Stability in the Storms
O.B.C.
7/21/02
"Stability in the Storms"
Jn. 14:1-6
Statistically it is verifiable now: If your aim is to be safe in life:
·Do NOT ride in automobiles: they cause 20% of all fatal accidents.
·Do NOT stay home: 17% of all accidents do occur in the home.
·Do NOT walk on the streets or sidewalks: 14% of all accidents happen to
pedestrians.
·Do NOT travel by air, rail, or water: 16% of all accidents happen on these.
·Only .001% (one - one thousandths) of all deaths occur in worship services in church, and these are related to previous physical disorders.
Hence, the safest place for you to be at any time is in church.
How big is fear?
ill. Esther Pauline Lederer, known to her 90,000,000 daily readers as “Ann Landers” died last month at age 83. She called herself the “General manager of the World”. As the queen of the advice business, she received on average 10,000 letters per month. The pattern of those letters reveals that people are afraid: -fear losing health -fear losing wealth -fear dying -fear living. For most people fear is a constant companion.
(Review) The 13th chapter of John has two main characters other than the Lord Himself--Judas and Peter
Judas betrayed Christ, Peter denied Him!
At first glance those acts look to be very similar. And yet Judas' name is connected with shame. Peter's is a name we have come to love and identify with.
Why the difference?
Judas-Judas' betrayal was absolutely deliberate; carried out in cold blood; it was the result of careful thought and planning-in the end, he betrayed Christ by two horrendous acts: sharing of the sop (symbol of commitment) and a kiss (token of friendship).
Peter-Nothing was less deliberate than the denial of Peter;
-he never meant to do it -he didn't plan it -he was swept away by powerful spiritual forces that he did not adequately understand or know how to deal with.
"Peter's sin was the sin of a moment's weakness and a lifetime's regret."
It was done out of fear. When we are afraid, we don’t make wise decisions.
We find a group of men, followers of Jesus, in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Life was falling in on them. Dreams were crumbling around their feet. This was happening precisely because they were following Jesus. Similar experiences often happen to Christians today.
-spell out your emotions-anxiety, fear, depression, faith wavering
If we could get through the layers of our lives to the core of our being, more times than not fear is at the core of the human personality.
The first words after the fall from man to God, in Gen. 3:10- "I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid."
In a fallen world, fear looms large in most lives. At times, it can paralyze.
Put yourself in these disciples (sandals):
-one would betray -Peter (their leader) would deny (perplexed)
-Christ was going away- sad about this prospect
ashamed- struggling for power- faith is wavering (Jesus says, "Stop letting your hearts be tossed and agitated like water driven by the wind.")
Jesus speaks to their emotional storm (read v. 1-6)
Christ doesn't offer a shallow Pollyanna type of Christianity that says: "It will all work out!" , "This too shall pass!" (We must avoid this temptation). It is not sufficient to say "Just Trust God" and stop there.
Within a couple miles of here, this week, there have been storms. A house struck by lightning burned to the ground/ murder – suicide/ marriages crumbling / life-threatening sicknesses have been discovered. It’s another week on a cursed earth.
The direction of Christ's teaching is saying that in the midst of emotional storms-dreams crumbling.... there's only one thing to do- with a bull-dogged determination continue to trust God.
v.1) continue to believe in God, continue to believe in Me also.
thru ch. 14, there are a number of elements of comfort; continue to believe this
(v. 1-6 prepared place, promised event, particular person)
Three keys to stability in life's storms
I. Prepared Place (v. 2)
Our imaginations run wild and amok: (house you always wanted!)
"I've got a mansion, just over the hill top"
"A tent or a cottage, why should I care, they're building a palace for me over there"
possible suggested ways to understand “dwelling places”:
Father's house- describes heaven
1. graded heaven
faithful-palace on Main Street / unfaithful-shack on the back streets with four walls
There will be degrees of reward in heaven, but this whole “mansion scenario” smacks more of western materialism than biblical revelation.
2. dwelling places
neutral term-not descriptive
v. 2, v. 23, "abode" "place to stay"
ill. Picture of an Oriental homestead (similar to Amish practice) room for all of you!
disciples would not have fixed on "place" but 'with Father' (we are product of our materialistic culture - if your "dream home" has been taken away-sorry! Reach higher)
(next phrase) If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (some version have this as a question- there were no question marks in the original greek)
-quiet rebuke to their wavering faith "Have I ever lied to you?"
-"I'm not fickle, I'm going to prepare for you!"
-If what the Sadducees teach (no resurrection) was true, I'd have told you all about that.
I go to prepare a place for you.
The statement raises some questions:
He spoke the world into existence,..."What's taking so long?"
Does it mean after Christ said "It is finished" completed His work- sat down by the Father and the Father said, "You'd better start preparing a place for the redeemed." So, Jesus sharpens His saws, etc...
Perhaps, (my inclination) as Christ looked forward to His atoning work on the cross, He saw in the fulfilling of His that mission, the preparation of the place. Without that, there would be no place.
Christ goes to prepare. –It was probably an allusion to their custom of having one person going before others to make necessary preparations.
forerunner Heb. 6:20 "Where Jesus entered as a forerunner for us,..."
ill.-small ship that led large grain ships into harbor at Alexandria
ill.-reconnaissance troop in Roman army go out in advance of main troops.
Summary-Christ draws our attention to our prepared place
-to give stability in the storm
-to handle emotions of fear, anxiety, depression, despair
Look beyond the storm.
Ill. Professor Hindson- “Keep looking up!”
II. Promised Event (v.3)
1st class condition If...and I am going (very sure) "when"
promise-I will come again
critics’ theories:
-after resurrection- he came again to His disciples after the res.
-death of the Christian – Christ comes by our meeting Him in heaven
-coming of Holy Spirit-Christ came in the Holy Spirit
*-2nd coming Acts 1:9-11 “Men of Galilee…”
Why this promise to comfort His disciples?
Notice what happens- Christ makes Himself the key to their eternal destiny. The future
rested on His work; it rested on the fulfillment of this promise.
These promises of heaven and Christ’s return were not fringe benefits for these men. This was the core of their existence.
If Christ couldn't follow through on this promise, their world stopped.
-They lived with a daily sense of anticipation, it had its effect on them...
I John 3:2, “Beloved...whoever has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, even as He is pure.”
(read v.4) “and you know the way...”
2nd interruption "Hold it!" Thomas couldn't take not understanding any longer.
"We don't know where you're going, how can we know the way."
Jesus’ thoughts and ways were so high and pure and from an eternal perspective. There must have been a great sense of awe and wonder and the question, “Is this going to be on the exam?”An honest doubter prompted one of the greatest, richest statements ever to come from the lips of our Lord.
focus shifts from prepared place to promised event to -
III. Particular Person (read v. 6)
Here Christianity becomes very narrow. Exclusive. To some of you this will offend your politically correct sensitivities. I disagree with the pastor on this. The air we breathe is that of multi-cultural pluralism. Live and let live.
Ill. Talking to a gal who attended an evangelical church for years before becoming part of unity. She was troubled that her son was preparing for ministry through a fundamentalist church. She was open to all spiritualities. She embraced all faiths. She said yes to all truth systems and looked for the convergence of what was consistent. That was her spirituality.
If your inclinations lead you in that direction, I beg you to consider closely what Jesus is saying.
-all other ways are not the way- Paul said, "There is a way that seem right but the end thereof are the ways of death"
-other ways are not the truth-come from the father of lies
-all other ways are not life-bringing; they bring spiritual death
There were three great concepts of the Hebrew faith.
Way: (road, path) Isaiah predicted "Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, This is the way, walk ye in it." Jesus fulfills that prediction.
A way is what connects from one point to another, from here to the Father (in context).
So as not to be misunderstood-"No one comes to Father but by me."
He taught the way of God in truth(Mk. 12:14)
He guides us in the way of peace (Lk. 1:79)
He dedicated for us a new and living way (Heb. 10:20) but, it is more than that to say that Jesus is the way.
So, if you are inclined to say Jesus was a way and all steeples point in the same direction and isn’t it better to be accepting rather than exclusive, please push yourself to the logical conclusions of your thinking. If Jesus was wrong…(deluded, deceived)then He is not fit to be the Savior of the world. If Jesus was right, then no one comes to the Father but through the shed blood of Jesus. He is the way.
Truth
Psalm 86:11- "Teach me thy way, and I will walk in thy truth."
Many men tell the truth, no one personifies it.
Jn.1:14 "...full of grace and truth."
-Christ's disciples could reflect back on His thoughts, attitudes, words, actions and know that there was no mixture of truth and error. No sense of, “Jesus was having a bad day.”
-Everything was (and is) to be reflected off of the life of Christ.
-Either bend to conform to the truth of Christ's life or you will be crushed by that truth one day.
-Many Christian's live lives that are far below God's design. Simply by telling themselves lies about life so long that they believe their lies rather than Christ's truth. (not living as though Christ was truth personified.)
Life
final analysis- We all live an everyday request for life.
-we put into our existence those things that we think will give us meaning and purpose (not content without it). We seek for life with a capital "L".
(vocation, sports, hobbies, exciting thrills, etc...) attempting to fill the void that Christ alone can fill.
John 10:10 I am come that they might have life and might have it more abundantly.
John 1:4- In Him was life and the life was the light of men.
Conclusion
prepared place - promised event - particular person
Given to believers facing tough times in their lives needing to have these re-established as the guiding lights to lead us through life.
If not, lose our stability in the storm we become earth-centered rather than heaven-centered. Earth becomes our final home rather than the place of our pilgrimage. We too will lose our way.