drink Sam’s Colas. I have tried them all. When I want a DIET PEPSI, I Want a diet PEPSI, not a water downed version of the taste I have grown to love.
Jesus is no different. There are many Watered down versions of the Truth. Some say BUDDAH IS THE TRUTH. Some say Mohammed is the Truth. Some say Joseph SMITH is the Truth. Some say truth is what ever you think best, BUT JESUS SAYS “TRUST IS GOD, TRUST ALSO IN ME,” “I AM THE TRUTH!”
3. Finally Jesus tells Thomas, “I am The Life…” In a day of going through the motions, of just existing, HE IS REAL LIFE! He is Life for now and Life for eternity. He is the never ending life within us!!
ILLUSTRATION AND THOUGHTS: In John 11: 25ff Jesus says to Martha, after her brother has been dead four days, Your brother will rise again.” Martha says, I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Martha belong to the Pharisee line of thought. They believed in a bodily resurrection. The Sadducess believed this life was all we had. That is why they are Sad U SEE!
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
In John 10:10 Jesus tells us the difference between He and Satan, “The thief, Satan, Comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Jesus says, “I am the primary Relationship you need. I am Life. A part from me, you are dead.
Just like a mother gives life to her child, so Jesus gives life to all who believe in him. He has come to offer us life.
Jesus is addressing the Reality of This Life. We all most die. There are two things you can Bank on: Death and Taxes. Both are unavoidable. Life is fatal, it will Kill you in the end! We are all born to die. No matter how much sun screen you use, regardless if you smoke or not. I don’t care how many bran muffins you eat, or how many miles you jog every day. In the end, you to must past through the graveyard. Jesus says, “It’s nothing but a thang. I’ve got your back!”
Jesus says, “Trust in God, Trust also in ME. I am the Life.”
4. If we know Jesus, we know the Father. Jesus makes it plain here. You do know me, thus you know the Father and have met him as well. “You do know him and have seen him.”
CONCLUSION: Our hope is nothing Less than this, Jesus and His Righteousness. As we celebrate together this wonderful PROMISE OF HEAVEN, let’s remember what it is all about. IT’S ABOUT A PROMISE FROM THE ORIGINAL PROMISE KEEPER. IT IS A PROMISE OF PEACE, HERE, NOW AND FOREVER! IT IS A PROMISED PLACE, PREPARED AND REWARDED! IT IS A PROMISED PATH, A PATH TO THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE!!
DO YOU HAVE PEACE TODAY?? DO YOU ACCEPT THE PLACE?? HAVE YOU FOUND THE PATH?? HEAVEN IS A WONDERFUL PLACE FILLED WITH HIS GLORY AND GRACE! WILL IT BE FILLED WITH YOUR PRESENCE ONE DAY? DON’T WAIT TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT!!
BENEDICTION: I PETER 5: 10-11
