Lesson 5: The God That Is Preparing our New Home

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home…. I am going to prepare a place for you…. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:1-3).

Ramesh Richard in Soul Vision tells of a Friday afternoon, and his last appointment with one of his students. Wilfred was a focused, determined thirty-three-year-old Ghanaian student at his college. Wilfred was the first man in his village to go to university and translated the New Testament into his mother tongue. He opted to go home for several years before pursuing his doctorate degree. He wanted his professor to come and visit him once he got to Ghana. With a smile, he said, “See you at home!” Sadly, those were Wilfred’s final words. God had a different meaning for the word “home.” Wilfred was hit and killed by a drunk driver that same night.

That story, coupled with the recent death of a pillar of the faith, started me thinking more about our eternal home. When is the last time you heard a message about heaven? When is the last time you heard a message about hell?

Preparing People for a Prepared Place

The Church is in the eternal home preparation business.

There are two things that we can do on earth that we cannot do in heaven. We cannot sin in heaven. We cannot prepare people for heaven – witness or evangelize. This work must be done now.

Prepared Place

“Jesus has gone away to heaven, and some day, just as he went, he will return!” (Acts 1:11, TLB).

Jesus is coming back soon! (See Romans 13:11).

The Bible is filled with the promise of His return. David Jeremiah in Jesus’ Final Warning found that there are 1,845 references to this event in the Old Testament and 318 in the New Testament.

Forty books of the Bible speak of the promise of His return. For every prophecy concerning the first coming of Christ, there are eight concerning His Second Coming.

Jesus testified, “Surely, I come quickly” (Revelation 22:20).

The word “heaven” is mentioned 582 times in the Bible. It is real, a prepared place for a prepared people.

þ  A place for born-again believers (John 3:3).

þ  Glorious city (Revelation 21:11-18).

þ  River of life is there to insure everlasting life (Revelation 22:1).

þ  The tree of life is there to insure abundant life (Revelation 22:2).

þ  The throne of God will be there (Revelation 4:2).

þ  It has twelve layers of foundation; each inlaid with a different gem. It has twelve gates with an angel standing guard at each gate (Revelation 21:19-20; 21: 12).

þ  The main street is of transparent gold (Revelation 21:21).

þ  It is a place for all eternity (John 3:15).

þ  Location of our treasures as Christians (Matthew 6:20).

þ  Our true home (Hebrews 12:22).

þ  Dwelling place of God.

According to the Book of Revelation in heaven there will be no more…

þ  Tears (21:4)

þ  Sickness (22:2)

þ  Pain (21:4)

þ  Death (21:4)

þ  Thirst (7:16)

þ  Hunger (7:16)

þ  Sin (21:27)

þ  Sun or moon (21:23)

þ  Judgment (22:3)

þ  Night (21:25)

þ  Temple (21:22)

Prepared People

This prepared place is for a prepared people. Much is said these days about accepting the Lord as one’s personal Savior, and of the need for repentance. Yet, many times it stops there. We need to go on to full obedience to the plan of salvation.

Jesus introduced this plan in Luke 24. Peter started preaching it in Acts 2. Let’s take a look.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

“(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus)” (Acts 8:16).

“And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days” (Acts 10:48).

“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5).

“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

Why did Jesus command to baptize in “the name?”

·         His name is above every name (Philippians 2:9-11; Ephesians 1:21).

·         There is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:10-12).

·         Whatever you do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17).

·         We are washed in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:11).

The Apostle Paul was so convinced that baptism in Jesus name was necessary that he rebaptized some believers in the name of Jesus (Acts 19:1-5).

Baptism remits sin. The blood of Jesus Christ is necessary to remit sin (Hebrews 9:22; 1 John 1:7). The only biblical way to receive remission of sin is through baptism in Jesus’ name (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38).

We are privileged to be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. A sobering thought is this: “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9). This Scripture implies that if we do not have the baptism of the Holy Spirit we do not belong to Jesus Christ.

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11). We will need the baptism of the Holy Spirit in order to go in the rapture.

One day the Master will call our name. We will have no choice but to answer, “Yes, sir!” However, there is a choice you now have. Where will you spend eternity? The right choice now ensures your new home later.

See you at home!