Cross Creek Community Church, Pastor Dave Martin January 31, 2010

“Present Troubles : Future Eternity”

‘Crossing Into Victory’ Series Part 5 of 5 ~ John 14:1-6

Welcome to Cross Creek… Awesome concert: Aaron Shust, DownHere tour with Laura Story – Friday, March 19^th 7pm

 

Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother. The first said, "I built a big house for our mother." The second said, "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver." The third smiled and said, "I've got you both beat. Remember how mom
enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can't see very well. I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. He's one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot recites it."

Soon thereafter, mom sent a letter to each son. "Milton," she wrote one son, "the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house." "Gerald," she wrote to another, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!" "Dearest Donald," she wrote to her third son, "you have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious."

 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

 

·         Paul called them light and momentary ‘troubles’ - “pressures, burdens, hardships, persecutions, anguish”… in comparison to eternity, future ”weight, abundance” of  glory!  (sense of scales)

·         Paul was accustomed to suffering for the sake of the Gospel… troubles seemed to be around every bend in the road… Persecution, shipwrecks, contrary people, physical ailments, constant battles with the enemy see 2Co 11:23-29…

·         The difficulties  of this life is minor compared to the wonder of our eternal salvation (Rom 8:18)

·         Paul resolved to fix his eyes and attention on the set goal, the eternal unseen reality… spending eternity with God… we must learn to maintain proper perspective throughout life

 

·         Paul experienced troubles… the disciples of Jesus faced troubles also…

 

Jesus’ Disciples were Troubled…

Difficulties, Disappointments, Doubts, Discouragement, Depression, Dread

 

Hearing Jesus talk of going away and of His death by crucifixion, His preparations for burial, the disciples  arguments & dispute of whose the greatest, a traitor among them, then Judas’s betrayal, Peters predicted three denials and all the disciples desertion, Satan’s presence …  Carefully study Mt 26, Mk 14, Lu 22, Jn 13-14

 

·         Paul experienced troubles… the disciples faced troubles… We will face troubles also…

·         There is no free pass to “get out of troubles”…

• We too often face Difficulties, Disappointments, Doubts, Discouragement, Depression, Dread (fear)

·         In fact there are many Christians today living in bondage to these BIG D’s… opposite of fear is faith!

·         I believe Jesus gave some key ingredients to help His disciples in times of trouble…

 

 

 

 

Know Christ’s Formula… (Jn 14:1-6)

1.      A Person Named Jesus

John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

·         “Hearts”  is the seat of who we are… the core of belief, to be guarded… individual responsibility for

·         Troubled (stirred, agitated, stressed)… If you trust in God… trust also in me.  “Trust” – faith, commit, believe… a full trust, commitment in, faith in Jesus

·         These good Jewish men already trusted in God, now Jesus asks them to trust in Him also…

·         The Messiah… who fed the thousands, healed the blind and raised the dead… (only God could do)

·         The foundational truth is to be in a relationship with Jesus by faith/trust/belief/commitment…    

 

Know the Son, you will know the Father… Jn 14.20, 1jn 2:23, 4:15 Col 1:15, Phil 2:6, Heb 1:3, etc…

1 John 4:15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

 

·         Our faith is in a person and His name is Jesus… Just before His arrest in the garden Jesus said…

 

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

·         Life filled with turmoil, troubles… we need the Victor, the Conqueror, we need Jesus!

 

 

2.      A Place called Heaven

John 14:2 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.

·         Jesus tells them to have FAITH in Him, Heb 11:6… substance of things hoped for & evidence unseen

·         Heaven is found some 250 places in the N.T.  We’re told Jesus came from heaven… (Jn 3:13,17:5, 24, 10:30, 14:9, etc…)  Jesus knows all about Heaven “rooms” abodes, living places, mansion, residence

·         Not some magical surreal world, not a figment of man’s imagination, but a real place…

 

Turn to Rev 21-22 (take some time and read slowly through the last two chapters of the Bible)

·         Heavenly City/Holy City, New Jerusalem, Heaven… Rev 21:1-4… create new heaven and earth

·         Spectacular Beauty… Enormous in Size… Rev 21:10-23… 1400miles X 1400 X 1400… 2/3 size U.S.

o   If it has different stories, with each one 20 feet that would equal 396,000 stories! But I don’t think it would need escalators or elevators…

o   15,000 times as big as London; 20 times as big as New Zealand; 10 times as big as Germany and 10 times as big as France. And it is 40 times as big as all England and even much bigger than India!

o   The enormous size could easily accommodate billions of people…

·         Perfect in all Respects… God’s very Presence… Rev 21:3, 22-27; 22:1-5… Reign forever and ever…

·         Eternal Dwelling place for All Overcomers…

o   A special place for a special people. No bribes, money scams, corruption of any kind.

o   No death, sorrow or tears… place where you know everyone & everyone knows you!

 

SAVED - Revelation 21:7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

 

(If we reject the Son, God will reject you)

UNSAVED - Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

 

A. W. Tozer said, "The man who is seriously convinced that he deserves to go to hell is not likely to go there, while the man who believes that he is worthy of heaven will certainly never enter that blessed place."

 

Can we pause to imagine what it would be like in an instant of time, to step over into eternity? To go from your present life to an eternal future with the Lord? To realize we’re finally home in glory. Our eternal destiny is set - no coming back to live in time.

 

TROUBLES… Building Codes!

“Preparing a place for you…” If Jesus Preached today, He would be wanted by....

The FDA for turning water into wine without a license.
The EPA for killing fig trees.
The AMA for practicing medicine without a license.
The Department of Health for asking people to open graves, for raising the dead, and for feeding the 5,000 people in the wilderness.
The NEA for teaching without a certificate.
OSHA for walking on water without a life jacket and for flying without an airplane.
The SPCA for driving hogs into the sea.
The NATIONAL BOARD OF PSYCHIATRISTS for giving advice on how to live a guilt-free life.
The INTERFAITH MOVEMENT for condemning all other religions.
And by the ZONING BOARD for building mansions without a permit.

 

 

A Person… A Place…

3.      A Promise that’s Sure

John 14:3 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.

·         Jesus is referring to the “Rapture” of the church when Christ returns for those who trusted…

·         We spoke last week about being “born of God” – Jesus said in Jn 3:3 “you must be born again”

·         If saved, you’ll understand: “Born once, die twice:  born twice die once and maybe not at all”

·         The 2^nd coming of Christ is mentioned 318 times in the N.T… sure, sudden, any-time… 1Thes 4

 

CAUTION:  Be sure you are ready!  Jesus is coming soon!

Matthew 24:44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

One night at dinner a man, who had spent many summers in Maine, fascinated his companions by telling of his experiences in a little town named Flagstaff. The town was to be flooded, as part of a large lake for which a dam was being built. In the months before it was to be flooded, all improvements and repairs in the whole town were stopped. What was the use of painting a house if it were to be covered with water in six months? Why repair anything when the whole village was to be wiped out? So, week by week, the whole town became more and more bedraggled, more gone to seed, more woebegone. Then he added by way of explanation:

“Where there is no faith/hope in the future, there is no power in the present.”

Halford E. Luccock, Unfinished Business.

A Person… A Place… A Promise…

4.      A Plan to Believe in

John 14:4-6 ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going." ⁵ Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" ⁶ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

·         “Doubting Thomas” we don’t know where we’re going… show us the way… TROUBLED…

·         Jesus is the WAY because He is TRUTH and LIFE… thru Him people can come to God

·         Jesus stresses that the way to the Father is NOT attainable through any other means/ways…

·         Jesus is the only access to the Father… we MUST CROSS OVER through Jesus

·         Jesus is the WAY – Reconciliation, the TRUTH – Illumination, the LIFE – Regeneration

·         No HINT of universalism… the idea that God will find some way to save everybody

·         “NO ONE comes to the Father except through me”…The narrow way (Mt 7)

 

Billy Graham said, I’m not going to heaven because I’ve preached to great crowds of people. I’m going to heaven because Christ died on that cross. None of us are going to heaven because we’re good. And we’re not going to heaven because we’ve worked. We’re not going to heaven because we pray and accept Christ. We’re going to heaven because of what he did on the cross. All I have to do is receive him. And it’s so easy to receive Christ that millions stumble over its sheer simplicity."

 

·         Jesus taught them earlier, The disciples did know the way, but did not fully understand

 

John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

·         LIFE and CONDEMNATION are present possessions with eternal consequences, one or the other

·         This verse challenges everyone to trust Christ through faith… We hear, we believe…

·         That is why you are here today… God brought you to Cross Creek to hear the truth God’s Word

·         The phrase “crossed over” appears in perfect tense indicating a point of time in the past but it continues to the very present… an accomplished fact of salvation and an assured position…

·         We can die two ways: die w/out mercy (death) or die in faith (Life)… crossed over…!

 

H T  +  H T  =  E L

Hear Truth + Heart Trust = Eternal Life

 

Let’s Bow our hearts in prayer…

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner.  Thank you for dying on the cross for me.  I now invite you into my life as my Lord and Savior.  Take control of my life, forgive my sins and make me your child. Amen

 

 

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