Encouragement
"THE WAY" (John 14:1-6)
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’.”
Jesus spoke these words to His disciples shortly before His crucifixion. His disciples had walked and talked with Him for three years. They had been blessed daily by the anointing and strength of His presence. They constantly received an impartation of power and love in every word He spoke and each touch of His hand. Now suddenly He was telling them that He would be leaving them, and it was too much for them to bear – they were anxious, fearful and confused. They could not imagine a life without the power of the presence of Jesus!
This message is about how Jesus reassured His disciples that although He was going away, it was really to take them to something better. This message is God’s reassurance to each of you, His precious sons and daughters, that although you are facing rough times right now, He is taking you to something far better!
The stages in the Jewish betrothal and marriage rites are the background for what Jesus was saying to His disciples when He told them He was going away to prepare a place for them. In the days of Jesus, a betrothal would begin when the prospective bridegroom would visit the home of the prospective bride and offer her the terms of their contract of marriage (his expectations of a wife). If she was agreeable to his terms, they would seal their betrothal in the presence of the father of the bride-to-be by drink from the same cup of wine. Then the young man would depart to his father’s house, and work on building/renovating a separate room for his bride. This could typically take many months, or even up to two years. When the new room was ready, he would return to take the young lady back home as his wife, at a time and day appointed by his father (who would decide after inspecting the building work on the new room). This is exactly what the Lord was telling his friends – that he was going away, but it was only to prepare a special place for them in His Father’s house! It was to take them to all the heavenly blessing that was prepared for them. They were dismayed and heavy-hearted, but Jesus was only going so that they could move up into a higher level. They had depended on Him thus far, but after His departure, they were going to receive the Holy Spirit and be mighty men of God. Jesus said to them (John 14:12) “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”! “In my Father’s house are many rooms…”.
Friends, there is so much that God Infinite has for you and me, and we have not even begun to scratch the surface! In the Father’s house are many rooms! There is much revelation, love, anointing, power, holiness, provision, healing, wisdom, GIFTS in the Father’s house - more than we have ever asked for or imagined! The Lord Jesus bought us the ultimate victory upon the cross and gave us the mighty power of His name. Then He went to prepare the way for His children to move in the power of the Spirit to a higher level of dominion and rulership and walk in the same power that raised Him from the grave. We are kings and priests – the offspring of the Most High God, and still, most of us are struggling in many areas of our lives, when Jesus already prepared a place for us to rule and reign! He wants to take us to that higher ground. He wants us to take the dominion and authority He has already vested in us that we may walk in victory, in joy, and in the fullness of the abundant life that He came to give. Yes, there are many hindrances along the way, and the enemy constantly tries to block us from the blessing of God. But what did the Lord tell His disciples?
1) “Do not let your hearts be troubled” – We spend too much time in anxiety, worrying and fearful about the future, or manipulating our circumstances so that we can get out of the difficult situations we are in right now. Believe the truth that Jesus has already prepared the place for you! He has already released the solution you seek. Ephesians 1:3 says “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” God has already credited our spiritual account with every good thing we could ever need! But if we continue to give in to the fear the enemy brings and expect the worst, then we block our own blessing and will never see the goodness God has for us.
2) “Trust in God; trust also in me” – This is faith! Receive God’s Word; believe it, speak it, sing it, think it. Walk in the power of His promises and see them fulfilled! Faith can only grow when we feed on the Word of God and live in the expectation of its reality in our daily lives. God said to the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 6:6) “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.” This may sound extreme but it was God’s prescription for walking in faith. Unless the Word saturates us, it is not possible to develop the faith it takes to see the power of God manifested in every aspect of our lives.
3) “Follow the Way” - Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”; He was and is the only way. He told the disciples (John 3:34) “A new command I give you: Love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” He is God; God is love; Thomas said to Jesus “we don’t know the way to where you are going” but He had already shown them the way – it was Jesus; it was love. There is no other way to the blessings of heaven but to fix our eyes on our Savior and to walk the Jesus way – in faith and in love. Friends, it is so simple and still so difficult! But that is why the Holy Spirit came, to help us to walk a heavenly road on earth and step upwards daily into the awesome blessings that Jesus has prepared for us to know. “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) This is God’s provision for you!
My prayer is that each of you precious people will make a conscious decision today to refuse to allow fear and anxiety into your hearts. “Do not let your hearts be troubled”. Meditate on the Word and choose to trust God instead, and see the glorious things that have been prepared for you in the Father’s House! I love you all and pray for you. God has greater things in store for you.
Minoli Haththotuwa
www.wingslikeeagles.info
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