Jesus will take all His people to the Father’s house. He gives you His word on this, and He will do it in one of two ways.

If you die before Christ comes, He will take you to the Father’s house without your body: “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). You will receive a new body when He returns.

If you live until Christ comes, He will take you to the Father’s house in the body, which will be transformed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:51).

Either way, if you die before Jesus comes or you live until He comes back, it is Jesus who is taking you to the Father’s house.

Paul tells us how: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thes. 4:16-17).

Jesus is coming back for us! It may or may not be in your lifetime, but He will surely come. What a day that will be. Come, Lord Jesus!

Can you begin to imagine how Jesus will fulfil His promise to take you to heaven?

We are not to imagine Jesus working around the clock to get heaven organised before the second coming. If He can create the cosmos out of nothing with a word, then He can get heaven ready for believers with a single command.

When Jesus says that He is going to prepare a place, it means that through His going, the place will be prepared. He is going to the cross; He is going to the grave. He is going to die; He is going to rise. And it is through His death and resurrection that He opens up the way for us to enter the glory of the Father’s house.

Imagine you’re playing in the Rugby World Cup Final. You’ve just been passed the ball, and for a moment, the pitch opens up in front of you—there’s a real shot at a length-of-the-field try. The crowd is cheering and your heart pounds as you begin to run. But then you see them—massive defenders coming at you—their names are Law, Sin, and Death. Then there is another one—bigger, meaner, and uglier than the others—Satan himself. There is no way you can get past these guys. They stand between you and the try line, and you know that they will flatten you before you get there.

But then—out of nowhere—a teammate comes running towards them. They are looking to take you out, but your teammate comes and takes them out, opening your way to the try line. This is what Jesus has done for us on the cross. “I go to prepare a place for you.” Sin and death can no longer keep you out!

In your own words, what does it mean that Jesus went to prepare a place for you?

Where do people get the idea that if you follow Jesus you can expect a life that is free from failure, disappointment, and loss?

This is precisely the opposite of what Jesus Himself said. Jesus confronted His disciples with the realities of life: “In the world you will have tribulation” (16:33). Then He established their hope in another world: “I go to prepare a place for you” (14:2).

If your hope is established in this world, you will be shattered by failure, disappointment, and loss. What are you going to do when you experience a loss that cannot be replaced in this world, a disappointment that remains for a lifetime, or a failure that changes the course of your life?

Jesus is establishing His disciples in a faith that can stand through the misery of personal failure, the sorrow of gut-wrenching disappointment, and the pain of irreplaceable loss.

But, in order to do that, Jesus must establish their hope in another world: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). Here’s our hope: “In fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (15:20). Jesus’ answer to our failure, disappointment, and loss lies in the Father’s house.

Don’t we have the Holy Spirit now? Doesn’t Christ say that the Spirit is with you and in you? Yes, and the Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.

Where is your hope? Is it based in this world or in the world to come?

When Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” He is not saying, “I will make this world a better place for you. It will get better over the centuries.” Or “As you get older, the experience of failure, disappointment, and loss will recede.”

This fallen world will always be what it is—a fallen world. With all its blessings and joys, our experience of life in this world is scarred with failure, disappointment, and loss. So, Jesus establishes our hope in another world. Sin, disappointment, and loss are woven into the fabric of this world. Any attempt to suggest that we can live in this world without them is naive at best. Grasping this truth will bring stability to your faith.

Some Christians are thrown into confusion when suffering comes. They feel that since they have faith they should somehow be insulated from failure, disappointment, and loss. And when a crisis comes, they lose their moorings. The foundations of their faith are shaken. They lose themselves in questioning how God could allow this to happen. But Jesus is telling us that the world, as it is now, is not the way it will always be. He is preparing a much better place for us.

How does it help you to know that this world is not all there is?

The Bible speaks in several places about Jesus living in us. In Ephesians, Paul prayed that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:17). And in Colossians, Paul spoke about “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Knowing that Jesus is with you and in you by His Spirit, here are three encouragements to take with you today:

1. You are never alone.
There is no greater truth than this when you experience loneliness. Jesus does not say, “I will visit you from time to time.” He says, “I will make My home with you.” Christ will be at home with you until you are at home with Him.

2. You are called to obedience.
The truth of God’s presence in your life is the greatest incentive to holiness. When Paul had to deal with some folks at Corinth who had opened the door to obvious sin in their lives, He said to them: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?” (1 Cor. 6:19). “So glorify God in your body” (6:20).

3. You have strength for today.
This is the truth that you need when you feel washed out, exhausted, and your own strength is gone. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is with you and in you!

Which of these did you most need to be reminded of today?

Suppose you go to the doctor, and you are diagnosed with some serious condition: “This will need treatment, and there are two ways we can go. The first is surgery, but there is an alternative, and it’s noninvasive.”

At this point, most people would be focusing on the second option. Most of us would like to avoid surgery, if at all possible. We want the noninvasive option, and if that’s not possible, then give us the minimally invasive option.

We naturally think the same way about faith. We would like to have a minimally invasive faith. But notice what Jesus says here about the Holy Spirit: “He lives with you and will be in you” (14:17). Now that’s invasive! The Spirit of God will live with you and will be in you.

What does a noninvasive faith do for you—believing that there once was a man called Jesus, that He was God, and that He rose from the dead? How does that make a difference in your life? How can that comfort you in suffering? How can that give you strength to face the world today?

Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will be with you and in you.” Jesus gave Himself for us on the cross. Jesus gives Himself to us by the Holy Spirit.

We participate in all that Jesus has accomplished for us by the Holy Spirit. The work of Christ does indeed “invade” every aspect of the true Christian’s life.

How have you seen change in your life since you became a believer in Jesus? Has this change been noticed by others as well?

How do we know the presence of Jesus in our lives today? In what way is He with us? And how exactly does He help us?

After Jesus rose on that first Easter morning, He appeared to His disciples multiple times over a 40-day period. Then He was visibly taken up into heaven as the twelve disciples watched (see Acts 1). After He returned to the Father in heaven, the resurrection life of Jesus was communicated to the first disciples by “another Helper,” the Holy Spirit.

Notice what Jesus says here about the Spirit: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper” (John 14:16). The disciples already had Jesus as their helper. But now Jesus is returning to the Father, so when Jesus talks about “another Helper,” He is telling the disciples that this helper will do for them what Jesus had done for them. This helper is the Spirit of truth and He will be with them forever (14:17).

Jesus Christ has ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven where He intercedes for us. But He is present with us by His Holy Spirit.

When are you most aware of Jesus’ presence with you?

Obedience to Jesus here is not simply calling yourself a Christian. The hardest days of your life will be your greatest opportunity to confess Him. Here are five ways to confess Jesus:

1. Confess the glory of Christ in costly obedience
The Bible tells the story of Mary pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet. Mary could not think of a better use for this treasure, so she poured it on Jesus, and in doing so, she confessed His glory.

2. Confess the presence of Christ in loneliness
Paul writes from prison about friends who let him down (2 Tim. 4:9-11). But instead of turning his disappointment into bitterness, Paul confessed Christ: “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me” (4:17). What are you going to do when other people let you down?

3. Confess contentment in Christ under financial pressure
When Paul faced financial struggles, he might have said, “Why did Jesus allow this?” Instead, he used his need to confess Christ: “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:12-13).

4. Confess the sufficiency of Christ in sickness & pain
When Paul faced “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7), he pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But the Lord said, “No.” So Paul used his own pain to confess Christ: “[Jesus] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (12:9).

5. Confess the sovereignty of Christ in sorrow & loss
Job’s wealth was plundered, his children died, and his wife said: “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). But Job said: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (1:21). Your confession of Christ in trouble will reverberate through heaven and hell forever.

Is there an opportunity for you to confess Christ in your circumstances today?