The Eternal Hope
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· 28 viewsJuly 10, 2022 Morning Worship Service
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
Hopefully everyone had a good and safe 4th of July holiday.
This morning we are going to be going into the Gospel of John, looking at chapter 14, the first 7 verses.
And this passage is nestled in the middle of what is know as Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse to His disciples.
Many times we hear terms like "Upper Room Discourse" but do we really know what they mean or where they got their title.
What we are describing when we talk about the "Upper Room Discourse," is John Chapters 13-17 and Jesus' gathering with his disciples just before his crucifixion and sharing his most intimate thoughts and instructions for them as he is preparing them for His departure from the world.
The reason it is called the Upper Room Discourse is because the events took place on the second floor, "upper room" where the disciples had gathered to take the Passover meal that we know as the "Last Supper."
And in this passage in particular, Jesus is really starting to describe for the disciples a bit of what heaven will be like.
And he is also trying to offer them some encouragement about eternity.
And just prior to this Jesus sends the disciples out to prepare the actual place where they would take the Passover meal.
In Luke 22 these events are recorded . . .
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.”
And once all of this is done, Jesus and His disciples gather and begin the Passover meal.
Jesus begins to tell them all about the things to come.
And then we get to our passage.
So, John 14, starting in verse 1, Jesus tells His disciples . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
“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. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Let Your Hearts Not Be Troubled
Let Your Hearts Not Be Troubled
So, a very familiar passage in our Bibles.
Actually one of my favorite New Testament passages.
But one we tend to gloss over a bit from time.
So, let’s go back to the beginning of the passage and break it down a bit.
Again, starting in verse 1 Jesus says . . .
“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.
So, we see here that Jesus starts out here with a phrase, "Do not let your hearts be troubled..."
And in order to get to an understanding of this we have to look at what had take place prior Jesus making this statement.
Like I had already mentioned, immediately prior to this the Disciples had taken the bread and the wine and they had actually just had the first recorded foot washing service.
Jesus had also revealed to them some discouraging facts about what was getting ready to take place.
The first thing he tells them was that He would be going away . . .
You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
And . . .
Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
And . . .
You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
And . . .
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.
And finally . . .
“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
And the second thing He tells them is that He would soon die . . .
He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
And third, one of them would be a traitor . . .
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”
And things just get worse from there.
Next, He tells them that Peter would disown Him, not once, but three times . . .
Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
Next, Satan was at work against them and would stand against them . . .
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
And finally, the most discouraging of all, all of the disciples would fall away . . .
Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
So we can imagine that the weight of this was pretty heavy and can understand how the disciples were down and discouraged.
Here was their savior, their teacher, their role model, their leader.
The person they had depended on for the last 3 1/2 years telling them these horrible things that were going to happen.
The discouragement was intense.
And I want to stop right there for just a minute before we go on.
Have we ever been there?
So down and out that we see no light at the end of the tunnel.
No hope, no way out, no escape.
The word "troubled" used here means "stirred, agitated" referring to a condition of the the heart.
Is our heart stirred, agitated, troubled?
The best way to describe it is that gut wrenching sickening feeling down in the bowels of our soul.
That is what troubled means.
That is what we are talking about here.
BUT THERE IS HOPE.
JESUS OFFERED THEM HOPE . . .
He tells them, TRUST IN GOD, TRUST ALSO IN ME. . .
Jesus offers them the hope of eternal life.
The hope of salvation.
The hope of heaven and glory divine.
All they have to do is TRUST in HIM.
They believe in God the Father, now believe in Him as the Son of the Living God!
The same is true for us as well.
Do we believe in God? Most of us do.
The latest Gallup Poll revealed that 81% of Americans believe in God, which is actually down from 92% in 2012, but that’s a different sermon for a different day.
The point is, it isprobably safe to say that most everyone, if not everyone here today believes in God.
The kicker though is, Do we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God?
The Savior of the world?
In a separate survey, 80% of Americans believe Jesus is the Son of God and 66% believe He rose from the dead, which is much, much more revealing about what people really think.
Remember, even the demons believe in God.
So the question is, You believe in God, Do you believe in Jesus?
And I am not talking about just the Man, Jesus, but Jesus the Son of God who lived a sinless life, died on a cross for our sins, and rose from the dead on the 3rd Day.
Do you believe in that Jesus?
This is imperative, because that is where our Hope lies.
It is not in man or technology but in Jesus Christ.
The Disciples did not fully understand what was going on, but they did do one thing.
They believed in Jesus. They believed in the Hope that He offered.
And to this, Jesus tells them . . .
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.
Jesus tells His disciples that in His Father's House there are many "rooms" or”mansions” or "dwellings," with the Father's House He is referring to heaven.
So, who wants to go to Heaven?
Who has ever dreamed about heaven?
What we are going to be doing, what it is going to be like?
We don’t know a lot about heaven, but from our Bible we can glean some facts:
We will be singing.
There will be worship.
We will be serving.
We will be ruling.
We will be enjoying fellowship with others.
We will be eating.
We will enjoy a life of fellowship with God.
We will have a life of rest.
A life of growth
These are all things we will be "doing" in heaven.
It will not be riding around on clouds in diapers playing harps.
Heaven will be a beautiful place but also an exciting place of activity and an eternity of amazement.
HOWEVER YOU DON'T GET THERE UNLESS YOU KNOW JESUS.
And that is the promise.
Jesus told them he was going to prepare the place for them, but didn't leave it at that.
He went to prepare, and He is coming back to get them.
Not only them but every true believer in Christ . . .
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
And . . .
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
He is coming again. Are we ready?
It could be any time, any moment. If not by the rapture then by way of the grave.
The fact is, He made a promise and He will keep His Word.
The Way, The Truth, The Life
The Way, The Truth, The Life
And Jesus doesn’t stop there either.
He goes on, starting in verse 4 . . .
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. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
So, Jesus tells them they know the way to where he is going, but they are still having a hard time putting it all together.
They are having trouble because they are thinking in the physical realm and not the spiritual.
They think that Jesus is going off to some far off land to prepare them a place of safety and rest and when it is done he's going to come back and get them.
Then poor old Thomas pipes up, "Lord we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
He is utterly confused.
Sounds like many of us, doesn't it?
We don't know what direction we are going in life, so we don't have any idea how to get there.
We flounder around going to and fro, trying to solve all our problems and dilemmas in our own power.
We try this fix or that fix.
This "self-help" book or technique.
This idea or that idea.
None of it works because WE CANNOT FIX OURSELVES.
We do not know the way.
HOWEVER, JESUS HAS THE ANSWER . . .
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
There is no way apart from Jesus
There is no truth apart from Jesus
There is no life apart from Jesus
There is no heaven apart from Jesus
Do you want to have victory in your life? Try Jesus
Jesus is not A WAY He is THE WAY. The Only Way.
We can't do it on our own.
We do not have the power, the ability, the authority in ourselves.
It is only through the Power of Christ.
Altar/Challenge
Altar/Challenge
The question for us though is, are we ready to believe?
Do we want to believe?
Do we want to give ourselves to Jesus?
I cannot answer that for anyone else but myself.
Let’s pray . . .