A Place Prepared

[0:00] Let me tell you about a place prepared. A place prepared. John 14 from verse 1.! Our Lord says this, he says, Let not your heart be troubled.

[0:11] You believe in God. Believe also in me. 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.

[0:25] 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.

[0:36] And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life.

[0:50] No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Now surveys have shown that most people, some 80% say they believe in heaven.

[1:02] Only 67% say they believe in hell. 96% say they believe there is a God. 80% believe there's a heaven.

[1:13] Every new day, we're another day closer to the day of the Lord's return, when he will take out the church from this earth. In Revelation 4 verse 1, it tells of a door opened in heaven.

[1:26] Our Lord and Saviour is coming again to planet earth. And he says, he has prepared a place for his own. A place is prepared for the believer, for those who are born again.

[1:39] They can know for sure that they are bound for heaven. We can know that we have a bright and certain future, a wonderful home waiting in store for us.

[1:50] Let's hear about this place. Firstly, it's a perfect place. A perfect place. Heaven will be great, grand, glorious. A place of peace, a perfect place.

[2:01] Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 9, God is preparing a perfect place.

[2:20] Something much better than the best we can ever know in this life. Paul says to depart and be with Christ is far better. John paints a picture of this perfect place with its gates of pearl, its streets of pure gold, walls of precious stone in beautiful colours, and God's glory and brightness shining all around.

[2:43] Revelation 7 verse 16 through 17, it says, of those who occupy this place, they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

[2:56] For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

[3:09] Revelation 21 verse 4 goes on to say, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.

[3:24] For the former things are passed away. Imagine a place like that. Our minds can't comprehend, conceive of it. No wars, no hunger, no thirst, no death, no sadness, no sorrow, no crying.

[3:42] Everything new and clean and pure. And there will be perfect peace, perfect knowledge. Someone asked an older believer, would you like to live your life over again?

[3:52] And they said, no, I'm too near home. You know, when a believer leaves this old world, and goes on into the next, they are truly going home.

[4:04] It is a perfect place. Secondly, it's a prepared place. The Lord Jesus says, I go to prepare a place for you. He has promised this for us.

[4:16] This place is being prepared. He's getting it ready. There are many mansions, beautiful and custom made. And He's done everything that needs to be done, that this place can be ours for eternity.

[4:28] We know that He came down from heaven. Philippians 2 verse 8, it says, He humbled Himself. Heaven is a prepared place, because the Lord Jesus has made it possible for us.

[4:42] He willingly left that glorious, perfect place, to come to this sinful and ungodly world, to rescue us. How great His love for us. He returned to the Father's house, rising up into heaven from the Mount of Olives, where the Garden of Gethsemane is.

[5:00] And He's going to return there, at the end of the tribulation period. When believers leave earth behind, they go to be with the Lord. He will be waiting for us.

[5:11] The Lord Jesus told the dying thief, Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise. The Lord Jesus is waiting for us.

[5:21] After we go through the tunnel of death, through the veil, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And His wonderful, precious, saving name is Jesus.

[5:34] The Christian can say, I'm not going out into darkness. I'm headed for the glorious light of an eternal God, who can light up the 1500 mile high heavenly Jerusalem, with His resplendent glory alone.

[5:48] What joy it will be to see Him. The Lord Jesus Christ, He is the light of heaven, the glory of heaven, the delight of heaven, the sovereign of heaven, the builder of heaven, the ruler of heaven, our wonderful Lord Jesus.

[6:04] Someone said to Fanny Crosby, the blind hymn writer, It's too bad that you are blind. But this woman was glad. She said, Because when I get to heaven, the first sight I will see is that of my Saviour's dear face.

[6:21] It is something wonderful to look forward to. The Saviour is waiting. Heaven is a perfect place. He has prepared a place. And there is a place prepared for you, it says.

[6:36] A place prepared for you. Heaven is a place where God's holy angels live, where His people live, His people. It's a place prepared for people.

[6:49] For people just like you and me. And God wants His heaven filled with people just like us. God's people will welcome us home.

[6:59] And we will be amazed at the world of glory, at the wonderful place the Lord has prepared. It will be tremendous. We will rejoice together with the saints. We'll be home together forever in a land where there is no death, no tears, no pain.

[7:15] And we will worship the Lord together like in Revelation 5 verse 9 where we see a glimpse of heaven. They sung a new song saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof.

[7:29] For thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. Friends, heaven will be filled with people singing God's praises.

[7:41] There will be perfect singing and praises of the Redeemer. The Saviour, because of His love and His blood shed to save us. There will be beautiful music to honour Him, to glorify and praise our God.

[7:54] Heaven is a glittering, glimmering city, far beyond what we can imagine. There will be no more bills to pay. We will be in a perfect world. Our troubles will be gone.

[8:05] Satan will not be there. Sin will not be there. If you are saved, you are going to be there one day. The Lord Jesus says, I go to prepare a place for you.

[8:17] I'm ready for the journey. Are you? My ticket has been paid. Stamped for, paid in full. Our Saviour has gone to prepare a place. But there must be reservations made.

[8:30] Mine was made some 40 years ago when I was saved by God's marvellous grace. How about you? One day a teacher was asking a class of girls how many of them wanted to go to heaven.

[8:44] And all hands were raised but one. The teacher said to this one, Why do you not want to go to heaven? The little girl who did not raise her hand said to the teacher, I can't go because my mother said for me to come right home after Sunday school so I cannot go.

[9:02] Of course she was thinking that the woman was getting a busload to go right then and there. That is why she wasn't ready to go. But it is a question, isn't it?

[9:12] Are you ready? Are you ready to go? There's a wonderful and glorious hereafter waiting for the child of God. There's a life beyond this one that we now know. There's a glorious, bright, eternal future ahead.

[9:26] There's something better waiting for us when this present life of trouble and heartache is over. A place prepared. A perfect place. A place prepared for you.

[9:37] If you follow the directions, there is a way. Just one way. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

[9:54] No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Friends, I urge you today that you would know the way, the truth, and the life, the Lord Jesus Christ, for your only saving hope is to put your trust upon his name and trust in his work and dying at the cross on your part that you would put your faith's trust, that you put your heart's trust entirely and squarely in Christ Jesus to save your soul.

[10:21] I pray if you've yet to trust him, you'll make today that moment when you will put your heart's trust in him, that you'll know his saving, that you'll know he died on the cross for your sin and you can put your trust squarely in that, that work that he has done on your part and know his saving.

[10:36] Call on his name. Trust him now. Receive his gift of salvation.