Text: John 14:2
INTRODUCTION:
I believe we all know that this world is not our home. Our existence and time on this earth is nothing compared to where we will be after death. There are two distinct places every human is to spend eternity; It is either hell or heaven. Hell is terrible; the place where the ungodly will burn forever without dying. Heaven on the other hand is wonderful; a place where the righteous will dwell with God forever.
God desires you and I to be with him in heaven. The devil is fighting tooth and nail to see to it that we dwell with him in hell. Our desires as men of this diocese is for us to be with God in heaven. That is why we are taking this opportunity to remind us that there is an eternal dwelling place for the righteous, and we should be prepared at all times, so as not to miss out.
DEFINITION OF TERMS: all definitions are taken from the Mirriam Webster Dictionary
Eternal: having infinite duration; something relating to eternity; something that does not have an end.
Dwelling: a shelter (such as a house) in which people live
Righteous: being free from guilt or sin; acting in accordance with divine or moral law
FOCUS:
From these definitions, we are trying to remind ourselves that there is a place; a house; and according to our text; a room, where those who have been free from guilt, will stay forever, without end. Where is such a place located? How do we get there, and how do we qualify to be there? These are some of the questions this exposition will touch briefly, as it helps us prepare and get ready to occupy such a dwelling place.
WHERE:
The eternal dwelling place is with God. We might not know if it has a geographical location or if it is up in the sky. But since it is a place, which is sometimes referred to us a home, and home is a place where the father lives, then we are sure that we are citizens of heaven according to Phillipians 3:20-21.
We are citizens of God‘s kingdom. Heaven is our home. Our time here is temporal, so as men, this should inform how we live, work, raise our family, and attend to our responsibilities in the church.
HOW DO WE GET THERE?
There is always a way if there is a destination. Eternal dwelling place for the righteous is our destination. The way is found in verse 6 of our text: “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one can come to the father except through me.’” Jesus is the only way. So as we make efforts to get there, we should fix our eyes on Jesus. We need to get into a relationship with him.
In a relationship, there should be communication and commitments. As men preparing for the eternal dwelling place for the righteous, how often do we communicate with Jesus? Simply put, how often do we pray and study the Bible? Also, what is our commitment like? How much of our time and resources are we giving to God? He has already given us is all-his life. If we improve on these areas of our relationship with God, we will be moving in the right track towards our destination.
Following Jesus who is the right way is not as easy as it sounds. There will always be challenges as long as his life is concerned. That is why Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17). He will live in us to direct us, and as we rely on him, he will help us along the way.
HOW DO WE QUALIFY TO BE THERE?
There is one wonderful story in the Bible that answers this question. It is the story of the thief on the cross (Luke 23:41-43). The criminal hung on the cross; on his way to eternal damnation, but his statement proved that he acknowledges his sins, has repented, and believes in Jesus as the way to heaven. And Jesus after hearing the criminal, declared him qualified to enter into the eternal resting place for the righteous.
Our qualification does not come from anything we do, have done, or can do. It comes from what Jesus had done on the cross. Jesus alone can qualify us. He qualifies those who believe in him; those whose life have been surrendered to him. (John 3:16)
CONCLUSION:
The eternal dwelling place for the righteous is a promise made by Jesus himself, so we can be sure about it. This should give us hope, comfort and strength as we go through life in this world. We might not know in details how it looks like, even when we read the entire book of Revelation . But we know that God will be there. Our sinful nature will be taken away, all our sorrow will be over and we shall dwell there forever.
Our prayer is that none of us will miss being in that place. This means, We need to intensify preparations. We should spend our time and money well. We should love the Lord with all our heart soul and strength. We should make Jesus the Lord of our life. Finally, let us consider this: if we hate our present president, we will not find any desire to be at a celebration held in his honor; it will disgust us. In the same way, those who reject or hate God in this lifetime, the eternal dwelling place for the righteous will be detestable to them, since God whom they reject and hate will be the one in charge. Let the men of this Diocese arise, and prepare themselves, their homes, and members for this wonderful place. May God help us all in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Papa Mbos 