PONDERING... Truths Little Grandma Knew

I was blessed to be able to speak at my grandma's funeral yesterday.

Little Grandma's Funeral Sermon: Place, Path, and Peace

Opening Remarks: The first sermon I preached was at my little Grandma's church. We were in to visit when Grandpa got sick. She had heard I was called to preach, and made arrangements for me to come to County Line, where I preached to a tiny church overflowing with my family. I'm honored to preach at her funeral.

GIST: Grandma knew this truth. She knew that Jesus had prepared a place, provided a path, and procured a peace. She would want us to know this too.

SCRIPTURE: John 14:1-6, 27. John 16:33

John 14:1-6 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

CONTEXT- This is the night before Jesus was crucified. He had just told His disciples again of His impending death and resurrection... though they clung more to the death part. Judas, one of His 12 disciples, had just left to betray Him. Peter, the most outspoken and truly Upchurchain of the disciples, had just made a bold proclamation of his loyalty and devotion to Christ, only to be told he would soon deny Jesus three times. It wasn't a happy occasion. Immediately, however, Jesus tells His disciples not to be troubled. He then gives several reasons why and continues to encourage and instruct them for the next four chapters--which I will not hold you long enough to cover today. I'm just going to hit the first few. These are truths Grandma knew well. She knew that Jesus had prepared a place, provided a path, and procured a peace. She would want us to know this too--really know it--not just hear.

1. Place (v1-3)
First, Jesus tells His disciples to take heart because He has prepared a place for them. He starts by appealing to His trustworthiness--He's God. He does not lie. I love how He puts it in verse 2...If I say it, I mean it.

This promise of a place is a big deal. This life is hard. It comes with trials--guaranteed trials in fact. However, this life is not all there is. In April at my school, something magical happens. Toward the end of the month, they pass out contracts. If you get one, you have 30 days to sign and return it to the board building. I don't wait 30 days. I don't even trust inner school mail. I sign it immediately and run it over to the board building as soon as the bell rings... then hand it personally to the appropriate authority. Why? Because that secures my place. No matter how crazy things get, or how tempting I make it, I know it just became that much harder for them to fire me. I have a place.

But this kind of security is fickle. They might not like me next year, and my place is lost. That's not the kind of place Jesus is talking about. He died so that we could have this place. Not due to or contingent upon any merit of our own, but because He loves us: "3...I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."

Grandma knew there was a much better place awaiting her. In her case, that's not a euphemism.

2. Path (v4-6)
But how did she know this for sure? Because she knew the path.

Every summer before we moved overseas, my parents would drop us off at Grandma's for extended periods of time... I don't know why, and they might not have really left. I was in Grandma-land. Everything else was secondary... One of the highlights of these trips was getting to see my cousins. We played together for hours (mostly nonsensical super-hero related games :D). One of our favorite places to play was this trail we had laid out down by the creek bed that we called "Cousin's Course". We ran all through those woods, but as long as we could find that path, we were never lost because we knew it so well.

There's a difference between this path and the path Jesus is talking about here though. There were other ways back to Grandma's. They might not have been as cool...but they were there. It doesn't work like that with Heaven. Jesus went to prepare a place, but there is only one way to get there. We see in this passage that Thomas, unlike Grandma, didn't get this, so Jesus clarified. John 14:6  6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is again explaining the same truth He has been tell his disciples from the beginning, the same truth we all still need to hear. From birth, we are sinful. We don't learn that. We live it. We all have these standards we use to judge the world, but don't even live up to those, let alone God's standards. The Bible clearly teaches that we have sinned against the eternal god, and thus deserve eternal punishment--Hell. Nonetheless, based on no "earning" of our own, and out of no obligation, Jesus willing came, lived the perfect, sinless life, died in our place, and rose again, defeating sin. We could not have saved ourselves. But if we believe in Him and give Him control of our lives, we will be saved. He is the way--there are no others; He is the truth--apart from Him no truth is found; He is the life--to Him and through Him are all things. Grandma knew this. She would want nothing more than for everyone in this room to know HIM, too.

3. Peace (v27, 16:33)
She knew there was a prepared place. She traveled the provided path. So, she had the procured peace.

In John 14:27, Jesus tells His disciples: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

Similarly, in John 16:33 He says, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
This is the peace Grandma knew. But better yet, this is the peace she is experiencing first hand today. Jesus tells us the peace He gives isn't like the peace the world gives because the peace of the world is limited and temporary. My parents live in Ukraine. Putin has promised peace on several occasions lately...but that's the problem... he keeps having to come back and promise again. God's peace isn't like that. It's perfect peace. He has all power, so His peace isn't limited or effected by circumstances.

He is the source of His peace, so to know Him is to know His peace. Notice John 16:33 again. He doesn't say 'come here and I'll give you a little package of peace'. He says "IN ME you will have peace." You won't find it anywhere else. Grandma knew that. Grandma had peace because Grandmas had Jesus.

Final Thoughts: Do you know Jesus has a place prepared for you? Do you know that He's the only path, the only one who can cleanse you of your filth and cover you in His righteousness? Do you have His peace?