"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. " John 14:1-3
I know these are familiar scriptures. We often hear them read at funerals to comfort those grieving the death of a loved one. I am asking you this morning to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you fresh revelation concerning this verse He desires you to know at this present time . The disciples desperately needed these words spoken to them as they were getting ready to watch Jesus die on the cross and be resurrected. They would feel utter despair and Jesus knew it.
We as Americans are also watching a death. It is the death of a former great nation. I was born in the mid 50’s and it never occurred to me America would turn its back on our Christian heritage that made our nation great and different from all other countries.
I had read the book of Revelation and even taught it, but I never thought we would be the generation to see what the Old Testament prophets proclaimed written over two thousand years ago. We are informed in the New Testament by Jesus and His disciples how it would be in the last days. If we are reading our Bibles these are exciting times for those who eagerly await His return. But it is also a heartbreaking time to be faced with evil as never before in our nation and the world. It appears the evil one is winning, but we know his future, and those who follow the prince of this world, also known as the father of lies. We are told in scripture the truth is not in him. He is a great deceiver, and his goal is to kill, steal, and destroy us according to Jesus in John 10:10.
"The thief came only to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly"
I want to look to His Word this morning for truth and encouragement to counter the lies and deception of the one who appears as an angel of light. Remember how we are warned many will fall away before Jesus returns? We must encourage and keep one another built up in the truth of God’s Word, so we won’t be seduced by lying spirits planted among the weak, immature believers. Jesus commands us not to allow our hearts to be troubled. How is that possible with the world we are presently immersed in?
We have to go to Him and His Word for truth and assurance as we are doing now. We are to believe in God the Father and Jesus His Son. We must live by faith. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Jesus tells us in His Father’s house there is room for you and me. If it weren’t so, He would have revealed that to His own. He tells us He is going to prepare a place for us, His Bride, and then He is coming for us, and He is going to receive us to Himself! How glorious! Yes, I long for the fulfillment of this reality! To be with Him where He is forever. He will never leave us, nor will we ever leave Him! That will be heaven!
In John 10:27 Jesus repeats His command:
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
We must encourage ourselves in the Lord as we see David so often doing in the Psalms. He wants to give us His peace, but we must pursue and receive it. We cannot allow fear to enter our hearts and take up residence. We must hide God’s Word in our hearts, and allow Him to bath us in His love, for perfect love casts out fear.
1 John 4:16-19 declares to us:
"We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us."
I would like to close with an admonishment from Hebrews 10:35-39:
"Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in Him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul."
My prayer for all of us this morning is that we will allow the Spirit to carve our verses into our hearts, so we won’t throw away our confidence in God’s Word and His love for us. Yes, it has great rewards! We must endure in doing the will of God in order to receive His promises. Soon there will be no more delay, but the One who is coming will come. We must live by faith and not allow ourselves to shrink back, which leads to our destruction. In my lifetime I have observed many Christians who have shrunk back from following our Lord, and I have observed the destruction in many lives for making that traumatic decision. God takes no pleasure in those who do so, because He knows it gives the destroyer great opportunity to kill, steal, and destroy the plans He has for His children, which is to give us life abundantly now, and throughout eternity. May it be said of us we are not of those who shrink back, but of those who have faith persevering to the saving of our souls. Let not your heart be troubled or fearful. Only believe.
In His love.
Teresa Roberts
Masterpiece Fitness
276-237-6680
The seasonal spring flowers embellish us in God’s blessings and beauty from above! Each one created with specific design and purpose as we have been also.
