We are concluding our series this coming Sunday on what it means to be a “believer”. Are you a believer in Jesus Christ? We’ve talked about all the various aspects of believing, that it's more than just mere knowledge. It's about receiving Christ as our Savior; it's about having a spiritual experience with Him. The last time we spoke about this, we talked about the blind man who was healed by Jesus; his eyes were open and his spiritual eyes were opened as well through belief in Christ.
And so, in this concluding message of the series I want to talk about the hope of heaven that we have through our belief. Ihf you believe in Jesus Christ, you don't have to be afraid of circumstances in our world, you don't have to be afraid of death because you have a hope that is beyond this world.
And so, I want to close this series with a message of hope taken from John 14. The scene is the Last Supper that Jesus celebrates with His 12 disciples; that Passover meal before He goes to the Garden, is arrested, and is tried and eventually crucified. The scene in this last supper is somewhat ominous, the mood is sombre. The atmosphere is tense. Jesus had just previously made some veiled remarks about dying. He said that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it can't produce any fruit. He's also said that if you love your life, you will lose it, but if you hate your life, you will keep it for eternity.
And so, the atmosphere is one of thick tension. His disciples probably knew that something was about to happen but they couldn't put their finger on it. And what about this business of one of the 12 betraying Him? And why did Judas get up and leave in such a hurry? And why did Jesus say I'm going somewhere and you can't follow Me? And so, it all seemed so ominous and tense and confusing and strange. And then Jesus said some things about believing in Him…that it was imperative for them to continue to believe in Him as the Son of God.
John 14:1“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
There are 6 aspects of believing that I have taken from this text: The Problem of Believing, The Provision to those who Believe, the Preparation for Believers, the Promise of heaven to Believers, the Proposal to those Believe, and finally, the Procedure to Believe…Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.
Join us in person on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. or via livestream by going to https://www.firstbaptistsudbury.com and clicking on livestream for “The Promise of Heaven”
Blessings,
Kevin
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