John Part 3, L 5 Abiding in the True Vine One with Him

John Part 3, L 5 Abiding In The True Vine……One With Him

“Precious Promises”

By Wayne Barber

The last words of a person who is dying are something to be remembered. If you have ever been around somebody who has been dying or someone who is about to depart this body, you know that it is very tender and precious……the things they say, particularly if you are a part of the family, people close to that person. Several years ago when I was 23, back in 1966, my father on a September afternoon got me out in the front yard and said, “Wayne, I want to talk to you about some things we really need to.” My dad had been sick but was doing so much better……had gone back to work. He sat with me in the yard and said, “Son, I’m not going to be around much longer. Your mother does not know the chest pains I have been experiencing. The dr. has told me that as these things reoccur it is a warning sign that death is not far off. Wayne, there are some things I want you to know.”

As I was studying this Scripture, it came back to me that I remember vividly almost every sentence He spoke to me as we sat there that afternoon. That was the middle of Sept 1966 and Dad went on to be with the LORD that Nov 12th. So, it was just a few weeks away from his departing. He knew he was departing and he wanted to communicate some things to me as his son. That was a very precious and tender time. And I never will forget the things that he said. We almost have the very same situation. The LORD Jesus is not dying as He said the things that He said. But, as you know, He is about to go to the cross. We know that it’s not far away………..just hours from His dying on the cross. And here He is ministering to His own disciples and He is very tender and precious during this time.

Jn 13:33, we really begin to get the thrust of ch 14. I love the affectionate terms He is speaking to His disciples. Remember that He has come away from His public ministry in ch 12. He had been ministering in His private ministry to His disciples. Jn 13:33 A contrast here. Remember back in ch 8, He told those Jews…”Where I am going you cannot come.” Then He went on to say, “You will die in your sin.” Quite a difference of what He is saying. Although, the theme is the same. I’m going some place, right now, that you cannot follow. He says later on that you can come later, but you can’t go right now. With that in mind, we begin to see that He leaves them some precious promises that begin to flow in ch 14. As a matter of fact, we are getting into some rich, rich material as we study along thru the gospel of John.

These promises are going to hinge on two things. 1 Our BELIEF. That is THE theme of John…..that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and by believing in His name, we will have life everlasting. IT is going to hinge on our belief. We have seen impure belief. It is going to hinge on a pure belief that Jesus is the Christ. Let me explain that one more time. When you purely believe, when it’s a true belief……..it’s not in a belief just in what He can do for you, not in a belief in just Who He is……………..but it is a bowing down. This kind of belief means to be wholly persuaded to the point that you are willing to fully commit to the level that you understand that. Obviously, that level grows. A person who is 9 years old and he has an understanding of who Jesus Christ is: that He’s God, He ‘s the Christ, the Son of God, and he is willing at the point to bow before Him and being willing to commit to Him. That certainly is on a lesser level than it will be years later. That is a growing type of thing as we understand. The more we understand, the more we commit. But, it has to be involved. It cannot be a mental assent. It has to be a stepping out ON, a leaning upon, a trusting, an embracing. That is true belief.

If we believe that way then we are going to have several promises of God. We will look at that a little later.

What is the full expression of belief? We can substitute “Faith” for Belief. The full expression of Faith/Belief is in Jn 14:15 Obedience. You can talk all day long that you believe in the LORD Jesus Christ, but until we have shown this by obedience in our life~~~~that’s the fruit of our life not something you go out to do so that you can show you believe, it’s something you do b/c you have belief. It’s something that flow out of that as you committed unto Him.

One is going to hinge on that belief. 2. Is His going home (back to His Father). Why is that? Because He hasn’t finished His mission until He goes back into the heavenly of heavenlies by His own blood, passes through that veil, and sits down at the right hand of God. Now, when He’s done that then all of these promises are going to start coming towards us. They are ours. 1st on our Belief and 2nd on His going home. We see that quite often. Let’s look at several promises then that are mentioned.

Jesus Promises: 1st a heavenly home. They are really troubled because He is leaving and He is giving them a promise here of a heavenly home. Look first at an honest question Simon Peter asked Him in Jn 13:36-37. That is an honest question. He does not understand what is going on. The disciples still held on to that earthly view of the kingdom of God. “You cannot follow me NOW.” He changes it a little bit. Jesus gives him an honest answer. Secondly you see an honorable commitment flowing out of Simon Peter, of all people. Jn 13:36-37 He still doesn’t understand. Wow!! That was honorable. Would you really do that for Me? Would you like to follow Me? Then Jesus gives a horrible truth in 13:38.

We are building. I’m just laying some planks before we get into ch 14. Simon Peter wants to know where He is going. Where I am going you can’t come right now. You’ll have to follow me later. Simon Peter…….LORD! Why can’t I come? Why I would lay down my life for You!! He (Jesus) says….are you sure, Simon Peter? He made an honorable commitment, but he could not live up to that commitment. This is the horrible truth Simon Peter had to understand about himself. You see………they are living between 2 covenants. The Spirit has not yet come. Pentecost has not yet happened!! So, all that they are doing……their commitments and their pledges and their vows cannot be backed up by a power within that will come later on.

The first thing to understand is that when we begin to understand the promises of God that it is full of grace because none of us deserves a thing. There was not one thing in Simon Peter that could measure up to the commitment he was making to the LORD Jesus Christ. This is what makes salvation such good news. How many times did you ever promise Him something you were going to do before you ever knew Him? As a matter of fact, how many times have you promised Him something AFTER you knew Him and didn’t follow up with it? We see here a horrible truth. But then we begin to see some precious promises flow out of that.

Can you imagine if you were Simon Peter sitting there and Jesus would tell you that you will not lay down your life for Me but before the cock will crow one time you shall deny me three times? Can you imagine how you would feel? Would it trouble your heart just a little bit? So, Jesus now begins His promises.

And He gives a precious promise. First of all, it is directed to Simon Peter. Did you catch that? He said, ‘Let not your heart be troubled’. Do you think that phrase refers to all of the disciples or just Simon Peter? You say, “Wayne, you can’t tell.” Yes! You can tell. It’s third person singular. That tells you He is talking to one of them. He says…tell.” Yes! You can tell. It’s third person singular. That tells you He is talking to one of them. He says…You, Simon Peter! And then He changes to the plural which encompasses the whole group. He’s telling Simon Peter….you’re not going to follow ME. Before the cock crows once you are going to deny Me 3 times. So this is what I want to tell you about yourself. That’s a tragic and horrible thing.

But then Jesus says…But let not your heart be troubled. I’ve got good news for you. Because I know you and I know something about you because I know the hearts of all men. I know that you are believing to the point that you can believe at this point. It’s going to get better. And I have a promise for you. He changes into plural and says…Jn 14:1 Believe God (literally). That’s the condition for this promise. If you want to have a heavenly home…… Simon Peter, you sure don’t deserve it. There’s not one thing inside of you that can measure up to any commitment you will make to ME. BUT…if you will believe ME.!!! SO what He is telling Simon Peter is….I know all about you. I know all about all of you. But I’ve got good news.

But if you believe God, believe Me...... (that’s in the present tense=keep on believing)..because I am going to prepare a place for you. 14:2-3 What is He saying there? Is He giving us a description of heaven? I don’t think so. I don’t think He is trying to show us that heaven is like a glorified Holiday Inn with rooms all down the side. What He is trying to say is…There is plenty of room for you in the family. The word for “house” there is okia= a home that houses a family. There are other words for house: a ruling house, or other kinds of houses. This word okia is for home and family. What He is telling them is: I know all about you. I know every dirty thing about your life. I also want you to know that if you will believe God, and believe Me, as a result of that there is plenty of room for you in the family. I think there is a song about plenty of room in the family. That is what He is saying. He is not trying to describe heaven first. There is no language that we could understand that could describe heaven.

Dr. R.G. Lee, when he went on to be with the LORD, cried out for his sister to come into the room. She came in and he said…..”Honey, look! Look! There’s heaven.” Well, she couldn’t see what he was seeing. He was seeing it with a different set of eyes at that point. He said, Oh, it’s greater than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. Of course, R.G. Less has preached more sermons on heaven than anybody who has ever lived. He said, “Oh, I never, never did it justice.” Then he said, “Oh, look! There’s Mama!” (His wife had gone to the LORD.) He said, “Oh look! There’s Jesus!” And with those words he went on to be with the LORD.

There’s no language that could help us understand what heaven’s all about. So, He’s not trying to describe what heaven’s like. He simply telling them there is plenty of room in the family. Hey guys! I know everything about you! Let not your heart be troubled. I’m leaving and because I’m leaving there is going to be a place for you. What I’m doing is going to be for you. The condition here is that you believe Me and that you believe God.

There is a precarious problem that begins to develop in Jn 14:4. You know the way I am going – that’s not literal! That’s part of it. The literal Greek there….(I don’t know why the NAS translators picked up half of it. The literal Grk there, the King James picks up on it!) You know where I am going and you know the way! That is the literal there, the truest. He makes the statement, assuming they understand what He is saying. Although, He knows that they don’t. He makes the statement: You know where I am going and you know the way that I’m going. Do the disciples really know where He is going? Thomas says to Him….LORD! Notice the “we” there. I am not so sure that he is speaking for the whole group or whether that is an editorial “we”, or what. 14:5 Remember Simon Peter said, Lord, where are you going? Thomas said, We don’t know where You are going. You are going to have to tell us the place so then we can understand the way. How can we know the way if we don’t know the place. So Jesus explains it in vs. 6.

Jn 14:6 There are three things that He says there. 1st- I’m going to My Father. he says no man comes to My Father. That is evidently where He is going. MT 6:9 tells us where the Father is……in the LORD’S Prayer. Our Father, Who art where? In heaven! Pretty good idea. He is going to His Father in heaven to the dwelling places with His Father. 2ndThe Way.He tells them how they are to get there. He’s going the way of the cross, but He shows them how they can get to where He is going to be. And it is going to be through Himself……the Way. I AM the Way! One way to explain that is by an escalator. I’ve tried to use an elevator, but it doesn’t quite tell it right. The escalator not only is the direction, but it is the means by which you get there. That is a good way to explain it. I AM the Way.

You really wrestle with this, especially if you try to preach exegetically, take it word for word and phrase on phrase. I have spent hours in this chapter trying to figure out things that are as simple as the nose on your face. I just want to make sure that what I am coming up with is right. Basically, what He is saying here is….I am going to My Father. You want to know where I am going? I am going to My Father. No man can come to My Father………..He changes it right around. You want to come to where I am? You have to come through ME! Of course, how do you come through Him? By that pure belief………is how you enter in…..and you can come to where I am.

Vs 3, I skipped…where He says I will come again and receive you to Myself. What He is saying is that as certainly as I am leaving…….that certainty marks the fact that I am certainly coming back. And I want you to know that. IF I don’t go, none of these promises are yours. But, I am going and therefore, I am promising you a heavenly home. Now that is good news to the disciples that have walked with Him on the hillsides, have been with Him and loved Him, have seen Him do all the things He has done!! Now they find out He is leaving them……going back home to heaven. He leaves them with a promise: you are coming, too. I’m coming after you. So take heart, don’t let your heart be troubled. Settle down, Simon Peter, I know everything about you. You believe God, believe Me. I’ve got a place for you. Theirs is plenty of room in the family. And as certainly as I have left, I am coming back. SO, He explains that to them. So, He must go to complete His work.

Before we go on, let’s look in Hebrews and make sure we have that in our minds of why He had to go back. It all couldn’t be done until He got back. Hebrews really got us ready for the gospel of John, if you can remember it. Heb 1:3 – speaking of Jesus and being a representation of the Father. Where had He made purification of sins? On the cross. That’s Calvary. That’s Passover. He went back home. How did He get to the Majesty on high? Because we know that God dwells in the Holy of Holies……the heavenly tabernacle. He went in, as Hebrews tells us, by His own blood. He satisfied the Father and He sat down. He’s there now. God-Man is on the throne. All of this is keying off the fact that we’ve got to believe……He’s got to go. Heb 6:19-20 Jesus has entered as a what for us? A forerunner. In the Grk that means that He is the first one in, picturing the fact others are going to follow Him in that way. He’s provided the Way! He’s made the Way!! I’ve made the Way by My going through, now you can come through.

Heb 2:10 The word “author” is the same word for “trailblazer”=one who finds a new way. Remember the old-time cowboy movies when the cavalry would have a scout that would go out and find the way. He would come back and tell the others and they would go out and go the same way??!! That’s the word there. Jesus is the one who “paved the way”. I AM the Way! So it is a heavenly home. What does it hinge upon? He has to go back home and finish His work. He has to go to Calvary. He has to be accepted back with the Father…..the blood being a satisfaction on the wrath of God on all sin. And when He sits down, it’s finished. Now, based on that and based on our belief, then we can have the promise. And that is a heavenly home. I’ve gone around the block to tell that. But how many times do we just hit these things and go and we don’t understand them?

Jesus Promises: 2ndly, not only a heavenly home but a heavenly power.

It certainly won’t be from down here. It will come from above. First of all, in vss 7-11 He gives a definite explanation of the oneness of Him and His Father. This is important. He says it over and over again. We are finally going to understand this.