Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

[0:00] Well, as I read the Word of God from John 13, and as you follow along, remember this is God's very own Word. It's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, and sufficient, and it's for you, His people.

[0:15] When we're done reading, I'll say, this is the Word of God, and you say, thanks be to God. So John chapter 13, I'm going to begin reading at verse 15, John 13, 15.

[0:30] This follows Jesus washing His disciples' feet, and in verse 15, Jesus says, I have given you an example that you also should do, just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

[0:49] If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Verse 18, I am not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but the Scripture will be fulfilled.

[1:02] He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. I am telling you this now before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am He.

[1:13] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Verse 21, after saying these things, Jesus was troubled in His spirit and testified, Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.

[1:37] The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom He spoke. One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table, at Jesus' side.

[1:49] So, Simon Peter motioned to Him to ask Jesus, of whom was He speaking? So, that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to Him, Lord, who is it?

[2:00] Jesus answered, It is He to whom I will give this morsel of bread, when I have dipped it. So, when He had dipped the morsel, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon, and scared it.

[2:15] Then, after He had taken the morsel, Satan entered into Him. Jesus said to him, What you are going to do, do quickly. Now, no one at the table knew why He said this to him.

[2:31] Some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the feast, or that we should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, He immediately went out, and it was night.

[2:48] Verse 31, when He had gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, And God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, And glorify Him at once.

[3:04] Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek Me, and just as I said to the Jews, So now also say to you, I say to you, Where I am going, you cannot come.

[3:18] A new commandment I give you, That you love one another, Just as I have loved you, You also are to love one another. By this all people will know, That you are My disciples, If you have love for one another.

[3:35] Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, Where I am going, You cannot follow Me now, But you will follow afterward. Peter said to Him, Lord, why can I not follow you now?

[3:49] I will lay down my life for you. Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, The rooster will not crow Till you have denied me three times.

[4:04] Chapter 14, verse 1, Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in Me.

[4:16] In My Father's house are many rooms. And if it were not so, Would I have told you That I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.

[4:29] And I will take you to Myself. That where I am, You may be also. This is the word of God. Thanks be to God.

[4:39] You may be seated. Would you pray with me?

[5:01] Oh God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, We pray that you will communicate To your people Who are here in this world The gospel message.

[5:25] The truth of the kingdom of heaven. We pray that you will convert sinners, Sanctify your children, Prepare our souls for heaven, So that you will be glorified by the answer.

[5:39] Amen. Amen. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father sent His Son, So that your heart need not be troubled.

[6:03] That's why the Father sent His Son into this world. It's so that He could say to you, Let not your heart be troubled. This world, We will have trouble.

[6:19] This world is dangerous and scary for our soul. And when your heart is troubled, When you are downcast, Be careful. That's when you need to be the most careful.

[6:31] A troubled heart is vulnerable. Picture the prairies here in Colorado. There's a flock, Or I guess it's called a herd, Like a herd of elk.

[6:44] You can picture a flock of bingorn sheep. Well, a pack of wolves, They're going to look for the one that's limping. And it's the one that's limping That they're going to try to cut off To devour.

[6:56] We are most vulnerable When we're troubled in the heart. Like that pack of wolves, Satan, And the demons, They want to come after you. They want to get you while you're weak and limping, Cut you off, And destroy your soul.

[7:14] The Puritan Thomas Watson, He said, Satan loves to fish In the troubled waters Of a discontented heart. Now, Jesus is going to continue with this theme All the way into John 16.

[7:29] And He says, In this world you will have troubled disciples, But take heart. Hear that same thing? He says, I have overcome the world. And I give you these words.

[7:40] You know why Jesus says, In the same upper room, He says, I give you these words So you may have peace In this troubled world. You will have trouble, But Jesus speaks to you.

[7:53] He gives you His words So you have peace In the world. See, Jesus, He is in the world In the flesh, And He's been troubled. In John 11, 33, He was troubled.

[8:04] Remember? He was deeply moved And troubled in spirit When He saw Mary And the Jews weeping. And He had compassion For Mary and Martha When Lazarus had died. In the previous chapter, John chapter 12, Verse 27, Jesus was troubled.

[8:20] And He was troubled In that chapter When He knew The hour of His death Had arrived. Remember the beginning Of the next book, The book of His hour Leading up to His death On the cross. Now He continues To build upon these themes.

[8:35] He tells His disciples, Let not your heart Be troubled. Last week we saw, He said, Instead of being troubled And vying for power And coveting And bickering With one another, Serve one another.

[8:50] This is what I am showing you. I served you. I took your dirt On my person. So you be clean. Show that kind of love And sacrifice To one another. He said in verse 17, If you know these things, Happy are you If you do them.

[9:09] But now we read In chapter 13, Verse 21, That He is troubled. And what comes next Is the prophecy In Psalm 41 That He will be betrayed By one of His own disciples.

[9:21] But yet, Jesus is troubled Himself In His words To His disciples. He says, Little children. See, He speaks to them As His own family.

[9:33] The one who is troubled Speaks love to them Be comfort To His disciples. And He says in 14, Verse 1, Let not your heart Be troubled.

[9:46] So I'm going to walk us Through this passage That we just read And I'm going to point out Eight reasons Why Jesus Christ Can say to you And to me, Let not your heart Be troubled.

[9:59] So when you get home later And we try to remember Together, What was the sermon About again? What was the point? The point was this. You don't have to have A troubled heart. And Jesus gives you Eight reasons why.

[10:11] Do you understand Where we're going? Do you understand The point I'm trying To show you? Alright, here we go. Number one. Jesus, The good shepherd Who's now The troubled shepherd He comforts His sheep.

[10:24] He says, Let not your heart Be troubled. Reason number one. Believe that I am He. Jesus says, Your heart is troubled.

[10:38] Believe I am God Sent to earth for you. Look at verse 18. This is John 13, Verse 18. I speak not of all of you Saying That you will be blessed If you serve one another.

[10:55] He says, I know whom I have chosen. I called every one Of these twelve disciples. And Jesus said, The world will know You're my disciples By how you serve one another.

[11:06] If you have my love In your heart. But He says, Not all of you Will do this. Not all of you Will serve one another With love. There is one among you Who serves only himself.

[11:18] Jesus said, Yes. This is troubling. I chose a disciple To be following me around. To walk the way I'm walking. To enjoy this last supper With me and with you.

[11:29] Knowing that one of you Will betray me. And I chose him to be here. To fulfill scripture He says in verse 18. That scripture may be fulfilled. The scripture says, He that eats bread with me Have lifted up his heel Against me.

[11:45] He's quoting Psalm 41. Verse 19. Jesus says, Now I tell you Before it happens That when it does come to pass You may believe. The reason I'm telling you this now That I will be betrayed Is so that when I am betrayed You will believe even more.

[12:00] You will see that I'm in control. You will see that I fulfilled Psalm 41 Even with choosing a disciple Who would betray me. And the reason I did that Is so that you would believe even more.

[12:12] In my words. You would know me. You would trust that I am God. Reminds me of Psalm 46. Ralph read Psalm 46 for us last week. Be still.

[12:25] Don't be troubled. Be still. And know. I am God. That's what Jesus is telling his disciples. He's saying, My kingdom will be opposed.

[12:39] Satan will use one of you. One of these men right here To strike me with his heel. When I send you out into the world You will be opposed The same way I will be opposed And you will be betrayed.

[12:53] You will wonder, Is there really a king In this wicked world? You need to look back At my words. Remember, This is all part of my plan To reveal myself And to strengthen your faith even more.

[13:07] Believe. Believe. Believe that Jesus Is the Lamb of Heaven And his first coming Is for your salvation. Believe I am he Who came to save you. But also believe That this Lamb of God Will come back as the Lion.

[13:22] He will come And his kingdom in Heaven Will be on earth one day. Thomas Watson again. He who believes not In the blood of the Lamb Must feel The wrath Of the Lamb.

[13:35] Believe in Christ And his kingdom Now. He's quoting Psalm 41 As I mentioned But you know what Psalm 41 is about? It's a psalm of David. And it's David Describing The troubled soul He has The anguish he had.

[13:51] You know why? Because he was betrayed By his son Absalom. Here Jesus calls His disciples Little children. And one of his children Will betray him.

[14:04] Psalm 41 verse 9 Says Even my close friend David Describing Absalom In whom I trusted One of my princes Who ate my bread Has lifted his heel Against me But you oh Lord Be gracious to me And raise me up That I may repay them See the Lamb Will come back With wrath By this I know That you delight in me This is Now picture these words On Christ's lips To the Father You delight in me My enemy will not Shout in triumph Over me He's looking past Judas to sing Who comes to kill him Psalm 41 verse 12 You have upheld me Because of my integrity And set me in your presence Forever Blessed be the Lord The God of Israel From everlasting To everlasting Amen And amen That's the end of That passage From Psalm 41 So when it feels like

[15:07] The enemy will win Jesus says Believe I am king Do you feel that way sometimes? You feel like the enemy Is so powerful You feel like The cause of Christ And the cause of your Sanctification Is almost hopeless Believe that Jesus Christ Is the king Even the betrayal of Judas Even Satan Lifting up Judas' heel Against Christ Even that Is to give you More faith More confidence In Jesus On the throne The father sent the son So that your heart Does not need to be troubled Be still And know That I am God Second reason Why Jesus Can say to you And to me Let not your heart Be troubled Is because He says When you go Into the world You go As my Sent ones So Jesus The good shepherd

[16:08] He comforts his sheep He says You will go Into the The world You will be like Sheep among the wolves For you belong to me You go with My name My kingdom Holding me So let not Your heart be troubled When you go Look at verse 20 He says Truly Truly Verily Verily Amen Amen Is what he says I say unto you He that receives Whom so Whoever I send Receives me And he that receives me Receives him That sent me Jesus Christ Was sent by the father To bring a message Of grace To those who would Believe in him And when you go out And you declare that message You have his authority And that authority Is from the same father Who sent the son Let that comfort you Have confidence In declaring the gospel With your words And with your life Jesus is saying Go into the world

[17:08] And advance my kingdom You take my gospel The kingdom of my church Into the darkest regions Of this world You do it with confidence You advance the church Into foreign domain You're knocking down The gates of hell Satan has been bound The nations can no longer Be deceived Way up there In Siberia Up in northern Russia The gates of hell The gates of hell The gates of hell Cannot prevail Against the kingdom Of God That marches forward With the truth And through the church You can go with confidence Like we sing in the hymn Jesus says You're my little children And I'm telling you This is my father's world So you can sing it out You belong to the same father This is my father's world Oh let me ne'er forget That though the wrong Seems oft so strong God is the ruler yet This is my father's world Why should my heart be sad The Lord is king

[18:09] Let the heavens ring God reigns Let the earth be glad Truly, truly Jesus says The father sent me Into his world And he did this So that I would bring The kingdom of heaven The spiritual kingdom On earth You go out And do the same You declare My coming kingdom This is what Paul declares In Romans chapter 3 Starting at verse 23 Listen to how Paul goes out Declaring the kingdom of God For all have sinned And fall short Of the glory Of God There's confidence The word will not prevail You go out and declare There is a God This God is holy And you under Adam In your own sin You have fallen Short of his glory Paul goes on By God's grace We are justified Justified freely Through the redemption That is in Christ Jesus Whom God has sent

[19:10] That's just what Jesus said Just as the father sent me I'm sending you God has set forth Jesus He has sent his son To be a propitiation To be the penal Substitutionary sacrifice And by believing And receiving his work On your behalf By faith alone He puts his righteousness On you Declare that to the world Paul writes The forgiveness Of sins Through God's forbearance By God's grace To show his righteousness At this time That he might be just And a justifier Of the one who believes Go into the world Declaring that You go as my sent ones God is just Repent And when you repent Look to Christ He is the justifier Of all that have sinned You declare that Jesus Came so that you could have Peace With God Your heart is troubled

[20:11] In sin Your heart is troubled In the world Jesus says Fulfilling Psalm 46 Be still Know that I am God I am The eternal God I am Your very present Health In time of trouble That's why you can be still I am With you Go into the world Declaring that message And let my kingdom Bring peace To your heart The third reason Why Christ Can declare that Our hearts Need not be troubled Is because Christ became troubled In his spirit For you The troubled shepherd Can comfort his sheep He can He can give peace For the sheep Because he took Trouble On their behalf He can now say Let not your heart Be troubled Look at verse 21 When Jesus had thus said He Was troubled

[21:12] In spirit This is one of the most Clear verses for us Of how God Becoming man He was fully man Not only was he fully divine He was fully man Both in body His outer man And his inner man So Our confession That one of the creeds The Chalcedonian Creed says this way One And the same Christ The Son The Lord The only begotten By taking on flesh Has two natures Fully divine Fully human But these two natures Are inconfusably Unchangeably Indivisibly Inseparably The distinct Natures Yet They are united They are in union In one person The property Of each nature Must be preserved And concurring In one person One substance Not parted Or divided Into two persons But one In the same Only begotten Son

[22:12] That's what the Chalcedonian Creed Worked out From the Bible This is How Jesus Christ Can be the one And only Mediator He says Know and trust That I am Fully God And being fully God I became a man So I would take Your trouble I would be troubled In my soul In my spirit My spirit I became fully human So that I could be Your perfect substitute What troubled Christ?

[22:43] His soul was troubled By the pain of betrayal Most likely Each of us Have suffered Some form of betrayal But surely Nothing close To what he experienced And his inner man Was troubled By this hour That he's in As we already saw In the previous chapter He's troubled To put it in one word Jesus is troubled By sin And the pain of sin And his experience We can understand This is the impact Of sin upon Any human soul Using the language Of the Bible itself In Psalm 55 Verse 4 Listen to how The psalmist Describes A troubled spirit Again this is The prayer book And the song book Of our Lord Jesus My heart is in anguish Within me The terrors of death Have fallen upon me Fear and trembling Come upon me And horror Overwhelms me When I'm troubled In spirit I don't know If this is true for you

[23:43] It's a fear of man It's a fear of Satan It's a fear of the damage Of sin And Christ Never sinned He's already declared Satan will be cast down And he has complete Control over men Even calling Judas Knowing he would betray him But yet Christ is such A perfect mediator That he identified With us In our trials His spirit Was troubled And he took on Your trouble And his spirit So that you No longer Need to be troubled That's why The father sent him So that your heart Need not be troubled Be still Know that I am God I am your very Present Help In trouble For the fourth reason Jesus can say Let not your heart Be troubled To his disciples Is because Christ has authority

[24:46] Over man And Satan Those things That trouble my spirit And that cause fear in me Look at how Christ Commands Both man And Satan Verse 21 Jesus testified And said Truly truly I say to you That one of you Shall betray me Then the disciples Looked at one another Uncertain of whom He spoke Now there was One of his disciples Who leaned On Jesus' bosom Whom Jesus loved And therefore Simon Peter Motioned to him To ask Who it was Of whom he spoke Then As he leaned On Jesus' bosom He said to him Lord Who is it Jesus answered him It is him To whom I shall give A morsel When I have dipped it And the mighty morsel Of bread And gave it To Judas Iscariot Do you get the scene Look at this Lord's Supper At this table Right here And last week We saw

[25:46] How they would be Positioned for Jesus To go around Washing the feet Of his disciples So they would be Using their right hand To eat from the table Leaning on their left hand Reclining at the table With their feet Out away from the table And Jesus took the towel And washed their feet Now in this passage We're describing How John The disciple Of Jesus loved Was given a spot Of honor Right here So he can He can lean back And talk to Jesus And just say Who is it We're all very troubled Here that you said One of us is going To be trained Jesus had already Quoted Psalm 41 I'll share bread With the one Who is at my table Who will lift His heel against And then Jesus Serves the bread To a disciple Within our reach Sinclair Ferguson Suspects Judas Might have even been Given one of those Spots very close To Jesus A spot of honor So Peter On the other side John right next To Jesus And then Judas Very close by A place of Close intimacy And trust Just as John Leaned and

[26:47] Inclined himself Close to Jesus Jesus is Inclining himself And trusting himself To Judas So we get The stage is set For what's happening In that room Now look at Verse 27 After Judas Ate the morsel Satan Entered Into him Now Judas Who is Blending in With the disciples Who is very Close to Jesus Who Jesus Entrusted himself To Has Satan Enter into him Now the pattern Has been the opposite As Jesus Walks throughout Israel He's the one Casting out The He's the one Who came to Bind up the Strong man That's Satan Over this world And to Plunder his Good Those are The souls Of his People Now by The power Of Jesus In his Timing He hands The morsel To Judas Not until That very Moment Satan

[27:47] Enteres See how Both the Man Chosen By God Left there All alone And then Satan Who enters His soul They're both Under Christ's Authority It's when And how Christ Commands it For all The disciples This should Be comforting As scary As man Is Even a man Who would Betray And have Jesus Arrested And as Scary As Satan Is As ruler Of the Powers of Darkness Jesus Has Power Complete Power And authority Over both Man And Satan Now Jesus Says to Judas In verse 27 That you Do Do Quickly It wasn't Until After Jesus Spoke that Command That Judas And Satan Left Verse 28 But none Of them Who were at The table Knew why Jesus Said this To them For some Of them Thought Jesus Had said that To him Just because Judas Had the Bag to Buy those Things

[28:48] That we Needed For the Feast And that He should Give something To the Poor The greatest Affliction We can Experience Is Perhaps When A fellow Christian Or someone Within the Church Someone Blending In As well As Judas Blended In Causes Harm To the People Of God Those who Try to Blend In They are Able To do It Pretty Successfully In Many Ways But remember Jesus said Blessed are You if You do This But I Don't Say all Of you Because you Can't Fake Love From God For the Church Satan Flatters The proud And puffs Up the Self-righteous But there Was one Among them Who would Not serve Them Would not Show These other Disciples The love Of Christ Himself Verse 30 Then as Soon as Judas Received the Morsel He immediately Went out And it

[29:49] Was night John has Been very Aware of The contrast Between truth And lies Light And dark Life And death And it's No mistake That he Says As Judas Went out This hour Of Christ's Suffering It was Dark The darkness Sets The tone And yet In dark Jerusalem Christ Brings some Of the most Life-giving Light Bright Words To his Disciples And to Human Because His Kingdom It's Already Though it's Not yet Fully It's Already Inaugurated One point Of application On this That Christ Has authority Over man And Satan It's that When Those in Authority Sin It's Hurts We've All been Hurt By the Sin Of others And especially Someone like Judas Who was Entrusted With the Money And everybody Would allow Him to Make the Provisions

[30:49] And he Would hurt Christ And betray The kingdom Of Christ Worse than Anyone else When those In authority Sin It is Troubling So don't Look to Man Don't look To Fallen Sinners Even Those Redeemed By God Man Will Hurt Us You can Count on Being hurt By man But Christ Will never Hurt you And it's Hard You've been Hurt by Your father You've been Hurt by A boss So when you Hear language Of you're my Children Or you belong To my kingdom It's easy For us to Think of all The brokenness And all That we've Experienced Abuse of Men But Christ Will never Hurt you As we sing In our song With the kids You can Always run To Jesus Jesus Strong And kind And he Reveals to You The reason The reason Why the Father sent Him He came For that Very reason It's to Heal And to Restore And to Allow you

[31:50] To trust The father Through Jesus Christ So that your Hearts be Not troubled He is with You Your present Health In trouble Well the Fifth reason Why Jesus Can say Let not Your heart Be troubled Is glorious It's dark Outside But he Now unveils Without Judas In the room Without Satan Clouding what He's about To speak He has Cleansed the Church He has Practiced Church Discipline You could Say Now look At what He opens Up to Those True Disciples Who Remain With Him He Says Verse 31 When he Had Got Out After Judas Left Jesus Said Now Is The son Of man Glorified And god Is glorified In him So yes He's talking About his Death He's talking About a Heel Striking Him But he's Saying Immediately Now In this Very same Hour In the Midst Of my Death I will Be Glorified The son Of man Will be Glorified Before men And before

[32:50] God Even in His death John Gill Broke it Down this Way So Helpfully To me How Was Jesus Glorified On the Cross In the Eyes Of man On earth The cross Brought to Earth Darkness Earthquake Rending Of the Rocks The veil Of the Temple See From the Eyes Of man It was A glorious Event At the Death Of Christ But also John Gill Wrote In the Eyes Of the Father There was An even Greater Glory That was Invisible To the Eye But in The Spiritual Realm The Most Glorious Truth It Was This Christ Was glorified In His Death In the Eyes Of His Father Because Hereby The Purposes Of God Were Accomplished His Covenant Transactions Were Brought About His Law And Justice Were Satisfied And The Salvation Of His People Was Finished That's How The Death Of Christ Was Glorified In The Eyes Of Man And Of God In Verse 32

[33:50] Jesus Says If God Is Glorified In Him God Shall Also Glorify Him In Himself And Shall Immediately Glorify Him The Best Meaning Is That As Jesus Will Be Crucified And Died And Buried This Will Be Relatively Quick God Will Not Leave His Son In The Grave Nor Will His Body Suffer Corruption God Will Be Raised To Life And On The Third Day He Will Be Ascent He Will Be Lifted Up In His Glorified Body Proclaiming His Kingdom And Then He Will Ascend And Be Seated At The Right Hand Of The Father So When You Think Of Christ Yes Look To His Cross But Remember From His Cross He Ascended Even Further He Was Glorified To The Highest Heaven And He Sits At The Right Hand Of God The Father Almighty And When You're In Trouble You Think Of Him Glorified Through It All Through The Cross And The Grave To The Highest Throne Of Heaven Philippians 4 5

[34:52] And 6 Says The Lord Is At Hand See I'm Very Present Help Because The Lord Is At Hand Ruling From Heaven He Is With You Do Not Be Anxious The Father Sent His Son So That Your Heart Does Not Need To Be Anxious Be Still Know That He Is God He Is With You In Trouble The Sixth Reason Jesus Can Say Let Not Your Heart Be Trouble It Just Keeps Getting More And More Glorious You See His Glory The Sixth Reason Is That You Belong Through Christ To God's Family You Belong To God's Family There's Several Reasons Why First He Calls You His Children Look At Verse 33 Little Children Yet A Little While I Am With You You Shall Seek Me And As I Said To The Jews Where I Go You Cannot Come He's

[35:53] Calling Them His Family His Children He's About To Go Away To The Obey Me What Is His Commandment Verse 34 He Says A New Commandment I Give To You That You Love One Another Now This Is It's New For One Reason But It's It's Also Not New Jesus Has Said All Of The Law And All Of God's Word All Of The Law The Prophets Up To This Point Can Be Summarized This Way What Makes It New Now I Think We Need To Keep Reading The Other Verses To Understand What Makes This One

[36:53] New But He Tells You To Obey Now He Says You Belong To My Family Because I Will Put My Love For My Family Inside Of You See That's What Makes This A New Commandment The Law To Love One Another To Keep The What's Called The Second Table Of The Law All The Things We Shall Do To One Another That's Always Been There What's Different Now Is He Will Put His Love Inside Of You His Holy Spirit Will Be The Power That Will Allow You To Fulfill This He Says In Verse 34 Love One Another As I Have Loved You That You Also Love One Another He Has Loved You So That You Can Love One Another Do You Understand Without Christ Giving You His Love To One Another You Must First Receive That Heavenly Divine Love From God Himself Before You Will Have Any Power Of Your Own To Show The Love To One Another And If You

[37:53] Want To Know Whether Or Not You're In His Family That's The Question You Need To Search Your Heart Do I Have A Love For The Family Of God That I Could Not Have Fabricated On My Own Where If I Tried I Ran Out Well Then That Should Be Assurance That You Do Belong To His Family Their Spiritual Father He Commands Them To Obey But He Also Supplies Them With The Love To Fulfill That Commandment Isn't That Comforting So His Law His New Commandment To Obey And To Love One Another It's Because He Himself Has Made That Possible For You To Obey What He Commands He Gets All The Glory From Start To Finish In The Early Centuries Of The Church A Man Named Tertullian Historian He Wrote Observing This That Roman Empire So Dark And Pagan And Worldly And Self Destroying As The Roman Empire Crumbled And The Church Was Growing He Said That When The Christians Would Greet Each Other On The Road It Was Different Than Anyone Else

[38:59] Love And It Seems Like It Wasn't Just Man Man Made Affection It Had To Be From A Different World Isn't That Cool I Mean You Can See People That Are Friends And Maybe Like A Sports Team In Common But That's Not This Kind Of Love This Kind Of Love Is Sacrificial It's Like Christ Taking Up The Claw Wiping The Feet Of His Stinky Disciples That's Other worldly love. And he says, look what he says next in verse 35. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Are you a true disciple of Jesus? Well, has he put this otherworldly love inside of you? Because if he has, you will do it. Did you pick up what we read earlier on our profession of faith? Hearing this, that you stand totally justified by grace alone, doesn't that mean you're going to be wicked and abuse this love of God? You know, shouldn't you want to keep Christians on a leash a little bit more? The answer is no. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ by true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude. If you are saved, you are in his family, he will flow through the vine, he will flow his love into you, and you will bear fruit of gratitude. And that should be comforting, it should give you assurance, and it should also lead us to ongoing repentance. So stay close to Christ, we need his love.

[40:32] You see the contrast between Satan and Christ and how the church is treated. We saw how Judas, filled with Satan, would treat Christ and his disciples. Satan hates Christ. Satan hates the family of Christ, the church. Satan discourages Christians. Christ builds up. Satan destroys. Christ restores.

[40:59] Satan tears down. Christ defends. Satan accuses. Christ forgives. If you're in Christ, you will treat his family the way he treats his family. And that's comforting, that we belong to the family of God. We can be still. He is with us. He has not left us or with us.

[41:25] And number seven, Jesus can say, let not your heart be troubled, because if you follow him, it's because he is faithful, not you. You don't need to be troubled when you stumble, when you reject him even, like Peter. Because if you follow him, it is his faithfulness put inside of you. It's not your own doing. Look at this exchange between Simon Peter and Jesus. Verse 36, Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where do you go? Where will you go? Jesus answered him, where I go, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow me afterwards. See, if you belong to Christ, if he has purchased you by his blood, you will follow him. He tells Peter that promise. I'm sure that came ringing back in Peter's ear. You will follow me, Peter, after he had fallen in sin. Verse 37, Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you, for your sin? Now, Peter has a good desire. His desire is to follow Jesus. His desire is to sacrifice and to want nothing else except the kingdom of God and to be part of that. True believers will want that. The desire is good.

[42:45] But look how Jesus answered him in verse 38. Will you, Peter, lay down your life for me, for my sin? Truly, truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times. Peter, it's not your faithfulness that gets you a place in my kingdom. In fact, I'm going to make sure you learn that lesson. You cannot be faithful to me enough to earn your salvation to earn a spot in my kingdom, Peter. You can. You will not follow after Christ by your strength or by anything you do alone, but only by being humbled like Peter to come to the end of yourself. When God brings you to the end of yourself, you can have assurance that it was Christ alone who brought you out of death and who gave you a place in his heavenly kingdom. You don't get to heaven by laying down your life for Christ. That would be your own merit trying to save you.

[43:52] Salvation is for those whom God has humbled and brought low. That's what God is going to do to Peter. And then when you tell your testimony, your testimony sounds like Peter. He can stand up to all the Jews in Jerusalem and say, repent and believe the kingdom of God is at hand. And he's not being preachy or churchy or holier than thou. He is the one who denied Jesus Christ, the son of God, not once, not twice, but three times. He knows repentance and he can say, repent, believe. Why?

[44:24] Because Jesus is gracious. He was sent by the father so you can have peace with God. Repent and believe and follow him because he forgives sinners like you just like he forgave a sinner like me.

[44:38] That's why we can sing along also how deep the father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure.

[44:51] The father sent the son so that you don't need to feel like a wretch. So your heart doesn't need to be troubled any longer. He wants you to be still and know I am God. I am with you through Christ. You're very present. Help in trouble.

[45:09] I said there were eight. I made it to number eight with God's help. So here's the eighth one. Christ can say, let not your heart be troubled because he came for you so that you can be with him.

[45:28] Let not your heart be troubled. He came so you can be with him. Look at chapter 14, verse 1.

[45:40] In light of everything that he just said, this exchange with Peter, I picture maybe a pause. That silent stillness where people are wondering, what's he going to say next?

[45:55] Jesus opens his mouth. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me.

[46:09] Isn't that great medicine for your soul? He says, are you troubled right now, disciple? Think about God.

[46:21] You believe in God. Think of how glorious God is. What could possibly trouble you so much in this world that you stop trusting God, the creator?

[46:35] What is it that troubles you? Is it this life? Is it your sense of fulfillment and contentment based on earthly things? Is it other people that are troubling you?

[46:48] You know what the medicine you need, your soul needs for all of those troubles? It's this. Believe in God. Think in God. Put your thoughts and your meditations on God.

[47:00] How? Well, meditate on his law day and night. God's ways are not your ways. Let his word transform you. Renew your thinking.

[47:12] He is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. Everything. He will sustain me now. Jesus says, believe that I am he.

[47:23] Everything you know about God is expressed to you in the person of Jesus Christ. In chapter 14, verse 2, Jesus next, he says, in my father's house are many mansions.

[47:37] If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. You believe in God. You think of God.

[47:49] Think of heaven. Believe in me. That's where I'm going is to prepare a place for you. That's why I was sent in the world. It's to bring you with me so that you can be with God forever.

[48:02] Is your heart lonely? Do you feel homesick? I'm preparing mansions for you, for countless millions of my people, a great multitude to be with God, prepared for you individually by Jesus Christ himself.

[48:23] Verse 3, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may also be.

[48:37] Verse 4, and where I go, you know, in the way you know. Jesus says, you know me. I'm preparing the way.

[48:48] I'm preparing your mansion. I'm preparing your place so that you can be with me. Forever. Yes, in this world you will have trouble. Take up your cross daily and follow me.

[48:59] You know the way. Thomas Watson said, it's better to go with difficulty, with trouble to heaven, than with ease to hell. Is your heart troubled, Christian?

[49:13] Jesus says, I will come again. I will receive you unto myself. If I leave you now to the cross, to the grave. And if I'm slow in your eyes to come again and bring the whole church back with me to my kingdom.

[49:29] The reason, the reason I'm doing this is for you. So if I go, it's because I love you. So that you can be with me forevermore.

[49:40] That's why the Father sent me. We just sang, what truth can calm the troubled soul? God is good. God is good.

[49:54] You need more? I need more. Where is his grace and goodness known? It's in Christ. It's in our great Redeemer's blood. Who holds our faith when fears arise?

[50:06] Who stands above the stormy trial? Well, we sang, it's Christ alone. It's Christ alone. He says, let not your heart be troubled.

[50:19] Trust in Christ. Trust. He is with you. You're very present out in trouble. And trust that God is good. Who is it that sends the waves that bring us nigh?

[50:31] It's God. Because he's good. He sends those waves, those troubles of life, to bring you unto Christ, the rock. During the Reformation, one of the young reformers named Philip Malantham, he was troubled.

[50:49] They were being persecuted by an entire empire. They were being chased out of one country to the other. And the younger Philip Malantham would often write back and forth with Martin Luther.

[50:59] They were friends and contemporaries and worked together. And Martin Luther's encouragement back to Philip Malantham was very simple. Let us sing again Psalm 46.

[51:14] Let us remember that God is our present help in trouble. That's why the Father sent the Son. So that your heart, Christian, need not be troubled.

[51:26] Well, we won't sing Psalm 46 yet. Maybe we can find a version. We could all sing that. That would be wonderful. But let me pray Psalm 46 as we close for today. And I encourage you to pray Psalm 46 again and again and again.

[51:42] And hear this as the prayer of Jesus Christ, little children of Jesus, our dear church family, and this beloved congregation. Let's keep praying this together until we are home with Jesus Christ forevermore.

[51:55] Amen. O God, you are our refuge and strength. You are our very present help in trouble. Teach us by your Spirit to be still and know that you are God.

[52:07] We trust that you will be exalted among the nations, and you will be exalted in all the earth. You, O Lord of hosts, are with us. You are covenant-keeping God.

[52:20] You are our fortress. Amen. Amen.