Good afternoon everyone! It's sure nice to be back together with all of the cancellations that we had over the past few months. It seems like just getting together is sort of few and far between and scattered. So, it's nice. I think we've broken the back of winter. Not completely. Those of you sitting here can look out and there's snow on the ground, but at lest it's been above freezing and it's not a problem with the ice. We're not afraid of snow. It's just the ice when it gets on the driveway and the sidewalk. We certainly wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. So anyway, it's nice to be back and I think probably looking ahead our cancellations will—I hesitate to declare they're over, but hopefully they're minimized. We're over the hump anyway.
On the final evening of that final Passover leading up to Jesus Christ's crucifixion, there were many profound lessons that were taught as the disciples sat there, as they witnessed, as they experienced that final evening and the events of the next few days.
I was thinking about, up sort of close and personal, if we look over man's history of 6,000 years, say if you had to count the five most significant days in man's history, I would put the Passover evening as one of those and right near the top. I don't know just thinking off the top of my head, His death, His resurrection, His birth, man's creation. You could probably count them on one hand, but this one, this was the day that God died, that He gave Himself for us. And it's one of the most important.
Even as the disciples were sitting there going through these events, I think the full significance and impact of what they were experiencing was not understood or, I would even venture to say, even appreciated until much later. Even to this day here we are fast forward 2,000 years and we're still growing in the understanding and the appreciation of God's Plan and what not only has been done what will be done in the future.
Turn over to John chapter 14. These were Christ's words after the Passover meal and shortly before they left and went out of the room where they had eaten the meal together. John 14 and I'll just start in verse 1. And here was Jesus Christ about to die and His mind was on encouraging His followers. He was the one that was going to suffer the pain and yet, His focus was on encouraging them. He said:
John 14:1. "Let not your heart be troubled; you 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. (NKJ)
This statement where He reveals to them what lies ahead is a statement that was to give them hope, was to give them encouragement through the trials that they were to experience in the hours, in the days, in the months, and even the years ahead of them. Brethren, they're also words that give us hope through our trials and what was promised to them was also promised to us. And those words should encourage and they should motivate us. Two thousand years later these words are still very important.
I think that no one will argue that we are in the very last days of man's tenure on this earth.
We read those words. We think about them. We even sing them in songs and in that way they are living words that I think have a depth of meaning. And that's what I would like to focus on today is the depth of the meaning of those words that He uttered because not only do they allow us to focus on the future, but they also described a relationship that we have with God and how it matures as we continue our Christian walk. Today, let's examine these words and by doing so, I hope it will give you a better understanding of God's Plan and our place in it. I think it will also give us a tool to help us evaluate our spiritual progress as we grow in grace and knowledge. If you want a title for today's sermon, it is In My Father's House.
I'll just reread. I'm going to read the first three verses because we're going to key off of those. He said:
John 14:1. "Let not your heart be troubled; you 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 to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (NKJ)
Again, three very profound verses. Let's take a historical look at this Scripture. And I'm going to couch it in the modern era of God's Church over the last sixty years because I think it will reveal to us a bit about ourselves and where we are in our journey and what God has called us to take.
This verse, I'm sure all of you as you read it, will call to mind one of the songs that we traditionally sing on the Feast of Trumpets because, of course, it contains the trumpets—"God Speaks to Us." This song, as I looked into it, was set to the music "God of Our Fathers." And that was written by George Warren in 1876 for the centennial of this country and George Warren read that and submitted that to be the national anthem. The words, of course, I believe they were written by Dwight Armstrong—not then, but later—or one of those that helped him. And I just want to read the words of the hymn. If you have a purple hymnal, it's page 124. And I'm just going to read them. There's just no way I would sing them. It says:
God speaks to us; by His great power we’re led;
Let not your hearts become disquieted.
You trust in God; believe and trust in Me;
You trust in God; believe and trust in Me.
In God's vast realm are many offices;
Were it not so I surely would have said;
For I must go; a place for you prepare.
For I must go; a place for you prepare.
And when this place has been prepared for you;
I will return; with Me you shall be too.
So that where I am you may also be;
So that where I am you may also be.
You know on the hymn, the word that is translated "mansions" in the New King James Version is written as "offices." I find that interesting. I remember in the early days of, at least my tenure in, God's Church that we were being taught that what God was focusing on was to build a government structure. It was we were going to be given power and authority and like Christ we were going to rule with a rod of iron. And, in reality, Brethren, that's not incorrect. All of that is correct, but it's incomplete. And I would even venture to say to focus solely on that is somewhat immature.
Let me explain that. God has blessed me, and I know all of you know, with the ability to spend a lot of time very close and personal with my six grandchildren. I've been able to interact with them and observe them in a way that in our nuclear family society where there's a father, a mother, and children and they are somewhat isolated, compartmentalized and then the grandparents get to be brought in on a, let's say, compartmentalized period, I'm able to do that on a lot more frequent basis.
You know when children—and this is some of my observations that I probably knew and have not focused on—when children first start to interact socially with one another, the first thing that develops is the chain of authority. Who gets to call the shots? Who is in charge? It's a very necessary part of maturity growing up because many of the lessons are learned during that time.
Even the animals go through this. We can't just blame it on human nature. The chickens, if you've been around chickens and you go out, there is what's called a "pecking order." When you put the feed out there, certain chickens get to go in first and the rest of them have to wait.
Those of you that know my house, out in the back we have a pan that we feed the geese and the ducks and we put the corn out. And nothing is more brought up in our minds than to watch those geese, the dominant ones, stand there and they get to eat first. And they may let the other ones in or they may decide, "Look, I'm going to guard this and I'll decide to have it later." But there is a pecking order that's established in that.
The sheep have what's called a horning order. In other words, as they grow up they will sort of butt and sort of establish their place in this order.
Most of you, if you drive up Brakhane Road here just about three miles down the road there is a farm and on that farm it's a menagerie, but there's goats on that farm. And more often than not when you drive by, one of the goats is going to be standing on top of the chicken house. Now there's no food on top of the chicken house. There are no companions on top of the chicken house. The goat just wants to stand on the top of the chicken house to be the king of the mountain. "It's mine! I want to be number one! I want to be the top dog" or, as we say, "the cock of the walk," the numero uno, the top of the heap.
Brethren, are we any different? Let's back up on that Passover evening just a few minutes to the Passover that we were just reading. Look in Luke 22 and verse 24. Now here they are at the Passover meal and notice what their minds are on.
Luke 22:24. Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. (NKJ)
You know: Who was going to be at the top of the heap? Who was going to be number one?
Luke 22:25. And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' (NKJ)
In other words, "I know what's best for you. I want to be in charge because I can give you because I know." Or as the parent says, "Now, I'm doing this for your own good. It's for your benefit. I’m a benefactor."
Luke 22:26. "But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs… (NKJ)
And, Brethren, this is key!
Luke 22:26b. …as he who serves. (NKJ)
The one that's in charge is the one that serves. If we could only learn that one truth—and when I say "learn," not academically! If we could only practice that one truth! Brethren, we would have better families, better churches, better governments. We would have better lives.
When my grandchildren play in their playroom with all of the dishes and the dolls, the disputes are over who gets to be mommy and daddy, who gets to call the shots, and, of course, the doll gets spanked and put in a corner or sent to its bed. And you know there's no problem because the doll's not going to challenge the authority. They just lay it down and go on playing.
But when that authority—that "perceived" authority if I could say it that way—gets directed toward one of the siblings, then, there's an argument. Someone telling someone to do what someone resented someone trying to exercise control over them. Then, of course, the adults gets called in to mediate because you see the adults are the ultimate authority.
Brethren, our calling was not to stand on top of the chicken house and bark orders. It was to be part of something that was much greater and much more nurturing. Look over in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 1. It says:
Philippians 2:1. Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2) fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4) Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (NKJ)
That's a godly action to esteem the other better, to make sure that our desires and what we want and what we need is not at someone else's expense. It is to make sure that everybody benefits.
You know in John 14 verse 3, we read that Christ said He was going to prepare a place for them. The Greek word for that "place" is the Greek word Strong's 5117. And the word is pronounced topos (top'-os). "It's a primary word" and it means "a spot, a general space … a location." And if you do an Englishman's search, the word is used eighty times as "place," as a specific location. It's translated once as "coasts," once as "where," and once as "quarters."
If you think about it, topos is where we derive the word "topographical," a map, a topographic map that points to a specific place.
Let me just read, or I'll just quote the Word Study of Zodhiates because he spends about three-quarters of a page on this word and he says of this specific Scripture:
… of a place where one dwells, sojourns, or belongs; a dwelling place, abode or home …
And again, almost three-quarters of the page of all of the uses and in every case even in his word study, it refers to a location or a home.
Now it's not my intention here to refute the fact that we're going to be given positions of authority. We're going to be kings and priests. But the focus of this particular Scripture is much deeper and much more profound than that. God promised us that He was going to give us access to tremendous power and authority.
Turn over to Luke 24. At the latter parts of His final forty days on the earth, notice what He promised His followers. Luke 24 and verse 49, He said:
Luke 24:49. "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry [or remain] in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." (NKJ)
And I've heard this in sermons. That word is dunamis. It means miraculous power. It means power to perform miracles.
Brethren, God has made a tremendous amount of power, miraculous power available to us, but that power is not for commanding and directing others. It's the power to achieve the most difficult task that we will ever have and that's to control ourselves. That's to change ourselves. That power is directed at us inwardly. The power God gave us through His spirit to overcome ourselves and the pull of Satan is a miracle, but that power was not to allow us to climb to the top of the heap.
A normal part of maturing is to see the authority. And we should. Again, I'm not putting that down, but we need to build on that. We need to move on from that. Our calling is to be much greater than just to have a power and authority to tell someone what to do. And, Brethren, we need to mature beyond that.
Look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Paul talks about that. 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 11, he says—and let me just put this in context. Paul had given his discourse—all of you are very familiar with it—on love to the Corinthians. And that love, if you just go back a few verses and read, was manifested in serving and helping. Notice how he framed it in the part of being the spiritual maturation process—that love. We're going to read verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 13. He said:
1 Corinthians 13:11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (NKJ)
Let's go back and read John 14 again. I probably should have had you leave a marker there, John 14. It says:
John 14:1. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2) "In My Father's house are many mansions; (NKJ)
And the New Jerusalem Bible says, "places to live."
The Bible in Basic English says, "rooms enough."
The Darby says, "abodes."
The Geneva, the New American Bible, and the New American Standard say, "dwelling places."
And the American Standard and Young's Literal are "mansions."
John 14:1b. [He says] if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (NKJ)
Here's the question for the second point: What is a house used for? What are rooms in a house used for?
If you think back to the early fifties, sixties, and the seventies of the Church, you will remember that the focus was on authority and being in charge—just like children. I remember going and listening to Gerald Waterhouse when he would speak for a day or two it seems, saying, "God wants to see if you can take orders. Mr. Armstrong tells me to do something, I say, 'Yes, Sir!'" Elders and deacons had arm bands and that's so you could tell who was in charge. And, as one said to Rick, "If Mr. Armstrong told me to go kill somebody, I would do it." It was all about that. They said, "Well, if he told me, it would be God Himself telling me to do that."
But if you'll remember, if you were around at that time, in the latter part of Mr. Armstrong's life and his teachings, he came to understand and accentuate more the family aspect of what God was doing and the family aspect of God's Plan. God was in the process of creating a Family.
What's a house used for? What are rooms used for? They're for housing family members. If we consider today, there are multi-family dwellings which we call "apartments, townhouses or condos." And the other type of housing—and I'm talking general—is the single family dwellings or detached houses. You know one house, one family. For the majority of mankind that have lived throughout time; they have been primarily one of those two, primarily one or the other. Even in some of the excavation of some of the mud buildings were either detached or apartment type buildings.
But there's another type of a house that we would call a mansion or a castle. And the difference between this type of multi-family dwelling and condos or apartments is the relationship between all of the dwellers. Apartment dwellers can live in a place all their lives and never know or interact with their neighbors. "The people upstairs, they make a lot of noise, but I've never talked to them. The people next door, they fight a lot, but never talk to them. Don't know anything about them."
It's not true in a mansion or a castle. A more familiar term to us perhaps would be the term "hacienda." In Mexico, remember a house is a casa—"Su casa, mi casa"—but a larger, let's say plantation, is called a hacienda. It's a large estate.
I, in the seventies in my consulting, I was picked up by actually a Mexican that owned one in an airplane and we flew down to his plantation to his hacienda. And there a family lives there and, as the family grows, the hacienda. They add on rooms and everybody that's there is either related to, works for—in other words, there's an interaction between everyone that lives in this castle or this mansion or this hacienda.
Since the early eighties, we've focused on and understood that God is building a Family and that God is a Family. And our calling is to be an integral part of that Family.
But, Brethren, I think if we're really honest with ourselves, we in God's Church have given a lot of lip service to that concept. But I think all of us—and I'm including myself, this is not a "you;" this is "us;" this is "me"—we've not been very good at putting this into practice.
It's sort of like a company that "Okay, these are our principles." I worked for IBM and they had five principles. And they were on the wall and you looked at them and you go, "Those are great!" But to focus on them and to actually implement them was different. And I think that's the same here. I think this is an area that we all need to focus on.
I remember my mother had a saying relating to our actions or inactions. She would say, "We have more wishbone than we have backbone." And I think that's true. We want to do it, but to really get down and put the work in to implement it is another thing.
Look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. You know we've all heard that there is a cause for every effect or an effect for every cause. And I think this falls into that category as well. 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 24, it says:
1 Corinthians 12:24. but our presentable parts… (NKJ)
Just breaking into verse 24 of 1 Corinthians 12, it says:
1 Corinthians 12:24. but our presentable parts
have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it,
25) that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care [one for] another.
26) And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. (NKJ)
Now is that talking about God's Church today?
Verse 27:
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (NKJ)
Now, I want to share something with you and, again, due to my current circumstances, I think I'm uniquely qualified to say this. Most of you know that one of the greatest blessings that I've received in the past year has been the blessing of having Jason and Karlene and four of my grandchildren move to the area. Jason was unemployed for a year. He got a job at the Federal Aviation Administration in St. Louis. Beyond my wildest dreams to have both of my children and their spouses and all six of my grandchildren living within a half a mile of me is just I can't express the joy I feel from that. Four of my grandchildren, my daughter and my son-in-law live with me in the same house! And for the foreseeable future until God performs a miracle and they sell their house in Portland, they'll be living with us for the foreseeable future.
Now with all of these wonderful blessings also come a set of challenges. We have to learn to live together and how to get along. And, Brethren, to take a grumpy old, tired old man and put him in a house with four children with limitless energy and then let it snow for two weeks [laughter] and you still have to get along!
You know in the Church while we can say "We're Family" and give lip service to it, when we have disagreements, we can just take our toys and go somewhere else. "Nah nah nah nah nah! I never liked you anyway."
A true family, Brethren, you can't do that! Where are you going to go? You know what? You have to learn to work it out! There's not a choice. You're family. You're living in the same house! I've tried to go down to the room. The kids come down thirty minutes later, "Whatcha doing?"
You've got to learn to work it out. We have to. We can't take our toys and leave. Why? Because we're a Family! We live in the same house.
Why does God put us through this? Why does He allow us to have friction and disagreements? Go back just to the previous chapter, just up to 1 Corinthians 11 verse 18. It says:
1 Corinthians 11:18. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.
19) For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. (NKJ)
The Bible in Basic English says:
1 Corinthians 11:18. For divisions are necessary among you, in order that those who have God's approval may be clearly seen among you." (BBE)
Now is that so we can hang up a neon sign around someone and publicly ridicule them? Or, Brethren, is this something we do for our self-evaluation? Skip down to verse 28. Does this talk about ridiculing someone?
1 Corinthians 11:28. But let a man examine himself, (NKJ)
Not others.
1 Corinthians 11:28b. …and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29) For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (NKJ)
That God is a Family!
1 Corinthians 11:30. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. (NKJ)
Brethren, you can't divide a body. You can't have an arm cut off or a leg cut off or vital organs taken out and survive and be healthy!
1 Corinthians 11:31. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
32) But when we are judged, we are chastened… (NKJ)
Because that big mirror tells us what we are and how we look to God.
1 Corinthians 11:32b. …that we may not be condemned with the world. (NKJ)
You might say, "Well, why is this so important that we have to learn to get along? When we're going to be perfect spirit beings in the near future, after all, when we're perfect, we're just going to naturally get along. We're going to be perfect. We're just going to agree. We're just going to have all of this peace and harmony. Right?"
Ezekiel 28 and we'll start in verse 14. I'm skipping in—breaking in.
Ezekiel 28:14. "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; [You were in His presence.] you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15) You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. (NKJ)
Is a spirit being just going to automatically by fiat just get along? Did this "perfect" being just naturally agree on how to get along? Or did pride, his way, his prerogative, putting himself ahead of the others did that become a poison for him, and a third of the angelic realm, to where he took his toys and he went somewhere else?
If we think we don't have to learn how to get along while we're human beings, do we think that somehow we're just going get along as spirit beings? Brethren, have we deceived ourselves into thinking it's not important?
Let's just run a few numbers around. We estimate there are approximately five to six billion people that have drawn breath at some time through man's six thousand years. Do you think five to six billion spirit beings living in proximity—and I know we look out and that's a big universe and we could say, "I'll just never see half of them," but we're Family—do you think living in proximity forever that there will never be a difference of opinion?
I was talking to Steve last, and I said, "You have to be careful of the words you use because different words have different meanings to people." So, I was going to use the word "disagreement," but a disagreement to some people means you put on the gloves and you go out in back and who walks away is the winner. So, I'm going to use the words "difference of opinion." I guess that's a milder version.
Brethren, we have a biblical record that beings can differ. Now, Satan allowed those differences to fester to the point that he wrecked his own estate. He became perverted and warped and ugly and at one time he was the pinnacle of beauty and perfection and wisdom.
You see, Brethren, we're going to have differences of opinion as God-beings. And what's important is not that we have those differences of opinion, but how will we, as individuals who have been together and learn to deal with it, how are we going to deal with that? Brethren, forever is a long time! Take as long as you can think and add to it.
Let's look at how two beings handled this with a different outcome. Look over in Matthew chapter 26. Here were two that were approaching the same issue from two different points and here's how they learned to deal with it or how they chose to deal with it, the one that had the difference of opinion. Matthew 26 verse 38, it says:
Matthew 26:38. Then He said to them… (NKJ)
Talking about His disciples, the same night as all of these other things that we've been reading:
Matthew 26:38b. "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me."
39) He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; (NKJ)
It was a different opinion. "Is there another way to do this?" And notice how he dealt with it.
Matthew 26:39b. …nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (NKJ)
He deferred.
Matthew 26:40. Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?
41) "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (NKJ)
He was telling them, "You've got a lot more wishbone than you have backbone."
Matthew 26:42. Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."
43) And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.
44) So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45) Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46) "Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand." (NKJ)
Three times He asked God, but He deferred to the Father. He deferred to Him.
Look over in Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. It says:
Isaiah 9:6. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. (NKJ)
Again, there will government.
Isaiah 9:6b. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, (NKJ)
What?
Isaiah 9:6 continued. Prince of Peace. (NKJ)
Do you realize, Brethren, you can have differences of opinion and still have peace? It's how we learn to deal with each other that will determine the ultimate outcome. If we truly, in thoughts and deeds, truly esteem each other better than ourselves, we truly believe that our calling is to be a servant and we're able to practice that, we will learn how to come together and function as individuals in a family. And it's something we need to take very seriously. We need to approach it, Brethren, as if our very spiritual lives, our eternal lives, depend on it.
Look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and I'll start in verse 3. He says:
1 Corinthians 6:3. Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
4) If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?
5) I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?
6) But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!
7) Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not… (NKJ)
Here's a key!
1 Corinthians 6:7b. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?
8) No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!
9) Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? [He says, Don't] be deceived. (NKJ)
And let's just look at this list.
1 Corinthians 6:9b. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10) nor thieves, (NKJ)
Heinous things!
1 Corinthians 6:10b. …nor covetous, (NKJ)
Now it's interesting because that's not an action. That's something that's in the heart. Can a person covet their own way? Can a person covet their own prerogative? Their position? In your own study, go look at the account of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. I think you'll have your answer.
Continuing:
1 Corinthians 6:10 continued. …nor drunkards, nor revilers, (NKJ)
The New Jerusalem Bible says, "slanderers."
1 Corinthians 6:10 continued. …nor extortioners (NKJ)
And the New American Standard says, "swindlers."
Brethren, can we swindle someone's reputation? Can we steal their good name?
He says:
1 Corinthians 6:10 continued. [None of those] will inherit the kingdom of God. (NKJ)
Right there among these adulterers and homosexuals and idolaters, here we talk about covetous, revilers, slanderers. Are we guilty of these? Or maybe I should say, "Who among us are totally innocent of this?"
1 Corinthians 6 and verse 11 and I'm breaking into this. It says:
1 Corinthians 6:11. And such were some of you. (NKJ)
Continuing on where we were just reading. So, he's saying, "Here's what's not going to inherit God's Kingdom. And, oh, by the way, these were you."
1 Corinthians 6:11b. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (NKJ)
Brethren, who among us can ask that our sins be washed and put aside and still want to bite and belittle someone else. And, again, we need to ask the question, "Who among us are innocent?" As we consider our spiritual progress, let's consider that yes, God is a government, a government that's going to never end, but built on top of that government structure is a Family working together, dwelling together, serving one another. And that's never going to end!
Galatians 5. We that were called and chosen are in the process of learning that. We must be in the process of learning that in this lifetime. Galatians 5 and verse 13, it says:
Galatians 5:13. For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, (NKJ)
And I'll just refer to 1 John 2:16—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. He says:
Galatians 5:13b. …do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but… (NKJ)
And what does he say?
Galatians 5:13 continued. …through love serve one another.
14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
15) But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (NKJ)
As we consider the words that He spoke on that final Passover evening—"preparing a place"—and our perception of it includes the government aspect, it also includes the Family aspect, but there's yet another step that we have to take in that building block.
Look over in Matthew 25 verse 11. Again, breaking into this, this is the Parable of the Virgins. Matthew 25 verse 11, it says:
Matthew 25:11. "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'
12) "But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
13) "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (NKJ)
Remember, Brethren, this was ten virgins, those that were walking the path. You see they were technically correct, but the one thing they had missed was to develop a close personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ. Perhaps they focused on the scholarship and not on the relationship. And again, I'm not putting the technical aspects down. Think about it this way. Scholarship, studying God's Word, helps us to learn about God, but the relationship also lets God learn about us because we're on this together. We have to be spending time with God developing a relationship with Him.
Look over in 2 Corinthians chapter 20 and verse 7. It says— I'm sorry not Corinthians! 2 Chronicles—a little difference! This will allow you to fan yourself as you flip through the Bible back toward the front. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 verse 7, it says:
2 Chronicles 20:7. "Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? (NKJ)
We look at Abraham and we know he was a friend of God. What about us? Are we a friend of God's? Does God consider us a friend? Or does He not even know us even though we believe we know Him?
We're all taking a journey together with God. We look at the trials and the tests and perhaps we only see the one side of it. We never miss the pain side of it because that's it, but there are actually two sides to our tests and trials. Look over in Psalm chapter 34. We sang this today. And, again, it was not something that I pre-arranged with Jason. He just selected it and I didn't even realize it until we were singing it. Psalm 34 verse 18, it says:
Psalm 34:18. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord
delivers him out of them all. (NKJ)
You see, Brethren, through our trials, we come to know and to trust God.
I don't know if you were in the military or in college or in something that threw people together, but you know it's the people that go through the tough times together that form those bonds that can't be broken. I remember reading back of the military in World War II and that foxhole that they shared. They formed a bond—because they went through it together—that they took to their graves with them.
The trials that we go through with God should do the same with us. They should weld us together because we see Him there and we see that He delivers us from them.
But there's another thing that happens in those trials. Look over in Genesis chapter 22. This is the account of Abraham being called to sacrifice Isaac. And Abraham had the knife above him. This is Genesis 22:11.
Genesis 22:11. But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
12) And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; (NKJ)
Notice!
Genesis 22:12b. …for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (NKJ)
You see those trials that we go through that we take together with God are key in developing a relationship, a friendship with God.
Have you considered that we, if we are to be in God's Family and live in His house, must become a friend of God's? And that's a friendship that has to be developed through time spent together, time going through trials together because you can see that He's there with you, that He will deliver you, that He can see what's in our hearts.
You know the concept of a friendship can take us in all directions. I think when we first think of having a close friend we usually consider a peer relationship. We are both sort of on an equal footing. We're friends and we are peers—that we are equals.
But you know that's not the case. I've covered in previous sermons, but in a family when a child is very young, the parents are like they're gods. And again, the parents control when they go to bed, when they get up, what they wear, what they can't wear, what they do, what they eat. They're like a god.
But in a relationship it has to mature and it has to change. I can't imagine Eric, my thirty-something, asking me what he should wear or me saying, "You look better in this, you need to put this on." My children have grown to be my closest friends. And we aren't peers!
Eric comes by the house every morning. We have a cup of coffee, spend a half an hour together. It's about all we can take—no, I'm just kidding! But we talk about what's going on in his life and my life—if you can pry that out of Eric. Anyway we spend time together. We talk together. Karlene and I spend time every day talking. When she lived in Oregon, we were on Skype at least once a day talking because we were close friends. But, Brethren, we were not peers. I am and always will be Dad. I don't think that's ever questioned.
But they're not afraid to state their opinions, nor am I afraid to ask them of their opinions, but—I've said this before—I can't punish Eric by sending him to or taking his car away from him. I'd be stealing because he bought it. It belongs to him. The title's in his name. He could have me arrested for stealing! When he was a teenager I could, but I can't now.
I've spent more time with Freda than I've been alive most of my life now. And we've been through more things together and we've developed a friendship but we still have our individual contributions to the family. And it takes both of us. It takes all of us to make a strong family.
Friendships do not require a peer relationship. I think back at the friends I've had and probably half of them maybe were peers and the other half have been non-peer relationships.
God desires and He always has desired to have a friendship with man. Remember when He created Adam, He took a mud ball and He formed Adam and He made a living being. And what did He spend His efforts on? Being with Adam, teaching Him, bringing the animals to Adam and saying, "What do you think we ought to call this one?" God wanted to be a friend with Adam. And it was Adam and Eve by their choice that they separated. They were never peers but they were friends.
What about now? Look over in John chapter 15. Let's go back to that final Passover again and let's see what He said to them. Remember Christ was God. You can go to John 1:1. This was God in the flesh speaking, but this was the One that took that mud ball. This was the One that said, "Abraham is My friend now that I know what's in your heart." On that same evening, John 15 verse 13:
John 15:13. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay one's life [down] for… (NKJ)
What?
John 15:13b. …his friends.
14) "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. (NKJ)
Now remember He also said, "You call me Lord and Master and so I am." So, He wasn't considering Himself a peer. He knew that He was their Teacher. He knew that He was their Lord, but He said, "We're friends. You're My friends if you do whatever I command you."
John 15:15. "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant [doesn't] know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
16) "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give [to] you. (NKJ)
Brethren, our relationship with God must mature to the point of becoming a friend of God's. None of us want to hear the words, "I don't know you." We have to develop a friendship with God and that friendship comes from spending our lives, going through the tough times together, the good times when we can sing the praises, and the tough times when we can cry out for help. Going through trials and having Him deliver us, but let me just say this, "In His way, in His timeframe, on His schedule." We come to trust to Him and He by seeing what's in our hearts and how we react to those trials.
Brethren, do we have a relationship, a friendship, with God where He will say of us, "Now I know what's in your heart"? And while we wouldn't be asked to sacrifice our son, to believe God just as Abraham said, "Well, He gave me my son. He can resurrect my son in the same manner." Can God say that about that?
As we consider the statement of Christ about Him going to prepare a place for His followers, let's consider our own concept and how, hopefully, it's matured over our walk from a government structure building on that into a Family and building on that into a friendship with God and Jesus Christ. Look over in Third John chapter 1. If you want to consider it another way, it goes from wanting to be served, as in having an office and power and authority, to wanting to serve, by learning how to dwell together in peace and in harmony, and wanting the other person in that relationship to prosper and to be healthy. 3 John 1 verse 2:
3 John 1:2. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (NKJ)
Not just physically but spiritually.
3 John 1:3. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.
4) I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (NKJ)
You see, Brethren, there are three aspects to that—government and family and friendship. And we can evaluate ourselves and see where we are in that relationship but we have to develop that relationship with God.
I want one final point. The disciples on that Passover, we know, were at the front end of their conversion process. They were because it's documented. They were still at the "Who's in charge? Who's the greatest?" phase of their conversion. What did they find so comforting about Christ's words? And, I'll ask by extension, regardless of where we are in our process from the very beginning to fully mature, "What should we find so comforting about those words today?"
Look over in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 9.
Hebrews 11:9. By faith he [talking about Abraham] dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, (NKJ)
Here was Abraham with his kids and his grandkids in a tent. Now, I'm carrying it a little, but maybe they had separate tents. But they were living together. They were dwelling together.
Hebrews 11:9b. …the heirs with him of the same promise; (NKJ)
We, at least, have houses, most of us, with roofs on them and everything. They were in tents.
Hebrews 11:10. for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (NKJ)
Abraham dwelt in the land of promise in tents. You see, Abraham, we have no record that he ever owned a piece of land where he spent the greater part of his life. The only parcel of land that he actually owned was a cave in a small field in Hebron and he bought it from the sons of Heth for four hundred shekels of silver. And he bought it to bury Sarah. You can read about that in Genesis 23. It's also the place that he was buried. And if you go to Genesis 25:9, it was not just him and Sarah. It was also the place that Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob and Leah, those that dwelt in the tents with him. Here was the Father of the Faithful and what did he have in this life? He had a cave to be buried in. That's all.
Now, let's couch this in the historical perspective of this time. This was the time of the pyramid builders. They were building these huge monuments to themselves and to this day we still marvel at the engineering that took place. And here were Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and their wives and what were they building? They were building a city that still hasn't appeared yet. They didn't get this huge pyramid. They didn't have all of these slaves working for twenty or thirty years to build one. He bought a cave so they could bury them in.
Even Joseph understood the non-permanency of having the possessions. Remember he was next to Pharaoh in Egypt, but he was a stranger. Skip down to verse 22 of Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11:22. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. (NKJ)
You see Joseph dying as a Pharaoh, he didn't say, "Look, I want you to put me in one of those." He said, "God's going to visit you. He's going to take you out of here. And take my bones with you because I have no inheritance here. This is not my place!"
If you think about it humanly, it's not much to show for four generations—a small field, a cave, a small piece of land, both graveyards.
Go to Joshua chapter 24 and verse 32. This is something that you don't consider that the children of Israel wandered for forty years. Do you know for forty years they carried his bones with them? You read about, "Yeah, take my bones with you," but think about every time they moved, somebody had to carry Joseph's bones in the little—I don't know what they were, but—the little box that they were in. Joshua 24:32 it says:
Joshua 24:32. The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph. (NKJ)
So, again, what did he own? A grave. Again, not much if you look at it humanly.
You know you can still go to the Hearst Castle. The Winchester, I think it's—oh, what's the one down in North Carolina? All these great castles that people build to leave behind to point to what they did, and, yet, here's Abraham and those four generations, but you probably couldn't even find these things today.
You know we have the same desires. Have any of you ever left your handprint or your footprint in cement? When your house was being built or remodeled, did you ever go in and sign your name on a wall and think, "Well, a hundred years from now when they tear it down, there'll be my name with the date on it," or something? Have you ever carved your name in a tree? I did when I was a kid, climbed up the tree, carved my name in it, carved my friend's name in it.
Physically the Father of the Faithful and his offspring weren't doing this because their focus was on the future. What they left behind was a legacy and an offspring that was going to become the core of what God was doing. And they saw God in their lives. You go back. You look at Joseph. Thirteen years in prison! And, yet, in the end, he said, "You know what? God did this to save my progeny." They saw God. He was in the picture and the acquisition of possessions was not their pursuit. What the Patriarchs were looking for was a home that was permanent.
Turn over to Exodus 15. We're going to be reading probably a lot out of the Book of Exodus and probably even reading this in the few months ahead. Exodus 15 and verse 17, this is The Song of Moses, which was a song that lauded God's actions, but it's also a prophecy. Look at Exodus 15 and verse 17. It says:
Exodus 15:17. You will bring them… (NKJ)
You will—future tense.
Exodus 15:17b. …in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which… (NKJ)
And notice this!
Exodus 15:17 continued. Your hands have established. (NKJ)
That's the same thing that Christ was saying when He said, "I'm going to go and prepare a place for you."
Exodus 15:18. "The Lord shall reign forever and ever." (NKJ)
There's also the New Testament reference. Look over in 1 Peter 5 and verse 10. It says:
1 Peter 5:10. But may the God of all grace, who [has] called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (NKJ)
That's our conversion process!
That word ["settle"] is themelioo. That's used five times in the Bible and in every case it's used to point to God's work. Don't turn there. I just want to quote them and read them. But this place that they were talking about was His Father's house. That's going to be their settlement.
Matthew 7:25. "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (NKJ)
Themelioo, same word that says "to settle you.
Ephesians 3:17. that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, (NKJ)
Themelioo.
Colossians 1:23. if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast. (NKJ)
Again, themelioo.
Hebrews 1:10. And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, (NKJ)
Again, themelioo. It is a solid permanent condition of being settled.
Look over in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 12. Remember the promise that was made to His Church? Revelation 3:12:
Revelation 3:12. "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. (NKJ)
Won't be a vagabond, won't be a wanderer anymore.
Revelation 3:12b. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city… (NKJ)
Because that city, New Jerusalem, is going to be that permanent dwelling for them!
Let's go back to Hebrews chapter 11. I just want to reread a few of the verses.
You know in Texas Hold'em Poker—if you've ever watched it or I'm sure none of you have ever played it—there's a move they call "going all in" and that is when you take everything you've got and you push it forward and you say, "I'm all in." You're betting the farm on that next move, that particular move.
When Abraham was called by God and he left the Ur of Chaldees and became a wanderer, he went all in. He walked away from it all and for the next few generations they lived in tents. But he was given a promise by God that was more important to him than anything that anyone could possibly acquire in their lifetime. Hebrews 11 and verse 9, it says:
Hebrews 11:9. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10) for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (NKJ)
Brethren, the same God that made those promises to Abraham set at the table with His disciples a few thousand years later and made the very same promise to them. That's what He was telling them. "This is going to be your permanent home and I'm going and I'm going to go build it for you." That same God made the same promise to us. That was the encouragement that He was giving them because He knew what they were going to face in their futures and He wanted for them to have something that they could hang their hats on, something that would get them through the trials.
Brethren, it's my opinion. I think we're on the cusp of some of the greatest trials that mankind has ever—and it's not just the Church—I think the world is going to be experiencing it.
What greater reward could one ask for than to live in the same house with God our Father, our Creator forever? To have authority, not to rule, not to get our way and to acquire, but to serve and to build and to strengthen and to be part of a Family, to have a part in watching it grow and prosper and live in harmony, to have our relationships first with our Father and with every being in that Family.
And Brethren, finally to have a permanent home—to be settled into our estate a place that we can all call home. Brethren, after we have suffered a while and through that to be perfected, to be established and strengthened, God is going to settle us. And that place He's going to settle us forever is going to be in our Father's House.
Transcribed by kb June 18, 2011