Turn with me, if you would, to John chapter 14. John chapter 14. And let me just say again that it's a great blessing for me to be here. Just to preach here is an encouragement to me. I find that it's easy to preach to a people who love the gospel, love the Lord, and seek his glory. And it makes a difference. It makes a difference. It's a joy. It's a delight to preach to you.

Let's look here in John 14 and return once again to this wonderful passage. And as we do that, let's remember the disciples were deeply distressed when Jesus said he would be leaving them. And Jesus begins with those comforting words of encouragement for his disciples, saying, let not your heart be troubled. And this statement begins four glorious chapters of a flood of magnificent gospel proclamations. Grace and truth overflowing and running down, culminating with the great prayer of our high priest in John 17.

Here we find a great storehouse of truth to give peace, truth to bring comfort and joy, truth to make their heart glad and our hearts glad. We just heard how he didn't pray for his disciples alone, but for those who would believe in him through their word. And that's us. That's you and I. When Jesus says to his disciples, I go to prepare a place for you, he's not speaking of heaven as we saw. He is speaking about going to the cross. That's where he made preparation. Yes, for heaven, but for for so much more than that.

And going to the cross, we read that prophecy in Daniel of the Messiah, the coming Messiah, who would come, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. And he did that. He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He did that for his disciples and for all those given to him by the Father. And in doing that, he prepared everything necessary to open the way for us into the presence of God.

In the previous message, we considered the words of Christ, I go to prepare a place for you. Tonight, we would like to consider the next words of Jesus, which are, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also.

Well, if you were thinking about it, you would have recognized that I only preached half a sermon last night. Tonight is the rest of the sermon, the other half. And so I hope that you'll call to mind what we heard last night. And I'll just review some of these things just as we finished up last night to bring to mind. But as we consider this, where he says, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, There you may be also. That's his concern.

So when he says in these verses, let me just read again the first few verses of this, of John 14. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many dwellings, 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 to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." 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, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Now in reading this, Consider, when Jesus says, my father's house, what does he mean? My father's house. We know that wherever it is that he's speaking of, it's the place of his presence. Because he says, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And that'll help guide our thoughts in this. If we think in spiritual terms, we're not prone to do that. But if we think spiritually, where is Christ with respect to his people? When it says he's with his people, where is he? Spiritually, where is he? So keep that in mind.

The house that Jesus speaks of is the place where he is found dwelling with his people. Now, I think it'll be helpful if we first consider what is the greatest significance when the word speaks of the house of God. What is the most important thing about the house of God? It's the place of God's presence.

Now, turn just for a moment to Genesis chapter 28, and we see that the word of God has made this clear from the very beginning. that it's not the place, it's not the place, but the presence of God that matters. So in Genesis 28, this we know is Jacob's dream, as we refer to it. In Jacob's dream, Genesis 28, verse 12, we read, and then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven, And there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth. You shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And here he renews that great gospel promise that he'd given to his grandfather Abraham. And in you, and in your seed, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. The gospel was preached to Jacob too, wasn't it? Behold, I am with you and keep you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid, and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Well, why is this place in which Jacob lay down to sleep a place where no man was, no town, no city? No people. Why was this place the house of God and the gate of heaven? Because the Lord was there. And this was especially true of the temple. It wasn't the temple which made the worship of Israel unique from every other nation. All the other nations had worshipped and served gods, didn't they? In their temples. It wasn't the temple that made the nation of Israel unique. No, it was the living presence of God in the temple, signifying the glory, signified by the glory of that divine light that dwelt between the cherubim, the wings of the cherubim in the most holy place. The presence of God is what made the temple the house of God.

Turn over to John chapter 2, John chapter 2 for a moment. John chapter 2, and here in John chapter 2 we find Jesus speaking of the temple in Jerusalem. He's speaking of the literal house of God, and in this same passage, he also speaks of the spiritual house of God. In verse 16, John chapter 2, verse 16. And he said to those who sold doves, take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of merchandise. My father's house a house of merchandise. Then his disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house has eaten me up. So the Jews answered and said to him, because of course they're thinking he's referring to the literal temple there. The Jews said to him, what sign do you show us since you do these things? And Jesus answered and said, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, It has taken 46 years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his body. Therefore, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered this, that he had said to them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

Now, here in this passage, we see the first reference Jesus makes to his father's house is clearly to the literal temple. Do not make my father's house a house of merchandise. But this temple, as we know, was just a shadow of the good things to come, a copy of the true. And where is the true? Standing right there. in front of them, before their eyes. And Jesus makes this statement of incredible significance with regard to himself and the spiritual temple. He says, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

Now the Jews did not understand what he was saying. They thought he was speaking of the literal temple. But under the inspiration of the Spirit, what does the Apostle John tell us? He adds this clarifying statement, but he was speaking of the temple of his body. Christ is the true temple. Christ is the house of God.

Turn over once again to Hebrews 10. Let's just remind ourselves of some of the things that we finished up with last night. Hebrews 10, and we saw here in Hebrews that the way into this spiritual temple was opened by Christ in His death upon the cross. We looked how He was offered this one sacrifice for sins forever, and He accomplished salvation for his people. The work was complete. And he sat down at the right hand of God. We saw that this man offered not many sacrifices, but one sacrifice for sins. And the work was complete. And it's always such a blessing for me to think about this. singularity of Christ in the work that he accomplished. One man, one priest, one offering, and he purged our sins forever. He by himself, I love that at the beginning of Hebrews, he by himself purged our sins.

And he said to his disciples, a little while and you will not see me. And again, a little while you will see me because I go to the Father." This is the reason that Christ went to the Father at that point in time. He went to make that one offering for sin. And Christ entered, not the holy place made with hands, but into heaven itself, there to appear in the presence of God for us. And in that moment, the way into the holies, the way into the most holy place, the way into the house of God was opened forever. Why? Why? Opened forever because by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified in him. Isn't that what we just heard? Not only has Christ opened the way into the presence of God for us, but he's opened it in such a way that we don't have fear, but we enter with boldness. That's a wonder just that alone, isn't it? That we could enter into the presence of God with boldness.

In verse 19, we left off there, Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Here is the spiritual reality of the covenant promises of God. Here's the temple. Here's the most holy place in which God dwells. Here's the high priest. Here's the altar. Here's the sacrifice to take away sins. And he enters with his own precious blood and so much more, so much more. And our sins have been purged and remembered no more. I think we ended up right about there. There is no longer a reminder for sins because they've been taken away. And we enter into the presence of the living God without fear.

Now let's pick up in verse 20. Look there in verse 20. Let me read 19 and 20 together. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh.

Now, this way, this way, is always new and always living. This way is not the outward shadows and religious service of the old covenant, which could never take away sin and brought only death and could never give life. This new way is a person, an ever living person who has been raised again according to the power of an endless life. He alone is the way and the life. This is the new and living way. The Lord Jesus opened this way by his death. He consecrated this way by his blood. He prepared the way for us.

And did you see that? He consecrated this new and living way through what? Through the veil. through the veil, and so there can be no mistake about what he's speaking about. The Word of God adds this, that is his flesh, the veil of his flesh. When the high priest, remember, when the high priest would enter the most holy place, the veil was moved aside and then immediately closed. He alone entered and no one else. But when Christ died, what happened to the veil? The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom, signifying that through the sacrifice of Christ, in which his flesh was torn, we have an entrance open to us into the holiest place, an entrance into the house of God forever.

And what a house this is. It's a house filled with the glory of his presence. In verse 21, and having a high priest over the house of God. This high priest has opened the way for us into the sanctuary of God's presence. He's a high priest of infinite dignity and glory, for he is the eternal Son of God. He is a high priest who has offered a sacrifice more precious than gold and silver. He has been exalted to supreme glory and is the great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.

Turn over to Ephesians, chapter 2. Ephesians, chapter 2. Now, I apologize for jumping around a little here, but I want you to see these things. Ephesians, chapter 2. Now, we've just read here in Hebrews that Jesus Christ is the great high priest over the house of God. Well, what is this house? That's the question, isn't it? What is this house? Well, look there in Ephesians 2, in verse 19, and here we see that the house spoken of is the church, the spiritual body of Christ.

Now listen, now therefore, verse 19, Ephesians 2, verse 19, now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

Do you see that? This is the house that Jesus is speaking about to his disciples when he says, In my Father's house are many dwellings. I go to prepare a place for you." Christ is speaking about the church, which is his body. And what do we know about this church, which is his body? It's the fullness of him who fills all in all. This is the temple in which we have Christ as high priest over the house of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is an as we saw, is an ever-living priest, a priest forever in this house, the church of the living God, ordering all things and ruling all things. All he does is for the good of his church, the salvation of his people, and for the glory of God. He's the Shekinah glory dwelling in the midst of his people. The presence of God among his people is found where? In Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. This is the presence of God among his people. He dwells with us and he dwells in us, blessing us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.

The Lord is going to prepare a place for his disciples in this house, in this house, and not only for his disciples, but for all the saints and members of the household of God. This house is a holy temple in the Lord, and it's this house which is the dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Turn back to John 14. Turn back to John 14. The great concern, you remember, of the disciples was that Jesus would be leaving them alone, that his presence would no longer be with them. That was their concern. That was what troubled their hearts so greatly. And Jesus, in responding, addresses that directly. That's exactly what he is responding to. When he says, 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 to myself, that what? My presence will be with you. That where I am, there you may be also. You see, that's what he's telling them. This is what your concern is. Well, here is what I'm going to do.

The comfort that Jesus gives his disciples is not that they will eventually be with him in heaven, but that in a little while he'll come again and be with them in this world. It's not Christ in heaven, the hope of glory. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory. Throughout this last discourse of Jesus to his disciples before he goes to the cross and all of these chapters that we've been looking at, the Lord Jesus speaks again and again of his indwelling presence in the hearts of his people.

Look there in verse 16 of chapter 14. This is where he gives the great promise of the Holy Spirit. He says, And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever. The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you." There's his promise to his disciples. What an incomprehensible wonder of grace. How little I know I appreciate this. The promise of the presence of God, not at some unapproachable distance, but of the abiding presence of God dwelling in the heart of his people forever.

Jesus tells his disciples too, I will not leave you orphans. They have a father, don't they? Don't we? I will not leave you orphans. They have a father and he's going to prepare a place for them so that they'll be in the father's house. That's where children belong, isn't it? In the father's house. They're not orphans. No, no. He will not leave them, he says. I will come to you. In verse 19, look there, a little while longer and the world will see me no more. But you will see me because I live. You will live also. Here I think Christ makes one of the greatest declarations of gospel truth found in the Word of God. Have you thought of that? Because I live, you will live also. Isn't all the gospel taken up in that? If there was ever a truth to bring peace and joy to the troubled heart of the believer, this is it.

The life of the believer is not in himself. You know, we struggle to understand that, but it's true. It's not in himself, but in Christ. The life of the believer is not because of what he does, but because of what Christ has done. The life of the believer is not because of who he is, but of who Christ is. The life of the believer is not because of his own righteousness, but because of the righteousness of Christ. because I live, you will live also.

Then he tells the disciples something which is inconceivably wonderful. Verse 20, and at that day, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Jesus is leaving the disciples for a little while and going to the cross. And later he will leave them again when he returns to his father in glory. But he wants them to understand that he's not leaving them at all. No, not at all. He tells them something that's, was it David that said, it's too wonderful for me? He tells us something that's too wonderful for us beyond our ability to fully comprehend, but it's true. He says to them, I am in my father, and you in me, and I in you.

Look in verse 23. Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. You know, if the Word of God wasn't so explicit about these things, we wouldn't dare even consider that this could be possible. Isn't that true? Think of this. The God who inhabits eternity comes and inhabits our heart and makes His home with us. He dwells in our heart. We will come and make our home with Him. You know that verse, that word there, home, it's used only twice in the New Testament, and both times by Christ. Where would you guess is the other place it's used? In verse 2, where he says, In my Father's house are many dwellings. Do you see that? It's the same word. And so the disciples are hearing him speak, In my Father's house are many dwellings. And then he says, I will come and make my dwelling with you. And that's true, isn't it? In the Father's house are many dwellings. And he comes and makes his home with each one of us.

Jesus knows that it's impossible for the disciples at this time to understand these things. And so in verse 25, what does he say to them? These things I have spoken to you while being present with you, but the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

He's leaving them. But with the promise of his presence, he brings peace, doesn't he? Because he'll be indwelling them. A peace that the world doesn't know, the world doesn't understand. My peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. The world can't give peace, can it? It never can. People are searching for that continuously, aren't they? With everything that you see around you today, this is what people are searching for.

Their hearts, their hearts are, Distracted with many things. Their minds are taken up with so much. Continuously troubled like the troubled sea. But Christ gives this promise to his disciples, my peace, my peace I leave with you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. These are the things that help the disciples. It's these truths that enable them to have peace and that their hearts would not be troubled. This is what Christ is saying.

And it's the same for you and I. When we are so troubled by the things of this life, this is where we find peace. A peace that he gives to his people.

Look down, John 15, look down there. He knows, as he says, they're not going to understand these things right now. And he says, but later when the spirit comes, he'll bring to your remembrance all these things. But then he gives them this illustration that we're so familiar with to help them, to give them a picture of these things that are inconceivably wonderful for them to grasp onto. They're too wonderful for you and I to fully comprehend. But he gives this glorious illustration, this metaphor of himself and his people in verse 1 there of 15. We could say that this is a metaphor of the church. He says, I am the true vine, and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. Now listen. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing."

Christ, in this illustration, is describing himself as the true vine, a living vine, a fruit-bearing vine in which all the spiritual life of the vine flows from him who is the root. All the life flows from him. This life is diffused to all the branches that are in the vine. And the branches are nourished, grow, and bring forth fruit. Why? Because they're united to the vine. They're indwelling the vine. And the vine, the root of the vine, is indwelling the branches. Jesus is showing his disciples that though he's leaving them for a time in his physical body, He's not leaving them at all because they are united to him in a real, see, listen now, a real living spiritual union. These are not just illustrations. It's a real living spiritual union between Christ and his people brought about by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They are in him as the branches are in the vine. And he is in them, forever joined to the wellspring of all light and life.

Now, I can't think of a more fitting conclusion than the words we find at the end of Ephesians. So turn, Ephesians chapter 3. So turn there, and we'll just close there. Ephesians chapter 3. And in verse 14, we see that here the Word of God is speaking about the household of God again, the church, the holy temple in the Lord, the dwelling place of all the saints who are being built up together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit, as we saw in Ephesians 2. Now listen, for this reason, verse 14, For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with his might through his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

This is what he's speaking to his disciples about. Let not your heart be troubled. I go to prepare a place for you. And when I go and prepare a place, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Amen.