John 14:23-29 Acts 16:9-15 Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5
Where is your “safe place?”
Many creatures, including humans, have a safe place to which they retreat when they are frightened or stressed. Our cats can usually be found in predictable places, our dogs vary a little but, depending on the dog, it might be in their crate, or under the bed, under our feet in the living room, or on the sofa pressed as close to Patti’s lap as possible. Horses will often head for the barn, birds will huddle in their nests, rabbits in their underground warrens. For us humans, our safe place is usually somewhere at home, but it might also be in a boat out on the water, hiking in the woods, somewhere out on the golf course, or somewhere else. For each if us it’s the place where we retreat from the world, put our problems and fears behind us, and where we can just be comfortable being ourselves.
The trouble is that our safe places of retreat from the world do not protect us from our fears of the future. When we retreat to our bedroom, close the door, and hide under the covers of our bed, we still cannot shut out our fears of homelessness, financial ruin, sickness, violence, and other concerns. But what if there was such a place where our fears could be erased? What if there was a way to put our concerns and fears aside and know that our future was going to be okay after all?
The good news for today, and always, is that scripture tells us that there is such a place, and there is a way to know the future. We begin this morning reading the words of Jesus found in John 14:23-29 where John tells us this:
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
Jesus begins by describing an “if-then” transaction, if you love me, then you will obey my teaching. But, if you love me and obey me, then God will love you, his spirit will enter into you and make his home with you. And the gift that we receive when the Holy Spirit comes to live in us is a gift of peace, and a heart free from worry, concern, and fear. My friends, we worship a God who goes before us and prepares a way for us. An example of how God goes before us can be found in Acts 16:9-15 in which God calls Paul and his companions to travel to Macedonia. Paul doesn’t know how he will get there, who he will meet, how he will find them, where he will stay, what he will eat, or anything else that we would normally worry about, and yet, God has it all covered.
9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that districtof Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
In this example, Paul’s primary concern is obedience to God, but we remember the message that we just read in John where Jesus says, if they obey by teaching, then God will love them, and the Holy Spirit will go with them. Paul receives a call from God and sets out to obey. I am certain that he still had questions about where he was going but he goes anyway. They eventually arrive, spend a few days in the district of Macedonia and then find their way to river to pray on the Sabbath. Because it was the practice of the Jews to bathe, if possible, in living water, or moving water, as a means of purification, it was common for the followers of God in distant places to gather by rivers and other streams of water. And so, on the Sabbath, Paul and his companions find their way to the river to worship and pray, and to seek out any others in that place who might also share their faith in God. And so it is that they meet Lydia, a businesswoman, and as they share the gospel message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, Lydia believes, and she, and her entire household, are baptized. And, having done so, Lydia invites Paul, and his companions, to stay in her home and to eat her food while they are in Macedonia.
Paul heard God’s call and was obedient even though he had no idea what he would do, where he would live, or much of anything else. But even before God called him, God was already preparing a way for Paul and his companions and, by the time Paul arrived, there was a heart that was open to hear, a place to stay, and food to eat. The example of scripture tells us that we can trust God if only we have the faith to be obedient to his calling on our lives. But what about the future? What can we know about our eternal destination? In the end, God isn’t just calling us to ministry in Macedonia, but to a lifetime of faithfulness. Jesus promises us a life of peace without fear, but death, and what lies beyond the veil of death is a source of fear for many people and our worry about what comes next can destroy our peace. So, what can we know about what awaits us on the distant shore of eternal life? In Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5, John was able to see our future home and he described his experience this way:
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Every city that has been built with walls for protection has included gates that could be closed to prevent the enemies of the people from entering. It was common, even normal, for the gates to be closed after dark when the guards were unable to see well enough to defend them properly. But John says that the gates of the new Jerusalem will never be shut because the light of God’s glory illuminates the city so well that it is always in daylight. Moreover, it is always safe in God’s city, no enemy, no impurity, no shame, deceit, or anything else will never enter it so that all who dwell within its walls will always live in peace and safety.
But John also tells us that the source of the river of life, which we heard about last week when Jesus said that all who are thirsty will drink the water of life. The source of life, John says, flows out from the throne of God and, as the river flows through the center of the street, the food from the tree of life grows abundantly, the leaves of the trees are able to heal the nations so that all may live together in peace, all curses are removed, and God’s people will be purified, forgiven, fed, healed, and blessed so that they can live without fear in safety and freedom for all time as they serve God.
Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” And, anyone who is obedient, will be blessed by God, in both this life and in the next. God will dwell within us, prepare a way for us in this life, and prepare a home without fear for us in the next. We need not have any fear for our future; we only need to listen for God’s voice and obey his call on our lives.
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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com . All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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