Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Good morning church!

What an awesome morning we have had together and I am thrilled to be with you this morning!

If you have your bibles go ahed and open up to and we will start in verse 14 in a moment.

but Ilet’s start with a story this morning.

A few years agao I decided it was time to be an outdoors person.

It was in part due to a few things.

One a live in Alabama, 2 I have a beard and trhee chick fila

Elizabeth was working at Freshmarket and I went through Chick filas drive through one afternoon with my girls.

In there kids meal was an outdoor travel guide and binnoclurs.

so I thought it’s time....I got the beard, I leave in the state I might as well take this as a sign it’s time to start hinkg.

So that’s what we did.

We went to hayes nature perserve and took a hike.

It was aweseom.

So awesome that for my daugthers 6th Birthday we decided to hike blevings gap trail.

Also amazing.

I always wanted to get one of those awesome instagram pics of both sides of HSV.

Things were going good and it was fall break....so we decided to take our next step.

We had heard the walls of Jericho trail was awesome and I thought let’s go for it.

So we did.

about an hour into the hike I realized it was pretty easy....but then I realized it....we had been walking downhill the whoel time.

and that hill that we had just walked down we were going to have to walk back up.

That was a little horryifing.

then a little while later when it felt like we had been hinking forever we meet up with someone.

I asked how much futher and they said maybe we had made it half way.

The sun was setting and I had one thought.

I JUST WANT TO GO HOME> My kids thought the same thing and so did my wife.

We turned around, no water, no food, sun setting and one goal.....get back in the care and go home.

It was rough.

But spoiler alert since I am standing on this stage todauy we made it.

and I think that’s something we can all relate to this morning.

Whether it’s a hike, a long plane flight, even an awesome vacation there is a moment when we long for home.

and in a more spirtual way there is that longing within each one us.

We realize this is not our home and we long for heaven.

the bible says the Lord has put eternity in our hearts.

and this morning when we look at john 14 we see Jesus telling us how to get home, how to make it to heaven.

this discourse Jesus has with his disciples is during the last 48 hours of Jesus’ life so we need to understand the uregecny with which he speaks these words.

Let’s read

Pray

In verse one Jesus says words to us that might seem strange without understanding the context of what’s going on.

Jesus says let not your hearts be troubled.

Literallly let not your hearts shudder.

This is because what had just happened.

In chapter 13 Jesus is sharing the passover meal with his disciples and then reveals one of them will betray him.

sure enough Judas is pointed out to be the one, leaves and Jesus tells him whatever you are about to do, do it quickly.

and this rocks the disciples world.

I mean we know the end of the story so we don’t fell the suprise, shock and pain that the disicples would have felt in that moment so we fail to pause and feel the wieghtness of this moment.

It would be like this....you’ve been in a d-group with a group of men or women for 3 years.

You’ve seen god do amazing things in each others lives.

You’ve had an awesome d group leader....and then the d group leader looks at you during breakfest at little rosies and says someones going to betray them.

I love that John includes in chapter 13....they are like who is it?

The worry and anxiety starts.

and then your d group leader says whover I give this chip to and dips it in the sals that’s the one.

THEN IT HAPPENS>

That would rock you.

so they are troubled.

because of this broken relationship.

and they do what’s natural they start to try and understannd what’s happening.

Jesus in the midst of this tells them that they are going to have to love each other, and by there love people would know that they are his disciples.

Peter in classic peter fashion isn’t even listening to what Jesus is saying.

He is just ready to respond.

Look at this with me

John13:36-

What’s happening.

YOu are the one.

We’ve have bet our lives on you.

We left our jobs, our famlies, our lives, so wherever you go we are all in man.

Jesus gently rebukes him and says were I am going you can’t come.

IN otherwords.

I am going to do what only I can do.

Peter then says Lord....I will lay down my life for you!

In other words, peter is saying listen I know Judas betrayed you but I will fix all this....I will die for you.

Peter was trying to be the saviour in the situaiton....what he failed to realize that even with all his determantion he could not save anyone.

Jesus looks back at peter and says

John 13:

He is basically saying peter you can’t do it.

You can’t lay down your life for me or for anyone, I am the one whose going to have to die.

And by the way you are going to deny me.

When Jesus says let’s not your hearts be trouble this is what he’s responding to.

He is respoding to a group of men who are deeply hurt by what’s happening and a group of men who are unsure what to do next.

but Jesus clearifies he says the reason you don’t have to be troubled is because you belive in God, and Believe in me

In fact this is in the presnet text Jesus is saying.

You have believed in God this long......Keep on beliving keep on pressing in.

I am in complete control.

I know what I am doing.

He is saying if you will keep in mind who God is and what he can do your heart would not be as troubled as it is.

He continues to build there confidence in him by saying in his fathers house there are many rooms, if there were not would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

He is saying that what I am doing.

Going to the cross, bearing the full wrath of God, dying for your sin....I am doing that so that you will have a way to make it home.

So that you can have access to the father and that you will be able to enter into heaven when you die for enternity.

and then there is this guarntee Jesus says if I do this, If I go to the cross, If I go to prepare a place for you then then, I am coming back and I myself will take you.

He is basically saying, I know you’ve risked everything for me, I know you did that because you thought I was going to take down room and restablish the earthly kingdom, but I am doing something greater here.

and that belief would gaurd their hearts agaisnt any trouble that would come their way

Jesus is speaking right to their hearts in this moment.

Lewis called this incosolable longing.

He writes:

There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven, but more often I find myself wondering whether in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else.…

It is the secret signature of each soul, the incommunicable and unappeasable want, the thing we desired before we met our wives or made our friends or chose our work, and which we shall still desire on our deathbeds when the mind no longer knows wife or friend or work.1

By going to the cross Jesus is dealing with this and preparing wonderful homes for all who would follow him.

This alone should bring comfort.....but a lot of times we can relate to Thomas....