Episode Transcript
Hello. This is Episode #366, and it's entitled “Our Mansion in Heaven”.
Many of you are aware that William and I, my husband, are relocating to Florida to be around our children. The one thing that we didn't expect during this stage of our life is to have a new house being built for us. Now, there's a lot to that, but I just have to say that basically God worked it out in His wonderful favor that we're basically exchanging this house for our new home.
In having this new house built, we have a contractor who has been assigned to us by the builder. So the contractor is the mediator between us and the builder, and he is the one that we're working with who is preparing our place. Moving to Florida had me thinking a lot about the Scriptures that refer to Jesus preparing a place for us. And I began to think of Him as preparing a place for me, for my family members, and all believers. At some point or stage when we depart to be with Him forever, I began to wonder, what would my mansion in heaven look like and what type of place would it be?
Then I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to search the Scriptures in regards to His preparing a place for us. My thoughts were not in alignment with the Scriptures. That is why it is so important to search the Scriptures for truth. There are things that we may have been taught or think is true, but can find out from studying the Scriptures that we were dead wrong. That is the one reason why I love teaching and digging into the Word of God. It's the only place where pure truth is found.
So in studying about His preparing a mansion for us, let me share a little bit about what I found in the Gospel of John. In Chapter 13, we see that Jesus is trying to prepare the disciples for His departure and His leaving them to enter into heaven and into glory. He lets them know that at that point, they're not going to be able to go with Him. And so Peter asked, where was He going and why couldn't they go with Him? Jesus wanted to reassure them that they would follow him eventually. And as you look in John Chapter 14:1, this is what it says, “Let not your heart be troubled”. (Because they were, they were troubled. They had been with Jesus, and now He's going to depart and they cannot go with Him.) So He goes on in Chapter 14:1, and He says, “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 then this is the Scripture that I'm talking about. In Chapter 14:2, it says, “In My Father's house are many mansions. And if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” And then not only does it say that Jesus is preparing a place for us and that there are many mansions in His Father's house or heaven. But it says in verse 3, “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.” So not only do we have the promise of Him preparing a place for us, but He has promised to come back and receive us and take us to that place where He is that we may be there with Him also.
Now, remember I told you this contractor is preparing our place in Florida. And it had me reflecting upon Jesus preparing my mansion in heaven. But that's not what the Scriptures are teaching us. This saying of Jesus gets confused by many in regards to the words “house” and “mansions”.
So what I'd like to share with you is with this passage of Scripture and with many others, it is so easy to get off track thinking that God is saying what we're thinking. In going into the Scripture in John, Chapter 14, let's just look at a couple of words to get a better understanding of what Jesus is saying.
In the King James Version or if you look at some other version that you may have, try to understand the Greek meaning of “house”. It has to do with being an abode or a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families. It is the idea of a family aboding or abiding together.
And then when you look at the word “mansions” or your translation might say “rooms,” it's the act of staying or residing or abiding. So when you look in the Scriptures in Chapter 14:2 where it talks about My Father's house, it is talking about the family of God or the dwelling place of the family of God. And then when it goes on and it talks about many mansions, it is not talking about the idea of a bunch of mansions or houses lined up on the streets of gold. It's the act of this family staying, residing, or abiding together. It's a little bit different. And so I hope you're getting it in the way that I'm explaining. Is Jesus preparing a place for us, like that contractor is for us in Florida? No, no, no, no. That's not what it's saying.
It is basically saying Heaven is where the family of God is going to dwell. And that the mansions have more of a meaning of the act of staying, residing or abiding together. Jesus is basically saying, in God's house there are going to be many people in the family of God and we're all going to abide and reside together. Okay, point blank.
I hope that made it a little easier for you. But it's so important for us to get into the Word of God and study. And that's why you can join us every Wednesday so that you can go verse-by-verse with us through the Word of God. We take one book of the Bible at a time. You can contact us so that you can be with us and can make sure you understand the Greek or the Hebrew meanings within Scripture.
As I reflect back on the process that we just went through selling our home and moving to another, I'm thankful that God's Word gives us much assurance concerning our eternal dwelling place.
Now what I want to do is take some of the steps that we had to go through in selling and moving to the idea of our moving from this earthly tabernacle or place to our heavenly one.
First of all, we're not going to need a realtor to intercede for us. Most people sell their homes using a realtor who mediates between them and the buyer. And the realtor performs certain duties on your behalf. But you pay a fee that can take a good chunk out of your profit in selling your home.
When you look at Jesus, He's the only one who can intercede or mediate between us and God. And there's nothing that we have to do or can do to pay for all that He has already done for us. In 1 Timothy, Chapter 2:5 it says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, and that is the man, Christ Jesus.” And then if you look at Titus, Chapter 3:5-6 it says, “Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us; through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
Another thing we're not going to need is the township coming in and inspecting whether everything is up to code and properly working. We were so happy when we sold the house and we thought everything was complete. Then we were notified that the township was going to do an inspection of our property to make sure everything was up to code and properly working. Wouldn't you know it, we had to replace parts of our sidewalk that had cracks in it. And believe me, it wasn't cheap.
Well, thank God we're complete in Christ and there's nothing else needed and nothing else lacking and nothing else to be paid. In Colossians, Chapter 2:9-10 it says, “For in Him,” (talking about Jesus) “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you,” (talking about us) “are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power.” So thank God we are complete in Jesus Christ in regards to taking up our heavenly residence. There's nothing else to be paid. It's not our not meeting up to code or anything like that, because we are full in Jesus who is the fullness of the Godhead.
Another thing, we don't have to worry about interest rates going up or down or getting a loan to make payments. During the time that we were selling our home, the news was going back and forth about interest rates. They were making a big deal regarding as to their going up in a month and then they would turn around and say, no, they're going down. And really interest rates can make a big difference if you need to secure a loan. But thank God we didn't need to get a loan for our new home. And He has allowed us, praise His Holy Name, to remain debt free.
The sacrificial death of Jesus was the one payment necessary for all of us to eternally dwell with Him in our mansions or in our family or abiding place with God. No other payments are required. Look at Hebrews, Chapter 10:10-14; this is what it says, “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. Under the Old Covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest” (and it's talking about Jesus) “offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. There He waits until His enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet. For by that one offering He forever made perfect those who are being made holy.”
So by Jesus’ one sacrifice on that cross, He forever has made us perfect. And so we all measure up, not because of what we have done, not any works which we have done, but by the mercy and grace of God alone. We are made holy through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.
Another thing, we're not going to need a moving van. Believe me, over 30 years of dwelling here in our house, there was a lot of things that we had accumulated and a lot of things that we had to depart with before leaving this house.
In 1 Timothy, Chapter 6:7 it says, “After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it.” So when we go to be in that place that Jesus is preparing for us, don't worry about a moving van, because you're not going to take anything with you.
And then the other thing is that we're not going to have to make traveling arrangements for a short or long distance. William and I are leaving Pennsylvania and we're going to Florida. We had to make traveling arrangements so that we can be in Florida for our settlement.
Now, when our time comes to depart from this earth and to be with the Lord, it's going to be instant. In 2 Corinthians Chapter 5:8, it talks about being absent from the body and present with the Lord. That's just how quick it's going to be. When you look at 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15:51-53, this is what it says, “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye.” (Now you know how fast an eye can blink. That's how fast this is going to happen when the last trumpet is blown.) “For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die, and our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”
Okay, that's enough in regards to the analogies of our going to the place that's being prepared for us by the contractor and our place that's being prepared for us by Jesus. Moving to another state caused me to reflect upon moving to my mansion or dwelling place in heaven. What a glorious day that's going to be for all of us who have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ!
If you are not sure if you will indeed dwell with Jesus when you depart from this earth, please contact us so we can help you have the assurance of eternal life. Or go to our website given at the end of this podcast and click on the section, “Receive New Life in Jesus”.
Well, join us again next month; and smile, Jesus loves you!
