TEXT: Col. 1:5 “…for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.”
THESIS: To reveal some of the wonders and bliss of heaven for the believer.
INTRO.:
A. In our text God’s Word speaks of heaven as the “hope…laid up for us.” What if there were no hope beyond the grave? What if heaven were not real? What if we were like those who have no hope? I have recently buried my son. If heaven is not real – I have no hope!
B. Have you ever wondered what heaven will be like? If you were about to move to some place where you had never been, you would surely want to check some things out. You would want to know what the weather would be like there, what your new home would look like, who your new friends and neighbors would be. Surely as a Christian you want to have some information like this where you will live forever, if you are saved.
C. Where is heaven? Biblically it is beyond the place where birds fly, and even beyond the place where planets and stars are located. The Bible says it is in the “sides of the North” – UP! Who will be there – what will our neighbors be like? Scripturally, only those who have trusted Christ as Savior – whose sins have been expunged by His perfect, sinless blood. What will it be like? In a very telling passage of Scripture which came directly from the lips of our Savior, we get a lot of information… Turn to Jn. 14:1-6
I. JESUS’ CURE FOR HEART TROUBLE:“Let not your heart be troubled…” v.1
NOTE: The disciples are in the upper room w/Jesus the night before His death. 🔸🔸They have “heart trouble.” Their hearts are fearful, aching and breaking. They are SAD because of the prospect of Christ’s announced departure. 🔸🔸They have ASHAMED because of their selfishness & pride (re: foot-washing). 🔸🔸They are PERPLEXED because of His prediction that one of their number would betray Him. 🔸🔸They are DISTURBED over His announcement that Peter, their leader would deny Him. 🔸🔸Their hearts were FAILING because their hoped-for Messiah had announced that He would soon be put to death!
🔶🔶🔶Then Jesus says “Let not your heart be troubled…” Anyone but our Savior would have been too preoccupied with his own problems to offer comfort to others…
A. Faith in His Person: v.1 “ye believe in God, believe also in Me…”
1. He is saying “You have believed in God Who is invisible; continue to trust in Me even though I will no longer be visible to you…”
NOTE: This is a statement of Christ’s equality with God. The word “also” declares His absolute Deity. Jesus is not challenging their faith in His position as Messiah, but in His Person as God! The answer to heart trouble is faith!
2. He is also about to declare some important information regarding eternity which will require a great deal of faith.
B. Faith in His Pronouncement: v.2 “…if it were not so, I would have told you”
1. The promises He is about to make concerning heaven are contingent upon His Person as God! 2. If He is God, He cannot lie, and His pronouncements and promises are trustworthy.
a. The promise of a place: “My Father’s house…” 1) He speaks of a place called home – emphasizing its warmth and security.
ILLUS.: Home is supposed to be the most secure place. Surely an omnipotent God has a home that is supremely secure! It is a place where believers will live eternally without fear of any danger, because its Owner is an all powerful Being!
2) Elsewhere He speaks of heaven as a country, emphasizing its vastness. 3) It is referred to as a city, speaking of its activity. 4) It is called a Kingdom, which speaks of its structure, order and law. 5) It is called Paradise, emphasizing its beauty and grandeur.
ILLUS.: Paul says “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” - 1 Cor. 2:9 👁🗨 Our eyes will see colors and sights beyond mere human vision. 👂 Our ears will hear sounds beyond mere human comprehension. 🧡 Our hearts will be flooded with thoughts and concepts beyond human thought or expectation or even imagination! Heaven – what a wonderful place!
b. The promise of His preparation:
1) It includes many “mansions.”
NOTE: 🔹The Greek word is “mone” and comes from the English concept of a manse or manor house, i.e., a mansion! Not a motel, or a rooming house, or a flop house, but a MANSION! The KJ translators preserved the proper word to describe our new home. Not the “homes,” “dwelling places,” “rooms,” or “abodes” of the perversions and versions of the Bible. “I have a MANSION, just over the hilltop…!” 🔹Imagine the Architect of the universe building flophouses for Him and His children to dwell in forever! Mansions contrasts the meagerness of an earthly existence to the extravagance of a heavenly existence. Don’t mess with my mansion! 🔹Jesus left earth as our Bridegroom to prepare our honeymoon suites. He is making everything ready for His Bride, just as Jewish grooms did for their brides. By the way, remember, on earth He was a carpenter! You can trust His workmanship.
II. JESUS’ CURE FOR INSECURITY: “I go to prepare a place for you…” v.3
A. His Father’s House Becomes Our House:
1. Its size:
a. God is an infinite Being, so His dwelling place is infinite. b. There will be plenty of room for everyone.
ILLUS.: 🔅There is one slight problem. You must have reservations! You have to secure your accommodations down here. The only way to do so is to place your trust in His purchase price - you can’t afford a mansion in glory! 🔅The capital city of heaven is the New Jerusalem which measures 1500 miles in every direction! If it is a cube that would be over 2,250,000 square miles. It would hold 30 times the present population of earth with plenty of room to spare. Since so many refuse to make their reservations, there is plenty of room for YOU!
2. Its location:
ILLUS.: Someone objected that if Heaven is beyond the stars and Jesus traveled at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second!) He would not yet have reached the farthest star! But why limit the Creator/Savior to the speed of light? He Who created the universe is able to move with the speed of thought!!! Or even faster!
3. Its Accessibility: “where I am, ye may be also…” v.3b
a. Because of His presence there, we are guaranteed access; it’s Who you know! b. Because of His promise to return for us we are guaranteed access.
NOTE: But His promise isn’t just access to a place, but something far more comforting – access to Himself. Not “receive you unto that place” BUT “Receive you unto Myself!”
4. Its wonders:
a. It is not just who your neighbors will be, but who they won’t be!
Rev. 21:27 “and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Rev. 21:8 “…the fearful, and the unbelieving and the abominable, and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
1 Cor. 6:9 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor evil doers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God”
b. Most importantly, you will not just be with saved loved ones in heaven and the saints down through the ages, but with Jesus Himself!
NOTE: ✨Jesus concludes with instructions on how to get to heaven. He says emphatically “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” He said that to His disciples. ✨I have a GPS for my car. It is amazing technology. With thousands of cars, trucks, planes and boats all going different ways to different places, each GPS will guide them all with accuracy FROM where they are, to WHERE they are going! Finally, when you get to your address, it will announce: “You have arrived at your destination on our left!” Wow! ✨But Jesus says the only way you or anyone can get to Heaven as their final destination is through Him. He declares that He doesn’t simply show us the way – HE IS THE WAY! He isn’t just another lying religious leader – HE IS THE TRUTH! And finally He says He is our Emancipator from death and not just the source of life, but – HE IS THE LIFE!
✨No one can ever get to God’s Home and the Believer’s Hope apart from Him. Is heaven your final destination?!