1 00:00:01,951 --> 00:00:05,238 John 14:1–3 2 00:00:05,872 --> 00:00:07,874 Let not your hearts be troubled. 3 00:00:07,874 --> 00:00:09,192 Believe in God. 4 00:00:09,192 --> 00:00:10,760 Believe also in me. 5 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,680 In my father's house are many rooms. 6 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:19,719 If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 7 00:00:19,719 --> 00:00:22,872 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 8 00:00:22,872 --> 00:00:26,676 I will come again, and I will take you to myself. 9 00:00:26,676 --> 00:00:29,679 That where I am you may be also. 10 00:00:34,434 --> 00:00:35,068 Well, good 11 00:00:35,068 --> 00:00:35,635 good evening. 12 00:00:35,635 --> 00:00:38,638 Welcome to the weekend here at Christ Community Chapel. 13 00:00:38,638 --> 00:00:39,639 My name is Zach, 14 00:00:39,639 --> 00:00:43,560 I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm so glad we get to be part of your weekend. 15 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,712 Hey, if you're watching me on video on Sunday, 16 00:00:45,712 --> 00:00:47,597 it's because I'm out in the parking lot in the tent 17 00:00:47,597 --> 00:00:49,949 where hopefully the weather is nice. 18 00:00:49,949 --> 00:00:52,952 But thanks for being here with us. 19 00:00:52,952 --> 00:00:56,923 We are in week two of a four week sermon series 20 00:00:56,923 --> 00:01:02,562 we're calling More Than Religion, and the basic idea is this, 21 00:01:02,595 --> 00:01:08,118 we're learning that God wants relationship with us, that he's not interested 22 00:01:08,118 --> 00:01:11,204 in religious formality or religious ritual. 23 00:01:11,237 --> 00:01:12,355 He wants us. 24 00:01:12,355 --> 00:01:13,323 He wants our hearts. 25 00:01:13,323 --> 00:01:15,642 He wants relationship with us. 26 00:01:15,642 --> 00:01:20,230 This is just one of those things that is worth saying 27 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:24,434 over and over again, even if you know it already, it's worth saying. 28 00:01:24,467 --> 00:01:27,036 Let me give you an example of what I mean. 29 00:01:27,036 --> 00:01:29,439 My son Graham is nine years old. 30 00:01:29,439 --> 00:01:31,074 He plays football. 31 00:01:31,074 --> 00:01:35,595 Last year it was his first year of tackle football and he had a great season. 32 00:01:35,628 --> 00:01:38,598 I mean, this will give you a little window into who I am as a dad. 33 00:01:38,598 --> 00:01:41,835 He played defensive end and I told him before the season I was going 34 00:01:41,835 --> 00:01:46,072 to pay him $1 for a tackle, $2 for a tackle 35 00:01:46,122 --> 00:01:49,159 behind the line of scrimmage and $3 for a sack. 36 00:01:49,159 --> 00:01:52,912 And like 6 or 7 games, he made $98. 37 00:01:52,962 --> 00:01:54,147 Okay. 38 00:01:54,147 --> 00:01:55,348 He was dominant. 39 00:01:55,348 --> 00:01:55,999 He was dominant. 40 00:01:55,999 --> 00:01:58,234 And what was hilarious is when he'd make a play on the field, 41 00:01:58,234 --> 00:02:02,438 he would hold up how much I owed him so he would sack the quarterback. 42 00:02:02,438 --> 00:02:04,307 And people are like, why is he holding up eight fingers? 43 00:02:04,307 --> 00:02:05,074 I knew why. 44 00:02:05,074 --> 00:02:07,760 It's because that's how much I owed him. 45 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,030 And he had a great season and he loved it, which was so exciting to me. 46 00:02:11,030 --> 00:02:14,868 And you know, this year football's just started practices to start it. 47 00:02:14,868 --> 00:02:19,405 And this week was the first week of hitting like full pads hitting with it. 48 00:02:19,556 --> 00:02:22,792 If you played football, you know it means it's the first real week of football. 49 00:02:22,792 --> 00:02:25,228 We're going to decide who really wants to play, right. 50 00:02:25,228 --> 00:02:29,149 And so I'm driving Graham to practice on Monday and I'm giving him a pep talk. 51 00:02:29,199 --> 00:02:30,667 I mean he's a good football player. 52 00:02:30,667 --> 00:02:33,236 He's a he's a natural football guy. 53 00:02:33,236 --> 00:02:34,470 He he's a hitter. 54 00:02:34,470 --> 00:02:35,555 He loves it. 55 00:02:35,555 --> 00:02:38,708 But things leak, you know, and you lose your confidence. 56 00:02:38,708 --> 00:02:42,962 So I'm telling him on the way to practice, like Graham, everyone is nervous today. 57 00:02:43,229 --> 00:02:44,881 It's the first day of hitting. Everybody's nervous. 58 00:02:44,881 --> 00:02:46,916 Even if they say they're not nervous, they're nervous. 59 00:02:46,916 --> 00:02:48,151 It's okay to be nervous. 60 00:02:48,151 --> 00:02:51,237 But I want you to remember, you're a great football player. 61 00:02:51,387 --> 00:02:55,475 You love to hit, like, just hit somebody and it'll feel it'll come back to you. 62 00:02:55,508 --> 00:02:59,963 You'll remember football's a violent game played by violent men, Graham. 63 00:02:59,963 --> 00:03:02,799 And you are a violent man, right? 64 00:03:02,799 --> 00:03:06,603 I mean, I'm giving him this pep talk because here's what I know. 65 00:03:06,603 --> 00:03:08,872 It doesn't matter if he already knows it. 66 00:03:08,872 --> 00:03:11,674 He needs to hear it again. You know what I mean? 67 00:03:11,674 --> 00:03:13,826 He needs to hear it. He needs to hear it again and again. 68 00:03:13,826 --> 00:03:15,311 You know what encouragement means? 69 00:03:15,311 --> 00:03:17,881 It means literally to put courage into someone. 70 00:03:17,881 --> 00:03:18,948 That's what I was doing. 71 00:03:18,948 --> 00:03:21,951 I was putting some courage in him so that he would 72 00:03:21,951 --> 00:03:25,154 dominate the way he's capable of dominating. 73 00:03:25,154 --> 00:03:26,439 Here's my point. 74 00:03:26,439 --> 00:03:28,641 I don't care how many times you've heard this, 75 00:03:30,076 --> 00:03:30,994 my goal all 76 00:03:30,994 --> 00:03:35,481 month is to put some courage in you, to speak the truth to you, 77 00:03:35,481 --> 00:03:39,919 to excite you over the idea that God wants relationship with you. 78 00:03:39,919 --> 00:03:43,189 And if it's the first time you've heard this boy, I cannot wait. 79 00:03:43,239 --> 00:03:44,958 I cannot wait for you to hear this. 80 00:03:44,958 --> 00:03:47,510 So we're going to be looking at John chapter 14. 81 00:03:47,510 --> 00:03:48,628 It was just read for us. 82 00:03:48,628 --> 00:03:51,714 If you have a Bible, you can take it out and open it to John 14. 83 00:03:51,748 --> 00:03:54,467 If not, don't worry about it. It's going to be on the screen behind me. 84 00:03:54,467 --> 00:03:58,638 There are three points I want to use just to kind of guide our time together. 85 00:03:58,638 --> 00:03:59,989 And it goes pretty simple. 86 00:03:59,989 --> 00:04:03,643 It's like this I want to show you something about houses, 87 00:04:04,027 --> 00:04:07,113 something about work and something about you. 88 00:04:07,397 --> 00:04:11,868 Something about houses, something about work and something about you. 89 00:04:12,201 --> 00:04:16,439 Let's just start with something about how says he does something you already know. 90 00:04:16,923 --> 00:04:19,509 When you buy a house, 91 00:04:19,509 --> 00:04:24,147 you're buying a house based on your values, right? 92 00:04:24,197 --> 00:04:28,117 I mean, like one person is looking for in a house is entirely different 93 00:04:28,117 --> 00:04:30,520 than what someone else is looking for. 94 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,474 In a house, you buy a house that accommodates who you are 95 00:04:34,507 --> 00:04:36,309 and what you love. 96 00:04:36,309 --> 00:04:40,029 I've bought three houses in my lifetime over the course of my marriage, 97 00:04:40,029 --> 00:04:43,149 and I've learned something about my wife, Amy and I, and that is 98 00:04:43,149 --> 00:04:46,152 that we're very different when it comes to home buying. 99 00:04:46,152 --> 00:04:49,322 For me, buying a house is just a financial investment, 100 00:04:49,355 --> 00:04:51,040 like all I'm interested in is, 101 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:53,309 you know, are the values going up in this neighborhood? 102 00:04:53,309 --> 00:04:57,163 Are there some quick fixes that we can make that will raise the value? 103 00:04:57,196 --> 00:04:59,399 Is anything going to break and cost me money? 104 00:04:59,399 --> 00:05:02,068 I mean, it's not romantic. It's not idealistic. 105 00:05:02,068 --> 00:05:03,720 It's just a financial decision. 106 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:05,188 Not Amy, not Amy. 107 00:05:05,188 --> 00:05:08,191 When she walks in the house, she sees what she's going to do with it. 108 00:05:08,191 --> 00:05:09,993 I mean, I remember one time we were looking at a house 109 00:05:09,993 --> 00:05:13,029 and she said, on the way into me, she said, listen, don't worry about the paint. 110 00:05:13,079 --> 00:05:15,198 Don't worry about the carpets. We can change all that. 111 00:05:15,198 --> 00:05:17,550 We get in and she goes, what do you think? And I said, I hate it. 112 00:05:17,550 --> 00:05:19,602 She said, why? I said, the paint and the carpets. 113 00:05:19,602 --> 00:05:20,753 I don't know what's going on. 114 00:05:20,753 --> 00:05:23,439 I just can't visualize it the way she does. 115 00:05:23,439 --> 00:05:28,361 One of the things she always visualizes when we go into a home is, is what 116 00:05:28,361 --> 00:05:32,482 it will look like when our grandkids visit us, and that's hilarious to me. 117 00:05:32,515 --> 00:05:33,750 I'm 42. 118 00:05:33,750 --> 00:05:37,970 I don't have any grandkids and I shouldn't have any anytime soon. 119 00:05:37,987 --> 00:05:42,392 When we bought our first home in South Euclid, it was so small could barely fit 120 00:05:42,442 --> 00:05:43,643 my family like grandkids. 121 00:05:43,643 --> 00:05:46,429 It wasn't going to fit another human being. But. 122 00:05:46,429 --> 00:05:47,914 But Amy can't help it. 123 00:05:47,914 --> 00:05:50,033 She thinks about where the grandkids are going to sleep 124 00:05:50,033 --> 00:05:51,317 and where they're going to play games, 125 00:05:51,317 --> 00:05:53,953 where they're going to open presents on Christmas morning. 126 00:05:53,953 --> 00:05:55,755 And the reason is pretty simple. 127 00:05:55,755 --> 00:05:58,674 That's what Amy loves. She loves family. 128 00:05:58,674 --> 00:06:01,594 So when she thinks about a home, she's asking, 129 00:06:01,594 --> 00:06:05,081 Will this fit the vision of family that I have? 130 00:06:05,081 --> 00:06:08,551 Homes tend to reveal your heart, and her heart is for a family now. 131 00:06:08,551 --> 00:06:10,953 All the more when you build a house, right? 132 00:06:10,953 --> 00:06:13,923 And when you buy a house, you know you're going to have to make concessions. 133 00:06:13,923 --> 00:06:17,827 You're not getting everything you want, but the appeal of building a house 134 00:06:17,827 --> 00:06:19,679 is that you really can build 135 00:06:19,679 --> 00:06:24,000 all the rooms you want for all the stuff that matters to you. 136 00:06:24,233 --> 00:06:28,388 You can start with a blank sheet of paper, a bare piece of property, and say, 137 00:06:28,438 --> 00:06:30,073 all right, here's what I love. 138 00:06:30,073 --> 00:06:31,441 Here's what matters. 139 00:06:31,441 --> 00:06:35,478 I'm going to create a home that fits that. 140 00:06:35,595 --> 00:06:35,828 All right. 141 00:06:35,828 --> 00:06:36,796 You get all that. 142 00:06:36,796 --> 00:06:39,515 All that was leading to one question. 143 00:06:39,515 --> 00:06:41,517 If God built a house, 144 00:06:42,919 --> 00:06:45,922 what kind of house would he build? 145 00:06:45,922 --> 00:06:48,107 I mean, unlimited budget, right? 146 00:06:48,107 --> 00:06:49,959 He can do whatever he wants. 147 00:06:49,959 --> 00:06:52,028 If God were going to build a house, what kind of house would he build? 148 00:06:52,028 --> 00:06:55,314 And what would the way he built the house, the kind of house that he built, 149 00:06:55,314 --> 00:06:58,434 what would it teach us about his heart? 150 00:06:58,601 --> 00:07:00,720 Well, here's what Jesus says about the house 151 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,723 God has built in John chapter 14, verse two. 152 00:07:03,756 --> 00:07:04,991 Listen to what he says. 153 00:07:04,991 --> 00:07:07,994 He says, in my father's house 154 00:07:09,195 --> 00:07:11,597 are many rooms. 155 00:07:11,597 --> 00:07:15,034 In my father's house are many rooms. 156 00:07:15,034 --> 00:07:18,154 Now the context of the passage, which we'll see in a minute, 157 00:07:18,187 --> 00:07:22,642 is Jesus saying what he's really saying to the people he's talking to is my dad. 158 00:07:22,642 --> 00:07:26,679 My father built a house, and what mattered to him, what his heart 159 00:07:26,679 --> 00:07:30,516 was, was to build a lot of rooms so that you would know 160 00:07:30,633 --> 00:07:35,238 and you would know and you would know and you would know there's a room for you. 161 00:07:35,388 --> 00:07:37,790 That's what he's saying, that God built a house. 162 00:07:37,790 --> 00:07:41,561 And what mattered most to him is that it had a million rooms 163 00:07:41,561 --> 00:07:43,913 so that he could fill those rooms with people. 164 00:07:43,913 --> 00:07:47,950 Because what God values, what matters to God, 165 00:07:47,950 --> 00:07:52,922 what he wants his home to make space for is you. 166 00:07:53,873 --> 00:07:54,557 So let me just 167 00:07:54,557 --> 00:07:58,077 ask you, is that what you think of when you think of God? 168 00:07:59,111 --> 00:08:02,348 Do you think of a God who builds a home with you in mind? 169 00:08:02,715 --> 00:08:05,001 Who builds a room with you in mind? 170 00:08:05,001 --> 00:08:06,035 A God who, who, 171 00:08:06,035 --> 00:08:10,723 who just wants a house full of rooms so that he can get a house full of people? 172 00:08:10,756 --> 00:08:13,476 Is that the kind of loving God that you picture? 173 00:08:13,476 --> 00:08:16,679 Because what Jesus saying, if that's not what you think of 174 00:08:16,679 --> 00:08:19,682 when you think of God, you're wrong. 175 00:08:20,349 --> 00:08:25,755 If you think about God as rigid or or stubborn or exclusive as a God who 176 00:08:25,788 --> 00:08:30,076 who is wanting just distance, or to be left alone, or wanting space, 177 00:08:30,076 --> 00:08:33,279 or only wanting a house with a certain kind of person. 178 00:08:33,312 --> 00:08:34,630 You're wrong. 179 00:08:34,630 --> 00:08:39,302 Jesus says, in my father's house there are many rooms. 180 00:08:39,318 --> 00:08:44,590 If homes reveal your heart, then God's heart is for people. 181 00:08:45,591 --> 00:08:47,510 Now that begs the question, doesn't it? 182 00:08:47,510 --> 00:08:50,112 Okay. God's house has many rooms. 183 00:08:50,112 --> 00:08:52,081 How do I get one? 184 00:08:52,081 --> 00:08:53,149 How do I get one? 185 00:08:53,149 --> 00:08:56,319 How can I be sure that one of those rooms is for me? 186 00:08:56,319 --> 00:08:58,871 It's a great, great question. And that's my second point. 187 00:08:58,871 --> 00:09:02,592 Not just something about houses, but something about work. 188 00:09:02,959 --> 00:09:07,597 Now, before I show you how Jesus says you get a room, 189 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:10,600 let me just acknowledge that if Jesus said, in 190 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,036 my father's house there are many rooms, if the very next thing he said was, 191 00:09:14,070 --> 00:09:17,073 and here's how you earn one, 192 00:09:18,708 --> 00:09:22,278 here's how you qualify for one. 193 00:09:22,311 --> 00:09:24,680 Hey, in my father's house there are many rooms, and the reason 194 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:26,682 I'm telling you that is because I don't want you to miss out. 195 00:09:26,682 --> 00:09:28,668 So here's who you need to become. 196 00:09:28,668 --> 00:09:30,353 Here's what you need to do. 197 00:09:30,353 --> 00:09:32,271 Here's what you need to avoid. 198 00:09:32,271 --> 00:09:33,723 Here's how you need to live. 199 00:09:33,723 --> 00:09:36,108 Wouldn't that make absolute sense? 200 00:09:36,108 --> 00:09:37,910 Like it would still feel kind of kind. 201 00:09:37,910 --> 00:09:39,912 Like, hey, man, thanks for thanks for telling me. 202 00:09:39,912 --> 00:09:43,349 If you hadn't told me what the requirements were, I might not make it. 203 00:09:43,399 --> 00:09:47,870 I mean, surely if God has a house, surely if there are many rooms, 204 00:09:47,870 --> 00:09:53,392 then you have to do something, be something, achieve something to get one. 205 00:09:54,594 --> 00:09:56,879 But you know that isn't what he says. 206 00:09:56,879 --> 00:09:57,913 In fact, this is what he says. 207 00:09:57,913 --> 00:09:59,749 This is the how he finishes the sentence. 208 00:09:59,749 --> 00:10:01,033 In my father's house there are many rooms. 209 00:10:01,033 --> 00:10:03,469 Then he goes on to say this. 210 00:10:03,469 --> 00:10:05,955 If it were not so, would 211 00:10:05,955 --> 00:10:09,275 I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 212 00:10:09,792 --> 00:10:13,195 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 213 00:10:13,195 --> 00:10:16,916 I will come again, and will take you to myself. 214 00:10:16,916 --> 00:10:20,519 That where I am you may be also. 215 00:10:20,553 --> 00:10:22,638 Now, if we can just leave that up for a second. 216 00:10:22,638 --> 00:10:24,307 Guys, I just want you to notice something. 217 00:10:24,307 --> 00:10:26,275 Go back to English class, okay? 218 00:10:26,275 --> 00:10:28,311 Verbs and nouns. Right. 219 00:10:28,311 --> 00:10:32,882 I want you to notice when you see a verb who is doing the thing. 220 00:10:34,116 --> 00:10:34,433 Do you 221 00:10:34,433 --> 00:10:37,436 see how many times Jesus says, I am going? 222 00:10:37,470 --> 00:10:40,072 I will prepare a place. 223 00:10:40,072 --> 00:10:43,592 I will come back. I will take you. 224 00:10:43,592 --> 00:10:45,478 I want you with me. 225 00:10:45,478 --> 00:10:46,829 Here's the point I want to make. 226 00:10:46,829 --> 00:10:52,518 The way you get a room in God's house is Jesus 227 00:10:52,635 --> 00:10:55,638 does it for you. 228 00:10:56,322 --> 00:10:58,274 There is no you in here. 229 00:10:58,274 --> 00:11:00,559 There are no verbs about you. 230 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,029 Jesus says, in my father's house there are many rooms, 231 00:11:03,029 --> 00:11:07,800 and I am going to make sure you can come. 232 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:09,602 That's what he's saying. Here's what he's talking about. 233 00:11:09,602 --> 00:11:13,356 Of course he's saying, that's why I'm going to the cross. 234 00:11:13,839 --> 00:11:16,158 That's why I have lived the life. 235 00:11:16,158 --> 00:11:18,194 I've lived a life of complete obedience. 236 00:11:18,194 --> 00:11:22,398 That's why I'm going to go to the cross and become the embodiment of the sin 237 00:11:22,431 --> 00:11:23,632 of all God's people. 238 00:11:23,632 --> 00:11:26,268 Let the father pour out his anger on me. 239 00:11:26,268 --> 00:11:28,270 I'm going to die under the weight of that. 240 00:11:28,270 --> 00:11:29,722 Then I'm going to raise from the dead. 241 00:11:29,722 --> 00:11:31,440 I'm going to ascend into heaven. 242 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,911 I'm going to sit on the throne of heaven, and I am going to make sure 243 00:11:35,911 --> 00:11:39,031 that one of those rooms is for you. 244 00:11:40,349 --> 00:11:41,033 See, it makes 245 00:11:41,033 --> 00:11:44,787 sense to us that if God has a house with a lot of rooms, you have to earn one. 246 00:11:44,837 --> 00:11:46,956 It makes sense to us that if God is a house 247 00:11:46,956 --> 00:11:50,109 with a lot of rooms, you have to qualify for one. 248 00:11:50,109 --> 00:11:53,112 But Jesus says, no, 249 00:11:54,196 --> 00:11:58,601 I've come to do all that is necessary 250 00:11:58,918 --> 00:12:02,321 to make sure you get in the house. 251 00:12:03,389 --> 00:12:04,323 Let me put it to you this way. 252 00:12:04,323 --> 00:12:07,476 When I was a kid and we would have people over, 253 00:12:07,993 --> 00:12:11,597 my mom would become a sociopath with cleaning, okay? 254 00:12:11,630 --> 00:12:14,800 Especially if my grandma, her mom, was coming over then. 255 00:12:14,834 --> 00:12:16,152 I mean, I loved my grandma. 256 00:12:16,152 --> 00:12:19,989 I didn't really want her to come visit because the 72 hours before 257 00:12:20,039 --> 00:12:22,191 that were going to be awful. 258 00:12:22,191 --> 00:12:23,642 I mean, my mom would get crazy. 259 00:12:23,642 --> 00:12:27,229 She would be like, all right, Zach, I want you to go into all the bedrooms, 260 00:12:27,229 --> 00:12:30,483 take everything out from under the bed and vacuum. 261 00:12:30,483 --> 00:12:33,319 And I'm like, what's going to happen, mom? Is grandma going to come in? 262 00:12:33,319 --> 00:12:34,353 And I'm going to be like, grandma. 263 00:12:34,353 --> 00:12:38,758 She's like, wait, before I hug you, I need to inspect underneath your bed. 264 00:12:39,391 --> 00:12:43,028 Zach, did you dust that baseball trophy from four years ago? 265 00:12:43,312 --> 00:12:45,831 You know, let me check under these couch cushions. 266 00:12:45,831 --> 00:12:47,399 Is the under the kitchen sink. 267 00:12:47,399 --> 00:12:50,803 Is it still a mess, or did you organize the bottles alphabetically? 268 00:12:50,836 --> 00:12:52,638 I mean, my mom was crazy. 269 00:12:52,638 --> 00:12:54,323 I could never understand it. 270 00:12:54,323 --> 00:12:56,909 It's like, why does this matter? Why is this important? 271 00:12:56,909 --> 00:12:59,111 Of course. Now, as an adult, I mean, I'm not. 272 00:12:59,111 --> 00:13:00,963 She probably was still a little over the top, 273 00:13:00,963 --> 00:13:05,034 but now as an adult would, I know my mom was wanting to say 274 00:13:05,034 --> 00:13:09,355 to someone who came over was, hey, we're glad you're here. 275 00:13:09,922 --> 00:13:12,358 We've been excited about you coming. 276 00:13:12,358 --> 00:13:15,478 She wanted the house to scream, especially to her mother. 277 00:13:15,628 --> 00:13:19,748 We have been so excited for you to be here that we have made sure 278 00:13:19,748 --> 00:13:21,433 that everything is perfect. 279 00:13:21,433 --> 00:13:25,321 She knew that grandma would come visit us either way, but if grandma walked 280 00:13:25,321 --> 00:13:28,557 into a messy house, what we were saying to grandma was we haven't. 281 00:13:28,591 --> 00:13:30,559 Oh yeah. Shoot, we forgot your coming. 282 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,762 But a clean house said to her were so excited. 283 00:13:33,762 --> 00:13:37,483 We have been working on getting the house ready. 284 00:13:38,517 --> 00:13:39,268 Can I tell you that's 285 00:13:39,268 --> 00:13:42,271 exactly what Jesus is saying 286 00:13:42,438 --> 00:13:45,191 when he says I go to prepare a place for you. 287 00:13:45,191 --> 00:13:47,643 What he's saying, this is what Jesus is saying metaphorically. 288 00:13:47,643 --> 00:13:51,146 He's saying, listen, in my father's house, there are many rooms 289 00:13:51,714 --> 00:13:54,717 I've already paid for yours. 290 00:13:55,518 --> 00:13:57,920 In my father's house there are many rooms. 291 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,507 I've already put your name on one of them. 292 00:14:02,308 --> 00:14:05,311 Like I fluff the pillow 293 00:14:05,477 --> 00:14:09,431 I cleaned under the bed, and now Jesus says, I'm standing 294 00:14:09,431 --> 00:14:14,670 on the front porch and I'm waiting because I want to walk you in myself. 295 00:14:16,171 --> 00:14:18,240 You see my point? 296 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,676 Jesus says that that in my father's house 297 00:14:20,676 --> 00:14:23,679 there are many rooms and you can have one. 298 00:14:23,796 --> 00:14:25,948 I'll do it for you. 299 00:14:25,948 --> 00:14:28,067 But of course, that's the rub, isn't it? 300 00:14:28,067 --> 00:14:29,351 See, what Jesus is really saying? 301 00:14:29,351 --> 00:14:32,721 Is that the only way you miss out on a room 302 00:14:32,721 --> 00:14:35,758 in the father's house is if you try to pay for it yourself. 303 00:14:38,277 --> 00:14:40,312 You can't earn it. 304 00:14:40,312 --> 00:14:43,315 You can't qualify for it. 305 00:14:43,432 --> 00:14:44,950 You have to let Jesus do it. 306 00:14:44,950 --> 00:14:47,119 That's what the Bible calls grace. Getting. 307 00:14:47,119 --> 00:14:49,355 Not what you deserve, but what you don't. 308 00:14:49,355 --> 00:14:50,556 And that's hard. 309 00:14:50,556 --> 00:14:52,558 We want to earn it. But here's the problem. 310 00:14:52,558 --> 00:14:53,909 And you know this already. 311 00:14:53,909 --> 00:14:56,912 Whatever you earn, 312 00:14:57,229 --> 00:15:00,032 you can lose. 313 00:15:00,032 --> 00:15:03,752 You see, if moral character earns you a room in the father's house, 314 00:15:03,752 --> 00:15:06,755 then what happens when your character dips? 315 00:15:10,276 --> 00:15:14,513 If character is what earns you a spot, what happens when you have a bad week? 316 00:15:14,546 --> 00:15:16,031 Listen, I mean, just say this. 317 00:15:16,031 --> 00:15:19,401 I don't want to disrespect anybody or disrespect your upbringing, 318 00:15:19,401 --> 00:15:23,923 but some of you I knew, I know, grew up Roman Catholic, and you need to hear this 319 00:15:24,790 --> 00:15:28,594 because Roman Catholicism teaches you a scoreboard 320 00:15:29,828 --> 00:15:32,398 if you go to mass enough, 321 00:15:32,398 --> 00:15:35,150 if you take communion enough, 322 00:15:35,150 --> 00:15:38,153 if you keep the sacraments. 323 00:15:38,470 --> 00:15:42,041 They even invented a place called purgatory, which is, 324 00:15:42,074 --> 00:15:45,077 hey, you might not make it to the father's house, 325 00:15:46,712 --> 00:15:49,031 you might be on the wait list 326 00:15:49,031 --> 00:15:54,403 and all of that when you grow up with it, teaches you a version of God 327 00:15:54,436 --> 00:15:57,723 that is a little less like the one being described here, and a little 328 00:15:57,723 --> 00:16:00,709 more like a God who has a house but has a bouncer at the door. 329 00:16:01,310 --> 00:16:04,363 And you show up and you say, I think maybe I have a room there. 330 00:16:04,396 --> 00:16:08,000 I mean, I went to mass, I did confession, I was married in the church. 331 00:16:08,033 --> 00:16:09,318 I mean, I think I have a room. 332 00:16:09,318 --> 00:16:12,838 And the bouncer looks and he goes, man, looks like 12th grade was tough. 333 00:16:13,789 --> 00:16:16,759 You're going to have to wait. 334 00:16:16,759 --> 00:16:19,478 And, friends, I don't mean to disrespect anyone, but you need to hear me. 335 00:16:19,478 --> 00:16:22,481 That is the opposite of what Jesus is describing here. 336 00:16:23,432 --> 00:16:26,635 What he says is in my father's house there are many rooms. 337 00:16:26,635 --> 00:16:28,787 I will pay for it. 338 00:16:28,787 --> 00:16:31,240 I will put your name on the door. 339 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:33,158 I will get it ready. 340 00:16:33,158 --> 00:16:35,077 I will walk you in. 341 00:16:35,077 --> 00:16:36,712 There's nothing conditional about it. 342 00:16:36,712 --> 00:16:39,882 He doesn't say, of course, if you go to mass, of course, 343 00:16:39,882 --> 00:16:43,318 if you take communion, of course, if you give to the church. 344 00:16:43,318 --> 00:16:46,071 He doesn't say any of that. He just says, I'm going to do it. 345 00:16:46,071 --> 00:16:49,758 What Jesus is offering, what the Bible is telling us, is that God 346 00:16:49,792 --> 00:16:52,795 built a big house with a lot of rooms, because that's who he is. 347 00:16:52,795 --> 00:16:54,113 He loves people. 348 00:16:54,113 --> 00:16:55,714 He wants you there. 349 00:16:55,714 --> 00:16:59,068 And he said Jesus to make it happen. 350 00:17:00,035 --> 00:17:01,036 Jesus. 351 00:17:01,036 --> 00:17:04,523 Plus, anything means you don't get a room. 352 00:17:06,909 --> 00:17:09,678 But only Jesus 353 00:17:09,678 --> 00:17:12,681 guarantees you a 354 00:17:12,948 --> 00:17:15,200 now, I know when I say that, 355 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,120 that some of us are just so steeped 356 00:17:18,120 --> 00:17:21,874 in that kind of thinking about God that will really struggle with it. 357 00:17:21,990 --> 00:17:23,876 We don't struggle, maybe even with the idea 358 00:17:23,876 --> 00:17:25,477 that God has a house with a lot of rooms. 359 00:17:25,477 --> 00:17:27,830 We just struggle that one of those rooms is for us. 360 00:17:27,830 --> 00:17:29,148 Well, that's my third point. 361 00:17:29,148 --> 00:17:31,350 Something about houses, something about work. 362 00:17:31,350 --> 00:17:33,602 And hear something about you. 363 00:17:33,602 --> 00:17:36,238 You know, Jesus knew you would struggle with this. 364 00:17:36,238 --> 00:17:37,639 It's actually why he said this. 365 00:17:37,639 --> 00:17:41,360 Look at what he says at the very beginning of this passage in John 14 verse one. 366 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:45,798 Here's what he says let not your hearts be troubled. 367 00:17:46,515 --> 00:17:47,916 Believe in God. 368 00:17:47,916 --> 00:17:49,034 Believe also in me. 369 00:17:49,034 --> 00:17:51,386 You see, he he he knows will doubt. 370 00:17:51,386 --> 00:17:53,439 He knows we'll struggle. 371 00:17:53,439 --> 00:17:57,076 He knows we'll think we're disqualified, that we've lost it. 372 00:17:57,076 --> 00:18:00,395 That's why he starts with don't be troubled. 373 00:18:00,429 --> 00:18:02,081 Don't worry. 374 00:18:02,081 --> 00:18:03,348 Don't be anxious. 375 00:18:03,348 --> 00:18:05,000 Don't be afraid. 376 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,602 You know, he says, believe in God. 377 00:18:06,602 --> 00:18:07,753 Believe also in me. 378 00:18:07,753 --> 00:18:10,923 He's not saying he and God aren't the aren't one. 379 00:18:11,039 --> 00:18:11,557 He's not. 380 00:18:11,557 --> 00:18:13,108 He's not shedding himself of deity. 381 00:18:13,108 --> 00:18:14,910 What he's using is a category they have. 382 00:18:14,910 --> 00:18:17,913 He's saying, listen, you believe in the God of the Bible. 383 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,116 Watch me also because 384 00:18:21,116 --> 00:18:24,119 I've come to keep that God's promises. 385 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:25,554 You see, Jesus knows you're going to doubt. 386 00:18:25,554 --> 00:18:27,439 He knows you're going to think you lost it. 387 00:18:27,439 --> 00:18:28,640 He knows you're going to struggle. 388 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,242 And he's saying, don't worry. 389 00:18:30,242 --> 00:18:32,911 In my father's house there are many rooms. 390 00:18:32,911 --> 00:18:37,749 I am going to make sure one of them has your name on it. 391 00:18:37,749 --> 00:18:42,237 And even as I say that, I know you're thinking, man, I just don't think so. 392 00:18:45,641 --> 00:18:47,159 Maybe some people, but. 393 00:18:47,159 --> 00:18:48,627 But not me. 394 00:18:48,627 --> 00:18:49,711 I'll tell you this. 395 00:18:49,711 --> 00:18:53,232 You're only saying that because you don't know what comes 396 00:18:53,232 --> 00:18:56,235 right before these verses. 397 00:18:57,035 --> 00:18:59,154 Because when I show you in just a second what comes right 398 00:18:59,154 --> 00:19:01,557 before these verses are going to blow your mind. 399 00:19:01,557 --> 00:19:03,792 So let me show you John 14 one. 400 00:19:03,792 --> 00:19:05,110 Look at what comes right before that. 401 00:19:05,110 --> 00:19:08,113 John 1336 through 38. Here's what it says. 402 00:19:08,714 --> 00:19:11,717 Simon Peter said to him, 403 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,987 Lord, where are you going? 404 00:19:15,070 --> 00:19:18,841 And Jesus answered him, where I am going, you cannot follow me now, 405 00:19:18,874 --> 00:19:21,193 but you will follow afterward 406 00:19:21,193 --> 00:19:24,029 that Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? 407 00:19:24,029 --> 00:19:27,032 I will lay down my life for you. 408 00:19:27,149 --> 00:19:30,953 And Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for me? 409 00:19:31,553 --> 00:19:34,907 Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow 410 00:19:35,073 --> 00:19:38,677 until you have denied me three times. 411 00:19:40,395 --> 00:19:43,715 Jesus says to the cocky, arrogant Peter. 412 00:19:43,916 --> 00:19:45,601 Jesus says, Where I'm going, you can't come. 413 00:19:45,601 --> 00:19:49,872 Peter goes, listen, Jesus, I get that for all these other losers, but not me. 414 00:19:49,872 --> 00:19:53,442 I'm right or die, Jesus, I will go with you all the way to the end. 415 00:19:53,442 --> 00:19:57,563 And Jesus tells him, Peter, you are hours away from the worst 416 00:19:57,563 --> 00:20:00,549 moment of your entire life. 417 00:20:00,883 --> 00:20:05,470 You are hours away from betraying me, from lying to me 418 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:09,641 for proving to be a coward, a fraud, a phony like Peter. 419 00:20:09,675 --> 00:20:12,761 You're hours away from the crucial moment of your life, 420 00:20:12,761 --> 00:20:16,231 and you are going to blow it. 421 00:20:17,115 --> 00:20:20,118 And the very next thing he says is, 422 00:20:20,402 --> 00:20:23,388 let not your heart be troubled. 423 00:20:23,722 --> 00:20:26,708 In my father's house there are many rooms. 424 00:20:26,959 --> 00:20:28,427 Ones for you, Peter. 425 00:20:29,628 --> 00:20:33,599 I'm going to make sure you get it. 426 00:20:33,715 --> 00:20:35,200 Don't you see? 427 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,837 It's one thing if Jesus says this to a guy at the highest moment of his life, 428 00:20:39,238 --> 00:20:39,755 it's one thing. 429 00:20:39,755 --> 00:20:42,991 If Jesus comes along, somebody who's crushing it and goes, hey, hey, 430 00:20:42,991 --> 00:20:43,792 buddy, hey. 431 00:20:43,792 --> 00:20:46,194 In my father's house, there are many rooms. 432 00:20:46,194 --> 00:20:48,113 One is definitely for you. 433 00:20:48,113 --> 00:20:49,798 That would be one passage. 434 00:20:49,798 --> 00:20:51,800 He says this to a man. 435 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:56,238 He is telling him you are a fraud and a phony and a coward. 436 00:20:56,238 --> 00:20:59,191 And in ours, everyone's going to know it. 437 00:20:59,191 --> 00:21:02,194 You're going to make a fool of yourself. 438 00:21:02,361 --> 00:21:05,347 Don't be troubled. 439 00:21:05,514 --> 00:21:07,432 There's a room for you. 440 00:21:07,432 --> 00:21:09,401 I've paid for it. 441 00:21:09,401 --> 00:21:12,120 I'll walk you in myself. 442 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:15,707 You see, if Jesus can make this promise to Peter hours 443 00:21:15,707 --> 00:21:19,711 before he betrays Jesus, he denies Jesus. 444 00:21:19,711 --> 00:21:21,513 You don't think he can make it to you? 445 00:21:24,399 --> 00:21:27,402 You're too far gone. 446 00:21:27,919 --> 00:21:30,922 You're too disqualified. 447 00:21:31,556 --> 00:21:34,559 You're not welcome. 448 00:21:35,277 --> 00:21:36,194 Friends. 449 00:21:36,194 --> 00:21:43,001 God put this story right after that one so that people who feel 450 00:21:43,001 --> 00:21:47,439 they are the lowest, people who feel 451 00:21:47,439 --> 00:21:50,442 they are at their worst. 452 00:21:50,876 --> 00:21:57,549 People who are certain if there's a house with rooms, they are not welcome. 453 00:21:57,632 --> 00:22:01,036 Jesus says, let not your heart be troubled. 454 00:22:02,921 --> 00:22:05,273 My father has a house. 455 00:22:05,273 --> 00:22:10,278 He has a lot of rooms, and I'm going to make sure you get one. 456 00:22:10,278 --> 00:22:13,515 The question is whether or not you'll 457 00:22:13,515 --> 00:22:16,518 stop trying to earn it. 458 00:22:16,752 --> 00:22:19,187 Stop trying to deserve it 459 00:22:19,187 --> 00:22:24,109 and simply let Jesus take you there. 460 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:26,428 Let me pray for you. 461 00:22:26,428 --> 00:22:30,599 Father God, I pray for all those who come in 462 00:22:30,599 --> 00:22:33,602 at their lowest moment. 463 00:22:34,436 --> 00:22:37,439 The worst version of themselves, 464 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,075 and they hear about your heart 465 00:22:40,075 --> 00:22:43,562 in the home with many rooms and Jesus taking people in, 466 00:22:43,562 --> 00:22:48,233 and they want it so badly to be for them, but they just can't believe it. 467 00:22:50,352 --> 00:22:53,555 God, that they would see not just them and Peter, 468 00:22:53,555 --> 00:22:57,359 but they would see your heart in the arrangement 469 00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,362 of these verses. 470 00:23:00,562 --> 00:23:02,080 This story is their story. 471 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:03,515 It's there for them. 472 00:23:03,515 --> 00:23:06,151 You're not talking just to Peter, you're talking to them. 473 00:23:06,151 --> 00:23:09,354 And my prayer is that right now there would be people saying, God, 474 00:23:09,354 --> 00:23:12,357 I never thought there was a room for me. 475 00:23:14,509 --> 00:23:16,878 But Jesus, if you through your life, death 476 00:23:16,878 --> 00:23:20,148 and resurrection want to take me in, I want to go. 477 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,468 And Jesus name we pray. 478 00:23:23,468 --> 00:23:24,269 Amen.