 In John chapter 14 beginning at verse one, I'll read to verse six and we'll get into our study John chapter 14 Beginning at verse one Jesus said Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God believe also in me In my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I Go to prepare a place for you 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 and Where I go, you know and the way you know Thomas said to him Lord, we do not know where you're going and how can we know the way and Jesus said to him I am the way the truth and the life No one comes to the father Except through me father I pray that you would take this time in the word and awaken us to the reality of what Jesus just said No one comes to you, but by him and Lord we thank you that you've gone to prepare a place for us And Lord I ask that we would be in that prepared place that we would be a prepared people So speak to us by your word and may your Holy Spirit speak to our hearts now in Jesus name Amen, and so as we look at John chapter 14 We need to remember that Jesus has been preparing his men to be ready for the events that are soon to occur He's about to be taken he's going to be violently put to death and his being taken and Being put to death in the way that he's about to to die is going to devastate them Now this is something he's been preparing his disciples for This isn't new news. This is something that they have been instructed about He's spoken on this of this particular issue many times to prepare them And by the way, that's what Bible studies are intended to do to instruct as well as to prepare You see the times that we are living in have been outlined for us in scripture and the church has been given Adequate time to prepare herself When you read your Bible, you might want to note 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 through 5 as an example Paul had said mark this there will be terrible times in the last days People will be lovers of themselves lovers of money boastful proud abusive disobedient to their parents ungrateful unholy without love unforgiving slanderous without self-control brutal not lovers of the good treacherous rash conceded lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God Having a form of godliness but denying its power and then Paul said have nothing to do with them And so we've been given adequate information There are so many scriptures that you can read in the New Testament and as well as the old Let's be concerning the days that we're living in right now I chose this particular portion of scripture because it's it's being revealed right in front of us even as I speak The fact that people are our lovers of themselves and lovers of their money and we're seeing that I mean try to go to one of the stories pick up some goods and see all of the The the the fear that people live in that is provoking them to put themselves first and not to concern themselves with others We're seeing it right now That's the natural propensity of human nature is to take care of itself But we're seeing it right now these days that we're living in have been described for us And and that that's what the Bible is intended to do is to prepare us through instruction And that's what Jesus is doing. And so we shouldn't be surprised at what we're enduring at this moment We're to be prepared for his return because we know that that can happen at any moment the return of Christ And we'll see that in just a moment But Paul had said in 1st Corinthians 15 verses 51 through 54 Behold I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep We shall all be changed in a moment and the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet So the trumpet will sound the dead will be raised incorruptible. We shall be changed for this corruptible must put on incorruption This mortal must put on immortality So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up in victory We are anticipating the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and he can come at any moment When Jesus is speaking here. He's speaking to a group of men Who are about to go through a devastating experience in the loss of their of their master and he's preparing them And he's letting them know that it's about to take place the things that he's been sharing with them Well, these things are about to be fulfilled When you begin to consider how Jesus began to prepare them All we need to do is remember from the beginning of his ministry It's recorded here in the Gospel of John chapter 2 verses 19 through 21 Jesus had already been preparing them because in John 2 19 through 21 Jesus said Destroy this temple and in three days. I will raise it up The Jews said it's taken 46 years to build this temple and you will raise it up in three days And then John went on to add he was speaking of the temple of his body So he had begun very early to share with them that he was going to be taken That was something clearly spoken of when it was referring to destroying the temple He was speaking of his death that would come this particular message has been repeated various times Because he was preparing them later on in John's Gospel. We saw this in chapter 10 verses 17 and 18 Jesus said therefore my father loves me because I laid down my life that I may take it again No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down I have power to take it again this command I have received from my father So again, he's saying I laid down my life first. He says destroy this temple then he says I laid down my life He's been preparing them when you look in Matthew's Gospel. There's so many scriptures that refer to this in Matthew 16 21 From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem Suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third day In chapter 17 of Matthew 22 and 23 While they were staying in Galilee Jesus said to them the son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men They will kill him and on the third day. He'll be raised up. They were exceedingly sorrowful Again in Matthew chapter 20 verses 17 through 19 Now Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the 12 disciples aside on the road and said to them Behold we are going up to Jerusalem. The son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests to the scribes They will condemn him to death deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and discourage and to crucify The third day he will rise again In Matthew 20 verse 28 the son of man didn't come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom For many and in chapter 26 of Matthew verse 2 You know that after two days is the Passover the son of man will be delivered up to be crucified For those of you who are joining us and perhaps for the first time You might want to note and you've already noticed this that when I give bible studies I like to give a lot of cross references because I believe That what has taken place here in these last days is the pastor has become the authority And he says well it says in scripture he says in scripture and there are a lot of pastors who teach in that fashion I don't but I was in the military. I was part of a group called the navigators and the navigators Really had a great influence on me Because the things that they were teaching us they wanted us to see that scripture supported And so I a long time ago learned to follow not what man says he thinks or believes But what god's word actually says and that's why I will take you through scripture That's why you have to be prepared to take notes. That's why because I'm not here to entertain I'm here to instruct and the only instruction that I can give to you that is worth anything Is the instruction of scripture and that's why I do that and that's why you'll see in my teaching style A lot of cross references because I want you to know i'm not making this up I could very easily do that. I could say several times and just say where But I like to read what the scripture has to say so that you know that god's word actually says this and so with that said That night that we're looking at here in john 14 He had once again made it clear he was about to leave them And he had already stated to them. He made it very clear Um that they were not able to go where he was going in john 1333 he said where I am going you cannot come so now I say to you And so he'd already made it very clear when he said where I am going you cannot come And that didn't sit well with his men We see in matthew's gospel chapter 26 verse 35 that when jesus was instructing them in this way That peter said to him even if I have to die with you I will not deny you And so said all the disciples So his words threw them into a downward spiral Their hearts were crushed as he spoke these things to them And because their hearts are crushed they need to be encouraged And we're seeing the encouragement in chapter 14 verse 1 Because there he says let not your heart be troubled So he's already anticipating and experiencing Their their sorrow of heart and he doesn't want them to be overcome by sorrow He doesn't want them to be overcome by anxiety over what was about to happen You know After being prepared so often They still could not come to believe That he was going to die That's really a form of unbelief the rejecting his instruction And they're about to go through the trauma of having their hero violently taken away from them What is it that's going to bring them comfort in their times of anxiety and their time of grief? Well, he encourages them to take comfort by faith in his father And in him It's not that they have no faith But that they must direct it Towards the lord and once again in our days that we're going through right now It's not that we don't have faith. It's that we need to direct it properly And that's what jesus is doing in their time of anxiety and sorrow And all of that he's preparing them You see in times of confusion in times of fear and sorrow It's it's best to turn to the lord Because he's the one who provides comfort and he's the one who gives us security in times of adversity and uncertainty The salmos in psalm 61 verses one through four said it like this Hear my cry, oh god Attend to my prayer From the end of the earth, I will cry to you when my heart is overwhelmed Lead me to the rock that is higher than I For you have been a shelter for me A strong tower from the enemy I will abide in your tabernacle forever I will trust in the shelter of your wings Isn't that what we're supposed to do guys? We're supposed to trust in the shelter of the lord who protects us. He's the one who's there for us You see As jesus is speaking here, he's giving them a word of comfort But I want you to see in verse one what he said first He says let not your heart be troubled when he says let not your heart be troubled Let not your heart gives to me the in the insight that I have the ability To control my anxiety through a decision that I make let not your heart be troubled Would be an impossible command if it were without the power of the holy spirit and the presence of christ But he's saying this is something you can have control on over and therefore remember who it is That gives you strength and that's why he went on to say in verse one you believe in god So he's pointing their attention to the one who brings them comfort to the one who strengthens them But notice this you believe in god believe also in me Now that's a very powerful statement Those who consider jesus only a prophet only a miracle worker teacher a good man This has to give them pause for just a moment because jesus is saying Have the same kind of faith in him As you have in god He's he's saying If god is worthy of complete and committed faith Then so am I Now Think about that for a minute What teacher could say that what pastor could say that what prophet could say that The same kind of faith you have in god Put it in me What pastor could stand up in front of his church and say you guys believe in god Believe also in me If I said that to my church I would have no church Because they're not to have faith in me the way they have faith in god And yet jesus is saying the same kind of faith you have in my father Must be deposited in me Now if he's not god in the flesh Then what he's commanding is for them to commit blasphemy Because God commands us to have full faith in him alone Remember isaia 42 verse 8 I am the lord that is my name and my glory I will not give to another nor my praise to graven images I am the lord that is my name I'm not going to allow anything else to be glorified remember when god gave us the the 10 commands How that he said you are to have no false gods You're not to have carved images and no god before me And so if jesus is up there saying you believe in god believe also in me if he's not god in the flesh He's commanding them to commit blasphemy Jesus knows that full faith in god is the foundation of Judaism And yet knowing this he commanded his followers followers to believe in him and not only that But he also as we've seen earlier in john 5 23 He also commanded them to honor him In john 5 23. He said all should honor the son Just as they honor the father He who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him Believe and honor Believe and honor those are things that are to god and god alone And yet jesus is saying do you want to have comfort? Do you want to have peace in your time of anxiety? Don't put your trust in anyone else And don't put your trust in anything else you believe in god believe also in me So to completely trust in jesus brings peace to the heart And that's what we need right now i'd say Complete trust in jesus so that we can have peace within us now In verse 2 he continues and he says 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 So when he says in my father's house, he's speaking of the presence of the father the one who dwells if you will in heaven Remember psalm 11 verse 4 the lord is in his holy temple the lord's throne Is in heaven In my father's house is speaking of being in the presence of the father who dwells in heaven And so he's saying and i want you to see this He's saying 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 And so there's plenty of room in heaven For all who would come there But they need to enter in the right way Because there's only one doorway into heaven and again, this is the heart of christianity There's one doorway. There's one way. There's one entrance. You'll see this in verse 6 So when he makes it clear no one comes to the father except through him he says But remember earlier he had been speaking in chapter 10 in verse 7 And he had said to them again most assuredly i say to you i am the door of the sheep Again if you're trying to enter into heaven in any other way Outside of christ, you're not going to enter in If you think you can get to heaven in any other way except faith in christ Then you're wrong Jesus said i am the door and he said i am the way And the only way to enter into heaven is through jesus christ And the door to enter in Is is opened through confession. It's it's it's when you say god be merciful to me I'm a sinner not just somebody who makes mistakes Not just somebody who has erred in judgment Not just somebody who who hasn't been perfect and saying it in that nonchalant way that we can say it No, it comes to confession the word confession speaks of of an agreement It's a greek word homologate or it speaks of saying the same thing And what you do when you confess is you're agreeing with god that what you've done is wrong And you're not making an excuse You're saying i agree with you i've lied i've cheated i've stolen i've committed adultery in my heart If not physically i've done these things and i'm wrong god be merciful to me i confess my sin I agree with you i'm a sinner and then it comes to repentance a change of mind metanoia in the greek It means just a change of mind I had an idea that that this was right But now i have discovered that that i was wrong i repent and then through that that confession god i'm a sinner and i repent Then there comes that time of saying and and jesus forgive me for my sin cleanse me for my unrighteousness and Lord take residence within my heart Be merciful to me i'm a sinner And that's how you enter in And that's an invitation god has given revelation 22 verse 17 the spirit and the bride say come Let him who hears say come let him who thirsts come And whoever desires let him take the water of life freely It's that desire it's that thirst it's god be merciful to me and jesus said come And again some of you listening to this message you need to do that today You need to give your heart to christ He's going to prepare a place for them That they may join him In heaven and i want you to notice in verse 2 how he says if it were not so i would have told you You can believe me i'm telling you the absolute truth heaven is open to you Heaven is open to you I go and prepare a place for you and i will come again and receive you to myself That where i am There you may be also on a few occasions i've had the the honor Of standing at the bedside of people who have died And i did this with both of my parents with my dad and my mom Did the same thing for both of them when my dad died and then years later my mom did and uh My father died i was standing there at his bedside and Though my father was not responding I spoke to him and i i said dad and i i quoted the scripture let not your heart be troubled You believe in god believe also in me in my father's house are many mansions If it were not so i would have told you i go and prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you I'll come again and receive you unto myself That where i am there you may be also I spoke that to my dad as a promise when my mother went home to be with jesus I stood there next to her my wife marie was with me And and i said mom i just want to remind you and i quoted the scripture to her i've stood at more than one Bed of people who are about to close their eyes here to open them up there And this promise to me is one of the most powerful promises that you have I go to prepare a place for you think about that for a minute I go let not your heart be troubled you believe in god believe also in me My father's house got plenty of room. There are many mansions And he's preparing that place for a prepared people And there are some right now who need to hear this He prepares the place for a prepared people He give you heart to the lord and you're prepared and you can have a confidence It's not by works of righteousness, which you've done according to his mercy. He saves you In second carinthians five six through eight paul said it like this He said we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in the body We are absent from the lord for we walk by faith not by sight We are confident. Yes. Well pleased Rather to be absent from the body And to be present with the lord absent from the body present with the lord You close your eyes here and your eyes are open there Think about that for a moment Think about that for for just a moment You know for the christian Well, like paul said in first carinthians 15 we we can understand. Oh death. Where is thy sting? You know The sting is of death is sin Jesus christ gives us a victory For more than conquerors in him That gives me great hope That gives me tremendous hope that that's the hope that I have That I have him imparted to me and implanted in me and jesus who does not lie is telling me the truth There are many mansions and he says and I have gone to I go to prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself That where I am there you may be also he's making a promise to return And in doing so Come to mind that I want to share with you about something that that applies to us And that is what we call The rapture i'm going to share with you a little bit right now guys on the rapture Which Is something that we're all familiar with but perhaps there are some who are listening today Who've never heard of this term or this event that we're looking at jesus said i'll return for you And uh, I have to gel this into some very basic things obviously it's a much larger Larger teaching that i'm able to give it this moment But I want to share a little bit about this because jesus said if he goes to prepare a place He says i'm going to come and receive you to myself And so we have what is called the rapture The rapture is a doctrine that I learned when I first got saved. I was not raised in In an evangelical church. I don't know what your background is I'm going to assume that many in my fellowship have the same background. I have My background is roman catholicism Though I do have quite a number of people who've been raised in in protestant expressions of faith and and and many In my church got saved in our church or calvary chapel And so that's a familiar doctrine for many people but not for everybody Because when I first got saved I'd never heard of this thing called the rapture never heard of it And I know there are some listening to me right now Who have never heard of it either so i'm going to share with you a little bit about it Because it's a promise jesus has made when he says he'll come and receive us to himself When you look in scripture in the first thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 through 18 paul writing to the church of thessalonica said this He says I do not want you to be ignorant brethren. The word ignorant means without instruction I don't want you to be ignorant without knowledge brethren Concerning those who have fallen asleep the term fallen asleep is another way of speaking of death I would not have you to be without knowledge concerning those who have died Lest you sorrow as others who have no hope For if we believe that jesus died and rose again, which is the the creed that is core to our faith He died and rose again Even so god will bring with him those who sleep in jesus those who have died in faith For this we say to you by the word of the lord. This is not my opinion. This is god's declaration That we who are alive and remain notice how he said we's he's including himself We who are alive and remain until the coming of the lord Will by no means precede those who are asleep For the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with a voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of god The dead in christ will rise first which speaks of half of my church No, the dead in christ will rise first Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds To meet the lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the lord Now he goes on to say therefore comfort one another with these words We speak of the rapture Now somebody says no, wait a minute. That's the thing. I have a problem with guys. Um, I don't see the word rapture in the bible The word rapture is actually a latin word And The greek word that is found here in first Thessalonians Is uh the word harpsil The word harpsil is found in verse 17 caught up Is it means to take away suddenly the word harpsil means to seize suddenly to remove from one place to another And the word harpsil is used in scripture not just in first Thessalonians It's used when the spirit caught up philip the evangelist He was near gaza and took him to cesarea. You see that in ax 8 39 It says when they had come out of the water, he had just ministered to an ethiopian eunuch and And had preached the gospel out of isaia 53 And the eunuch had committed himself to christ and And uh said what does hindermy from being baptized and and uh, and he was told if you believe with all of your heart And he says i do and so he was baptized and that's what's being referred to in ax 8 39 when it says When they came out of the water the spirit of the lord caught philip away the word caught is harpsil Caught philip away so that the eunuch saw him no more and he went on his way rejoicing It was also used when paul was caught up to heaven in second carinthians 12 verses 2 through 4 When paul was saying this he said i know a man in christ Who 14 years ago whether in the body i do not know whether out of the body i do not know god knows Such a one was caught up was that the word harpsil such one was caught up to the third heaven And i know such a man whether in the body or out of the body i don't know god knows how he was caught up Our potso into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which is not lawful for a man to utter And so paul is used in that word in 1st eunuchs 4 He's speaking of the taking up of people from earth to heaven When you look at what has been referred to as a prophetic calendar The rapture is the next event awaiting to be fulfilled It's something that the church has been commanded to wait for to be prepared for and to be expectant Revelation 22 20 says it like this he who testifies to these things says surely i am coming quickly Amen, and then we read the words even so come lord jesus Now there's no specific date So that tells us that this promise extends to succeeding generations And the fact that jesus is returning and his promise i will come and receive you to myself this promise Is intended to motivate us to be prepared To be awaiting him To not be caught Unexpectedly I've shared how Before I came to faith in christ and I used to drink and party a lot My parents had taken off and gone on vacation and left the house But just me in it, which was not a wise thing to do I began calling friends and started having a party a party that we were having lasted two or three days And there was a lot of drinking and carrying on as As was the way that my life was at that time drinking and taking drugs and and uh And I was in the in the kitchen When the door burst open it was evening it was night And my sister madeline and my other sister rebecca came running in They weren't supposed to be home. They were supposed to be on vacation. They were supposed to be up north But dad decided to come home early And I'll never forget that When madeline comes running and says you better get out of here dad is mad And so I had a friend of mine albert and albert had taken a little Well, he took too many drugs shouldn't taken any but he took a lot of drugs and was drinking And I grabbed albert and I shoved him out the front door And he just goes stumbling out the front door. He was very very We used to use the word wasted and he was And then I thought okay. He's out of here. He's gonna be and a minute later He went to the side and went in the side door and came back in And I had to take him and throw him out a second time So I threw albert out and I was getting everybody out of the house and it was crowded There's a crowd of people When my dad came home when my dad came walking in You know and I I I went running out the front door and I I didn't come home for several days I started living in my my dad used to call it my hippy wagon And I started sleeping every night In my station wagon I actually while he was at work had gone into my bedroom and I took the mattress off the bed And I put it in the back of my car And I parked across the street from my house So my dad every morning could see when he was going to work See his poor little boy sleeping in a car I knew that that was going to get my dad Forgive me which it did and I ended up ended up learning some lessons through this But one of the things I did learn is don't be caught unexpectedly You know for me my dad came home in a time I was not expecting and I was caught doing evil Well, I would like to be caught doing good now And I believe that that's what we're supposed to be right don't be Living in such a way that you're unprepared The Lord is returning at any given moment and we're to be ready for him And that's why we can say even so come quickly Lord Jesus You see the promise of his return isn't to frighten us. It's it's to motivate us to be prepared And tied us to 11 through 13 It says the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching us That denying ungodliness and worldly lust We should live soberly Righteously and godly in the present age Looking for a blessed hope And glorious appearing of our great god and savior jesus christ looking for it You see when paul was writing to the thessalonians Some of them had believing relatives who had died and jesus had yet to take them And so paul is answering their question related to that and he wants to bring them comfort paul wanted To free them from sorrow the sorrow that is so often associated with death So instead of directing their attention to their trouble, he directs them to their future That's why he had said in first aslonians 4 13. I don't want you to be ignorant Uninstructed This is something he'd already Taught them about From the beginning as mentioned the return of the lord jesus is referred to in scripture from the very beginning You hear that first carinthians 7 29 The time is short romans 13 12 the night is far spent the day is at hand Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness. Let us put on the armor of light Philippians 4 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men the lord is at hand first john 3 2 and 3 Beloved now we are children of god It has not yet been revealed what we shall be But we know that when he's revealed we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure And so we're supposed to be prepared for what he comes We should be living in such a way that uh It evidences that we believe that I I think that Sometimes we forget that he's promised to return And we get caught up and we get busy and we start doing the things that make for ordinary life and And we forget that the promise for jesus is that he'll return and as we're looking around right now at the signs of the times We ought to be even more aware guys That the lord is returning at any moment. I wonder if we still believe that That was a heart and soul of my early early christianity heart and soul of it I was taught from the very beginning be ready jesus is returning. Yeah, it's been a long time since I got saved That's true and there are many things that have occurred over the years But the bottom line is is every day that I wait is a day closer to his return And I ought to be prepared for him because he promised it and he will come You see the thessalonians Uh were ignorant they they forgot they had a lack of understanding a lack of knowledge and and that led to sorrow But the teaching that paul is giving brings him comfort In romans 15 verse 4 everything that was written in the past was written to teach us So that through endurance and the encouragement of the scripture we might have hope What happens when people go through tough times they get away from scripture? First thing that stops is the reading of the word. It is so typical First thing that stops is the reading of the word. The second thing that stops is prayer And the third thing that stops is fellowship And when those three things are cut off then the fourth thing Related to to sharing about christ that stops also And so instead of us getting caught up with what's going on around us to the point that we become afraid We ought to be looking for other ways to express faith of christ to those Especially who desperately need a word of hope right now That's why i'm so blessed with the use of the online ministry because i was mentioning earlier because just in the last two weeks We've seen 31 countries began to watch Our our bible studies 31 countries that would not have been watching bible studies are now watching studies People are are are are now Writing us and and saying i want you to know i prayed and gave my heart to christ You know this is a an opportunity that god has given to us You know and we need to be prepared and we need to be aware and the scripture is what gives us hope And so he says if we believe that jesus died and rose again Even so god will bring with him those who sleep in jesus Yeah, we sorrow But we don't sorrow as those who have no hope We do not sorrow without hope because we know Where are our relatives who loved jesus we know Where they are We know where they're they're at i know where my dad is i never lost my dad I know where his dad. He's with the lord. I never lost my mom Because my mom was with the lord mary and i had a miscarriage in between My my david and my my joseph But that baby is with the lord I have a grandmother i've never met But my mama used to tell me she was a woman who believed in jesus christ And a grandfather who believed in jesus christ that one day i'm going to be able to see face to face That's that's that's a great thing. It gives me hope there'll be a a family reunion In heaven one day guys It isn't something that i that i'm concerned about it's something i look forward to And and jesus conquered death and and he gives me a hope in psalm 16 verse 9 My heart is glad my glory rejoices my flesh also will rest in hope Now to close off a little bit about this rapture that i'm sharing about out of john 14 and then turning to First salonians 4 he says in first salonians 4 verse 14 that god will bring with him those who sleep in jesus So our loved ones will be with him at the rapture and we return with them to heaven And what are we to do? Well, he says in verse 15 of first salonians 4 for this we say to you by the word of the lord Paul in other words is saying that we who are alive He's including himself because he expects this to occur in his lifetime He expected it to happen And the lord is going to descend with a shout with a voice of an archangel and a trumpet A shout a voice and a trumpet emphasize immediate departure Now i'm going to develop this one more thing and then move into a conclusion It's almost time to conclude our study and i can almost hear an amen. Thank you jesus from you guys right now But let me share something with you that some of you are familiar with but perhaps some have not ever heard this because When we When we see this taking place when we're reading in first salonians at all and we read about the bible in the bible about The bride of christ being the church jesus being the husband and all When you begin to put together some of the things that paul would have been familiar with jesus Obviously was familiar with is it reminds us of a jewish wedding ceremony during the days of paul i was reading some commentary many years ago now that was made by a You call a messianic believer We we call them completed jews. They call themselves that sometimes They refer to themselves in that way meaning that the jewish who have committed their heart to christ as messiah And i was reading a commentary that was put out by a jewish man who came to faith in christ And he was speaking of the rapture and all and he said let me share with you and i'm going to do that right now Let me share with you The things that related to a jewish wedding ceremony during the day of paul And as i read these things i want you to see how interesting it is having gone through a few things right now in first salonians And this is how it was and i'll basically just read this You see there are various stages that occur prior to the marriage the wedding When a young man Met the girl he wanted as wife or his father had decided upon on his behalf They had what was called the betrothal A bride price was decided upon at that time And if this young woman was greatly desired He paid a very high price for that bride if That bride was greatly desired He paid a very great price for that bride and according to aphesians 1 7 In him we have redemption through his blood The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace the bride price was the blood of jesus christ Because he greatly desired us A second thing is in that agreement portion when they were all meeting and the bride and The the bridegroom would be there the fathers and all The bride and the groom would would drink a cup of wine together And they would seal the arrangement that had been agreed upon And that finds its answer in communion Where jesus shared with his apostles matthew 26 versus 27 and 28 it says he took the Cup gave thanks gave it to them saying drink from it all of you This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins So they would share a cup third the bride price would be paid We know that that occurred when jesus died on the cross and in john 19 verse 30 when jesus said it is finished Now the fourth thing is the groom would leave to build what was called the bridal chamber in his father's home For the honeymoon and before he would get up and leave he would stand up and give a speech And it was a Traditional kind of thing so he would stand up and you almost can see this man clearing his throat And you know how he began his speech? He said I go and prepare a place for you That's how he began because he was about to go and build a bridal chamber I go and prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself that there you may be also the words that jesus used this night as he was speaking It was stocked with provisions it would last seven days Construction would normally last around a year, but it was the father who determined when it was time for the groom to take his bride Now as the bride waited she was called the one who had been set apart She was called by the society the one who has been bought with a price And that obviously is first chrithian 6 20 you were bought at a price Now on occasion the bridegroom would be asked when are you going to take your bride? And his response traditionally only my father knows the time In matthew 24 verse 36 of that day and hour knows no man No, not the angels of heaven, but my father only And finally the bridegroom would assemble his friends and they would come to take the bride And when the bridegroom was on its way there would be a shout that would ring out Matthew 25 6 at midnight there was a cry made behold the bridegroom comes Go out to meet him If it was night she would light a lamp and she would leave with him and his friends After arriving at the home they went to the bride Bed chamber and the next day the celebration began that could continue for a week And at the end of the week the bride and the groom would appear and joy of feasts called the marriage supper Which we call the marriage supper of the lamb and they would go to where they would be dwelling And so that's a picture of the rapture The dead in Christ rise first You see redemption for them is yet to be complete their bodies have yet been raised But those who are alive will be instantly changed And mortality will put on immortality. Our bodies will be made suitable for heaven We aren't ready to go in in these bodies So we need to get a transformed one And what's this supposed to do to us? He said comfort one another Because we will forever be with the Lord We're going to be with the Lord guys I go to prepare a place for you Can you imagine? I've shared this with you before but it reminds me Somebody was walking through a graveyard and they saw Headstone the epitaph that said pause my friend as you walk by As you are now So once was I as I am now So you will be prepare my friend to follow me But somebody wrote underneath that to follow you is not my intent until I know which way you went That's good Well, jesus back in john 14 as I look back in clothes first four where I go, you know the way you know I've taught you the way to heaven for three and a half years And you know the way with thomas Thomas said jim lord, we don't know where you're going How can we know the way? And wait a minute a moment ago you said where you're going we cannot come And now you're saying we know the way can you please clarify this for us? And this is where we close Jesus said to him I am the way The truth and the life No one comes to the father except through me I am the way that's what you call the sixth i am statement in john's gospel I am the way the truth and the life I've mentioned to you that there are seven i am statements And as we've gone through john's gospel We saw him say I'm the bread of life. I'm the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good shepherd on the resurrection and the life Well, he's saying here. I am the way the truth and life I am the way A road or a highway. I'm the path I'm the road that connects man with god I am the truth You can rely on me because my words are without error I am the life Life is more than physical existence I am a quality of life That is is produced by fellowship with my father And I am these things. I'm not a way to these things. I am these things And no one comes to my father Except by me What are you saying? He's saying I am the exclusive way to god Later on in acts 412 we read nor is there salvation in any other There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved And so That's what happened in our lives We heard the gospel The spirit convicted us We turned our eyes to him We confessed our sin repented We were born again Why because Jesus is the way the truth and the life No one comes to the father but by him No religious system will get me to god No religious system does No false teacher can give me a relationship with god Jesus is the one from heaven and he's the one who directs us to heaven And the way we come to him is by saying god forgive me. I trust you. I believe you And I want to be born again. I want to have a relationship with you and if you're here listening If you're listening now online and you've never given your heart to christ I'm going to ask you to do so right now If you want to enter into heaven you want to have peace with the god let not your heart be troubled as a promise you can have That you can take You believe in god believe also in jesus Right now if your heart is open and you're saying god, I need you and let's just close our eyes together right now for a moment And let me pray for you And I'm asking you to give your heart to christ father. I lift up those who are watching right now And I ask in jesus name that you would reach their hearts now through conviction of your spirit And that father in jesus name that they might open up and say god be merciful to me. I'm a sinner God forgive me god wash me god cleanse me God make me new come into me dwell in my heart And if you have a desire to have a relationship with the lord, you can say father forgive me I know that i'm a sinner Jesus died on the cross to save sinners Jesus died to save me forgive me of my sin cleanse me Come into my life I will follow you every day from this day forward in jesus name And if you've opened your heart up to christ and said god be merciful to me. Please contact us contact us Father I just ask that you would speak to these people right now and speak to the rest That we would follow you with all of our heart We ask this in jesus name