Eternity

Good morning, welcome to New Horizon Christian Church. Please open your Bibles to John 14.

Bringing our summer sermon series to a close.

We have looked ahead to the future of Jesus, now we turn our attention to our own futures.

How is life to be lived, not only here and now, but for all of eternity?

Read John 14:1–3- “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. 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, that where I am you may be also.”

Pray.

Context of this conversation with His disciples.

This earthly life is not the end of our existence.

1. Troubled hearts.

Jesus is speaking to lives that have been agitated, or stirred up.

Why were their hearts and minds so troubled?

John 13:21- “After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.’”

John 13:33- “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.”

John 13:38- “Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.’”

Jesus is predicting difficult occurrences that will be coming soon, not only for himself but for his disciples as well.

Jesus not only speaks to what the disciples are going through, He also speaks to some of the most troubling aspects of our relationship with Him.

When are the times in your own Christian faith where you most need to hear Jesus telling you that your heart mustn’t be troubled?

One of you will betray me.

You will willingly walk away from Jesus.

A command of Jesus will be too hard for you.

You will seek me.

Distance between you and Jesus. Wherever He is, you seemingly cannot go.

You seek and cannot find.

You have denied me three times.

You will live as though you do not know Jesus.

Dropping Aletheia off at various events with her peers.

At times we find ourselves feeling this way towards Jesus.

Many different circumstances of personal failure and distance. How are we to move past them?

Jesus tells them not to be troubled over what is coming, even over their own failures.

How exactly does Jesus speak peace into their troubled hearts?

2. I go to prepare a place for you.

Jesus begins by speaking of a place other than the disciples current reality.

He mentions His Father’s house.

Home, dwelling place, where He is.

In this home of the Father are many rooms, or dwelling places.

In referencing this home of the Father and these numerous dwelling places within the Father’s home, Jesus makes all of it personal.

I go to prepare a place for you.

Split the phrase in half to see the beauty.

I go to prepare...

Messed up reservations. Room not ready. Room not clean. We are used to mistakes.

The one who is preparing is well qualified.

How do we know that He is qualified?

We’ve seen how He accomplished the most important part of preparing a place for us.

…a place for you.

Note the personal nature of Jesus’ comment.

Not simply that He is going to prepare a place, but that He is preparing it for those disciples who are so troubled.

Perhaps one of our greatest struggles with the Christian faith is that we see ourselves in God’s eyes as one of many.

We forget the parable of Luke 15 in which the shepherd pursues the one sheep who was wandered.

Here we grasp the words, I go to prepare a place for you. Insert your name.

A.W. Pink- “‘Home’ used to mean, and still means to a few, the place where we are loved for our own sakes; the place where we are always welcome; the place whither we can retire from the strife of the world and enjoy rest and peace; the place where loved ones are together. Such will Heaven be. Believers are not in a strange country, in an enemy’s land; in the life to come, they will be at Home.”

3. I will come again.

How will we receive what is promised? This is a very important point.

“I will come again and take you to myself.”

Note what is not said.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Come to me,” or worse yet, “Come find me.”

John 14:5–7- “Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’”

Fascinating answer. Jesus avoids entirely Thomas’ ability to get to or find the way.

It’s like Jesus is saying, “Don’t concern yourself with your inabilities. Concern yourself with my capabilities.”

Kids needing to reach something.

So much good here in such a small statement.

Consider the ability of Jesus.

Azariah asking about Christ’s return- Consider the ability of Jesus, the extent of His knowledge and presence and power.

When we rightly understand the sovereignty of God, we recognize that Jesus is able to accomplish all that He has promised.

Consider the love of Jesus.

The very nature of God is that He expresses His love through His presence.

Throughout all of Scripture, we see the reality of this.

Presence of God dwelling among His people in the tabernacle, then the temple.

The incarnation of Jesus, God becomes man to dwell, or tabernacle, with man.

Perhaps we tend to think of Jesus in a way in which He tolerates us, or holds us at arms length.

We would do well to remember Jesus’ desire to be WITH man because of the love that He has for man.

Think about this account given by John- Jesus, knowing what is ahead, concerns Himself less with His own worries and seeks to comfort the worries of those around Him.

Jesus, as the way, truth and life, accomplishes for us what we are unable to accomplish for ourselves.

What makes all of this possible?

4. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Here is where Jesus immediately follows his instruction for the disciples to not be troubled in their hearts.

Believe in God, believe also in me.

We recognize the immediate understanding of such an imperative.

If you believe in God, you should believe in me the same.

A claim of deity.

Is it possible that Jesus is saying more?

He has just made the claim that He is going away and that where is is going, they will not be with Him or see Him.

Think of what belief in God looks like.

The disciples, and by extension, we believe in a God in Whom we have never seen.

We see what God has done, namely creation, and we see what God is doing, but we have never seen God in a physical form because God is Spirit.

Is it possible that Jesus is saying that His disciples are to continue believing in Him as they believe in God even when Jesus is no longer present with them.

1 Peter 1:8- “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory…”

In many ways, Jesus is saying, “See my presence in your life and continue to believe, to trust, to have faith.”

A.W. Pink- “Believe in God. Believe in His absolute sovereignty, His infinite wisdom, His unchanging faithfulness, His wondrous love. Believe also in me. I am the One who died for thy sins and rose again for thy justification; I am the One who ever liveth to make intercession for thee. I am the same yesterday, and today, and forever. I am the One who shall come again to receive you unto Myself, and ye shall be forever with Me. Yes, believe also in me!”

Here is the core of what Jesus is saying, and He says it to us today- Trust me.

In times of heartache and trouble- Trust in who I am, what I have done, and what I am doing.

Trust what I have promised and what I will continue to do for you.

And know that through all of it, we are never abandoned, never left to fend for ourselves, never asked to figure it out on our own, but always promised the presence of Christ for all of eternity.

As you await the perfecting of all that is, believe in God; believe also in Jesus Christ.