What We Have In Jesus.

What we have in Jesus. John 14:1-4, 12-14, 16, 21, 23, 26, 27

In 1997 there was survey taken by U. S. News and World Report, “Who do you think is mostly likely to get into heaven?” Mother Teresa had a 79%, Oprah Winfrey 66%, Michael Jordon 65%, Colin Powell 61%, Dennis Rodman 28% and O. J. 19%. The person completing the survey said there was one person who had better chance than all of these and it was him. It causes me to wonder how they rated the chances. I know there is only one way to heaven and that is by the blood of Jesus Christ. I read a story of a man who was on his way to the airport to catch a plane. He came to an intersection where his wife had told him he needed to turn left to get to the airport. It was a narrow little road and he was on a board road that also would let I see some of nature’s beauty. He decided to take the more scenic route. There is a way that seems right to man the Bible says. The time was getting away and little voice kept saying turn around and take the narrow road. He reasoned “I feel like an idiot.” Pride and stubbornness kept him going on the scenic road. He got to the airport and raced to the where he was to board the plane only to hear, “The gate has been shut. The doors are locked. The plane is leaving. You have been left behind.” He was to late because he made the wrong choice. The plane would not be coming back for him. Does that awaken you to the fact that no survey or bad choice will get us into heaven.

We want to look at the promises that are given here that IS based on the oneness that Jesus has with the Father and their love for the church.

1. We have an Uniting Promise. Vs. 1-3 “Don’t be troubled. Believe in God, and believe in me. [2] My Father’s house has many rooms. If that were not true, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? [3] If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. Then I will bring you into my presence so that you will be where I am.

When I confronted my daughter after she hurt another child with a mean comment, she cried and immediately wanted to apologize. That was a good thing, but I wanted her to know an apology can’t always make things better. I told her the parable of Will, a 9-year-old whose father abandoned his mom two years earlier. Will was angry, and he often lashed out at others with hurtful words. He once told his mom, "I see why Dad left you!" Unable to cope with his cruel outbursts, she sent him to his grandparents for the summer. His grandfather’s strategy to help Will learn self-control was to make him go into the garage and pound a two-inch-long nail into a four-by-four board every time he said a mean thing. For a small boy, this was a major task, and he couldn’t return until the nail was all the way in. After about ten trips to the garage, Will began to be more cautious about his words. Eventually, he even apologized for all the bad things he’d said. That’s when his grandmother stepped in. She told him to bring in the board filled with nails and instructed him to pull them all out. This was even harder than pounding them in, but after a huge struggle, he did it. His grandmother hugged him and said, "I appreciate your apology, and of course I forgive you because I love you, but I want you to know an apology is like pulling out one of these nails. Look at the board. The holes are still there. The board will never be the same. Your dad put a hole in you, Will, but please don’t put holes in other people. You’re better than that." Michael Josephson

Jesus gave them the assurance that He was still in control. Over 318 times it tells us in the New Testament that Jesus is coming again.

2. We have an Uniting Presence. Vs. 10-12 “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? What I’m telling you doesn’t come from me. The Father, who lives in me, does what he wants. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe me because of the things I do.

"I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father.” Jesus was there with them. Do you wonder why no one took the task of washing feet? I know that many of us think we are too good to have to do a lowly job. I heard of a man who asked his wife what she hated to do worse after they were married and she said she hated to clean the Bathroom. He said that was OK and now after they have been married over 20 years the Bathroom has never been cleaned. Who cleans the bathroom in your house? I have been in the church many years and have stood back and watched people come to church dinners and they did not bring food yet ate like it was their last meal. They used dishes and silverware but never offered to wash them. They might have spilled or made a mess on the table but never stayed to clean up the tables. They used the room but were gone when it was time to clean up the floor and carry our garbage. I know of people who expect the church to be clean yet have never shown up to clean the church. Jesus in washing the disciples feet put many of us to shame in our thinking we are to be served and not be servants. He was and is the King of kings, He was and is the Lord of lords yet He spent time to wash those He had created feet. His presence in our lives should make us want to be first in helping others.