"What is our only hope in life and death?"

Who am I?

What’s the very worst thing?

What do we do when we’re faced with the very worst things in life?

Man it’s so crazy I remember being in middle school like it was yesterday. I remember eating lunch in this room. I remember being bad at sports. And I remember my very worst thing. For sure. I had Mr. Larry Russ as my sixth grade history teacher, and I have seared into my mind so many good memories, but then there’s this one. Mr. Russ was one of the most godly men I knew, and he would talk to us about life. And he would tell us these heart breaking stories of times when he would be teaching, and he would get a phone call, and he would be the one to break the news to one of his students about a tragedy in their life. The one that always stuck with me was something happening to their parents. I just couldn’t imagine it. To me, that was the very worst thing.

And I can remember that as a result of that, I was in 8th grade and I got called down to the office from what used to be Mrs. Enlow’s classroom which was just down the hall, and I’d have to walk ALL THE WAY down the 300 wing, down the next wing, and down the next wing after that to get to the high school office. And all that time I would think, “Man did I do something wrong? What could I have possibly done? Man I know I haven’t misbehaved!” And I’m like thinking did I leave something like a nerf gun in my backpack, but I knew I hadn’t. And so I’d be walking and the thought would cross my mind, “man did something happen? Are my parents ok?” And on the long walk I’d work myself up almost to the point of tears, and I’d turn the corner to the office and I’d look in the window and there’s my dad, and he goes, “Hey bud… do you wanna go to the Cavs game?” And I’d be like, “ARE YOU SERIOUS!? I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAPPENED MAN! THE CAVS AREN’T EVEN THAT GOOD DAD IT’S LIKE 2010!?”

So for me, that very worst thing never became a reality. But some of my very worst things did. I’ve experienced heart break, disappointment, and failure. I’ve experienced loss. And some very worst things are still to come. We all live with these fears, and in the face of the reality that Jesus talks about in John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble.”

TRANSITION: So what do we do in the face of the very worst thing? Well that’s the question I want us to bring to the Text this morning.

What’s the passage?

Read the passage

John 14:18-20 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

Context: The very worst thing.

The night that Jesus was betrayed; the night that He would go to the cross.

What were the disciples afraid of?

First, they had grown to love their teacher, their leader, and their friend. They were terrified of being without Jesus; left alone. Abandoned. And this was a real fear, right? I mean, in the first century, it was bad news to be on the wrong side of a political coup.

Second, they had great messianic expectations. They had a certain idea about how the future was going to look. If Jesus was going to die, then they were terrified about the future.

And so they were asking basically two questions: Will I be alone, and will I be alright?

Aren’t we just the same? (Can you imagine?)

Will I be alone? Will my friends reject me when they find out about..... Will my coach still give me attention if I...... Will my parents stay in my corner when.... Or will I be alone? Man we were never meant to be alone. When God was creating the world He said it was good, and then He created Adam and all of the sudden the first not good thing came into being: Lonliness. God said all I’ve created is good, but “it’s not good for man to be alone.”

Will I be alright? What does my future hold? What’s high school going to be like? Will I go to college? Will he like me/will she like me? What’s it going to be like to grow up? Man the future is this giant cliff of possibility. And maybe not all of it is going to be good. The future is unknown, and sometimes that can be terrifiying.

The disciples were facing their very worst thing. I wonder: What’s your worst thing? What’s the thing that causes you stress and anxiety? What’s the thing that keeps you up at night?

TRANSITION: So what comfort does Jesus give in the face of the unthinkable? What is His response?

Don’t be afraid, I am with you (v. 18)

I will not leave you as orphans.

Yet notice.. “I will leave you.” Jesus doesn’t say “Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine, we’ll work it out, I’m not leaving.” No—He is leaving. He’s going to the cross. The very worst thing is just around the corner. He’s going to die in a gruesome way.

BUT…

“I will not leave you as orphans.” I know that you’re afraid. I know that the thought of my absence is terrifying to you. But...

I will come to you.

I will come to you. Jesus is looking into the feared eyes of His closest friends, having just told them this is it. I’m going to be betrayed, handed over to die, but that won’t be the end. I’m going to the cross. The very worst thing is about to happen. We can’t go over it. We can’t go around it. I’m going through it; and I’m going to come back to you. You won’t be abandoned.

What does He mean? Well let’s keep reading. Verse 19.

Jn 14:19-20 “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

You know this—as believers, who is it who lives in us? The Holy Spirit. The Spirit is who Jesus has been talking about in this whole discourse. He said He’s going to go back to be with the Father, but that the Father is going to send another Advocate, another Helper to be with you forever. (Jn 14:6)

What’s going on here? Without saying it, He’s talking about the doctrine of the Trinity, right? We believe in one God, who exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. See Jesus wasn’t just a messanger that God sent on a mission. In Jesus, God Himself had come to this earth to walk with us, to live with us, to love us, and to die for us.

And similarly, the Holy Spirit isn’t some impersonal force or some second-rate add-on; He’s not a participation prize. In the Holy Spirit, God Himself has come to this earth to walk with us, to live with us, to love us, and to fill us with His kind of life! Those of us who know Christ aren’t “orphaned” Because we have the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, living within us.

The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit; the Holy Spirit ushers to us the presence of Father and Son to indwell us and to share fellowship with us. Hence, as God was at work on the cross in Christ to save us, so now God is at work in the Spirit to transform us. I cannot underscore sufficiently how important this is. God is on our side. He is at work renewing us and loving us. This is the gospel. (NIVAC)

But as good as that is, and as true as that is, and as beautiful as that is, the theological reality of the Trinity wasn’t Jesus’ main point here. Jesus’ main concern wasn’t for His disciples to take really good notes and write down the exact nature of the Trinity.

What’s the point?

“If John 14 has an organizing idea, it may be found in 14:18: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” Throughout the chapter Jesus is assuring his followers that whatever may occur in their experience in the world, they will never be on their own. They will not be left desolate. He will continue to shepherd them and protect them.” (NIVAC)

The main point is that “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”—What does this mean? It means that, for Jesus, when we are face to face with the very worst thing, the very best thing for us to know, is that Jesus has not abandoned us. That He has not forgotten us. That His presence is with us because of the Holy Spirit. That we’re not alone because we have Him.

And you may not see me; you may not touch me; you may not feel me; and you may not understand—but I need to you to know that no matter what happens I am RIGHT HERE.

In the end, the disciples mostly split up to spread the Gospel, and were persecuted and killed for their faith. They gave up EVERYTHING, but they had JESUS, and for them it was so worth it. (Phil 3, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.”)

If Jesus is with us, we will never be alone, and we don’t need to be afraid of the future. He is enough.

See because God turned the very worst thing, His Son on a cross, into the very best thing, the forgiveness of sins, a restored relationship with Him, and love that conquers even the grave. So we can live this life with Christ facing the very worst things in light of the very best thing because of what Jesus has done—forgiven for our failures and sins, walking with God, sharing in His life, and with a hope that goes beyond death.

Big Idea: I can live without fear in the face of the very worst thing because Jesus is with me, and in Him my hope is secure.

Let’s wrap it up.

What do we learn about God: He exists in perfect communion with Himself, and He wants to share that with us. He wants to share His life and joy and peace with us by living within us and having a relationship with us through His Son. And He embraces the very worst thing so that He can give us the very best thing: Life with Him forever.

What do we learn about humankind: In this world we will have trouble.

What do we learn about how we should live: We need to receive Jesus and walk with him, because when we do, we have hope that isn’t defined by the bad things happening around us.

Close your eyes; don’t look around. It’s just you and my voice and God right now.

Have you received the joy and life and hope that Jesus wants to offer you? You can receive it today.

Do you have trouble in your life that’s making you anxious or afraid. God sees it. He knows it. And He hasn’t left you alone in it. Surrender it to Him and ask Him to give you strength and comfort.

But maybe you get it. You believe. You buy it. But you’re struggling to feel like Jesus is really there. Let me invite you today: trust the words of Jesus—the one who made you. The one who knows you. I am right here. I will never leave you or forsake you. I went to that cross, I died on your behalf, I rose again, and I am coming back. Put all your eggs in this basket: Jesus is here and He’s worth it. Trust Him. Rely on Him. Receive Him.

Pray

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CHIASM - John 14:15-21 (have students create a human pyramid and read the verses to emphasize the main idea)

Love and commands (v 15)

The Advocate will come (v 16-17a)

The world won’t; you will (v 17b)

I will not leave you as orphans (v 18)

The world won’t; you will (v 19a)

I will live, and will be in you, ie. by the Spirit (v 19b-20)

Love and commands (v 21a)