John Chapter 14:1-6

You know, when we die, we don't just slip off into oblivion or annihilation.

There's a far better place. And be ready to go. You know, when I go to the beach or to the mountains or wherever, it's a big thing getting ready. You know, getting ready and getting the suitcases ready and getting the directions and all that. I am ready to go. I mean, it wouldn't make much sense if my wife came to me, but I'm ready. Are you ready?

Yeah, sure. I'm packed. I don't know how we're going, what directions we're going or how we're getting there, but sure, let's go. No, I spend time.

Why? Because the destination is important. With heaven, the destination is important. So we should have this mental image, even as the Scripture says, you know what, your sojourners, your pilgrims are just passing through.

We should have this mental image of sitting there at the door with our suitcase in hand ready to get gone. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of The Bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina. Today, we're blessed to have one of David McGee's associate pastors here with us, D.A.

Brown. Welcome, Pastor D.A. Bob, as Christians, we should be living our lives so that we're ready to go at any moment. Today, Pastor David explains how we can be ready as he continues in the Gospel of John chapter 14. Now here's David McGee with his teaching, Choose to Believe Jesus. John chapter 14 verse 1 says, let not your heart be troubled.

You believe in God, believe also in me. Let me point out something here. The chapter divisions came much later, and the verse divisions came even later than that. Chapter divisions came in 1228 A.D., meaning before that, a book was just a book with no chapter divisions. The verses came, the Hebrew Scriptures came in 1448, and the New Testament verses came about 100 years later in 1551. And so until that time, it was one continuous column. Now I am really, I really appreciate the fact that they did that. They divided it by chapters and divided it by verse because it really, it helps us.

It helps us in reading, it helps us in studying. You know, imagine this morning, you know, if I had to say, well, turn to the book of John and turn about where, you know, Jesus predicts Simon Peter's denial somewhere in there and, you know, you're flipping through going, I don't know where he is. So it's really helpful, but sometimes we miss a continuing thought. And so what I want to do is let's back up to verse 37 of chapter 13. When Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake. And Jesus answered him, will you lay down your life for my sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied me three times. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. You see how that's a continuing thought, and Jesus is actually speaking to Peter saying, don't be troubled.

And I'll tell you one amazing thing as I look at this. Jesus knows he's about to be crucified. He's predicted it.

He's talked about it in this upper room discourse. Yet look what he's saying. Look who he's concerned with. He's not going, oh, you know, woe is me.

Look, guys, y'all need to put a circle around me and pray for me. His concern is for the disciples. He's getting ready to suffer the farce of a trial, the mockery and the injustice. He's getting ready to be beaten not once, twice, possibly three times, and then crucified. And his concern is for the disciples.

And he says, don't let your heart be troubled. It's an amazing thing because Jesus is considering the others. And you understand that is the true earmark, the watermark, if you will, of Christianity, biblical Christianity, being concerned with others. See, that's, to be honest, that's the real problem I have with what's termed the self-esteem movement. The self-esteem movement basically says that the problem with us is that we don't think highly enough of ourselves.

And that's a problem. As a matter of fact, some would suggest, as one prominent Christian psychologist has said, is that the problem and the reason everybody sins today is from a lack of self-esteem. I have a problem with that statement. See, I don't think the problem stemmed from not thinking of ourselves highly enough. I think a lot of our problems stem from the fact that we think of ourselves too highly. And that needs to be adjusted as we consider others, even as Jesus was doing here.

And that's the first life lesson. We should consider others. We should consider others. I understand when I say this. All of us, to some degree or another, are self-centered in the natural.

That's the way we're wired, fallen nature in sin. We think about ourselves a lot, as I've pointed out before, you know. When somebody hands you a photograph, who's the first person that you look at in a photograph if you're in there? Don't be afraid.

You're all thinking the same thing. You look at you. What do I look like?

Oh. And then what do you say? Well, if you look good, you go, oh, that's a good picture.

I get copies of this. But if you don't look good, what do you say? That's not a good photo. Now, everybody else in the photo can look wonderful. But if your eyes are shut or anything weird, that's a bad photo.

You know, instead of buying copies, you're buying the negative kind of thing. Or, you know, the one I use often is, you know, when you wake up in the morning. You don't wake up in the morning and go, gee, you know, I wonder what Pastor David's going to wear.

I shared that. Somebody came up to me and they said, you know, actually, I do wonder that sometimes. No, you think, well, okay, well, what am I going to wear?

What am I going to eat? That kind of thing. And I understand. Now, some of the mothers, you may be going, oh, no, I think about what my children are going to wear. Why?

Just being honest. Because you know that if you brought them in like their pajamas, people would look at you funny. Why are your kids in their pajamas?

Why are your kids in their pajamas? You know, so there's a preoccupation with ourself. But take heart. The Holy Spirit can help us to become preoccupied with others, to become preoccupied with Jesus.

And that's what we want to do. Philippians chapter 2 verses 3 and 4 says, don't be selfish. Don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble. Thinking of others is better than yourself.

Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. Now, this word believe could also be trust. Trust. You trust in God. Trust also in me. Which, you know, you can't read that without seeing Jesus once again is aligning himself, is defining himself as deity. You trust in God. You should trust in me because I am God.

Understand, the Bible in many places affirms the deity of Jesus Christ. And you know what? It's interesting.

There's kind of a line drawn. I don't know if you thought about this when we read the verse. It says you believe in God, believe also in me. A lot of people think being a Christian is believing in God.

It's not. Saying you believe in God, the only thing that means is that you're not an atheist. It doesn't mean you're a Christian. See, because we're told in the book of James that even the demons believe and tremble. So if your definition of a Christian is, you know, just believing in God, then by that definition, demons are Christians. That's some messed up theology there. So where is the line? The line is that you believe in Jesus and you make that personal.

It's not just an academic knowledge. It's a living, vibrant faith. Now, verse two. 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. Well, first thing we probably ought to deal with in that verse is the word mansions. It's more there are many dwelling places. There's many places to stay in my father's house. Now, I know I'm getting ready to mess with some of your theology because, you know, there's so many songs out there talking about mansions and all those things. But this word is more there's plenty of places to stay in my father's house. I'm not going to run out of places to stay. So if you were kind of getting worked up about getting a mansion, it's not going to matter anyway. The reason heaven is heaven is because God's there. It's not because you got a mansion.

I mean, and technically, what does that matter anyway? I mean, you know, whether it's a mansion or a little cottage or, you know, a sleeping bag, it doesn't matter. You'll be in heaven. You'll be in heaven.

That's the thing. So get off the mansion thing. The cool thing when you stop to think about this is in verse three, it continues and says, 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. So he's preparing a place, and he's going to come again and receive us to himself. Now, I don't know if you've thought about this, but, you know, God, Jesus, created all the earth and the heavens in six days.

But apparently, he's been working on heaven for about 2,000 years. So while you look around and you see the beauty of this world, you ain't seen nothing yet. When we get to heaven, we will be amazed at the beauty. I think when we read the book of Revelation, it's hard to even get a grasp on the beauty that's being described there. It's going to be a phenomenal place.

But again, a place of beauty because the Lord will be there. And as I was reading, as I was studying, you know, that phrase, I go to prepare a place for you, man, I just got humbled as I thought about that. You know, when you go somewhere to eat and a guy comes out and he's, you know, got like a torn T-shirt and he comes out and he's, hey, hang on, I'll get you a seat, dude, you know, you're really unsure about how the meal's going to go, you know. But if a guy, you know, like in a tuxedo or something comes up and, you know, says, party for how many, you know, well, that's usually when I know I'm in the wrong place, but I'm sorry. But I know when that happens, it's going to be something.

I know when this guy seats me to the table and there's a nice setting and stuff, I know, you know what, this is probably going to be a pretty happening meal here. Compare that to the fact of who is preparing your place in heaven. None other than Jesus Christ himself. That so humbles me as a servant of the Lord that Jesus himself is looking over the setup. Okay, that's right, that's right, need to turn, okay, all right, this is all right, this is all set. And then to think at some point, because Jesus says, no man knows the day or the hour except the Father. And I get a picture, I get kind of excited about that because I get this picture that Jesus is up there like going, okay, how about now, how about now, Father's not yet, not yet, how about now, not yet. But someday, sooner than most of us think, I believe, Father's going to look at him and say, okay, go get him. Go bring him home, amen. And I don't think, I don't think we think about that enough.

Waking up in the morning going, this could be it, this might be it. Now understand, we're told that the Lord's not being slack towards his promise, he's waiting, he's wanting people to repent. And if you think of all the people who've been saved here in the last year, if Jesus would have returned, if he would have raptured the church a year ago, those people wouldn't have made it. So I'm glad he's waiting, but at some point, he waits no more. And I don't know if you've ever thought of this, but I sure have.

Have people come forward to ask the Lord to forgive them of their sins? I've often wondered, I wonder if this is it. I wonder if these are the last ones. I wonder if after this happens, we're called home. That's a way to live in excitement. That's a way to live, which brings us to our next life lesson, live your life so that you are ready to go. Live your life so that you are ready to go. You know, when we die, we don't just slip off into oblivion or annihilation.

There's a far better place. And be ready to go. You know, when I go to the beach or to the mountains or wherever, it's a big thing getting ready. You know, getting ready and getting the suitcases ready and getting the directions and all that. I am ready to go. I mean, it wouldn't make much sense if my wife came to me, are you ready? Yeah, sure. Unpacked, I don't know how we're going, what directions we're going or how we're getting there, but sure, let's go.

No, I spend time. Why? Because the destination is important. Exactly. With heaven, the destination is important. So we should have this mental image, even as the scripture says, you know what? Your sojourners, your pilgrims are just passing through.

We should have this mental image of sitting there at the door with our suitcase in hand ready to get gone. We should have that. We'll be right back with more from David McGee on Cross the Bridge. Right now, here's a word from Associate Pastor D.A.

Brown. We want to take just a minute to pray for seven cities in our listening audience. South Portsmouth, Westport, Kentucky, Baton Rouge, Denim Springs, Erwinville, Heflin, and Jennings, Louisiana. Lord, thank you for these cities. Thank you for those mayors, the police chiefs, the government officials, the town councils. Lord, we pray that you would give them wisdom and discernment. We pray that they would look to your word for advice on how to lead. Lord, help us to be praying for them consistently and be a place of encouragement, not division, in their lives. Father, anyone in these cities who hasn't yet put their trust in you, we pray that you would convince them and encourage them to recognize how much you loved them, so much that you died on the cross for them.

And Lord, we pray for revival in each one of these cities. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you, brother.

And now, let's get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse. We should be excited about heaven. You realize that it's okay to be excited about heaven. I mean, all the stuff, all this, it's over.

It's gone. And you understand, now, it's different. This is if you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

If you don't, friend, I got bad news for you. This is as good as it gets. But for those of us who know Jesus, this is as bad as it gets. It only gets better from here.

That's why when an unbeliever, somebody's being really miserable or really ornery or whatever, I don't feel the need to be ornery back because you know what? This is all they will ever experience. This is the best it will ever be for them. And to realize that this is as hard and as tough as it will be for us. Heaven's a real place. And we can look forward. It's not a place to, you know, of drill.

I want to live as long as I can here. Paul said, you know, I'm ready to go. I don't know if you've ever heard that joke, you know, the guy, these four guys that play golf all the time, they said, you know, if any of us die, let's, now, this is a joke. This is theologically not correct, and I understand this, but it's a joke. So the four guys, they're golf buddies, so they say, you know, hey, let's make a deal that, you know, whoever dies first, that they'll come back and let us know, you know, if there's golf in heaven.

See, I told you it's scripturally unsound. So he says, okay, you know, great, you know. So one of them passes away, and then he comes back and he goes, hey, hey, you know, there's good news and there's bad news. He goes, what's the good news? The good news is there's golf in heaven. He said, what's the bad news? He says, you and I tee off Saturday at nine.

See, but, see, that's not really bad news to us. You know, if you told me that this Saturday I was gonna go be with the Lord, I'd be like, yes, praise God. I would be concerned on, you know, what happens here and stuff, but to be with the Lord is an awesome thing, is an awesome thing. And Jesus continues in verse four, and he says, and where I go you know, and the way you know. Now, watch this.

Thomas is getting ready to kind of blow a beautiful moment here. Verse five, Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you're going and how can we know the way? You need for the moment to kind of take off your religious glasses because we grow up with these real misconceptions about the disciples.

The disciples were very real people. They messed up sometimes. They didn't get it sometimes. Sometimes the Lord would have to explain in fuller detail with them. As you read the scriptures, understand that and appreciate it. I do, because you know, even the first time I was reading through the gospels, you know, and Jesus would tell a story, and even I would understand it. And yet the disciples, and usually after everybody else had left and they had Jesus alone, they'd, you know, what do you mean by that? To be honest, I kept, you know, as a young believer, I kept waiting, you know, I kept thinking Jesus was going to go, what, weren't you listening? I mean, you know, maybe this disciple thing's not going to work out for you.

Your levels of comprehension aren't what they should be. But now, he didn't do that. He always explained it and he always said, okay, look, you know, there's the sower and there's the seed going too fast for you. Okay, so, you know, and he would always go, very carefully go back, but see here, Jesus is going, look, you know where I'm going? You know I'm going to make a place and you know how to get there? And then Thomas goes, Lord, we don't know where you're going.

We don't know how to get there. He's probably saying what the others were thinking. Verse six. But you know what's cool before we read verse six? If you didn't have verse five, you wouldn't have verse six. The verse that we're getting ready to read that has come to mean so much to so many, we wouldn't have if Thomas wouldn't have spoken up and said, what's the deal?

Where are we going and how are we going to get there? And Jesus says in verse six, Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. What an awesome verse. Notice what he says.

Let's pay careful attention. He doesn't say I am one of the ways, one of the many truths, and one of the lives. It's not what he said. He uses a singular expression. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

See, understand exactly what he's saying. Nobody goes to the Father except through Jesus. Nobody. Well, now, Pastor David, are you saying, are you insinuating that Jesus is the only way to heaven?

No. Jesus is saying that, and I'm just agreeing with him. I got some of you. Some of you are like, what?

What? Come back. Stop. That's what Jesus is saying. I'm simply agreeing with Jesus. Understand what this means, that if I want to take the stance that there's many ways to heaven, I am taking a direct stance against Jesus. I am, in essence, calling Jesus a liar. I don't want to do that.

I'm not going to do that. It's not that, you know, and I've used this analogy before. It's not, imagine if you were dying of a dreaded disease, and you went in to the doctor, and the doctor said, well, I've got great news. There's a cure for what you have. Would you sit there and go, well, is there only one? Well, yeah, there's only one cure. Well, that's narrow-minded. That's very bigoted. If you've just got one cure, I don't think I'm going to take it.

You wouldn't do that. Guys, there's a cure for sin, and it is a disease that's taken out more people than we could imagine, and there's a cure for it. I don't care that there's only one cure. I'm just grateful that there is a cure, and Jesus, with one statement, wipes out any possibility of any other world religion leading to heaven. That's the statement of Jesus. That's not the statement of Pastor David. That is the stance of Jesus.

If you've got a problem with that, you've got a problem with Jesus. Jesus is the way in which we go. He is the truth in which we know. He is the life by which we show. The way in which we go, the truth in which we know, and the life by which we show.

He says the way. Understand, there has never been a more simple and straightforward way to come to God. In other world religions, if you looked at them at all, it gets so complicated, and in 2,000 years, you know what's interesting? Nobody has been able to come up with a simpler way to get to heaven. Man has not been able to devise a more straightforward way of how you get to heaven.

That alone tells me it's God, that God devised something so simple, so straightforward, that any of us can understand it. A six-year-old can go, okay, Jesus is the only way. That's what they're learning all over the building this morning, Jesus is the only way, and they're, okay, Jesus is the only way.

I understand that. If I want to go to heaven, I go through Jesus. He's the truth. I like the way that Jesus is honest with us. Have you ever known somebody, and you always kind of wondered where you stood with them? As they were talking to you, you're like, well, what are you really saying?

What are you thinking about me? But you always know where you stand with Jesus. Jesus says, look, if you believe in me and you follow me, you're in.

If you're not, you're not. You've got to repent of your sins. You've got to ask forgiveness of your sins, and you've got to follow me. He loves us enough to tell us the truth, to tell us, you know what?

You're messed up, and you're scarred by sin, and you need a Savior. And because He says that to us, we can know that it's true, and we can follow Him. I mean, imagine if He just looked at us and go, yeah, I think you're okay.

You'll be fine. Just hope for the best. See, because if we take away the message, what are we doing? If we quit presenting that good news, then let's just all go home and quit playing games. We need to be presenting the truth as God's Word presents it. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking Him to help you to live for Him. Now, God wants you to pray this prayer so much that He died to give you the opportunity and the ability to ask Him to forgive you.

Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe You died for me that I could be forgiven, and I believe You were raised from the dead that I could have a new life, and I've done wrong things. I have sinned, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things.

Please give me the power to live for You all of my days. In Jesus' name, amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer, according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again.

Jesus said He would not turn anybody away who comes to Him, and He came for those people who knew they needed forgiveness, those who were sick, not the righteous. So congratulations, friend. You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit crossthebridge.com to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

Or you can write to Cross the Bridge at P.O. Box 12515, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27117, and share how God is working in your life. You know, the Bible tells us that the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But it does cost for us to come and bring that message to you and to others in your neighborhood through radio, through the internet, and through the mobile technologies that God has gifted us to be able to use. So if you'd like to support this ministry, please go to crossthebridge.com, click on the donate button, and ask God how much He would have you give either on a one-time basis or a continuing basis each month to help ensure that the teaching of God's Word continues to go out through Cross the Bridge.

Thank you so much. Well, D.A., before we go, what are some ways that we can bless our listeners? Each day you can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David through the Word of God with his email devotional, life lessons to consider, a daily reading plan, and a thought to meditate on throughout your day from the heart of David McGee. Thanks again for listening, and join us next time as David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the Gospel of John.