Introduction: WIZARD OF OZ VIDEO CLIP
If only it was that easy! Click your heals, and you would be at a place called home.
Dorothy is right, there is no place like home.
Home is a special place, This Thursday we will gather around tables across America and share home cooked meals of Turkey, Dressing and Pumpkin Pie – while the food will be good – but, what makes Thursday special is it is home.
For my family we plan to head home Wednesday Afternoon – our destination is Jacksonville Florida. And for the first time in years Our whole family will be at my mom’s home.
We will eat, we will laugh, and we will be home
But, as wonderful as that house will be on Thursday, There is a better home I am I am looking forward to, Jesus described that home in John’s Gospel.
John 14:1-6
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
We are dealing with the key issues of life in series of messages entitled LIFE.COM Today I want us to look at the computer key marked “HOME” and that points us to home God has prepared for us.
Maybe in your memory is tucked away a home like the one I described, maybe your home was not as idealistic. But I can assure you the home God has planned for us – is better then any home we can have here today.
1 Corinthians 2:9, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"
Heaven is a wonderful place, and though we may have, some idea what we want heaven to look like, scripture tells it will be beyond our expectations.
In John 14, Jesus gives us a preview of Heaven.
1. Heaven belongs to God.
Jesus tells us first “IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE”
A. The first thing Jesus does in describing heaven is use the word “house”
He does not say in my father’s world, in my father’s place – but he says house. WHY? There are two meanings to the word house, which our Lord uses. First is that of residence and that speaks of location. We understand our God is omnipresent – he is everywhere, But Jesus is saying our Heavenly Father has a residence – a place called heaven.
• He does not live on earth – with all of its struggles. Eccl 5:2, God is in heaven and you are on earth.
• Nor does he live in the underworld, the dominion of Satan
• His dwelling place is heaven – and in heaven, He finds his will being done. Remember the model prayer of our Lord. “’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matt 6:9-10
Not only is Heaven God’s residence – there is a second meaning to the word house – which implies family.
• Kingdoms imply armies
• Worlds imply boundaries
• Home implies family
REMEMBER THAT CHORUS –
I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God,
I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I’m part of the family, The Family of God.
B. His Father’s house has many mansions
(NIV) says “rooms”
We understand the father’s house is spacious enough to house all of God’s children. Some people act like God’s house is limited to a select few. One group of people believe only 144,000 will be allowed into heaven, but that is not so. There is ample room for all of God’s children
2 Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
EVERYONE – THAT MEANS EVERYONE – Red and Yellow Black and White, they are all precious in his sight.
C. Because it is our Father’s house, we are able to come because of the invitation.
No one enters the home without an invitation from the owner. It is through Jesus Christ, we have an invitation to the home of God, to share in what our Father has provided.
2. Heaven is a prepared place.
John 14:2, In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
Since Jesus returned to the Father some 2000 years ago, He has been involved in the greatest construction project since the creation of the world – heaven.
How is heaven being prepared today?
A. Heaven is prepared to be a holy place
God told the people of Israel they were to be holy because He was holy. Holiness is the attribute of God, which we can never obtain in our sinful state. Scripture reminds us of the Holiness of God.
Psalm 11:4, The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne.
Isaiah 6:3, And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
Revelation 4:8, Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
The love God has for us is infused with Holiness. He loves us so much that he allowed His son to die so that we might be with Him. Because of the work of Jesus Christ, God’s holy dwelling is now open to human guest permanently.
Revelation 21:25-27, On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
B. Heaven is prepared to be a comforting place.
Rev 21:3-4, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Does that not give you comfort?
• No more death
• Crying
• Pain
• THE OLD ORDER HAS PASSED AWAY – sin will no longer have a grip on me, temptation will no longer sway me, and guilt will no longer keep me. THE OLD ORDER HAS PASSED AWAY!
C. Heaven is prepared to be a revealed place.
Do you understand everything about this life? God gave that question to Job. Job wanted answers for his suffering and God replied.
Job 38:4-11. "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone--while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ’This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
God continued with a series of questions, which simply humbled Job. We have to admit we are like Job we do not understand all of life. However, in Heaven we discover all things revealed.
Revelation 22:1-5
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
What is to be revealed in heaven?
• We shall freely serve our God
• We will need no light of day or lamp, For God will provide for us.
• We will reign with him.
3. Not only is heaven a prepare place we ourselves must be prepared.
John 14:3, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
In verse 3 Jesus takes all of the action
• If I Go
• I will come back
• I will take you that you will be where I am
The context of this verse is that Jesus is talking to his disciples, it is the final hours of our Lord’s life. At this moment, He is spelling out what their faithfulness has accomplished. That was a concern of the disciples. When the RYR came to Jesus and discovered he was not able to become one of his disciples, he left heartbroken because he had much wealth.
Luke 18:24-30
Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."
How do we prepare ourselves? By acting for the sake of the Kingdom of God. By giving up the short term gains of this life, so you can have the long-term gains of eternity.
Jesus - I am going a way, I am coming back and I am taking with me those who are dedicated to the Kingdom of God, those whose names found in the Lamb’s book of Life.
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR HEAVEN?
THERE IS NOT ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO EARN YOUR WAY INTO HEAVEN
• Making Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior – The savior part is easy; it is to accept him as your savior and to confess your sin, repent of your sin and submit to the watery grave of Baptism.
• The hard part is Lordship.
To live in daily obedience to him, to deny yourself and to seek his kingdom You know why that is difficult because we set our eyes on this world and what it has to offer. Instead, we should do as Paul urged the church at Colossi.
Colossians 3:2-4
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
That is how you prepare for Heaven.
Are you ready for Heaven? Are you ready for that holy place?
Are you ready for that comforting place? Are you ready for that revealed place? Are you ready for Heaven? Friends Heaven is ready for you. ARE YOU READY FOR HEAVEN?
