Sermon - John 14:1-6

Un-Troubling a Troubled Heart

Subject: Un-troubling a Troubled Heart September 29, 2023 Mother Janice King Funeral

John 14:1-14 NKJV

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

2 In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions; if it were not so, [b]I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

For the time that is ours to share together today I would like to talk from this thought, “Un-troubling a Troubled Heart.”

Introduction:

On the night before his death, the Lord Jesus Christ addressed the eleven remaining disciples in the upper room. Though the cross lay before Him – Jesus’ focus was not on what He would go through. Instead, He was concerned for the disciples, who set before Him troubled in heart.

They were hurting, confused, and anxious as they wrestled with the impending loss of their beloved Master. Time was winding up and they knew that Jesus would soon be gone.

The last few days had been an emotional roller coaster for the disciples. Their messianic hope had reached an apex during the excitement of the triumphal entry into the Holy city of Jerusalem – only to be dashed when Jesus publicly announced His impending death.

Like their fellow Jews, the disciples saw the Messiah as a conquering king. They saw Him as One who would free Israel from bondage, restore Israel’s sovereignty, and extend her glory throughout the entire world.

So committed to this vision of Jesus, were the disciples, that they had forsaken everything, they left their homes, their jobs, and their families to follow Him. So, now to be face to face with the impending death of one whom they loved dearly – it caused their heart to hurt.

Because they didn’t understand why someone who claimed to love them like the Lord loved them would leave them when they needed Him the most. And no doubt Jesus sensing their troubled hearts responds with a simple word of encouragement saying, “Let not your heart be troubled.”

Jesus knowing what they were feeling and knowing the thoughts that weighing heavy on their minds – gives them a word of encouragement that would indeed carry them through this situation and others.

Transition:

With these words, we find Jesus, because of His perfect and complete love for His disciples – seeking to bring comfort in the midst of an uncomfortable situation. Jesus had to die, the disciples had to go through the experience of His death, and as a result they would greave their loss.

But what Jesus wanted for them through this, yes even in their grief, was not a troubled heart but rather a comforted soul.

And herein John chapter 14 we find that the opening verses lay, if you will, the foundation for that comfort. Not only for the disciples gathered in the upper room but also for disciples of all generations as they too would have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Lead In:

Jesus here in these verses un-troubles their troubled heart number 1: by Inviting them to Trust Him. Look again at what He says in verse number 1:

1. Invites us to Trust Him.

14 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”

The Lord here adds a second command. Saying to the disciples just as you believe in God, you are to believe also in Me.

And this is important to take note of because Christ here affirms His deity placing Himself on par with the Father as an appropriate object of their faith. In calling them to faith in God, Jesus was also calling His disciples to put their faith in Him.

HE understood their confusion, He sympathized with their sorrow, and He felt their grief. But in the midst of their human response to His impending death, Jesus encourages His disciples to have faith in Him.

This call from Jesus saying, “believe also in Me” was not a call to saving faith – rather it is a call to on-going trust. It is a call for the disciples to trust Jesus even through the experience of death.

Application:

My brothers and my sisters, these words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ are a call for the disciples of His day and all disciples in our day to trust in the Lord (with all our heart) even while dealing with and living through the trials and tribulations of this life.

It is a call to trust Him in our grief. It is a call to trust Him in our sadness. It is a call to trust Him in our sorrow, and it is a call to trust Him in our pain.

It’s a call to trust Him while tears are flowing and while questions are going unanswered.

Yes, even in the face of death Jesus calls His disciples to trust in Him. Because the Lord wanted them to know – that He did not need to be visibly present for His disciples to receive the comfort and strength that only He could provide.

Celebration:

And I believe that if Mother Janice King were here with us today she would tell us about the strength and the comfort she received daily from the Lord – even while dealing with the reality of her illness.

Transition:

Jesus here in these verses un-troubles their troubled heart number 1: by Inviting them to Trust in Him. But number 2, Jesus un-troubles their troubled heart by He Giving them His Promise.

Look at what he says in verses 2-3:

2. Gives Us His Promise

2 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.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Jesus has been clear that He is going away, Jesus has been clear that night is coming (9:4; 13:30), and that at present He must go alone.

In fact, John recorded in the 13thchapter that the hour had come for Jesus to leave the world and go to the Father. Jesus had come from the Father (1:18), descending from heaven (3:13), and now He would return to the Father - ascend from earth to where He had been before (6:62).

The disciples are troubled that Jesus is leaving, and they are troubled that they cannot go. So, Jesus seeks to allay their concerns not only by telling them to trust Him but also by explaining to them where He is going, what He will do, and how they will soon be with Him where He is.

Jesus says I’m going to My Father house and while there in My Father’s house I’m going to prepare a place for you – so that where I am, there you may be also.

Application:

And I like this because in these words from the master we find a promise.

In these words, we find Jesus giving His disciples a promise – literally saying that their separation from Him would not be permanent. In these verse we find Jesus giving his disciples a promise -letting them know that while He would be gone for a time – they would see Him again.

In these verse Jesus gives His disciple a promise – a promise that the sorrow they feel right now would in the future be replaced by the joy of their reunion.

Jesus gives His disciples a promise – a promise that their grief would not last always, a promise that their tears would not flow forever, and He gives them a promise that their weeping would endure only for a little while.

Because Jesus promised that He would come again!

Celebration:

And family you need to know that when He comes again – “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (1 Thess. 14:16-17 nkjv)

And when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory!

All because the Lord promised that He would come again.

Transition:

Jesus here in these verses un-troubles our troubled heart number 1, by Inviting us to Trust in Him. Jesus here in these versus un-troubles our troubles heart number 2, by giving us His Promise that He will come again.

But lastly Jesus here in these verses Jesus un-troubles our troubled hearts by – Showing us of the Way to get to where He is.

Look at what John writes in verses 4-5:

3. Shows Us The Way

4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

By now they knew that Jesus was going to die but their knowledge stopped at death. They knew that Jesus would no longer be with them, but their understanding stopped at the graveyard.

Because they had no first-hand experience of what lay beyond the grave. They had no experience with what happened after death. They knew only the grave and that it symbolized the ending of ones existence.

Furthermore, Jesus had told them that at this time they could not go where He was going. He simply told them that He was going to prepare a place for them – and then come back so that they could with Him where He was.

But the question remained, if they did not know where the Lord was going, how could they know the way to get there, so that they could be with him again?

That’s why Thomas speaks up and asks the questions that’s on everyone’s mind. Thomas says Lord we don’t know where you’re going. You said that you are going to prepare a place for us so that we can be where you are – but how are we going to get there if we don’t know the way?

How are we going to be able to be with you again – if we don’t know the way? Thomas says how can we know the way – when we don’t know where you are going.

And I like Thomas because he speaks up and asks the question the begs an answer.

And to that question Jesus responds to troubled disciples in John 14 – and He responds to troubled disciples on September 29, 2023 saying, if you want to know the way look unto Me!

Because “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me.”

Application:

Jesus makes it real clear family that He alone is the way to the Father House. Jesus makes clear that in Him alone we can see our way clear through any situation even the experience of death.

Becuase He alone can lead us into God’s presence without fear and without shame.

Celebration:

And I’m so glad that I can say without a shadow of doubt that Mother Janice King knew the Lord! She knew who Jesus was and she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

And on the day that Mother King was called home to glory, while sister Shirley Fitzgerald was in the room – just hours before the Lord would give her His VIP invitation – I had the privilege of praying with Mother King.

And in that prayer, I said Mother King I know that you hear me.

But church family I believe that on that day when she heard my voice – she heard another voice ringing louder than the voice of her pastor. I believe she heard another voice ringing louder than the voices of her family, her friends, and all of her loved ones.

Because I believe she heard the voice of the Jesus. As clear as she had ever heard Him before.

And if she were here to give her testimony I believe she would tell us:

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

Come unto Me and rest;

Lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast.

I believe if Mother Janice King were here she would have a testimony that says:

I came to Jesus just as I was,

So weary, worn, and sad;

I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad!

Close:

So family let the Lord un-trouble your troubled heart today - you believe in God, believe also in Jesus. Because that’s who she believed in.

And because she believed in Him - you don’t have to worry about Mother King anymore – because where she is sickness has no say.

Where she is frustration can’t find her!

Where she is the wickedness can’t worry her!

Where she is she’s enduring no more trials, suffering no more pain, and carrying no more burdens.

And if you want to get to where she is – put your hand in the hand of the Lord just as she did, and you will see her again.

Scripture:

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

14 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions; if it were not so, [b]I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Introduction:

The Gospel of John is preeminently a book written for the purpose of movingn its readers from a place and position of unbelief to one that reflects full, unwavering, and uncompromising belief in our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.

The Gospel of John can be divided in two parts. The first half of Johns writings focus on what Jesus did. in the first section John focuses on seven miracles or signs. Each precisely placed within the chapters of this work to show that Jesus is in fact God in the flesh.

But when we enter into the second half of John’s Gospel we find that the signs are behind Him

Jesus has announced his departure and has begun to explain what the disciples will continue to do in His name once He is gone.

John stated in 13:1 that the hour had come for Jesus to leave the world and go to the Father.

Death:

I. THE FEAR—v. 1

Jesus tells the disciples what they should and should not do> The disciples are not be be troubles but are to trust God.

A. Trouble—“Let not your heart be troubled.” Don’t worry. Don’t become upset. God will take care of you, if you accept Him as your Lord. Put your faith in Him. Cast your care upon Him—1 Peter 5:7.

B. Trust—“You are trusting God, now trust in me.” It is not enough to trust in God—we must trust in Christ. Christ is equal to God. All false religions put Christ below God.

II. THE FAITH—vv. 2–4

A. Place—“In my Father’s house are many mansions.” There will be various rewards given to Christians in heaven—Matthew 16:27. If all were treated the same, God would not be fair.

B. Promise—“If it were not so, I would have told you.” God cannot lie—Titus 1:2. He will keep His promises.

C. Preparation—“I go to prepare a place for you.” Christ has been in heaven almost 2,000 years, preparing a home for us.

Croft M. Pentz, Expository Outlines on the Gospel of John, Dollar Sermon Library Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1974), 41.