John Ch14v1-14 - Don't Let Your Heats Be Troubled

! Good morning, everybody.

Great to see you all. I've been away the last five Sundays. I was on placement in Washington, D.C. for two Sundays and then in Grosvenor Road Baptist for three Sundays.

I'm very thankful for the church supporting me to do those placements. It's so good to be back today with you all. Look forward to telling you more about those experiences away in time.

But thank God for them. Returning to John chapter 14 verses 1 to 14 and we're going to read from there. That's on page 1082 of the church Bible.

John chapter 14 and verse 1 to 14. Just before Louise comes up to read that.

It's a little bit of context. These are some of the last words that Jesus says to his disciples before he goes to the cross. After three years of life alongside Jesus, he's just told these men that he's about to die.

But worse than that, he's just told them that one of them is about to betray him to his death. And Peter is going to disown him three times before the morning.

So the disciples are reeling. It's like the rug's been pulled from under their feet. Their hearts are troubled in this moment as Jesus speaks.

So Jesus speaks these words into their troubled hearts. Thanks, Louise. Do not let your hearts be troubled.

You believe in God, believe also in me. My father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you? that I am going there.

Sorry, if that was not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.

You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?

Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my father as well.

From now on, you do know him and you have seen him. Philip said, Lord, show us the father and that will be enough for us.

Jesus answered, don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the father.

How can you say, show us the father? Don't you believe that I am in the father and that the father is in me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority.

Rather, it is the father living in me who is doing his work. believe me when I say that I am in the father and the father is in me or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the father and I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the father may be glorified in the son.

You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it. Well, Jesus just told us in verse 1, he says, don't let your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God. Believe also in me. You know, I think we can resonate with the disciples in this situation, can't we?

We can resonate with their troubled hearts. We all walked in the door this morning with our own unique set of various troubles and difficulties.

For some of us, those troubles, well, they can begin to overwhelm us. we don't know what to even say to God or what to do next.

Some days we just feel like curling up in a ball. Maybe it's a relationship that's broken, seems beyond repair. Maybe it's an illness that you never expected.

Maybe it's times of change and uncertainty. maybe it's stress at work or at school or college or saying goodbye to somebody that you never wanted to say goodbye to.

Our hearts are troubled today. What Jesus is about to say to us is not easy. It's not a trite, quick-fix thing.

You know, three steps to not having any troubles anymore. No. But God the Son stands before us today in his word.

And he speaks three reasons for real comfort in the middle of our troubles. and God So before we look at those reasons, let's pray and ask for God's help to really hear what he has to say.

Our loving Father in heaven, you know our troubled and weary hurts. Meet us here by your Spirit.

Help us to hear your Son's words to us. That we would not fear, but that we would feel your profound comfort in the deepest places of our hearts.

For your Son's sake, we pray. Amen. Well, here's the first reason for comfort in our text.

Jesus says, do not let your hearts be troubled. Your home is with the Father forever through Jesus.

Have a look at verse 2. My Father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you that I'm going there to prepare a place for you?

and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.

You know the way to the place where I am going. What a comfort to our hearts. We've already been thinking about that this morning, haven't we? Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us where we will live with him and the father forever.

You know, there was a Jewish custom in the time of Jesus. The groom would leave to prepare a place for his bride in his father's house, usually by building on an addition to the house.

And following the wedding, he would take his bride back with him to his father's house where they would live. And that's a picture of Jesus and us.

He has committed himself to us in love as our bridegroom. And we, the church, are the bride. He has gone ahead of us to prepare a place to live with his bride forever in his father's house.

Revelation speaks of the wedding supper of the lamb, when Jesus will be fully and finally married to his bride. The church and when that time comes, he will return and take us to be with him forever in his father's house.

See the double comfort that that is. On the one hand, married to Christ forever. Every good marriage on this earth is just a shadow pointing to that true marriage to come where we will be satisfied and comforted in Christ's perfect love forever.

On the other hand, we will be with the father forever. In his union with us, Jesus shares everything he has with us, including his father.

We have the right to be sons and daughters of God. What a comfort that the father who has loved and delighted in his son for all eternity calls you his son or daughter in Christ.

Can you just imagine that moment when we will reach that eternal home? Can you see the father's open arms?

Can you see a smile on his face? he is not reserved in his love for us. Jesus has prepared a place for you to be with him and his father forever.

So take heart. Now notice what Thomas asks in verse five. Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you are going.

So how can we know the way? Now it's a bit of funny question, isn't it? because Jesus has literally just told them where they're going to heaven and the way to get there. He's going to take them.

Jesus is patient with Thomas here and he's patient with us in our doubts and our failure to hear and understand as well. So Jesus says it even clearer and I'm thankful that he does.

Verse six. Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and and Christ.

There is no true source of life that lasts forever outside of Christ. You see, you can never know the comfort of being with the Father unless you come through faith in the Son.

That means believing what Jesus did for you on the cross to reconcile you to the Father. Because Jesus was the only one who never sinned.

He was the only one who could pay the penalty our sins deserved. That is why he says no one comes to the Father except through me.

We may be offended by that claim. We might say that's very exclusive Jesus for you to say that. But it is the truth. And Jesus says it for our ultimate comfort.

So that in the heartache, in the trouble that we experience in our lives, we would know that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us with his Father.

So he calls out, believe in me. And I will take you there. The bridegroom has promised to return for his bride.

Let us take comfort in that in the midst of our trouble today. Here's the next truth of Jesus to comfort our hearts.

And it has to do not with something in the future, something right here in the present, our present experience of the Father. Jesus says, don't let your hearts be troubled.

You will see and know the Father right now. in Jesus. Now the disciples were devastated that Jesus was going away.

In their minds, the future promise of being with the Father just wasn't enough. What about the meantime? Have a look at verse 8. Look what Philip asks.

He says, Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Now I think we've all been there. thinking, you know, if I could just see God now, if I could just sit across the table from him and talk to him and hear him speak to me, and if I could just know what he was like, who he really is.

And yet Jesus has actually already answered this question beforehand in verse 7. And his answer is this, we have already known and seen the Father in Jesus.

So, Jesus says it again. Have a look in verse 9. He says, don't you know me, Philip? Even after I have been among you such a long time, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father? and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority.

Rather, it is the Father living in me who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.

Or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. and the God is now here we see something of the beauty and glory of the Trinity.

Our God has revealed himself as being one God with three distinct persons. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. They share the same divine nature.

They are totally one in will and purpose. And yet, they have distinct roles in creating us, in saving us. For example, the Father sends the Son to be the sacrifice for our sin.

And he sends him in the power of the Spirit. These persons relate to each other in different ways. For example, as a father and a son. This is what Jesus says.

He says, the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. Think about this with me for a second.

Equally, we could say the same thing about the Spirit being in the Son and in the Father. The persons of the Trinity mutually indwell each other.

That means if you see one person of the Trinity, you see all the others also. now, when we hear Jesus say this first, we could think, I don't know if I believe this.

I don't understand how it works. Does it matter if I believe it? Well, yes, it does. Even though it's hard to understand, Jesus asks us repeatedly to believe that it is true for our comfort in trouble.

And here's why. because if we know what Jesus is like from reading the Word, we can also say we know what the Father is like.

We can also say that I have seen his Son and all of the Father is in the Son. I've seen the Father.

We are not left guessing about the Father's character. Do you ever think that Jesus is like the warm, welcoming, compassionate member of the Trinity?

But the Father seems to be different, more distant or inapproachable? Wrong! That is not true.

Jesus reveals the Father. When we see Jesus, we see who the Father is. So when we see Jesus forgiving the woman caught in sin, or having compassion on the crowds, or welcoming the children to him, or being patient with the doubter, or drawing near to the outcast, or weeping with the brokenhearted, we see the Father's heart right there.

And he's your Father in Christ. Oh, the wonder of being loved by such a Father. he understands the troubles that you feel.

And more than that, he's with you in your troubles. If you look down a few verses in John chapter 14, look down to verse 23. Jesus says here, he says, 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. So don't let your hearts be troubled.

The Father is actually closer than your skin. You know what he's like. You've seen him in Jesus. He has made his home in you with the Son, by the Spirit.

He cares about your troubled heart, and you can know his heart of love for you despite what you're going through. Believe in Jesus' word to you today.

Your home is with the Father, and in the meantime, you can see and know him now in his Son. Take heart.

And if that account of the Father sounds foreign to you, may I encourage you to read the Gospels. And as you see Jesus, remember, this is who the Father is. He perfectly reveals the Father.

There is one last thing in this text that Jesus wants to say to give us his comfort. And it may be the most surprising in some ways.

It is that you and I will do the works of the Father in Jesus. Now, when our hearts are weighed down with trouble, we can feel like we're no good to anyone.

And I think we've all experienced that. That feeling of just wanting to curl up in a ball. Feeling paralyzed by pain or sadness or worry.

It's like it's all you can think about. You can't even do anything else it feels like. Or at least you don't want to. Well, Jesus says to his disciples and to us, I know your hearts are weighed down with troubles.

But the Father has a real purpose for you right here, right now. He wants to do his works in you whenever you feel at your weakest.

Now, let's look at what these works are in our reading. Verse 10, Jesus says, the words I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority.

Rather, it is the Father living in me who is doing his work. So can you see the link there? The words that Jesus speaks are the works of the Father.

That's what Jesus says. Obviously, Jesus did other things than just speak God's words. But in Jesus' mind, the primary work of the Father was speaking his word.

Now, keep that in mind as we read verse 12. This is quite something. Verse 12, very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

So you and I are called to do the same works that Jesus did, the works of the Father, speaking his word.

What a comfort this is in our trouble. That gives us a surpassing purpose. We are ambassadors of the Father.

In our workplaces, schools, housing estates, clubs, in our families, we are the Father's mouthpiece and masterpiece too.

We speak the true words about Jesus to others, so they also can hear and believe and be reconciled to the Father forever.

and just think about this. Isn't it often through our times of suffering and pain that the best opportunities arise to speak of Christ?

You know, as people see us walk through real struggles, they are much more likely to take notice of what makes us tick. They can see a peace beyond our circumstances.

They can see a hope beyond the current pain. They can see a faith that's steady through hard times. People begin to ask, how is this so?

Why are you like this, given your circumstances? And the door is opened to speak about Jesus. One example of this is a lady named Johnny Erickson Tata.

Some of you may know her story. She was paralyzed in all four limbs in a tragic diving accident when she was 17 years old. For the last 50 years, she has struggled with chronic pain, depression, grief, and questions about why God allowed this to happen in her life.

and as more and more people began to hear of her story, she had more and more opportunities to speak of Christ, especially to those who are also going through intense suffering and pain or coping with a disability.

Now, Johnny doesn't downplay the reality of pain, of her ongoing disability, but she does speak of how Christ has been enough for her all the way through it.

Countless people have come to faith in Christ through listening to her story. She was someone who very easily could have given way to despair and just done nothing, but she believed the word of Christ to her, that despite her troubled heart, the Father had given her his own works to do, even there in that place.

She found immense comfort in the fact that God has given her purpose in her struggle. And for you and I today, Jesus says, don't let your hearts be troubled, I've got to work for you right here, the Father's work.

The Father is sending you to the people around you who are also suffering and struggling. What an amazing comfort that is. It doesn't erase the pain, it doesn't fix all our problems, it doesn't just magic our troubles away, but it's a real comfort as we walk through it.

We have a purpose right here as an ambassador of the Father, and Jesus empowers us for this task. Just look what he says next, verse 13.

and I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.

Now we do need to be careful here. We could really run with those words and do a lot of damage with that. What is it exactly that we are to ask Jesus for and that he will give us?

Well, Jesus said, it's whatever we ask in Jesus' name. Here's what one author said. A request in the name of Jesus is a request in keeping with the character and mission of Jesus.

I'll say that once more. A request in the name of Jesus is a request in keeping with the character and mission of Jesus. So we don't ask for something that Jesus wouldn't want, clearly, and expect him to give that to us.

No. But he wants us to ask him for things that align with his will. What is his will?

Well, actually, Jesus said that in verse 14, 13. It's that the Father's name will be glorified more and more.

So, do we ask in our struggles for opportunities to share Jesus? That's a good question. Do we persist in praying for friends, family, co-workers to have open hearts to listen to the word of Christ?

Jesus loves to answer such prayers. He loves to show his mighty power in us.

Ask in his name and watch him work. Just try him. We all have our own unique set of troubles.

Jesus, you'll be glad to know, does not downplay them. He does not brush them under the carpet or give us a pat answer. He says, don't let your hearts be troubled.

Believe in me. And he gives us real reasons for comfort. Number one, we have a home with the Father to look forward to in heaven.

number two, right now, right here, we will see and know the Father in Jesus. And lastly, we'll even do the Father's works.

In the meantime, in our struggle and pain, what an amazing comfort Jesus brings to us today.

and it's all through him. Jesus has brought us into this position as sons and daughters of this Father.

Let's take comfort today in who we are as sons and daughters of him. Let's pray.谢谢大家