7&7 The Way to Heaven

The Signs
So, before we get into any of the specific Signs, there are a few things that I want to cover about why this particular Gospel was chosen for this study. And please know that there was a lot of thought and prayer put into the decision of it for sure.
For starters, this Gospel is different from the other three, in that it is more interpretive. It has been said to me that "the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart," and this Gospel shows the heart within the earthly ministry of our Savior. It is shown through the first few verses of the first chapter, as the plans of our Three-In-One God are shown, and we see that not only did God speak everything into existence, but He spoke it all through the Word: Jesus Christ.
Secondly, this Gospel just oozes grace upon grace upon grace into the lives of those who read it. It shows the love of Christ for His people from such a personal place. Granted, all of the Gospels show the same love for us all, but this one, because of the way it is written, feels more personal... it's factual, like Luke, but warmer... it's action-packed, like Mark, but with deeper meanings and more detail... it's thorough, like Matthew, but more so in regards to feeling.
Third, this Gospel is the single-most popular among all my friends, regardless of denomination. My Catholic friends love it, my Baptist friends love it, my Lutheran friends love it, my Methodist friends love it... every Christian I know, regardless of church affiliation or use of liturgy, just loves it. And that, I believe, is attributed mostly to the inclusion of the single verse that all Christians know:

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16, HCSB
And finally, while this particular Gospel has fewer miracles than some others, there is a lot of backing for each one listed. Therefore, a lot of digging can be done, and a lot of discovery is possible! God's Word, all of it on every single page of the Bible, is meant for us to be able to discover Him more and more each day.
Also, you should know that this Gospel refers to each miracle as a "Sign," because John is pointing the way to Christ. John is pointing the way and paving the road to and for the Messiah. These "Signs" are as plain to John as the street signs we drive past every day, and he makes use of them as he instructs us to follow Christ.
So today, we'll begin by centering ourselves properly on a couple of key points. These points will be guiding principles for this (and every) study of God's Word. First, God is God... no one else. Second, God is incapable of being wrong, as He is perfect. Third, the Holy Bible is His Word, inspired directly by Him through those individuals He chose to record and share it. Tying to that idea, every single character of writing in the Bible is a God-breathed one. Lastly, we are the creature, and He is the Creator... and that relationship will not ever change in scope, so the proper amount of respect is required. Lacking that respect or questioning the Word are blasphemy like it or not. Center yourself in prayer today before we begin... and as we go, be certain to remain prayerful and cognizant of God's presence and person in His Signs and in His Word.

The Signs
By Dylan Stopher
Signs, signs… everywhere there’s signs
That point us all toward the turn of the tide
And which warn of impending dangerous times
But what we fail to see is that they all point to pride.
You see, signs point to this and signs point to that
And most of the time we take symbols to be statements of fact.
And honestly, people, what’s really wrong with that?

Obvious things tend to be what the truth brings
And it never seems to matter how painfully it may sting.
Because you see the truth is immoveable
Whether you like that or not…
You cannot sway its presence
Or sweet talk its thoughts.
Truth is just truth, no matter what it has to say
And it is always correct at the end of any given day.

So let’s look to the Signs that I now choose to use
As I bring you along on this loquacious little cruise.
And please know from the start, from the bottom of my heart
I have no intention of upsetting you at the end or the start.
See in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
And of all the things He created, in His image is our bod.
Through Him, by Him, for Him we were all made
And there is no other creature in the universe that can make such a claim.
Sign 1 is at a wedding, turning water to wine
As the people were celebrating a union divine.
A couple now married is sharing in bliss
As they dance and rejoice and even share their first kiss.
The wine runs out and Miss Mary comes to the scene,
But then Jesus simply says, “Woman what has this to do with me?”
Yet even though not His time to be seen as divine
He simply instructs jars to be filled and turns the water to wine.
Such abundance is present and better quality than before,
There’s no way this just happened when there was none before.
How could this have been done, and to whose credit will it be?
Jesus and God alone knew… no one else got to see.

Sign 2 is a healing, not far from the first scene
As a man stricken with grief comes running in to see
If truly this healer figure he’s heard about is really all He’s cracked up to be.
His pleading begins, “Please, Sir, save my child,”
And Jesus knows clearly what will happen all the while.
The man is dismissed, and told not to fret,
For the child will be well, and will no longer fight sweat.
The man turned to go home, with no doubts in his being
And was met by his servants who came out from the house screaming
As they rejoiced with the others that the child had been freed
From the sickness and ailments and was now peacefully asleep.

Sign 3 is another healing, one just as revealing
As Christ enters a busy market place
And sees a man with a grief-stricken face.
38 years this man sat in a slumber,
For 38 years through all the rain and thunder,
Watching all kinds of people rush down to the pool
Knowing each and every time he’d been left as uncool.
Christ asks the simple question “Do you want to be well,”
And the man probably laughed thinking Jesus was having a spell.
Excuses were offered, and reasons for lack of movement given,
But Jesus simply exhorted that the man choose to be risen.
“Rise up and walk” was the command He gave
And so the man did as he was told, and stood from his above-ground earthly grave.
People gasped and they gawked,
Others doubted and mocked,
But it certainly didn’t stop
The ever-growing flock…

Fourth on our list is a Sign that when missed
Can leave one truly empty of the freedom and bliss
That comes from knowing just who Jesus is
And how much He cares for you… the scene is this:
5,000 people following the Teacher around
Are suddenly told to take a seat on the ground.
One of the 12 is asked how to feed all that are here,
And his response (quite earthly) is that it will take over a year.
A year’s pay was the reference as he looked at this in the world
And Philip failed this little test, even with all he’d seen and heard.
Then an unnamed child walked up to the Christ
With 5 loaves and 2 fish and offered them up to the Light.
An offer given so freely from one so small and meek
Was raised to Heaven, blessed, and then spread out to feed all the sheep.
And the 12 walked through the crowd to clean up what was left,
12 baskets full of scrap… one for each doubter’s breath.
Over 5,000 fed until they were completely satisfied
Gets me to start to ask you if you could swallow as much pride
As the 12 did while cleaning, knowing that Jesus didn’t hide
The immense power bestowed upon Him by the Father, in whom He abides.

Number 5 is a story that all Christians know
As Jesus walked across the water to the 12 in the boat.
And as we picture this happening I have to lay the scene,
But I’ll warn you before I go further, it may bring about fear and screams.
Imagine being in a boat some three miles off the shore,
With no visibility around you, night and darkness growing more,
And then a tempest arises from what was a calm sea
And as you look into the distance… what is that walking towards me?
I can make out a figure, but this cannot be real
Because no one walks on water, even if they are gifted to heal.
Water is for boats and for fishing and swimming,
And no one is capable of just being on the surface barely skimming
As they walk just as calmly as though they were on land,
My brothers AWAKE! A demon must be at hand!
Fear and terror grips all in the craft
And they look to each other fearing this moment may be their last
But then Christ speaks truthfully to their doubting and now frightened hearts
“It is I. Don’t be afraid!” And they calm their alarm.
He has walked out three miles through churning wind and wave and storm,
And stepped into a boat as though this should just be the norm.
And the moment he stepped in, their journey was done.
You see with Christ in your boat, the victory is already won.

Sign 6 is my favorite, even though it’s not the last
Because it reminds me always that we are blessed from our past.
Let me be clear on this though…
The things of your past that you think only you know…
He is already aware of them all, bro,
Even further back than your human memory can go.
A man sits blind, as he has been from birth,
And he is begging for money in his recliner of earth.
People have seen and known him there in this sandy chair
For all the years of his life in sightless despair.
The elite of the day asked Jesus why this man was this way,
Was it something he did, or had his parents gone astray
And brought such punishment on this man for all of his days?
Jesus pointed out clearly that it was not the fault of the parents or their progeny,
But was done so that God’s glory could be displayed for all to see.
Christ spat in the dirt, made some mud in his hands,
And then rubbed that same mud on this man’s ocular glands.
He said to him “Go and wash” and the blind man walked away…
Then for the first time EVER, he had sight of a day.
Can you picture the emotion, seeing sky for the first time?
Can you imagine the feeling, viewing children playing the first time?
Putting sights to the sounds which he’d known all his life,
There are now pictures with words… there is an entirely NEW LIFE!
For what was blue before, but a descriptor of something more,
Something to which he hoped, but never thought was in store?
And when he’s asked by the elite, and I use that term loosely,
They attempt to expose Christ for being a demon… truly.
But this man, without fear, stands tall as he can be
And says, “Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know…
One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”

And last on our list, one with immense bliss
Is Sign number 7… what an end to this trip!
There’s a man named Lazarus, and he’s fallen asleep,
Now laid to rest in a tomb where his body will keep.
Jesus hears of this news, and decides to wait four days to go
For God’s power on display is what’s needed to cure such a blow.
Jesus arrives near Bethany,
And out comes Martha, sister of Mary,
And she falls at Jesus’ feet and begins to sorely weep
Asking why He hadn’t come sooner, that Lazarus might not be asleep.
Jesus speaks to her one thing that we can rest in assured,
He is the resurrection and the life… and Lazarus will be cured.
Martha goes to get Mary and tells her to come out
And so she goes to see Jesus, followed by the crowd.
Mary’s concern is the same, “Lord, you waited before you came,”
And Jesus saw what was needed to ease all this pain.

But before He did the Sign…
He took the necessary time…
To shed a tear for the crime and strife
That sin had brought upon the life
Of His most precious creation,
Mankind of every nation.
Lazarus died, a result of sin’s original stain;
Jesus cried, and then removed death’s pain.

He asked where Lazarus had been laid for these past four days
And they took Jesus within range of this hallowed domain.
Then the stone was rolled away
In the brightness of day
And Christ shouted to the dead man
“Rise!”
And out came Lazarus, into the light of day.
“Release him from his bonds” Jesus told the assembled crowd
And they rushed over to help remove the trappings of the burial shroud.
They saw Lazarus beneath, alive and well…
Proof seen by the masses that death did not mean hell.

So here they are, friend, 7 Signs for you and me
That point so plainly and clearly to what the Truth must be.
One who commands liquid at an elemental level
And brings healing to the ill,
One who feeds the masses with little
And walks on waters raging or still.
One who raises the dead and brings them back to life.
Who is this Bridegroom, and who would be His wife?
This Bridegroom is Jesus, said as plainly as day,
And His bride is the church, up to and beyond this present age,
And with Signs so clear as these, and proof in ample supply,
Please, dear friends, know that it is okay to die.
For with Christ at your side there is nothing to fear,
For it is He who conquered sin and hell and death… and He reigns here.

Please know that as I leave this moment I have no regrets about anything stated;
In fact, my friends, I’m quite elated
That the Signs seen so plainly by me I’ve been able to share.
Signs, Signs… these Signs are literally everywhere!