CHAPTER 14

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Remember, at the end of Chapter 13, Jesus had been talking about His betrayal and death.
The disciples were confused and "troubled."
The following statements are encouragement to those disciples.

Vs 1 "Ye believe in God, believe also in me."
He had declared to them: "I and my Father are ONE." (SeeJohn 10:30)
This inidicated total unity between Jesus and the Father.
Jesus life had depicted the holiness and power of God.
In the time of testing they were experiencing in their hearts, Jesus spoke to them concerning having CONFIDENCE in Him and God the Father.
If anything can be learned from the study of Scripture it is that Jesus is indeed God.
He is the 2nd Person of the Trinity, the Holy SON of God!
In any trial we face in this life as Christians, we can rely on the FACT of God, and Jesus being God in flesh for our salvation.

Vs 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."
There IS a place, reserved in glory by Jesus Himself, for those who surrender to Him.
This place is significant because it is "prepare(d)" by Jesus Himself!
Therefore, the Christian's place in glory is ETERNAL!
It is not a room we have earned, for it was "prepare(d)" by HIM!
It was prepared by His wonderful love which was poured out in blood at Calvary's cross.
It was prepared by His marvelous grace when He accepted our repentance and surrender to Him as Lord.
Is your room reserved?

Vs 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
Be confident, Christian, of THIS: If He is preparing a place for you, then it is by the power of God Almighty.
And, it is by that same power that He will "come again" and take you to that place!
The purpose of the "room" in glory is that we will be WITH HIM!
It does not matter if you are alive when He comes, or if you have been dead for centuries!
Jesus said, "25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."

Vs 4 "And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."
He had told them many times that He was to die, be resurrected, and ascend to heaven.
(See Matthew 16:21, Luke 9:22, Luke 18:31-32)
They knew by His statements that He was to ascend into heaven after His death, burial and resurrection.
They did not WANT to believe it, because they did not want to LOSE His physical presence.
We know, by God's revelation in the Word, that He is ascended to heaven, and one day returning.
The question for most folks is: are you ready to go as He went? (See Luke 9:23)
(See also John 12:24-26)
We must be ready to DIE to ourselves, and be resurrected by His Spirit to new life. (See 2Corinthians 5:17)
They DID know where He was going.
And they DID know "the way" to get there.
They knew, because He had TOLD them!
But they didn't WANT to know!
And THAT is precisely why most folk never come to Biblical salvation.
They are NOT willing to give up SELF for Jesus!

Vs 5 "Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?"
See? Thomas KNEW, but didn't WANT to know!

Vs 6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
But Jesus told Thomas, and the Bible tells EVERYONE: THIS is the ONLY way!
DIE to self, and let Jesus' Holy Spirit transform you into what Jesus wants! (See 2Corinthians 3:18)

It can be accomplished by His Holy Spirit IN us as we daily continue "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..."

Have you DIED to self, and SURRENDERED to Jesus?
Is your "mansion" (room) being PREPARED?

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

To know Jesus is to know God the Father!
He is the visible image of the invisible God! (See Hebrews 1:3)

Philip still didn't get it, even though he'd heard Jesus say, "I and my Father are ONE!"
Many folk today still don't get it!

Jesus explained that the power of God worked IN and THROUGH Him! (See Colossians 2:9)
All the things He had said and done were by the power of God!
[[ILLUSTRATION:
There was a man who didn't go to church. His wife and children were faithful, but he just wouldn't go.
One Sunday, after his wife and children went to church, there was a big snow storm.
Standing in his kitchen, he could see a flock of birds fighting the wind and landing on the ground.
The man thought, "I'll go open the barn door for them."
He did, but they wouldn't go in the barn.
He tried to shoo them in, but they wouldn't go.
He opened a sack of grain inside the barn, and still they wouldn't enter.
Finally, he thought, "If I could be a bird, I could SHOW them the way!"
Suddenly the impact of what God had done in Jesus hit him!]]

Has it hit you?

How can Jesus SHOW the Father more than by:
giving new sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk, healing lepers, and raising the dead?

You can believe God because you can believe the WORKS of God IN Jesus!
If Jesus were not God, He could not have said the following.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Only God could pass on the power of God through His people!

Consider this:
Peter and John were used to give a lame man the ability to walk ( Acts 3:3-9),
Peter spoke, and Ananias and Sapphira DIED (See Acts 5:5-10),
Peter passed by, and his shadow healed people who believed ( Acts 5:15),
Paul spoke, and Elymas the sorcerer was made blind (See Acts 13:11),
Ananias was used to heal Paul's blindness ( Acts 9:17-18),
Paul was used to give a dead disciple life ( Acts 20:9-12),
Peter also was used to give life to Dorcas who had died ( Acts 9:36-42).

Acts 2:43 says, "....and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles."

But even these all were not the GREATER that Jesus said would be done!
Jesus only preached in Judaea.
And though many followed Him, the apostles preached through ALL the known world!
And, even MORE people followed Jesus because of their preaching.
For over 1982 years, Jesus has been preached by His believing followers, and MILLIONS have been saved!

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Let me first say this is NOT a blanket promise to ANY prayer!
The context of the statement is that the apostles (and, yes, Christians too) would be given that which they asked in the NAME of Jesus.
To ask in the name of Jesus is to ask in the WILL of Jesus, and for HIS glory.
It is to ask as HE would!

What we ask must be in genuine faith!
That is faith asking God's will to be done, and Jesus to be glorified in the answer. James 1:6, "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."
That is a faith that KNOWS there will be an answer.
1 John 5:14-15, "14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."

In genuine faith we present our petitions to God, yes.
But we conclude with "YOUR will be done!"
[[Many years ago, while pastoring my first church, I had just taught this lesson.
The very next Sunday morning, when we drove up to the church, a lady and her 7-year-old daughter were waiting for us.
The lady told us her daughter had cancer, and she had all the doctor's reports with her.
They were going to Houston to see if anything could be done.
We gathered some men around the little girl during our worship service.
I anointed her with oil, and we prayed.
Our prayer was that she be healed.
We let her and her mother know, through the prayer, that we wanted this; but we wanted God's WILL to be done.
Next week, the lady was back with her daughter.
They had indeed gone to Houston.
But the doctors there could find NONE of the cancer shown in all the previous doctor's reports!!]]

Does God hear and answer because of what WE want, or because our prayer is for what HE wants?

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Love for Christ is not shown in our KNOWING, it is shown in our DOING!
Many profess love for Christ, but do not follow His WILL for their lives.

This is where the proverbial "rubber meets the road!"

In our internal decision making, we are to exemplify our love for Christ through OBEDIENCE to Him!

HOW?
Pray – seeking God’s will, and in intercession for others.
Study – the Bible to know more about our Lord and His will for our lives.
Fellowship – with other believers, encouraging them in the work.
Minister – to those in need.
Witness – to those who do not know Christ.
GIVE -- give regularly from earnings to the work of Christ through a local church.

Take careful note that our genuine faith in Christ is SHOWN by our OBEDIENCE.
And, our obedience predicates the following promise.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

The "Comforter" (Holy Spirit and presence of God) comes to a person who has SURRENDERED to Christ, and is living in OBEDIENCE to His will for their lives.
He IS "the Spirit of TRUTH."
One can KNOW that he/she has received God's Holy Spirit.
Because knowing God is in Christ, and Christ is in God comes through revelation by God's Holy Spirit!

Jesus is LIFE!
When we have Jesus, we have REAL LIFE!
That real life is exemplified in knowing truth, and living in truth.

Those who really love Christ study the Bible to learn His will for their lives;
Then, they live according to His will.

Notice what Judas asked (verse 22).
Jesus' answer includes ANY and ALL who "love" Him (verse 23).

The love of God IN a person is displayed by the love of God going THROUGH a person.
To be surrendered to Christ is to live by the power of God's Holy Spirit IN a person.

That's why a genuine Christian cannot say he/she doesn't understand the Bible.
We may not understand ALL of the Bible, but we can certainly understand God's will for our lives!

25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Jesus made it very clear while He was physically there with the apostles that:
The Holy Spirit of God becomes our TEACHER when we begin to study the Bible in obedience to Christ!

Not only will He teach us what we need to know for living as a Christian,
But He will also cause us to REMEMBER what we have learned, so we can ACT upon it!

Some Christians just never get the point.
God wants to give us His Holy Spirit!
And it is amazing what God can do with a Christian who desires to be filled and used.

Christians full of faith are praying, asking God's will and then following it.
They are close to God, and talk to Him about everything.
Christians full of faith are studious in the Bible.
They not only talk to God, but want to hear what He says too.
Christians full of faith are in church regularly, and are supported by loving and encouraging friends.
Christians full of faith spend time influencing others.
They are given faith and power to help others know about Jesus and eternal salvation.

God's Holy Spirit, Who gives wisdom, is there for all true believers!
Get the point?

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

As Jesus began in verse 1 of this chapter, His conclusion is based on having HIM, thus having PEACE!
Jesus gives a peace that the world cannot give.
His peace is knowing that after we die, or after this world ends, there is life eternal WITH Him!

The world gives trouble.
Every day we face difficulties.
But our CONFIDENCE in Jesus keeps us from being over wrought with fear in this world!

28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

I don't believe there's any doubt that the disciples LOVED Jesus.
Jesus was saying that their love must be exemplified in OBEDIENCE.
If He said He would be crucified, buried, rise again, and ascend to His Father, then they needed to LIVE according to that!
They needed to lay aside their prejudicial, preformed views of Messiah and TRUST Who Jesus IS!

Is that not the point with people all over the world today?
It seems everyone wants to DESCRIBE and DEFINE Jesus according to personal preformed views!

Why not let Jesus be Who He IS, and us be what He WANTS!

As, Jesus said to them "Arise, let us go," He was saying, "Let's go FINISH God's WILL!"

So, may I say to you, "ARISE! Let us GO!"
Let us attend to His WILL for our lives.