Community: A New Address

This week’s text really spoke to me this week. In today’s text we find Jesus talking to the Disciples in the upper room at the last supper, trying to comfort them as they wrestle with the news that he is leaving them and they can’t go with him. This news is sure to be overwhelming.

You know what’s it’s like to be overwhelmed? Scripture calls it being heavy hearted… we call it worrying or anxiety. It’s been something I’ve been dealing with the last couple of months. What me - Worry?

You see, I’ve been having a hard time sleeping lately. I’m not sure if it is because of my trip to Sierra Leone, my kids growing up, our taxes, or what; but it seems pretty regular that I wake up around 3-4 am and can’t get back to sleep. I lay in bed tossing and turning, all sorts of things racing through my head.

Another one that we have all probably experienced is

Often times I’ll get up, get a glass of water, go to the bathroom, and try to go back to sleep… nothing. I’ll stare at my phone, thinking I should watch Netflix… that usually helps me fall asleep when I’m in my recliner. I don’t, but I just think about it. Time seems to just drag on by. Rolling around trying to get comfortable, but my mind won’t put down what I want it to leave behind. I think about writing it down, that has worked in the past, but I don’t have paper. I just think about it some more instead.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, I’m sure you have, but the sense of being overwhelmed makes it hard to think about anything but being overwhelmed. It doesn’t matter what caused it either. It can be a test you have tomorrow, it can be an appointment, trouble you had with a person yesterday - wishing you had handled it better, financial obligations that are days - or even a month - away from being due; any one of these can become an overwhelming trouble to our heart.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, I’m sure you have, but the sense of being overwhelmed makes it hard to think about anything but being overwhelmed. It doesn’t matter what caused it either. It can be a test you have tomorrow, it can be an appointment, trouble from yesterday, financial obligations that are a month away from being due - it can even be a mistake you made - any one of these can become overwhelmingly troublesome to our heart.

Jesus starts this chapter addressing this very thing.

John 14:1 NIV

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

Jesus makes it sound like we have a choice… like worry is optional.

As the disciples are overwhelmed as they deal with the news that Jesus is leaving them.

IF worry is a choice, I think it’s wise to consider where worries come from

I remember when our kids were young, they didn’t get that afraid of monsters or such, but when they did, I would always walk with them into the closet so they could see that nothing was there

This looking back can create worries and anxieties for us as well as we think about the hurts from yesterday.

Because when you don’t understand what’s going on, when you are overwhelmed, falling back on what we know is true is the way to peace.

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Hurts from yesterday

Text we usually read at funerals… but it’s about living, not dying

Remember what’s happening here.

Upper room… servant… betrayed… Judas departs… Jesus is leaving… Can’t go with him

He has given them a new command to love one another as he loved them… but they miss it… instead consumed by the fact that Jesus is leaving

They are overwhelmed by not understanding what is about to happen.

Hurts from yesterday

For the disciples one thing that has them heavy hearted is they are thinking of all they have given up.

Lamentations 3:19 NIV

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.

Thinking they don’t have anything to go back to.

Or Peter thinking of Jesus’s rebuke of him

Lost job, friend hurt me, God let me down, Bad fin decision, miss opp.

- all they’ve left behind - jobs, families, businesses, homes

Lamentations 3:19–20 The Message

I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed. I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom.

let me down

This looking back can create worries and anxieties for us as well as we think about the hurts from yesterday.

Lost job,

friend hurt me,

, Bad fin decision, miss opp.

God let me down,

Bad financial decision,

missed opportunity.

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Troubles of today

Jesus says he’s leaving - Thomas wanting directions

John 13:5 NIV

After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

John 14:5 NLT

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

We can easily find ourselves overwhelmed with our situation.

Didn’t think life turn out this way, Stuck marriage, job, financially.

I am the way, the truth, and the life

We want directions, just like Thomas, but Jesus says I’m your direction… I am the way.

I am the truth, about who God is, and in him we discover who we really are. Knowing the truth, we don’t need to worry about all the what if’s.

Jesus says I am the way, the truth, and the life.

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10

Hurts from the past, today’s troubles… as well as

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Anxiety over tomorrow

can prove to be overwhelming....

That’s why Philip wanting assurances

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John 14:8 NIV

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Because he isn’t sure he can live into tomorrow. You see the disciples are worried that they are going to be wanted men. If Jesus leaves them, or is killed, they are next.

For the disciples they are worried that they are going to be wanted men. If Jesus leaves them, or is killed, they are next.

They want some assurance that everything is going to be ok

Fear of losing job, Afraid I can’t get it all done, Debt growing

aid I can’t get it all done, Debt growing

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We worry for all sorts of reasons; but I believe there is a better reason not to worry.

You see, peace comes as a result of trusting. And when we fail to trust, we fail to have peace. That’s why Jesus warns his people again and again, not to worry. It’s never described explicitly as a sin, but worry is certainly far short of God’s plan for our lives, in fact, His plan is for us to trust him.

Puppy scared…master’s presence brings peace

I remember when our kids were young, they didn’t get that afraid of monsters or such, but when they did, I would always walk with them into the closet so they could see that nothing was there

Because when you don’t understand what’s going on when you are overwhelmed, but Jesus wants his disciples… and us to be at peace.

Remember what’s happening here.

Upper room… servant… betrayed… Judas departs… Jesus is leaving… Can’t go with him

He has given them a new command to love one another as he loved them… but they miss it… instead consumed by the fact that Jesus is leaving

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They are overwhelmed by not understanding what is about to happen.

So how do we build the kind of trust that drives out worry?

We worry for all sorts of good reasons, but

The disciples are worried, overwhelmed, and Jesus answers their fears with a promise:

John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

First:

First he says

Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.

Who is he talking to? remember these are his disciples. Today, if you are a Chrsitian,

The disciples are worried, overwhelmed, and Jesus answers their fears with a proclamation:

John 14:6 NIV

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6 NIV

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Y’all are afraid of my leaving… you want to be with me… I am the way to be with me. Believe in me

I am the way

We don’t need directions… in stead we just need to know him. He is our direction.

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

“I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.” John 10:9

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

I am the truth

1 John 5:20 NIV

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

1 John 5:20 NIV

“...the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

The truth about who Jesus is and I am...

The truth leads to hope

I am the life

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Football injury… burdened for years… then one day starting a generator tore through the scar tissue… it hurt in the moment but I became a new person

1985 Football injury… burdened for years 25… I didn’t know what was wrong, but I knew something was wrong. Then one day in 2010 then one day starting a generator tore through the scar tissue… it hurt in the moment but I became a new person

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You don’t have to live a worried life… Jesus says Don’t let your hearts be troubled… you don’t have to live overwhelmed. Jesus says you don’t have to worry… you might worry, but you don’t have to. There is a better way.

Just like that scar tissue broke all at once, the same thing happens when we come to faith in Christ, the old pattern of life, shaped by past experiences, is broken all at once.

In a moment we are given an experience that changes everything.

Remember what’s happening here.

Upper room… servant… betrayed… Judas departs… Jesus is leaving… Can’t go with him

To not let you hearts be troubled, we can first:

He has given them a new command to love one another as he loved them… but they miss it… instead consumed by the fact that Jesus is leaving

They are overwhelmed by not understanding what is about to happen.

Remember God’s faithfulness - John 14:9-11

Jesus replies to Philip’s concern:

vs 9

The New International Version Chapter 14

“Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

New Living Translation Chapter 14

Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!

John 14:9–11 NIV

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

John 14:

Christ saved you - Answered your prayer - Provided for you - Read a verse - Heard a song - Message just for you

Answered your prayer

Provided for you

Read a verse

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Heard a song

Message just for you

Call out to God today -

John 14:12 The Message

The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it.

vs12

The New International Version Chapter 14

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

John 14:14 The Message

Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.

John 14:14 ESV

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 14:13 The Message

From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it.

Jesus is waiting for them.... for us to call out to him.

John 14:12–14 The Message

The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.

Jesus is waiting for them.... for us to call out to him.

Depths of your soul.

soul.

God can handle it.

Cast your cares on him!

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Trust his promises for tomorrow -

vs16

The New International Version Chapter 14

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth.

You aren’t going to be alone!

The bible is full of God’s promises.

John 14:16–21 NIV

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 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. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Trusting God with our past, our present, and our future builds our faith; and it is this faith that gives us peace. This peace that comes through faith is different than than the peace we get else where.

I remember when our kids were young, they didn’t get that afraid of monsters or such, but when they did, I would always walk with them into the closet so they could see that nothing was there

John 14:16

This is the world’s idea of peace.... an absence of the thing that causes us fear or worry. But peace that comes from faith is different.

Jesus tells his disciples this very thing.

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John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

IRRATIONAL FEARS

Rumors

Technology

Today we are going to explore that while there may be reasons to be overwhelmed, there are better reasons not to be.

When you don’t understand what’s happening, lean into what you do understand.

Move out of being overwhelmed and move into a deeper assurance of God working in my life.

GOD

Remember what’s happening here.

Upper room… servant… betrayed… Judas departs… Jesus is leaving… Can’t go with him

He has given them a new command to love one another as he loved them… but they miss it… instead consumed by the fact that Jesus is leaving

They are overwhelmed by not understanding what is about to happen.

While I’m leaving, I will be back

Holy Spirit will be in us

Luke 12:32 NIV

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

YOU

Belief leads to faith

Faith leads to trust

Trust leads to obedience

John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

What’s unique about His peace

His peace

First Jesus has Peace with God - right relationship… peace we get as Christians - while we were enemies of God because of our sin - through faith in Christ, we know our past is forgiven and out future is secure.

Peace with God - right relationship…

Jesus also possesses Peace from God - divine peace… transcends our situation…Jesus knew what was about to happen, yet here he is comforting others… that is divine peace… it doesn’t depend on situations

Give you - not offer you - not earned, but given

This is a peace that is given, to all who believe.

… ALL

so do not let your hearts be troubled.... it’s some thing we can control… do not be afraid