The Father's House

Here is the next sermon in the Heaven series by Judah Smith. There's so much encouragement in this sermon!

One of the first things Judah says here is that we will be surprised by who makes it into Heaven. I'm not proud of it, but I have a tendency to judge people...and if I'm honest there have been people in my life who, though they might believe in God, I thought that their faith might not be genuine enough to carry them to Heaven. What a terrible thought! And then I come across this sermon and Judah makes a statement like that and I know he's right.

Jesus often said the first will be last and the last will be first in the Kingdom of God, and I'm sure this will ring true one day as we find in Heaven that many "religious" people aren't there, and many "less-religious" are. These are morbid thoughts, I know, but they bring things into perspective when it comes to God's judgement of our hearts and the outcome from that. The older I get and the more I learn about God, it seems that He is most concerned with the alignment of our hearts than our behavior.

I encourage you to listen to this sermon to the end. Judah says some great and encouraging things about Peter, who I think is one of the most relatable characters in the bible.



Some notes:

• If we're going to live like Jesus, we need to live considering Heaven
• John 14:1-6

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that 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.

• We all want a place to fit in
• Society pushes the idea that you are supposed to act a certain way to fit in
• Jesus didn't teach this...
• John 14 is Jesus' farewell discourse
• When Jesus says, "Don't let your heart be troubled," it more accurately is "anguish."
• It's deeper, an accute mental and physical pain
• The antidote is Heaven - "My Father's house"
• Jesus is saying that in His Father's house, there is plenty of room for everybody.
• What troubles us the most? 
• Ourselves (guilt, shame, condemnation - all self-inflicted)
• We will be shocked by the people we see make it to Heaven
• God has a place for everyone
• The prodigal son - Luke 15:11-32
• He thinks there's no room for him in his father's house, so he tries to be an employee
• This is mankind's mindset
• Many Christians call this humility, God calls it pride
•  The father immediately and emphatically shows him that he's still in the family
• Peter fishing and being restored - John 21:1-17
• Peter went back to what he was called out of - fishing
• He brought people with him - our troubles affect others
• The first thing Jesus says is "children."
• That's relational, that's family
• God loves us all, but sometimes he zooms in on us (like Peter)
• Jesus met them at breakfast, not church
• Jesus doesn't rebuke them, He feeds them

http://thecity.org/message/the_fathers_house