The Bible claims to be the inspired
word of God. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God. And if it's not, we don't have anything.
And somebody says, how do you expect me to believe that? Well,
you believe that God created the universe from nothing. If God would create the universe
from nothing, that's the only way. Why is there something and
not nothing? God. If He can create the universe
from nothing, He can inspire men to write a book and preserve
it over the years so that you and I tonight are looking at
the inspired Word of God. Now, with that in mind, the Lord
says to His fearing, fearful people, let not your heart be
troubled. The word troubled means agitated, disquietness. The same word was
used for the angel coming down and troubling the waters at Bethsaida. Now he says, I'm gonna leave
you in a very short time. One of you will betray me. One of you will deny me. All of you will forsake me and
run away. Let not your heart be troubled. Do you hear that? Heart trouble. Myriad are the
reasons for it and the causes of it. People can be going through
such difficult, difficult circumstances that causes them all kinds of
trouble. You don't know what anybody's
going through. They don't know what you're going
through either. Difficult circumstances, sickness. You can't separate your soul
and your body. How you feel is going to affect how you feel.
Loneliness, bereavement, insecurity, the fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear of failure,
rejection, betrayal, most especially sin. That's what causes heart
trouble, sin. Let not your heart be troubled
when there's so much to be troubled about. And he says to every one
of his disciples, then and right now, let not your heart be troubled. And he gives his disciples one
singular reason as to why their heart should not be troubled.
And here it is. You believe in God? Believe also in me. And that word also is quite often
translated, even so. You believe in God? Even so,
believe in me. As in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive. Just like everybody in Adam dies
in the same manner, everybody in Christ shall be made alive. As sin hath reigned unto death,
even so grace reigns. That's the way the word is used.
Now think about this. He says to his troubled disciples,
who he's not going to be seeing them very much longer. He says,
I go away. And he tells him all these terrible
things are going to take place with him. Yet he says, let not
your heart be troubled. You believe in God? Here's the
one reason. You believe in God? Even so, believe in me. Do you believe God's sovereign?
Do you believe He controls everything? Do you believe that He doeth
His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth and none can stay His hand? Or saying to Him, what
doest thou? Do you believe that? That's me. Believe in me. Do you believe
God created the heavens and the earth? I'm the one that did it. Believe
in me. Just as you believe God created
the universal, I think it's glorious that when it says in the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth, God is in the plural.
The one God in three distinct persons. I mean, the Trinity's
on the very first verse of the Bible. And I'm the second person
of the Trinity. Whatever you believe with regard
to God, believe also in me. Do you believe God is absolutely
just? Do you really believe that? Even
so, believe in me. Do you believe that God is all
powerful? Do you really believe that? Even
so, believe in me. Do you believe God's omnipresent,
that there's nowhere you can go where he's not? Even so, Believe
in me. Do you believe God is immutable?
That he can't change? Do you believe God's independent,
that he has no needs, there's nothing you need to do in order
for him to do something for you? God's utterly independent. Even so, believe me. Now this is why your heart is
not to be troubled, because of who I am. Is God in control of everything?
You believe that, don't you? Even so, believe me. Do you believe God is gracious?
Do you believe God is eternal? I heard somebody once say, let
your mind short circuit on that. He never had a beginning. Even
so, believe in me. This is the only reason that's
needed for your heart not to be troubled because of who I
am. Turn with me to John 14, verse
27, just if you cross the page. Now remember, this is the Lord's
last address to his disciples. He's going to the cross after
this. He's going to be betrayed immediately after this time with
his disciples. And he says in verse 27, peace,
I leave with you. My peace I give unto
you. Not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid. Now think of this, my peace. The Lord has this peace. He's
not worried about anything. He's in absolute control of everything
and everybody. And he's not worried, he's not
pacing back and forth, wondering whether or not his will's gonna
be done. He's in absolute sovereign control. He has the peace of
knowing that his father is perfectly pleased with him. He has got
the peace of knowing that he is altogether lovely to his father. Oh, the peace of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, that peace I give to
you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid." Yes, we have the peace of justification,
but this is even better. We've got the peace that is his
peace. He said, my peace I give unto you. There's nothing to
be afraid of. You believe in God, even so believe
also in me. Colossians 2, 9 says, in him,
dwelleth, all the fullness of the Godhead in a body. All the infinite, infiniteness
of God, I don't know what else to say, dwells in the body of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's enough of a reason
for you to not be troubled because of who I am. You know, when he said in verse
four, and whether I go, you know, the way, you know, Thomas saith
unto him, Lord, we not know whether you go. How can we know the way?
Well, if you know him, you know the way. He said, you know the
way because you know me. Now, Thomas didn't understand
that at this time, but that's still the fact. He is the way. Other reasons could be given,
but this is the best reason, who he is. Now look what he says in verse
two. In my father's house are many
mansions. In my father's house. There's
only one house. We think of many mansions. We
think of these columns, you know, holding up the portico, just
big mansions. I'm going to live in a mansion
in glory. There's only one house. And there are many, not just
a few, many dwelling places. Well, I want to be in one of
those, don't you? In my father's house are many dwelling places. Remember when he said to, I think
it was Mary, don't touch me right now. And he wasn't saying you
couldn't touch his glorified body. He wasn't saying that.
He said, you go to my disciples, go to my brethren. Think about
that. He calls every one of his people
my brethren. Go to my brethren and tell them,
I go to my father and your father and to my God and your God. My father's house, he says, that's
my house too. That's my house. That's every
believer's house. These dwelling places in this
glorious house. If it were not so, I would have
told you. He never lies, he never exaggerates, he never embellishes
anything. He says, if it were not so, I
would have told you. In my father's house, he's speaking to his fearful
disciples, whom he says, don't be troubled, don't be afraid. In my father's house are many
dwelling places. And get this, he said, I go to
prepare a place for you. Now that said to every single
believer. He said, I go to prepare a place
for you. And understand this, that doesn't
mean he's gonna go back to heaven and get the room ready. Get it
all tidied up so you'll feel comfortable going in. That's
not what this is about. He says, I'm going to the cross
to prepare a place for you. Did they know what he was talking
about at this time? I doubt it. I wonder how many times they
looked at each other and said, what did he mean by that? I bet that happened so many times.
John, did you hear what he said? I don't think they really knew
what he meant at that time, but he did. He said, I go to prepare
a place for you. Now, I love thinking about this. On Judgment Day, He says, Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. That's what the Lord's going
to say on Judgment Day. I go. I go to the cross to prepare
this place for you. When Paul describes the preparation,
he says, I have not seen or hear heard neither thinner into the
heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that
love him. And at the end of his time on
the cross, he said, it is finished. Among other things, that means
it is prepared. Your place is prepared. Reserved, what did Peter call
it? This dwelling place, Peter calls
it, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not
away. Reserved in heaven for you who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Now this dwelling place that every believer has, it's reserved
for you. He prepared it. You're not going
to get there and find out something went wrong. He accomplished this
eternal dwelling place for you, and there's nothing else needed. Right now, Colossians 1.12, Paul
says, He hath made us meet for the inheritance of the saints
in light. Now, right now, I mean, we're
trying to have a worship service. And I pray the Lord we do have
a true worship service. But can you imagine the worship
service up there? Right now, as I speak, as we speak, they're
not thinking about us. They're in the very presence
of the Lamb of God, beholding His face, rejoicing in Him. Think
of what's going on up there. And Paul tells us, we're meet
to be there right now. Nothing else is needed to make
me fit to be there right now. The only thing I need to do is
get rid of this flesh and I have all that's needed to be there
right now. Now, what he says, in my father's
house, verse two, 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. That's what He did on the cross. The reason you're
going to be in this dwelling place is because of what He accomplished
on Calvary's tree. All your sins, He took upon Himself
and put them away. He made them not to be. He made
you, by what He did, perfect in God's sight. Without sin,
without guilt, without blame. Perfect! I go and prepare a place
for you. And that's exactly what he did.
And when he said it is finished, he was prepared. Verse three. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, that's what he did. When he went to the cross, he
prepared a place for you. If you're a believer, your name
was on his heart. He knew you, and he went to prepare
this place for you, 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 you may be also. Now, if he's gone to prepare
a place for you, he's coming after you. He came to you in
the preaching of the gospel when He gave you ears to hear and
a heart to receive. He came to you by Spirit. He
came to you. If He went to prepare a place
for you, He will come again for you. And He did come for you.
But this is also talking about His second coming and how we
love to think about His second coming when every eye will see
Him. Everybody's going to know who
he is at that time. You know, when he came the first time, nobody knew
who he was. A few people, a few insignificant
shepherds he made himself known to, but the world didn't know
who he was. When he lived 30 years in obscurity, nobody knew
who he was. The spotless holy son of God,
nobody even realized it. That reminds me that men don't
know holiness when they see it. They hear the Lord walked upon
this earth, no, but they didn't recognize who he was. They saw
no beauty in him that they desire him. But when he comes a second
time, behold, he cometh with the clouds, the scripture says,
and every eye shall see him. Now, I don't know how this is,
but everybody's gonna know who he is. This is Jesus Christ. How are they gonna know? I don't
know, but they will. Every eye will see him. Everybody's gonna
know exactly who this is, the second person of the blessed
Trinity, the Son of God, coming back as a mighty victor, as a
mighty reigning king. And he says, if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive you. receive you unto myself. To where I am, there you may
be also. Now here is what he says, I'm going to receive you unto
myself. Now we do receive him. I think it's kind of a, a given
that false religion looks at the act of reception as the act
of salvation. It's up to you. You can either
receive him or reject him. If you receive him, you'll be
saved. If you reject him, you won't be saved. No, no, that's
just not so. If you reject him, you won't
be saved. That's true. But you're not saved because
of your act of reception. You're received because he saved
you. You receive him because he saved you. You receive him
because he gave you life. You know, when it says we love
Him because He first loved us, well, we receive Him because
He first received us. He received us. John 1, 12, and 13 says, for
as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the
sons of God, even to them which believe on His name. Now, this
is how you can tell. If you've received Him, you believe
on His name. His name is who He is. His name is His attributes. character that He's revealed
with regard to Himself in His Word. You believe His righteousness
is the only righteousness. You trust Him only. That's to
receive Him. You believe on His name. You
believe the only reason you'll be able to enter into heaven
is because of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. His name. Do you believe that? Do you believe
His name is your only ground? You won't be saying your own
name. When your name is called, you'll be looking for him to
answer for you. And that's what he'll do. Present and accounted
for. He's one of mine. She's one of
mine. Nothing else will need to be
said. That's what it is to receive Christ. It's to believe on his
name. Now, I think of him receiving
me. He receives me, and this is true
of every believer. He receives you as His bride. Spotless, holy, beautiful, without
wrinkle, spot, or any such thing. Unblameable and unapprovable. That's the way He receives you.
And the reason He receives you that way is because that's who
you are. That's what He made you by Him going to prepare this
place for you when He went to the cross. He made you to where
you're all together lovely to Him. He says from the Song of
Solomon, you've ravished my heart with one of your eyes. That's
what the Lord says to His people. Thou art all fair, my love. There's no spot in thee. You're
perfect. You know, we always think of
the Lord being disappointed with us. He's not. You're perfect in His
sight, altogether lovely. That's the way He receives His
people. What does He say? And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I'll come again. and receive you unto myself,
that where I am, there you may be also. Now this is heaven on
earth, and this is heaven in heaven, being received by Christ
himself. That's heaven on earth. That's
heaven in heaven. I love the song we sing, or it's
sung as a special. It's not in our hymn book, John
Newton put it this way, how tedious and tasteless the hours when
Jesus no longer I see. And you've experienced that.
Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers of all lost
their sweetness to me. The midsummer sun shines but
dim. The fields strive in vain to
look gay. when I am happy in Him. December's as pleasant as May. His name yields the richest perfume,
and sweeter than music His voice, His presence disperses my gloom
and makes all within me rejoice. I would, were he always thus
nigh, have nothing to wish or to fear, no mortal as happy as
I. My summer would last all the
year, content with beholding his face. My all to his pleasure
resigned. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. When blessed with a sense of
his love, A palace, a toy would appear, and prisons would palaces
prove, if Jesus would dwell with me there. Dear Lord, if indeed
I am thine, if thou art my sun and my song, say, why do I languish
in pine? And why are my winters so long?
Please drive these dark clouds from the sky, thy soul's cheering
presence restore. or take me into the on high where
winter and clouds are no more. You're going to be with me. Now heaven is being with him. Heaven on earth is being with
him, isn't it? Heaven in heaven is being with him. Look in John
chapter 17, verse 24. This is his great high priestly
prayer after this last discourse with his disciples. And he says
in verse 24, Father, I will. Now, that's so powerful. If I
say I will, it's wrong. It's just wrong. I don't know
whether will or not. But if he says I will, what power
there is in his. I will. And look at the way he speaks
to his father as equal to the father. I mean, what if mere
you said to the Father, I will that you do this? Why, it would
be blasphemy. It'd be wicked. It'd be wrong.
But oh, he has equal to the Father. Father, I will that they whom
you have given me be with me where I am. that they may behold
my glory, for thou lovest me from the foundation of the earth. Do you know before time began,
when all there was was God, there wasn't creation, there wasn't
space, there were no planets, no angels, nothing but God. I was in him and I was with him. When he agreed to be my surety
before time began and take full responsibility for my salvation,
I was in him and I was with him. When he became incarnate, that
Time when the virgin conceived and there he was. I love the way the angel said
that holy thing which is in thee. Like they couldn't come up with
the right name. He shall be called the Son of God. When he was in
his mother's womb, without a human consciousness at this time, I
don't understand that, but I was in him and I was right there
with him. When he kept God's holy law,
guess who else did? Everybody in him. I was in him. I was with him. And when he was
nailed to a cross, I was nailed to that cross too,
because I was in him. Paul said, I'm crucified with
Christ. He didn't say, it's as if I were
crucified with Christ. He said, I am crucified with
Christ. When Christ was nailed to that
tree, every one of his people were. I was in him and I was
with him. You know, here's our claim to
fame, I'm with him. I'm with him. I make no other,
I'm with him. When he was raised from the dead, I was in Him. And I was with
Him. And when He ascended back to
glory, I was in Him. Listen to me. Both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified. This is Hebrews 2.11. This is
Scripture. Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are
all of one. One with Jesus Christ. I'm eternally
one with Jesus Christ. And I've always been with As he's seated at the right hand
of the Father right now, guess who else is there? every single
believer in Him, with Him. Now, this thing we call time
is just a blip. It's going to be over soon enough. And then we're going to enter
into the fullness of what the Lord says in John 17, 24. He
said, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me
be with me where I am. That's all I want. I want to
be with Him where He is. I don't want anything else. I
want to be with Him where He is. And what is our occupation
at that time? That they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation
of the earth. If I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive
you into myself, that where I am, there you may be also. When he shall come with trumpet
sound, oh, may I then in him be found, dressed in his righteousness
alone. thoughtless to stand before the
throne. Let's pray. Lord, we're so easily troubled. And you say in your word, let
not your heart be troubled for this one reason. because of who
you are. Lord, will you give us grace
to not have our heart troubled because of who you are? In Christ's
name we pray. Amen.