Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of John, chapter 14. John, chapter 14. I'd like to read the first three
verses of John 14. Your heart be troubled. You 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." The Lord Jesus Christ had just
told the apostles some things that really troubled them. In chapter 13, verse 18, he had
just said that one of them was going to be the fulfillment of
this passage of Scripture back in Psalm 41.9 that says, Yea,
mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my
bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. Then he said in verse 21 of John
13, he said, One of you shall betray me. Then in verse 22, the disciples
looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. They were puzzled. They started looking around and
they thought, it can't be him. It couldn't be him. Well, I know
it couldn't be him. Well, is it me? 1333, the Lord said, little children,
yet a little while I am with you. You shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews,
whether I go or you cannot come, so now I say to you. He told
them, I am going away. You can't come. And then Peter
questioned him. about leaving, and the Lord said
in chapter 13, verse 36, He said, Whether I go, thou canst
not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow Me afterwards. And Peter
told Him in verse 37, he said, Why can't I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy
sake." And then the Lord told him what Peter would surely do. Verse 38, "...will thou lay down
thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice."
Peter, you're not You're not as faithful as you think you
are. Peter, you're susceptible to fall like all men are. And oh, how those words must
have grieved the apostles. I'm going away. You can't go. You can't go now. And then he
told them some words to comfort them. Verse 1, he said, Let not
your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. Now, let your heart not be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled.
Well, obviously our hearts are prone to trouble. Job 5.7 says,
Yet man is born unto trouble, unto toil, unto sorrow, to be
agitated, stirred. He's born that way like the sparks
fly upward. It just happens. It's just there. And the reason
because of that is because of sin. Sorrow is going to follow
us all the days of our lives. But here our Lord says, let not
your heart be troubled. And then He gives them the only
hope, the only stay, the only foundation to not let your heart
be troubled. Believe me. Wait on the Lord. It's the safest thing that a
man will ever do. A woman never do. Wait on God. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. In regenerating
grace by the mercy of God, you believe in God. You do believe
in God. That's what he told him. He said,
I know you do. He knew their hearts. He knew their sorrows. Their hurt. And He knew their
love for Him. He knew. He saw their frailties. But He had given them faith to
believe. He said, you do believe God. You know that God is holy
and just and good. I know you do. You know God's sovereign. I've
taught you that by my Holy Spirit. You know that God demands holiness. You know that. You know that
God's shown mercy to you. You know that He sent the prophets.
He's given you His Word. You know that He's given acceptable
worship, new heart. You believe God. That's a distinguishing
mark of God's people. They believe God. Abraham believed
God. I've heard it said many times,
and rightly so, the devils believe in God. They believe that there
is a God. Devils believe that, but believers
believe Him. Rest in Him. Wait on Him. You believe in God. Believe in me. Now this is what
he's saying. I and my Father are one. One God. Believe that I am the
fulfillment of all prophecies of Scripture. Believe in me. I am that which Noah's ark set
forth. I am your haven of rest. I am
your ark of safety. I am that which the rock that
followed the nation of Israel. I am the rock. I am the brazen serpent, the
one made sin. I'm going to deal with this,
Lord willing, in 1 Corinthians 10, just a few minutes. But whenever
those serpents started biting the people, we'll find out why.
God sent those fiery serpents in a few minutes. The Lord told
Moses, He said, you take a piece of brass, you make a brazen serpent
out of it. And you hold up that brazen serpent.
There's the picture of Christ being made what was biting the
people. The snakes were a picture of
sin. You hold up that one made sin for his people. And you look. And you're going to live. He
said, I am the fulfillment of that brazen serpent. I am the antitype. The exact opposite of what the
pictures were, I'm the fulfillment of. I am the fulfillment of the
shadows from the Old Testament. Believe me. That my meat is to
do the will of Him that sent me. I am God. You're looking at Almighty God. You believe that I am. You believe in God, believe also
in me. I spoke to Moses in that burning
bush. That was me. I'm the one. that gave the tablets
to Moses. I wrote those with my finger. I was the one in the cloud, guiding
and directing Moses and the people. Paul said in Philippians 3.10,
Oh, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, fellowship
of His sufferings being made conformable unto his death."
You believe in God? Believe also in me, because I
am. I am. Then he revealed something
to them concerning their future state. He said, in my Father's
house, now here's the Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, in human
flesh. 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."
You know, isn't it amazing when our Lord reveals something of
our future state? In my Father's house, in heaven,
there are many mansions. Now you know what we know about
that, Jeff? There's many mansions. Many dwelling
places. That's what we know. Anybody
that tries to read any farther than that into it is just speculating. Just suffice it to be so. In
my father's house were many mansions. For the many. That He's going
to redeem and call out of darkness and keep and have with Him all
that the Father's given Him. That's where they're going to
be in those many mansions. God Almighty is omnipotent. Omniscient. Knows all things. Omnipresent.
But He speaks of a place where God's people are going to be.
God Almighty, in His house, are many dwelling places. Places where we will actually
be as we sit with Him on His throne, His bride, eternally with Him,
beholding His glory, These things are too high for us. There's
just no way we can enter in. But suffice it to say, here's
the thing He said, I'm going to prepare a place for you. My Father's house, I'm revealing
to you for your comfort. I'm going to depart soon. Prepare
a place. But I'll be gone temporarily. This place of many mansions,
a sufficiency of room, I must go to prepare a place for you."
Not that heaven needs preparation. He's got to go to the cross.
I must go. I must die. I must be made sin. I must die as your substitute. I must fulfill the law's demand
for justice. They've made sin for you. I've
got to go prepare this place for you. I must be buried. I must rise the third day. Because
of, He was raised for our justification. Almighty God who eternally justified
His people in Christ in the one that He saw slain from the foundation
of the world? He must ascend into heaven as
the forerunner. Even Jesus made an high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. I must go and prepare a place
for you. Heaven is a prepared place for
a prepared people. and everlastingly love people,
chosen in Him, redeemed by Him, regenerated and kept by His Spirit,
that where He is, there we may be also. The departed saints
that are with Him right now. I do know this. They're with
Him, and one day at His second coming, Their souls are with
Him, rejoicing with Him, knowing where they are absent from the
body, present with the Lord. I know that. But there's going
to come a time when the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come
back to receive His people unto Himself, and the dead in Christ
are going to come out of the grave. They're going to be changed. There's going to be a new body.
In a moment, twinkling of an eye, they're going to hear, I'm
going to prepare a place for you. Wonderful thoughts. But here's the wonder and comfort. Keep coming back. Look at verse
3. 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. In verse 18 of chapter
14, he says, I will not leave you comfortless. I will. I will come to you. I will come
back. He's either going to come back
for his people, either in death, their physical death leaving
before the second coming, or he's going to come at his second
coming. But he said, I'm coming back. I'll receive you to myself. All that he's everlastingly loved. All that he has stood for as
the surety. All that he's redeemed. That
blessed bride that he eternally married. He said, I've betrothed you to
myself everlastingly. Everlastingly. married his bride
in wonderful, glorious union with himself. And that precious
bride that he saw and knew would fall when he came
to Adam, he told Adam, he said, in the day that you eat, you're
going to die. But oh, the glory of redeeming
her, paying her debt, putting away her guilt, robing her in
Himself. He said, I'm coming back for
you. You're mine. I've given myself to you. I have
given myself to you. You've given Yourself to me in
regenerating grace. Oh, that blessed, glorious commitment,
honor, honor of Him giving Himself, paying her debt. I will come
for you. I'm going to come back. Oh, Lord
Jesus Christ, come quickly. Lord, that where You are, There we may be also. I think about that scripture
that says, I hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath
it entered into the heart of man that which God has prepared
for those that love him. Oh, in that blessed day when
He receives His people unto Himself. And the Scripture sets forth
this terminology, revelation. It says they cast their crowns,
the crown, the glory of His righteousness to them, casting their crowns
before Him. You're worthy. Thou hast redeemed
us. In that day when we truly understand
what He's done, put away our guilt. Give us His holiness that
He earned as our representative, our federal head. Told them what
they were by nature. Told Peter Peter, you're a frail
sinner. Without me, you'd do nothing.
You're going to forsake me, Peter. But let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe in
me. I go to prepare a place for you that where I am, there you
may be. And if I go away, I'm going to
come back for you. Who knows, it may be today. Lord
Jesus come quickly. Amen.