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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Chapter 14, verse 1,
Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God.
Believe also in Me.
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.
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.
You may be seated.
Would you pray with me?
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.
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.
Amen.
Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Father sent His Son,
So that your heart need not be troubled.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
He says,
Let not your heart
Be troubled.
Reason number one.
Believe that I am He.
Jesus says,
Your heart is troubled.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
Verily
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Why the
Father sent
Him
He came
For that
Very reason
It's to
Heal
And to
Restore
And to
Allow you
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
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
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
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
Shall
Seek
Me
And
As
I
Said
To
The
Jews
Where
I
Go
You
Cannot
Come
He's
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
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
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
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
Love
And
It
Seems
Like
It
Wasn't
Just
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Let not your heart be troubled. He came so you can be with him.
Look at chapter 14, verse 1.
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?
Jesus opens his mouth.
Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God.
Believe also in me.
Isn't that great medicine for your soul?
He says, are you troubled right now, disciple?
Think about God.
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?
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?
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.
How?
Well, meditate on his law day and night.
God's ways are not your ways.
Let his word transform you.
Renew your thinking.
He is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything.
Everything.
He will sustain me now.
Jesus says, believe that I am he.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Verse 4, and where I go, you know, in the way you know.
Jesus says, you know me.
I'm preparing the way.
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.
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?
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.
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.
That's why the Father sent me.
We just sang, what truth can calm the troubled soul?
God is good.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You are our fortress.
Amen.