Don't Be Troubled

John 14:1-14

Introduction

There is a crisis in the American church that’s having a detrimental effect on believers and unbelievers everywhere. America’s churches are filled to the brim with joyless and burdened Christians. Despite every instruction in the Bible to be joyful people, we live every day out of a surplus of despair, and everyone around us can see it.

William Barclay, a Scottish preacher and New Testament scholar, had this to say about Christian joy:

A gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms, and nothing in all religious history has done Christianity more harm than its connection with black clothes and long faces. —William Barclay, The Gospel of John, Vol. 2

William Barclay (New Testament Scholar)

If the world looks at the church and sees people who are dissatisfied, discouraged, and defeated, what’s going to make them want to follow the same God that you and I claim to serve?

This crisis is one that needs to be recognized and addressed, not only for the efficacy of our witness, but also for the spiritual health of our own souls.

In order to address this problem, we have to ask why Christians are so unhappy. Based on your life experiences, you may not have much trouble coming up with an answer to that question.

Christians face widespread sickness and pain. Suffering in this flesh is very real.

Every day, Christians listen to how bad the world is getting. Natural disasters, criminal activity, wars and rumors of wars flash before us at all times.

Christians deal with unkind and sometimes evil people.

Christians face financial hardships like everyone else.

It seems like the reasons for distress are abundant, and sometimes you may be tempted to believe that these concerns are more prevalent than they’ve ever been. However, if you study church history, you’ll find that we’ve got it better today than probably any Christian community of the past. I could tell you story after story of historic believers who went through some terrible things and did it with Christian joy.

I believe the answer to our question isn’t found in the external problems Christians face, but in the internal workings of our hearts and minds.

In our text, we find a group of disciples who are discouraged and in despair. Their master has just informed them that one of them is a traitor, and soon, He’s going to be killed. Not only that, but Peter has been told personally that he’s going to deny his master three times. In fact, in Matthew 26:31, Jesus told all of the disciples that they would betray Him.

Matthew 26:31 KJV 1900

Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

At that moment, they had plenty of legitimate reasons to be troubled, and I’m sure their faces were saying what their hearts were feeling. But notice Jesus’ response to His troubled disciples in verse 1: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

Jesus doesn’t rebuke them for their distress. He doesn’t try to write it off as unimportant, because later that night, He, Himself, would become so burdened that He would sweat drops of blood. Rather, He gives them promises that can give them comfort in the middle of their trouble. All of these promises are based on the reality of who He is and what He’s about to do for them, which is why He says, “ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

When your heart is distressed, the answer is not to get over it, or just fake it until you make it; the answer is to believe on Jesus Christ and to rest in the promises that He’s given to us.

I want to present you with four promises that Jesus makes to His troubled disciples in this passage. I’m confident that if you will believe these promises and meditate on them daily, you can face any trouble with comfort and assurance.

Jesus has prepared a place with the Father

The first promise Jesus makes is that He has prepared a place with the Father. Look at verses 2-3.

The very first promise that Jesus makes to His disciples is that they have a home beyond this world that is waiting for them. There are a lot of things in this world that bring people trouble, but the one that causes the most distress is the reality of death.

Death is the end of life on this earth. It is a moment where the years of one’s existence ceases, and whatever they said, did, or had is left behind. For those who don’t know God or don’t believe in Him, this is troubling because they have no confidence in what is waiting for them on the other side. If there is no God, then what happens? Does a person simply cease to exist? Is there a place of peace, or a disturbing place? If there is a God, they are either afraid to meet Him or they are unhappy about meeting Him.

But as believers, death isn’t the end, and it isn’t something we should dread as unbelievers. Jesus tells us that beyond this life, there is a dwelling place where His Father lives, and a place where He has existed eternally with the Father. It’s the place He came from, and it’s the place to which He returned. It’s a place where His glory shines unrestrained by the wickedness of this world, and everything is perfect, just as He intended it to be.

This place, as Jesus explains here, is a place with plenty of space for those who believe on Jesus Christ. The King James renders it as “mansions”, but the original Greek literally translates as “dwelling places”. The idea is that in the Father’s house, there is room for more than just the trinity, and for those who are in Christ, they have a dwelling place reserved.

Not only does Jesus guarantee the existence of a reserved space, but He also says that, at the right time, He’s going to come again and receive all those who have believed on Him so that we can be where He is. A day is quickly approaching when you and I will look into the face of the one who shed His blood for us.

Now, why do we find comfort in this first promise? Because it lets us know that our suffering in this world is temporary. Any trouble you face, as real as it may be, is only going to last for a fleeting moment, and eventually it’s going to give way to an exceeding weight of glory when you are received by the one who saved you.

It reminds us that this world, with all of its brokenness and sorrow, is a wilderness that we are passing through, but it’s not our final home, and the destination we’re moving towards is infinitely more glorious than what we find in this world.

It also means that, one day, we’re going to live in a place where our mistakes are in the distant past, and we’ll not be capable of making any more mistakes. At the moment Jesus said this, His disciples were burdened by a reality of failure. They were promised that their master would die and all of them would forsake Him, but His promise of a place with the Father is a comfort because it means that Christ is going to forgive their failure, and one day, their failure will be cast as far as the east is from the west.

Christian, on your hardest day, lift your head and look to the reality that God has prepared a place for you where you will exist eternally with Him, free from the trouble of this world and full of the glory that radiates from His presence.

Jesus has provided a path to the Father

Secondly, Jesus promises them a clear path to the Father. Notice the exchange that takes place in verses 4-6. He tells them that they should not only know where He was talking about, but also how they are supposed to get there.

Thomas, who struggled with doubt (as many of us do), looked at Jesus and said, “Hey, we don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way to get there.” Jesus’ answer was clear: The way to reach this destination is through Jesus Christ alone. He is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life. This is one of Jesus’ most quoted phrases.

What does He mean by this? He means that, if someone is going to arrive at that perfect destination I just finished telling you about, it’s going to be through Him. You know, if God made this incredible place where we can live in His presence, free from this broken world, but He didn’t give us a way to reach it, then this would be another burden rather than a blessing. But God, in His grace and mercy, sent His perfect Son to make a way for us to reach that destination. Jesus, by giving Himself, made it possible for unworthy sinners to arrive in a perfect place and actually belong.

He also says that He is the truth. What does that mean? He’s saying that everything He’s just told them can be trusted, because His very nature is truth. There are societies all over the world that have painted their pictures of the afterlife. Many of them look similar, but none of them are identical, and certainly most of them are untrue. What makes the Christian’s heaven different is that it has been described to us by the One who has lived there and who waits for us at this moment. He has seen it, and He can give an accurate description of what is on the other side. We can believe His testimony.

But He’s also the life. This simply reminds us that, in Christ, we have the promise of spiritual life that we can’t find anywhere else. That life begins the moment we are born again, and it is active all throughout our earthly existence. But once we end our life in this world, with all of its distress, we continue our life in a place that is free from all corruption and totally imperishable.

It’s very important to notice that with all three of these nouns, Jesus uses a definite article. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. God could have chosen any number of ways to allow people to get to Him, but He chose one way, and that is through Jesus Christ.

But thank God that He made a way, and thank God that He made such a glorious and perfect way as His Son. This is a promise that should give you comfort, because it means God cared enough about you to provide you a way to Him, and He was willing to pay a great price to get you there. Jesus Christ testifies to the great love that God has for you and the certainty you can find in Him.

Jesus has presented a picture of the Father

But, there is a third promise. This same Jesus has presented us with a perfect picture of the Father. Look at verses 7-11.

We’ve not only been told that there is a place with the Father, and that there is a way to get to Him, but we also have a wonderful picture of what He is like. There’s a show that comes on TV, and I can’t stand it, but it’s going to make a great illustration for this point. The show is called “Married At First Sight”. This show follows a few couples who decide to get married without ever meeting each other. They get dressed up, go to a church, and get married to someone they’ve never met in their life. This person has been picked for them by “love experts” who feel like they will be a good match, and the whole show is an experiment to see if the “love experts” get it right.

Almost every couple fails. In all the years that the show has been running, there have only been a few couples who have actually stuck it out. Why is that? Because marriage is a commitment that you make to spend the rest of your life with somebody, cherishing them and caring for them. It’s kind of hard to make that commitment to somebody when you have no idea who they are.

Now, I want you to imagine that you believe the Gospel, and you’re told that you’re going to spend the rest of your eternal existence with this God who created you and purchased you with the death of His Son, but you don’t know anything about Him. Is He going to be kind and loving, or is He going to force you into servitude for the rest of eternity? Is He going to treat you like a beloved bride, or like a peasant who doesn’t deserve to be there?

Jesus answers all these questions. His curious disciples said, “Master, show us the Father, and we will be happy.” He looked at them with love and said, “You’ve been looking at Him for the last three years.” Jesus perfectly represented the character of God the Father, and that’s good news for us. Jesus was strong and courageous, but He was also loving and gentle. He welcomed children and blessed them with prayer. He fed the hungry and healed the sick. He spoke with wisdom and always made wise decisions.

Do you know that even atheists scholars admit that Jesus was a good man. They can’t look at anything in His life and condemn Him for it. They don’t believe that He is divine, but they do believe that He was a kind man with good intentions. Every trait that Jesus displayed was wonderful, and we have the blessed promise that we will spend our eternal lives with Jesus Himself and with the One who sent Him. That’s why Jesus said that if they didn’t want to believe His testimony, they should believe the works He did.

Don’t take for granted that you have a loving and gracious God. Many religions have mean, selfish gods who mistreat people and treat them unfairly, but that’s not our God, and that reality should give us comfort.

In the troubles you’re facing, you can take heart that you have a God who cares. The same Jesus who healed the sick and cast out demons is the same one who said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”

Jesus has purchased the power of the Father

Lastly, we have the promise that Jesus has purchased the power of the Father for us to share. Look at verses 12-14.

It’s wonderful to know that we have a glorious destination waiting for us. It’s also good to know that we have a clear way to get there, and the One we are going to meet is wonderful, but until then, we have to keep living in the world. We have to live in a place that is overflowing with pain and sorrow. If you’re not personally burdened this morning, and I believe most of us are carrying something, then we know someone who is. What hope can we have while we continue to live here?

Jesus said that, as His brothers and sisters in the faith, we have the opportunity to do the same works that He did. Since He has left us here in His place, we’ve been given power to continue His ministry of love and mercy. Not only does He say that we will do the same works, but we will do greater works than these, because He’s going to the Father.

There is great power available to us to do the work of Jesus Christ. If there is a work to be done for Christ, He has the power to accomplish it. Is there a burden that you have to carry? God has granted you the power through the work of Jesus Christ.

Is there a mission for you to accomplish? God has given you all the strength and ability to finish that work. Is there a temptation to overcome, or a battle to win, or a soul to rescue? God has given you the resources to see that come to pass.

Far too many Christians are living defeated lives because we’ve not embraced the reality that we are serving a limitless God and He has given us the promise that we can do what we are called to do through Christ. If there is a desire that God has planted in your heart to do something for Him, He has also given you the power to accomplish it.

And how do we gain this strength? By asking the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. Have you ever wondered why we pray “in Jesus name”? Because in ourselves, we are unworthy to approach God and ask Him for anything, but through Jesus Christ, we have been granted all the treasures of heaven, and all we have to do is approach God and ask Him. We’re losing battles because we’re not going to the Father and asking in the name of the Son. We’re not asking for the resources that have been promised to us, and we’re operating out of the deficiency of our own weakness instead of through the promise of an infinitely powerful God.

I really mean that you can cash in on this today, but there is one phrase in here that puts this in perspective: “that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” The key to having this power, receiving this power, and using this power, is that it’s intended for the glory of God. The first problem we face is that we don’t realize what is available for us, but the second problem is that, when we realize the power that’s there, we’re wanting to use it for our glory instead of God’s.

The promise that Jesus is making is that if we have a desire to accomplish something, and the motivation for that thing is the glory of God, then He will give us the power of Christ unrestrained, and God will glorify His name through us. But if we are seeking our own glory, pleasure, or benefit, then God is not obligated to provide it.

The key to having God’s power is centering our hearts on the glory of God and pursuing that relentlessly above all else. If God’s glory is our passion, then we have access to a supply of power that nothing in this world can overcome.

Conclusion

So Christian, you’ve been given four promises this morning, and in this conclusion, I want to restate Jesus’ invitation: “Let not your heart be troubled”. Stop focusing on the trouble and start looking at all the things God has promised to you through Jesus Christ. You have far more to be thankful for than you’ll ever find to complain about, but it’s a matter of focus and a matter of desire.

But if you’re here and you don’t know Christ—you can’t say with confidence that you are born again—these are the blessings you’re missing out on, but you have the opportunity to receive them and enjoy them like countless others. You can know these blessings by recognizing your sin, turning from it, and trusting in the grace of Jesus Christ. He paid the full price for your sin so you don’t have to, and in exchange for your brokenness, He wants to give you His glory. It’s available for you today, and I pray that you’ll receive it.