Gospel of John 14:1-3

1. In these short verses, Jesus gives His followers words to calm troubled hearts. As Christians, what are we to do when we face difficult times? The answer is that we are to take ourselves in hand and by a deliberate exercise of mind strengthen our faith in God. We are to think of Him, and so overcome trouble reminding ourselves of the power and promises of God by trusting in Him. We do this through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

2. While we live in this world we will be subject to trouble. Jesus calls us to be the kind of Christians who are a source of strength to others. There are two points to be made by this text. The first is that frequently we will have cause to be troubled. There are many people that believe in a false theology of health and prosperity. This is the kind of Christianity that pretends that the real child of God will not suffer in this world. However, anyone who takes the time to study the life of our Lord will soon see the error in this type of thinking. Look at how often Scripture tells us that Jesus was "troubled." See John 13:21. The disciples themselves lived in turmoil. Was it reasonable for the disciples to be in turmoil? Certainly it was. As we as Christians deal with a world that is in sorrow, we must learn to mourn with them. See Romans 12:15.

3. Christians are realists. We are realists about life's problems. Yet, we are realists about the power of God to change thing. What are the reasons that we should not be troubled? These verses disclose five things. First, we know Jesus, he is God, he knows about us and our circumstances. He is able to deal with them. We have every reason. To trust Him. As Jesus said, " Trust in God, trust also in me." The disciples knew Jesus. They had every reason to trust Him.

4. The second reason Jesus gives why we should not be troubled is that there is a place prepared for us in Heaven. The life of a Christian is not like the life of an unbeliever. We know that we will see Jesus in our Heavenly home. The faithful Christian follows Him now and lives for Him. But our citizenship is in Heaven. See Phil. 3:17,20. To our destiny is a great incentive as we live in the midst of turmoil.

5. The third reason that Jesus gives for us not to be in turmoil, is that He was going to prepare a place for us. The important part of this declaration is the personal aspect. Jesus is personally preparing " your place."

6. The fourth and fifth points can be taken together. First, we know that Jesus has promised to return for those He left behind. Further, from that point onward, we will be with Him forever.

7. As a result of these several verses, Jesus has brought the focus on Heaven. According to Jesus, Heaven is a discrete place of permanence. Many people have great difficult contemplating Heaven. They try to create scientific reasons why it could not be a real place. Some scientists have argued that if Jesus had ascended into the heavens in A.D. 30, and accelerated at the speed of light, He still would have not reached the farthest stars, let alone wherever Heaven may be. A theologian retorted back, that we should never reduce God traveling at the speed of light!

8. When we turn to the New Testament, we find Abraham praised, not because he fixed his hope on an earthly home, but because he looked for a heavenly home. See Heb. 11:10. Our expectations are only met when we understand that Jesus is preparing our home in Heaven.

9. As we look closely at the words of Jesus, we should take notice that according to Jesus, Heaven is a genuine place. On the occasion of His address in the upper room, Jesus indicated that He was going to a real place. The idea that Heaven is merely a state and therefore everywhere and yet nowhere is not according to Scripture. We know that God is a Spirit, however, we also know that Jesus has a real, post resurrection body. Jesus has become man for all eternity. We also will have bodies in the world to come. If this were not so, the teaching about the resurrection of the body would be meaningless. The post resurrection body of a Christ has qualities that our current bodies do not. His body could move through closed doors. See 1 Thess. 4:16-18.

10. The Heaven we will go to when we die, the present Heaven, is a temporary dwelling place along the way until God creates a new Jerusalem- on the new earth. See Revelation 21:1. Similarly, what we now call Hell will also be relocated as the eternal lake of fire( Revelation 20:14-15).

11. Scripture is clear on this issue, just as Jesus promised. At death, the human spirit goes either to Heaven or Hell. Christ depicted Lazarus and the rich man as conscious in Heaven and Hell immediately after they died ( Luke 16:22-31). Jesus told the dying thief on the cross, " Today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). The apostle Paul said that to die was to be present with Christ ( Philippians 1:23). Also, when we are absent from the body, we are present with he Lord ( 2 Cor.5:8). Moreover, after their deaths, martyrs are pictured in Heaven, crying out to God to bring justice on Earth ( Revelation 6:9-11). The spirit's departure from the body ends our existence on Earth. The physical part of us " sleeps" until the resurrection, while the spiritual part of us relocates to a conscious existence in Heaven ( Daniel 12:2-3). Every reference in Revelation to human beings talking and worshipping in Heaven prior to the resurrection of the dead demonstrates that our spiritual beings are conscious, not sleeping, after death.

12. When we die, we face judgment, which is the judgment of faith. This judgment determines whether we will be in Heaven or Hell. This judgement does not depend on works, but rather relies on our faith in Christ. The free gift of salvation places us in Heaven ( Eph. 2:8-9). The Bible also tells us that all believers will have to give an account of our lives to Christ( Romans 14:10-12, 2 Cor. 5:10). While our works have nothing to do with our salvation, they do affect the rewards and responsibilities that Christ will delegate. These rewards are about our work for a God, empowered by His Spirit. Rewards are conditional, dependent on our faithfulness ( 2 Tim. 2:12, Rev. 2:26-28).

13. The present Heaven is normally invisible to those living on Earth. Yet, the Bible teaches that humans are sometimes allowed to see into Heaven. As he was dying from the murderous hail of stones, Stephen looked up and saw into Heaven ( Acts 7:55-56).

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