Troubled Hearts and The Way, The Truth, And the Life
Notes
Transcript
Preliminary:
Preliminary:
Invite to John 14:6.
Thanks for everything
Read: John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The Bible records many farewell addresses. Moses gave the longest address (thirty-three chapters in Deuteronomy), and Paul’s is one of the shortest (Acts 20:13–35). But of all the farewells given anywhere, surely our Lord’s discourse in the upper room is the deepest (John 13–16). You may read and ponder it again and again and always learn something new.
Jesus gave this discourse to prepare His disciples for His departure, because it would be their privilege and responsibility to carry on His work after He returned to heaven. First, Jesus taught them (John 13–16); next, He prayed for them (John 17); and then, He went out and died for them—and for us.
Previous to the statement we read above Jesus told the disciples:
John 14:1 “1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
He will end the teaching of John 14 with the same admonition
John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Jesus talked about the troubled heart two times in this talk.
It gives an indication of the atmosphere in the upper room - it was serious and sober. I doubt the disciples fully understood all that was transpiring that night, but they knew enough to be concerned; and they were troubled for several reasons:
They were troubled and grieved because their Master was going to leave them and they didn’t feel they could cope.
Jesus had announced there was a traitor in their midst and they wondered who he was. No doubt even more shock and turmoil rippled through the ranks when they learned that Peter would deny Jesus three times! Peter was seen as a leader - if a bold and important man like peter would fail the Lord what would the others do?
We have the same sources of trouble and sorrow in our lives today
We may feel deserted by the Lord
We may have a friend or associate or even fellow believer betray us...
or someone we had great confidence or respect and admire has fallen and failed.
Or perhaps we have even failed the Lord
Oh they were troubled, but Jesus speaks to this troubling.
Our Lord assured the hearts of His disciples by speaking to them about the Father.
Jesus had told them that He had come to glorify the Father (John 8:49), and that night He told them that the Holy Spirit would glorify the Son as they served Him (John 16:14).
Children know that father and mother are there to encourage and assist them, and they call for their parents whenever trouble arises. In a similar way, our heavenly Father cares for us.
When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, the Lord replied, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9).
This helps us better understand the familiar statement in John 14:6
Jesus is the way and takes believers to the Father’s house.
Jesus is the truth and reveals the Father’s heart.
Jesus is the life and brings the Father to us so we can have His help.
We begin the pilgrimage to the Father’s house by trusting Jesus because He is the way.
We continue on our journey by learning more truth about Jesus and the Father (2 Pet. 3:18).
We enjoy both the way and the truth because we share the life of Jesus and obey His will.
“Anyone who loves me,” said Jesus, “will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23).
British preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “Little faith will bring your soul to heaven; great faith will bring heaven to your soul.”
He Walks with Me: Enjoying the Abiding Presence of God (Repentant Hearts)
Jesus is the way to the Father’s house and the truth about the Father’s heart; but He is also the one who brings us the Father’s help as we abide in Him and share His life.
It is always fun and exciting to go to some new place - or even somewhere you have been before but you friends or family there
Campmeeting is one of those places for me - but when camp is over there is this sense of quiet joy - knowing we are going home
There might be rain, or storms, or hours, or road construction or some other delay - but that didn’t matter we were going home.
James M. Gray a former president of Moody Bible Institute, wrote a song about this that says, “Who can mind the journey when the road leads home?”
Heaven was real to Jesus, and John emphasizes this fact in his gospel. The Father sent Jesus from heaven, a statement made thirty-eight times in John’s gospel. Seven times in John 6, Jesus said that He “came down from heaven.” To Him, heaven was a real place and not a state of mind, as some people want us to believe. He called heaven “my Father’s house” (14:2; see also Ps. 23:6), which means it is a loving home for the family of God.
Oh yes heaven helps us know that out there somewhere our troubles will be over - we will be home
but even now the thought of heaven brings a sense of peace - I don’t understand it, I don’t know how it’s going to be for sure,
But I know that I need not live with a troubled heart when Jesus has prepared a place for me
That He is taking me to the Father.
The calm of pilots during turbulence offers a powerful metaphor for the faith that refuses to stay in a troubled heart condition.
Pilots are trained to trust their instruments even when their surroundings are disorienting or chaotic. In severe weather, they can't rely on what they see or feel. Instead, they must rely on their training and the instruments that guide them safely through storms.
This is much like our faith in Jesus—when life feels out of control, we can trust in Him to guide us, even when we can’t see a clear path. Believing in Him, even when everything around us is turbulent, is the antidote to our fear and uncertainty.
When the turbulence turns worse and the aircraft fails spiritually speaking we don’t just give up and throw in the towel - we keep the faith in THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE
One remarkable story that illustrates this concept is that of **William Rankin**, a U.S. Marine pilot who survived an extraordinary ordeal in 1959.
Rankin was flying at 47,000 feet in his F-8 Crusader fighter jet when the engine failed.
The F-8 Crusader is a supersonic jet fighter that was one of the first to break the sound barrier. This aircraft was known for its speed and power, and Rankin was piloting it at around 47,000 feet when suddenly, the engine failed. Forced to eject, he found himself in an unprecedented situation—free-falling into a massive thunderstorm.
Rankin's experience was terrifying—trapped inside the storm cloud, he was tossed around by powerful winds, pummeled by hail, and experienced violent temperature changes as he plummeted from such a high altitude.
What should have been a brief descent lasted an astonishing **40 minutes** as the storm’s updrafts continually pushed him back up.
Rankin described the surreal and chaotic experience as being thrown about "like a leaf in a hurricane."
One of the most harrowing details of Rankin’s ordeal was that, at 30,000 feet, he nearly drowned in mid-air. he nearly drowned because of the heavy water saturation in the cloud. Each breath brought more water into his lungs, making it incredibly difficult to breathe,
Yet, despite being in the middle of one of the most powerful forces of nature, Rankin survived. His training and survival instincts kept him calm enough to endure, even though nothing about his situation was within his control.
Just as Rankin had to endure the unpredictable forces around him, our faith in Jesus THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE helps us hold on through life’s most tumultuous storms.
Rankin's story is a vivid picture of how turbulent life can become. At times, like Rankin being thrown up and down by the storm, we may feel battered by circumstances outside our control—emotional, physical, or spiritual storms that seem overwhelming.
But just as a pilot trusts their instruments and as Rankin relied on his training, and his parachute we can trust Jesus to guide us safely, even when we can't see the way out.
His promises in Scripture are like the instruments we rely on—though our senses might fail us, faith in His guidance brings peace amid the chaos.
Lord help us not to have troubled hearts but to believe in you and THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE
