"The Prepared Place"

Scripture Text: "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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2,3 (KJV)

They had just sat at meat with the Lord as He told them of the betrayal by one of them, and even told them who it would be (Judas Iscariot), and as Judas leaned down to "sop" with Jesus or dip his bread in the chalice of wine the Lord held in His hand, Jesus said to Judas, "That thou doest, do quickly."

You see, Judas was looking for Jesus to set up an "Earthly Kingdom"; NOW..., in his time! The thing is, he wasn't the only one. All of followers of Jesus thought the same thing. They all believed - and were taught that when the Messiah would come, He would deliver them from their enemies  and set up His eternal Kingdom here on this Earth forever!

Friend, I believe that in that moment, Our Lord was showing us a window of the verse that says...

"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is  after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders," 2Thessalonians 2:7-9 (KJV)

Those of us who continue to "Occupy until He Comes", are "by our testimony" and our evangelistic outreach - reminding the WORLD to "PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD". We become a part of that "letteth" crowd there in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 that stays the hand of EVIL and keeps the faith alive. You see, Jesus suffered and died to make an atonement for their sins, but He couldn't "believe" for them. He couldn't choose for them to become his Witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and to the uttermost parts of the Earth.

At the very moment that Judas Iscariot decided to go and "turn Jesus in", telling the Sanhedrin where He was so they could come and arrest Him, evil was set in motion. In fact, that evil has been a constant all of these years and still lurks in the hearts and minds of so many who have heard of the Rapture and have heard of the Second Coming (two separate events), and they're saying as Judas did, "Come on, God... what are you waiting for? Let's get this show on the road". They have not come to that "Prepared Place".

When Jesus began to tell the disciples that he would have to go away - they became distraught and Peter cried out, "Lord, why can't we go with thee? I would lay down my very life for thee..." (ref., John 13:37), and Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him (Jesus) three times before the rooster crowed the next morning. (ref., John 13:38) The disciples were devastated. They had come to the place of preparation, but they were not prepared for what the Lord was telling them.

Too many of us today are yet peddling our undying loyalty to the Lord and we may even have met with others in some kind of "spiritual inner circle" seeking His guidance and His blessing, yet we have not yet come to that "Prepared Place".

It is a fact that less than 1 in 3 people in the United States alone believe in a coming "Rapture" experience and less than 58% of those who call themselves "born-again" Christians actually believe in a coming "Rapture" experience or even a "Second Coming" Experience even though both are mentioned in the WORD of God. Spiritually speaking, most are turning to other religions who take a more "logical" (realistic) approach to life after death and end up not only denying the "HOPE" that we have as anchor of the soul, but they find themselves seeing the Virgin Birth as mythical and highly unlikely, which delineates Jesus as the Son of God and ultimately does away with the Christian Faith altogether. Why? Because they have not come to that "Prepared Place".

Jesus said to His disciples and He is saying to you and I today...

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2,3 (KJV)

Anyone who has experienced the forgiveness and the Grace and Mercy of Jesus knows a little  bit about that "Prepared Place". They have seen through their eyes of faith the terrible beating of their Lord and Savior and they have felt the unchained melody of a heart imprisoned with hate - released to soar above the tethers of what should have been, to new heights never imagined possible. They have seen through the eyes of faith the promise by two angels that, "this same Jesus who you have seen go into heaven will come again in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven". (ref., Acts 1:11) They have seen through the eyes of faith (many even through actual experience) the Winds of Pentecost, as God the Holy Spirit came down on all of the 120 that were assembled in that upper room, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. They have seen through the eyes of faith and many with their very own eyes, the witness of God's Spirit that would SAVE, HEAL and SET FREE from Drug addiction Alcohol, Tobacco and yes even Gluttony. Why? Because they came to that "Prepared Place" in their hearts.

Am I saying that Jesus WORDS in our text today are merely a metaphor for an "ACTUAL PHYSICAL PLACE IN GLORY?" NOT on YOUR LIFE!! I believe in the actual place called Heaven and those who believe in Jesus as their Savior are going to go there. Hallelujah! But if you want to hear more about that, you'll have to tune in again tomorrow.

For now let's pray.

Father, I come to that "Prepared Place" in my heart just now - by faith, and I feel Your Presence. Oh God, awaken Your Church today to see YOUR PROMISE IN CHRIST is REAL AND YET TO BE EXPERIENCED. May we live in constant Joy of Your Presence in our Lives through Your Spirit, as we live in the Expectant Anticipation of Your Return according to Your WORD. Speak to every heart who claims the Name of Jesus and fill us with Your Spirit to be Your WITNESSES in these Last Days as we claim the Harvest in Your Name. And It is In The Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

 

 

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