1. Story from Time mag. caught my attention cause reported on

2015/11/03 03:06:30
John 14:1-6
The Blessed Hope
(Last Supper Series, John 13-17)
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Introduction
1. Story from Time mag. caught my attention cause reported on Detroit man who died of fear.1
a. Fur-trapper bitten by many ticks over the yrs. Then heard of Lyme disease fr. deer ticks.
b. Became obsessed w/fear contracted the disease & had passed it on to his wife.
c. Drs. tested & assured not infected w/Lyme disease. Also, nearly imposs. transmit to wife.
d. He refused believe Drs. Became so paranoid over disease killed his wife & then himself.
e. Police found his mailbox jammed w/info on Lyme disease & slip for yet another Drs. test.
f. Fear distorts person’s sense of reality. Fear consumes person’s energy & thots. Fear controls. (Show)
2. Ask Question. Has fear distorted your sense of reality? Is it consuming your energy/thots?
a. Is it controlling you in some destructive & unhealthy way? Who can say never struggle?
b. Even strongest person sometimes acts/reacts irrationally, unwisely because of fear.
3. Jesus gave us the way to cope w/fears. Instead of being controlled by them, we can control.
4. Open Bibles to Jn. 14:1-6. (Title/Text) (Show structure: command, cure, promises)
I. Jesus’ Command, v. 1a: Don’t fear the future.
A. The Command
1. Troubled = water stirred up or roiled; mob agitated & restless.2
a. strike one’s spirit with fear and dread; render anxious or distressed; perplex the mind3
b. Disciples were roiled, stirred, agitated & restless w/three fears.
i. Jesus said that one of them was a traitor who’d betray leader. Not know who.
ii. Jesus said that strongest one all took cue fr. collapse in weakness & deny leader.
iii. Jesus said He was going to leave them & could not come where He was going.
2. In one brief conversation their whole world was turned upside down. Future in doubt.
B. The Application
1. Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. Suppose after church someone came & said this:
a. Someone you’ve trusted = traitor. Can’t say who, but turn against & do serious harm.
b. And, person most self-assured’ll collapse under pressure, turn tail & run as weakling.
c. And, one you thot be w/you forever, who left everything for, will leave you vry shortly.
2. How many think we could handle that kind of news w/o fear, dread, agitation, anxiety?
3. We might say, Wait a minute. We know what’s going to happen. Jesus’ll rise again.
a. Only temporary. Conquer death. Ascend heaven. Have all authority heaven/earth.
b. No need for disciples worry. Jesus has everything under control. Be all right.
4. Ask questions. Jesus risen for us? Conquered death? Ascended heaven? All authority?
a. Is our future completely under His control? Why don’t we take our own medicine?
b. If only 10% of what we believe is true we should be 10xs. more excited about it.4
c. But not just 10% of it is true, but how much? 100%. We don’t need fear future.
II. Jesus’ Cure, v. 1b: Trust in Both Father & Son.
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Time, 8/14/89 reported in Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (p. 169).
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
2 Strong, J. (1996). The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. #5015-16.
3 Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship. #5015.
4 Prof. Howard Hendricks said this to us in class or in a sermon I heard in Chafer Chapel at Dallas Theological Seminary.
2015/11/03 03:06:30
John 14:1-6
The Blessed Hope
(Last Supper Series, John 13-17)
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A. Double Trust
1. Clearly this = claim to deity on part of Jesus. Jesus putting self on same level as Father.
a. In few hrs. disciples see Him weak, powerless, defeated and dead.
b. Despite all that they should continue believing (pres. imperative5) that He is God.
c. They saw His omnipotence when stilled storm. Keep believing in it.
d. Saw omniscience when knew Pharisees’ thots. Keep believing in it.
e. Saw omnipresence when saw Nathaniel under fig tree. Keep believing in it.
f. Despite what about to experience keep believing that Jesus is greater.
2. But there’s more here. Reason for connection of Father & Son regards Jesus’ mission.
a. All thru-out John’s Gospel, Jesus refers to fact that Father sent Him on mission.
b. Read John 6:38-39; 7:33. Father conceived a plan for redeeming a people.
c. Jesus was sent to accomplish that plan. Part of it was dying, rising, ascending.
d. All the hard events going to happen were in that plan & part of its fulfillment.
e. Jesus was not being defeated. On the contrary He was gaining victory thru defeat.
f. Both Father & Son be trusted because accomplishing mission despite opposition.
B. Christian View of History
1. I will never forget when I first learned the Christian view of history. (Show)6 Know it?
a. Wrong view of history is = endless cycle going round & round heading nowhere.
b. No plan, purpose; everything random; run by time/chance; & survival of fittest.
c. Sounds like Evolution doesn’t it. This = Evolutionary view of history. No comfort.
d. Christian view of history is that it’s a straight line. Headed to destination.
e. One controlling that destination is Jesus Christ who has received all authority.
2. Father & Son cannot be defeated but are taking us to that destination.
3. No matter what happens, their omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience will prevail.
4. He who began a good work in you will complete it at the day of Christ Jesus, Phil. 1:6.
5. Jesus is Lord over history & eternity. So keep believing because He cannot fail.
6. This is the cure for all fear, dread, agitation and anxiety. We have both Father & Son?
7. And shortly Jesus will introduce the Holy Spirit whom He would send too.
III. Jesus’ Promises, vv. 2-6
A. Whatever Became of Heaven?
1. Many-yrs-ago Dave Hunt wrote book entitled Whatever Became of Heaven? (Show)
a. He said Christians always have believed that our best life was yet to come.
b. In this world we’d have trials, tribulations, hardships, problems & difficulties.
c. Our real home is heaven & that future destiny is what sustains us in the present.
d. Pastor’s preached about heaven, & Christians eagerly anticipated being taken up at any moment to
meet their Lord in the air.7
2. Hunt’s concern was that was being lost & replaced by focus on creating heaven here.
Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The interpretation of St. John’s gospel (pp. 968–969). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Pub. House.
Line A vs. Circle B. https://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/scenario/circumference.gif. Accessed 10/31/15.
7 http://www.amazon.com/Whatever-Happened-Heaven-Dave-Hunt/dp/1928660703. Accessed 10/31/15.
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2015/11/03 03:06:30
John 14:1-6
The Blessed Hope
(Last Supper Series, John 13-17)
3. The blessed hope of heaven became the blessed hope of having heaven now.8
4. Who could argue with him w/Christian best-sellers like Your Best Life Now?
5. But this is not our true home; we’re just passing thru; heaven is our true home.
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B. What Does Jesus Say about Heaven? (Show)
1. Believers have a permanent home in heaven.
a. Emphasis here = heaven is a place where we will permanently enjoy God’s family.
b. Jewish families often added room as son/daughter got married & family grew. (Show)
c. Everyone enjoyed the family compound and family life was center of daily activity.
d. Heaven this way. Heaven = God’s family compound where enjoy God’s family forever.
e. We will know each other; have full fellowship w/Father/Son; permanent joy forever.
2. Believers have a prepared home in heaven.
a. Used to think that v. 2b means that Jesus is actively building heaven for us now.
b. Not idea. Jesus prepared heaven for us by going there to be our Savior.
c. Because He is there He has provided an entrance thru His blood for all who trust Him.
d. He always live to make intercession for them, Heb. 7:25. Prepared cause He is there.
3. Believers have a personal escort to heaven.
a. This is one of the clearest verses on the Rapture of all believers. Rapture = catch up.
b. One day Jesus will return for His children. Unannounced. Could be at any time.
c. He will personally escort us to heaven if have not already died and gone there.
d. So we will always be with the Lord, 1 Thess. 4:18.
4. Believers have a precise path to heaven.
a. Jesus is the way because of two things that He is, v. 6.
i.
He is the truth, i.e. He has brought to us the gospel by which we are saved.
ii.
He is the life, i.e. He imparts to us the divine life of God when we trust.
iii. Flesh/blood cannot inherit kingdom of God; you must be born again, John 3.
iv.
Jesus gives us new life when we trust Him as Lord and Savior.
b. Thomas spoke for many who have doubts about whether we can be sure of heaven.
i.
Pastor friend of mine asked some Jehovah’s Witnesses if knew had eternal life.
ii.
They said, Oh, you can’t know that! Wait ‘til you die to find out. But can know.
iii. Just as I knew on right road to church, so w/Jesus right road to heave.
c. There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven, but more often I find myself
wondering whether in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else.… It is the secret
signature of each soul, the incommunicable and unappeasable want, the thing we desired before
we met our wives or made our friends or chose our work, and which we shall still desire on our
deathbeds when the mind no longer knows wife or friend or work.9
d. Jesus’ logic here is impeccable. If God has taken care of our eternity, 
e. Then surely He can be trusted to care for us in time. If future life provided for, 
f. Then don’t need to fear in this present life.
See description of Hunt’s book along with reviews at the website listed in footnote 7 above at amazon.com.
C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: Macmillan, 1978), pp. 145–147. Quoted in Hughes, R. K. (1999). John:
that you may believe (p. 337). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
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