John 14:1-7

John 14:1-7 “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.”

Jesus promised the disciples that if they would trust and believe in his name, He was going to prepare a place for them so that where He was they would be also someday. He promised them eternal life in heaven through him: the way and the truth and the life. Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave by the power of the Holy Spirit would fulfill God's word and validate all that Christ had proclaimed concerning his ministry and God's salvation plan for all people formed from the foundation of the world. In response to Thomas's feeble cry that they did not know where He was going or how to find the way, He boldly declares He is the Way. Only He holds the keys to victory over sin and death and to everlasting life with the Father, saying, No one comes to the Father except through me. A child walking with Jesus with eyes and ears of faith open to the message He taught would have discerned the truth by this time; yet the disciple's faith faltered as human faith so often does. Paul concluded that Christianity has to be more than a form of godliness or a religious way of living. Without the power of the resurrection, our walk is in vain: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (1 Corinthians 15:18-19)

Gathered at the breakfast table today, our only hope of peace, joy, and victory over sin now and eternal rest IS IN CHRIST, THE RESURRECTED ONE. He alone won the battle. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Only Christ in us is our hope of glory: our Victor, our Redeemer, our Savior. He holds the power to escort us safely into the presence of a holy, perfect God. Yet God is a God of Love who sent his Son to say, If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. As John said: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. (1 John 3:1a) Because of God's love expressed through his Son, Jesus, we are known as the people of THE WAY; and we are brought home to the Father through the Son. Our fears of the future are gone because we find hope to overcome the evil one, and we rest in the hope of the final solution of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus told his disciples, Do not let your hearts be troubled. He knew they were upset about his talk of departing from them. They were looking for better things in the immediate future, but their leader talked about death and leaving this Earth. To them, the prospect of Christ's death offered a dead end street, a foreboding future full of suffering and pain, not what they were expecting. Jesus' words of death and persecution troubled their souls. Jesus said, trust me, I have plans for you that surpass anything this life can offer: 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.

A victorious Christian life is not always easy to live: we often suffer in the flesh; yet scripture says: In this [trials] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:5-7) When difficult experiences come, we could eat, drink, and be merry as the world does, for tomorrow we may die; but by faith we stand with John, declaring: We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1John 5:20) Paul said, I die every day. (1 Corinthians 15:31a) Paul did not count his life as dear. Facing every kind of distress and peril, He pressed onward with peace and joy toward a higher calling with unconditional love for his oppressors. He willingly yielded his life regardless of the cost because he knew Christ intimately and was crucified with Christ. He knew none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:7-8)

The Spirit calls us to surrender completely to the cause of Christ. God asks us to be known as faithful and true not as whiners and complainers. The Holy Spirit seeks soldiers of the cross. The only requirement is surrender and commitment. God did not call the strong; He called the weak who will allow him to make his strength perfect in their weakness: For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. (1 Corinthians 1:26-27) And yes, when our time is over, we have a home in heaven. Christ sent the blessed Holy Spirit to teach us all things, to remind us of that glorious place. He empowers us, gives us hope during our journey for a better place where pain and sorrow will cease and there will be no more tears. We count on those precious promises: God is not a liar; his Word is true. In his house there are many rooms: one has your name written on the door. We must believe that or flounder as the disciples temporarily became faint of heart and lost focus upon learning Jesus would face an ignominious death rather than rule as a victorious king. Rejoice IN CHRIST and do not let your hearts be troubled: the victory is already yours. Christ has won, the battle is over, there will be no more war! These trials are temporary skirmishes. We are pilgrims passing through. Soon and very soon we are going to see the King. Until then, we rejoice with exceeding great joy: we serve a risen Savior with all power and authority, all wisdom and knowledge, all we will ever need and more!