Mansions in the trouble free life
“ Trouble-free Mansions” John 14
How do we limit God? I imagine we could say in many ways. Can God be limited? Well, no. The Scriptures paint a picture of God that shows Him to be with Sovereign power in all areas of the world. He created it. He sustains it. He orders it . “ Have you not known ? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable…” Isaiah 40:28 (ESV) Yet we limit Him. But that does not mean He is limited. In John 14 , our Gospel for this 5th Sunday of Easter, Jesus tells of a Mansion that has many rooms. “In my Father’s house are many rooms..” John 14:2
Peter---- Jesus predicted He would deny him. We hear these words right before John 14 in John 13, “ truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” (13:38) In response to this Jesus says, “ Let not your hearts be troubled.” Imagine saying to someone something so hard to hear and then telling them not to worry. That is exactly what happened. Amy Carmichael said, “ We cannot fill ourselves with hope; we have no wells of hope within us. But God has; just as He is the God of love, so that we can pray, ‘ Love through me, Love of God,’ so He is the God of hope, and we can pray, ‘ Hope through me, Hope of God.’ ”
When all seems lost God reminds us, “ I will go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (14:3) Why should we have hope? Why should we trust in God? Jesus says, “ Believe in God; believe also in me.” 14:1 What is it to believe? The word means to be persuaded, to put confidence in or trust, not just only credence or intellectual belief. Today’s lesson from I Peter’s letter tells us of a “ stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 2:6
The foundation of a worry free life is belief in God. The cornerstone is talked about in Isaiah as well that Peter quotes. Isaiah 28 says “ Behold I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: whoever believes will not be in haste…” 28:16 Our fears are just that---fears. We know the way Jesus says to where He went. Through Him that is the Way, the Truth and the Life we see the Father and have eternal life in a trouble free mansion full of many rooms.
Instead of this passage being a restrictive boxed in view of God, it is the opposite! God’s power and grace are unconditional in this world . If we try and limit it , we make ourselves to be in His place. It is God’s world. The Children’s Catechism asks, “ Where is God?” A. God is everywhere. Does God know all things? A. Yes; nothing can be hid from God. Can God do all things? A. Yes, God can do all his holy will. Peter knew something about failure. We too know failure at times in our lives. God’s will and power are not limited though. They are worked out in His time and purpose. The foundation is secure. Trust, belief in the cornerstone are the foundation . What are we struggling with today in our lives? We need to be reminded of “His Resurrection power when the challenges seem too many”, as I heard in a sermon this week. “Help us to hope that the impossible can happen and to live as it may do so today. Lord, bless our faith and our dreams.” BBC- Choral Evensong, ST . Edmundsbury Cathedral, May 18. We need to be reminded He is a God of the Impossible who is not limited by our conceptions of Him. Are you and I aware of this fact?
When we see impossible situations, God sees His plan and purpose worked out in love that is not conditioned by our response. It is so hard for us to apply this. We want to condition our love on this or that response in others. But if we are to love as God loved we cannot do that. John 13 , “ a new commandment, I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you are also to love another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples…” 13:34
A mansion is being prepared for us one day we will inherit forever. But here we can know His abundant life now which is a foretaste of the life to come. “ Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” If we have this trust now, we have all we need in this life and in the life to come.
Let us pray:
“ Send, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, thy Holy Spirit into our hearts: that he may direct and rule us according to thy will, comfort us in all our afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.” Collect, Monday in Whitsun week
How do we limit God? I imagine we could say in many ways. Can God be limited? Well, no. The Scriptures paint a picture of God that shows Him to be with Sovereign power in all areas of the world. He created it. He sustains it. He orders it . “ Have you not known ? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable…” Isaiah 40:28 (ESV) Yet we limit Him. But that does not mean He is limited. In John 14 , our Gospel for this 5th Sunday of Easter, Jesus tells of a Mansion that has many rooms. “In my Father’s house are many rooms..” John 14:2
Peter---- Jesus predicted He would deny him. We hear these words right before John 14 in John 13, “ truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” (13:38) In response to this Jesus says, “ Let not your hearts be troubled.” Imagine saying to someone something so hard to hear and then telling them not to worry. That is exactly what happened. Amy Carmichael said, “ We cannot fill ourselves with hope; we have no wells of hope within us. But God has; just as He is the God of love, so that we can pray, ‘ Love through me, Love of God,’ so He is the God of hope, and we can pray, ‘ Hope through me, Hope of God.’ ”
When all seems lost God reminds us, “ I will go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (14:3) Why should we have hope? Why should we trust in God? Jesus says, “ Believe in God; believe also in me.” 14:1 What is it to believe? The word means to be persuaded, to put confidence in or trust, not just only credence or intellectual belief. Today’s lesson from I Peter’s letter tells us of a “ stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 2:6
The foundation of a worry free life is belief in God. The cornerstone is talked about in Isaiah as well that Peter quotes. Isaiah 28 says “ Behold I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: whoever believes will not be in haste…” 28:16 Our fears are just that---fears. We know the way Jesus says to where He went. Through Him that is the Way, the Truth and the Life we see the Father and have eternal life in a trouble free mansion full of many rooms.
Instead of this passage being a restrictive boxed in view of God, it is the opposite! God’s power and grace are unconditional in this world . If we try and limit it , we make ourselves to be in His place. It is God’s world. The Children’s Catechism asks, “ Where is God?” A. God is everywhere. Does God know all things? A. Yes; nothing can be hid from God. Can God do all things? A. Yes, God can do all his holy will. Peter knew something about failure. We too know failure at times in our lives. God’s will and power are not limited though. They are worked out in His time and purpose. The foundation is secure. Trust, belief in the cornerstone are the foundation . What are we struggling with today in our lives? We need to be reminded of “His Resurrection power when the challenges seem too many”, as I heard in a sermon this week. “Help us to hope that the impossible can happen and to live as it may do so today. Lord, bless our faith and our dreams.” BBC- Choral Evensong, ST . Edmundsbury Cathedral, May 18. We need to be reminded He is a God of the Impossible who is not limited by our conceptions of Him. Are you and I aware of this fact?
When we see impossible situations, God sees His plan and purpose worked out in love that is not conditioned by our response. It is so hard for us to apply this. We want to condition our love on this or that response in others. But if we are to love as God loved we cannot do that. John 13 , “ a new commandment, I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you are also to love another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples…” 13:34
A mansion is being prepared for us one day we will inherit forever. But here we can know His abundant life now which is a foretaste of the life to come. “ Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” If we have this trust now, we have all we need in this life and in the life to come.
Let us pray:
“ Send, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, thy Holy Spirit into our hearts: that he may direct and rule us according to thy will, comfort us in all our afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.” Collect, Monday in Whitsun week
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