Place: Lurgan Baptist 13:6:2004. Reading: John 14:1-6 READY OR NOT JESUS IS COMING

Transcription

1 Place: Lurgan Baptist 13:6:2004 Reading: John 14:1-6 READY OR NOT JESUS IS COMING The day before Thanksgiving in the U.S.A. a man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said to him, I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you your mother and I are divorcing, 45 years is enough. We re sick of each other. So please call your sister in Chicago and tell here. Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. There s no way they are getting a divorce, she shouted, I ll take care of this. She immediately called her parents home in Phoenix and said to her father, You are not getting a divorce. Don t do a single thing until I get there. I m calling my brother back, and we ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don t do a thing. Do you hear me? The man hung up his phone and turned to his wife and said, Okay, dear. Its done. The kids are coming home for Thanksgiving and this time they are paying for their own flights. Sometimes people do strange things and go to extraordinary lengths in order to accomplish their purposes. Many arrange surprise events making sure that the guest or guests of honour are properly surprised. For those who are involved such an event can turn out to be something really special and precious. My I am anticipating a very special event too. In fact, the Lord Jesus talked about it the last night He spent with his disciples before His arrest and crucifixion. If ever a group of men needed comfort it was the disciples. The Saviour had just disclosed to them that He would be leaving. This announcement had greatly shaken them. The Lord sought to comfort their troubled hearts by giving them this instruction in ( Jn Ch 14 ) What is this comfort that our Lord gives for troubled hearts? Well Jesus Christ said to His own, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. ( Jn 14:1-3 ) In a nutshell, Jesus said, Cheer Up! I will return. Do you recall when you were young playing Hide and Seek. Do you remember what you said? Ready or not I am coming. My. Ready or not Jesus Christ is Coming. He is coming back to take us home! Indeed here in this wonderful passage of Scripture the Lord Jesus speaks of: (1) THE CHRISTIANS HOME He said to His disciples, I go to prepare a place for you, ( 14:2 ) The word prepare, means to make ready. The Greek scholar, A.T. Robertson, likens the word to the ark of the covenant going ahead to search out a place of resting ( Num 10:33 ) The word for place, here is the Greek word topos, from which we get the term topography, the study of

2 a particular locality. My. did you know that heaven is a real place? Its not a state of mind or condition, it s a real place, its just as real as Lurgan. It s a place so real that Christ is there in a literal resurrected body. I mean heaven is a place on God s map. The Bible almost universally represents it as being up. The psalmist said, If I ascend up into heaven Thou art there. ( Ps 139:8 ) The Lord Jesus said, No man hath ascended up into heaven. ( Jn 3:13 ) Paul talked about this place. He called it the third heaven. Paul says you go there in a body or out of a body. The Lord is there in a body, some fold are there out of a body, they will have a body later on, but he says this person was caught up to the third heaven. So there are three heavens. There is: 1. The Heaven of the Birds: The AERIAL Heavens: The Bible speaks of the fowls of the heaven. ( Gen 1:20 Jer 10:12 ) They fly in the air so there s the first heaven, the envelope of air that envelops the earth. 2. The Heaven of the Stars: The STELLAR Heaven: Do you recall God s Word to Abram? look now toward heaven and tell the stars if thou be able to number them. ( Gen 15:5 ) So there is the starry heaven. 3. The Heaven of the Angels: The ETERNAL Heaven: The very abode of God, Thy dwelling place. ( 1 Kings 8:30 ) Someone has beautifully said, We see the first heaven by day, the second heaven by night and the third heaven by faith. Now this is the Christian s home. I go to prepare a place for you. ( 14:2 )Now what kind of place is it that the Lord Jesus is preparing? We see first, that: (a) IT IS A PRECIOUS PLACE: He called it My Father's House, ( 14:2 ) This expression was used only twice by the Lord Jesus. He once spoke of the Temple as His Father's house ( 2:16 ) In the New Testament, heaven is called a Country ( Heb 11:6 ) that tells of its Vastness. It is also called a City ( Heb 11:10 ) because of the many Inhabitants it will have. It is called a Kingdom ( Matt 4:17 ) because of its Orderliness and it is called Paradise ( Lk 23:43 ) because of its Beauty. But what I like best is when Christ calls heaven my Father s house. It is not the earthly home of the believer He is thinking about, but the eternal. Christ was saying that the future home of the believer is in heaven where His Father dwells. The thoughts of a house or home bring to mind several things. Home is a place of retirement after a hard day of work. It is the place where we seek escape from all the strife and turmoil of the world in which we live. It is a place where we find rest and enjoy time with our loved ones. Home is home because the one we love best is there. And heaven will be nothing less for the believer. Several years The Reader's

3 Digest carried a story entitled, A Soldiers Homecoming. First Lt. Hugh Weldon, Infantry, U.S. Army, was coming home from Vietnam. It was July 15, 1969, and Lt. Weldon was only 35 minutes from his home-town of Columbia, S.C. Weldon wrote, This trip had been the focus of my life for a year. Like every soldier in every war, those of us in Vietnam had but one overpowering desire, to go home. My. one moment after you die will you wake up in heaven? In the Fathers house? At home with the Lord? Heaven is a precious place because it is home for the believer. Many believers have a deep desire for this heavenly home because there they will retire from all the cares of this life. They will be with their loved ones again. Most of all, we will see the Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us. It is indeed a precious place. It is home! (a) (b) IT IS A SPACIOUS PLACE: Christ said that in His Father's House were many mansions, or are many dwelling places. ( 14:2 ) indicating that it is a very spacious place. The phrase dwelling places, refers to how the Israelites lived. You see, when a son got married, the father would add a wing to his house. When another son married, another wing was added. Eventually the original dwelling would become a set of dwellings that enclosed a patio in the middle. All the relatives lived around that patio. Do you see what the Saviour is saying? We will be dwellings attached to the Father s house. right in the same house with the Father. I remember someone some years ago said to me Will there be enough room to hold us all? I want to tell you, there will be no overcrowding in heaven, no weary traveller will be turned away. There won t be any No Vacancy signs. My. God s house is as wide as His love. Do you know what ( Rev 21:16 ) says? And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth, and he measured the city with the reed twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. My. do you know what that means? It means its 15,000 miles in every direction. An Australian engineer calculated that it would 2,250,000 square miles. To give you a reference point London is 140 square miles. At the ratio of population in London, the heavenly city could hold 100 billion people. It could hold more than the population of our world right now and still have plenty of room to spare. There s an old hymn that s entitled, Plenty good room in My Father s House. My. this is the Christians Home! After 5 years in Africa a young missionary was about to set home on his first furlough. Unexpectedly he too ill. The Doctors only gave him a few days. But all his thoughts were fixed on home. His parents, the girl he was to marry. He imagined that he was getting better, instead he was at death s door. A close friend broke the solemn new to him. For a moment he seemed overwhelmed with shock, then joy filled his soul and with a beaming face he said, I was going home to my earthly home, now I am going home to heaven, the heaven that I so often preached about. My. is heaven your final destiny? We re going home to glory soon To see the city bright

4 To walk the golden streets of heaven And bask in God s own light But some of you are out of Christ And held by many a snare We do not want you lost and lone We want you over there. (2) THE CHRISTIANS HOPE The truth of the Lord's return was no stranger to these disciples. Christ had often spoken to His disciples about His return. But now the Saviour reveals an aspect of His coming that was totally new to them. In the Old Testament and thus far in the New Testament, His coming had always been spoken of as a glorious, visible event, preceded by various troubles. This return that the prophets had often spoken of was His return in power and glory, in which He would return to rule and reign upon the earth. But Christ now introduces the disciples to a return which no prophet had promised, the return of the Lord Jesus for His own. The prophets saw Him coming with His saints. Christ spoke of when He would come for His saints. The prophets saw Him coming to the earth, whereas Jesus Christ spoke of taking His children to heaven. This is the first mention of the Rapture in the New Testament. Look at the: (a) THE RETURN HE PREDICTED If I go. I will come again, ( 14:3 ) This message was confirmed after the resurrection, as the disciples stood on the Mount of Olives and watched the Saviour ascend the skyway to glory. The angels announced, this same Jesus. shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven. ( Acts 1:11 ) My. this is what Paul calls the blessed hope, of the church. Jesus is coming again! Benjamin Disraeli was a member of the British House of Commons in the days of Empire. When he was elected to Parliament he stood out from his contemporaries. His dress was different and he was eccentric. And he was Jewish. When he rose to make his first speech he was mocked by his fellow Members of Parliament. The uproar was so loud that he had to abandon his speech. He raised his voice in defiance. I will sit down now, he said, but you will hear from me again. He went on to lead Britain to greatness. My. this is the day of the Lord s rejection. Judas betrayed him, Peter denied him, the Jews mocked him, the Romans crucified him. To this day the world at large has no use for the Lord Jesus. He has gone back home now. But do you know what He is saying, I will sit down now, but you will hear from me again. There was a very fine Christian doctor. His faith in God was known by all his patients. When he died, his wife hung by his picture the little sign he used to hang on his office door when he was out, Gone - Be Back Soon. My. that was Christ s personal promise. As certain as He came the first time, He will come again. That's His promise, and as we know, He has always kept His word. (b) THE RECEPTION HE PROMISED If I go. and receive you unto myself, ( 14:3 ) You see, He is not satisfied in taking us to

5 heaven, He wants to take us into His own embrace. The glory of heaven is not in the gold of the streets or the jewels of the gates. The glory of heaven is the person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are not looking for an event or a programme. We are looking for a person, the Lord Himself. Is this your prospect? Is this your hope? If Jesus Christ should come tonight, would you be caught up or caught on? Would you be saved or lost? Would you experience translation or tribulation? The disciples were heart-broken because they were going to be separated from the Lord Jesus. He had been their constant companion and now He would no longer be with them. So he speaks to them of a Return, a Reception and now a Reunion do you see: (c) THE REUNION HE PICTURED If I go. that where I am ye may be also. They would again be with Him, and this time they would never be separated. A little boy was born blind. A skilled surgeon performed a delicate operation on the boy's eyes. For days and weeks his eyes were covered with bandages. The time was nearing when the bandages were to be removed. A nurse said to him one day, Son, tomorrow we are going to remove the bandages from your eyes. If the operation has been a success whom do you want to see first? Without a moment's hesitation the boy exclaimed, I want to see the doctor who gave me my sight. My. we shall see Him! The One who opened our spiritually blinded eyes and made us see. We will be with Him. He will be with us. Together we shall dwell throughout all eternity. With Christ, with our loved ones who have died in Christ. Around the Lamb throughout the unending cycles of God s eternity! (1)(2) (3) THE CHRISTIANS HEART He says, Let not your heart be troubled, or Stop letting your hearts be troubled. The disciples were perplexed and filled with a medley of emotions. They could not reconcile the death of Christ with His Messiah ship. ( 12:24 ) So seeking to comfort them He said, Let not. troubled. You see, the heart of the Christian: (a) REJECTS THE OTHER WAYS: For so many people think that there are many ways to God. Do you see what Christ says? I am the way. no man cometh unto the Father by me. ( 14:6 ) Do you know what that means? That destroys the notion that it does not matter what you believe. that all faiths will lead to men to heaven if they are sincere. that doctrine is no importance. that heaven is a place for all mankind. that God is the Father of all. Do you believe that? The Lord Jesus did not. Mark His words. No man. but by Me. My. what way are you trying to get to God? Are you trying the way called Do Your Best? My. your best is not good enough. ( James 2:10 ) Perhaps you are on The Reformation Way. Have you turned over a new leaf? Maybe it s The Go To Church Way. But my. church, religion, ritual, prayers, tears, will never take you to heaven. For Christ said, No man. but by Me. And the heart of the Christian Rejects the other ways and:

6 (b) ACCEPTS THE ONLY WAY: Christ! A pioneer missionary in Africa tells how he was taking the gospel to a new tribe, far to the north. With his bearers he arrived at a village, beyond which his porters refused to go. The missionary appealed to the local chief. Was there someone in his village who can act as his guide to the distant northern tribe. The chief summoned a man, tall, battle scarred, carrying a large axe. A bargain was made and the next morning the missionary set off through the bush, following his new guide. The way became increasingly rough and the path had all but disappeared. There was an odd mark blazed on a tree, occasionally a narrow path. Finally, the missionary called a halt. He asked the guide if he was sure he knew the way. The man pulled himself up to his full height. White man, he said do you see this axe in my hand? You see, these scars on my body? With this axe I blazed the trail to the tribal village to which we go. I came from there. These scars I received when I made the way. You ask me if I know the way? Before I came there was no way. I am the way. My. the Lord Jesus came from glory. Now He was on His back to heaven by the way of the cross. Before He came there was no way. The scars of Calvary on His body attest to the price He paid to blaze that trail for us back to God. He points to His scars and says, I am the way. My. is the Lord Jesus to you the way that links in your need with God in His fullness? You, in your sinfulness with God in His grace? (1) (2) (3) David Stone tells us that when he and his wife were expecting their third child something unusual happened. On the night before the baby was due, he was praying with his two little girls. He had just asked the Lord to bless his wife, when suddenly his youngest daughter interrupted the prayer and asked, Daddy is this the last day? I believe with all my heart the Lord Jesus could come this.! My. could this be the last day of grace for you? Is this the last day of opportunity for you? Ready or not Jesus Christ is Coming!