Sermon Tone Analysis

Pray

In a time of penny candy, nickel sodas, hair tonic, blushing brides, travelling preachers, and Sunday suppers, people were optimistic and busy.

With so many other things to do, most young people were not thinking about things like Christian service and dying to self, but then again, most people weren’t William Franklin Graham, Jr. better known today as Billy Graham .

Although it is true that Billy Graham enjoyed having fun, there was more.

Somewhere deep, something fundamental was working inside him.

Born on November 7, 1918, in a frame house on a North Carolina dairy farm.

His parents were hard-working people who knew the value of a dollar and the meaning of self-discipline.

They believed in God and were devoted to seeking His wisdom and blessing for their family and for a world in need.

They looked to the bible prayers despite any trying or challenging circumstance.

From drought to depression, dust and destitution, people everywhere desperately searched the horizon for hope, and from a young age, Billy Graham learned that this hope was found by Grace alone, through Faith alone and in Christ alone.

At 16 years old Billy Graham would go on to give his life to the Lord and in time, young Billy would experience the transformation of a traditional farm boy into an instrument of God.

Soon he would attend seminary, and then find himself pastoring a small Baptist church in Western Springs, IL.

He later would be offered the opportunity to host a 45-minute religious program called “Songs in the Night” on Chicago’s largest radio station.

Of course, in time, he would go on to be the best-known tv evangelist in history.

Impacting the lives of millions and leading many to Christ during his campaigns.

And yet, Billy would finish his Autobiography by writing these words:

“No, I don’t know the future, but I do know this: the best is yet to be! Heaven awaits us, and that will be far, far more glorious than anything we can ever imagine.

As the Bible says, ‘Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.

But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is’ (1John 3:2).

This is the hope of every believer.

It is my hope, and I pray that it is your hope as well.

I know that soon my life will be over.

I thank God for it, and for all He has given me in this life.

But I look forward to Heaven.

I look forward to the reunion with friends and loved ones who have gone on before.

I look forward to Heaven’s freedom from sorrow and pain.

I also look forward to serving God in ways we can’t begin to imagine, for the Bible makes it clear that Heaven is not a place of idleness.

And most of all, I look forward to seeing Christ and bowing before Him in praise and gratitude for all He has done for us, and for using me on this earth by His grace-just as I am.”

You see, this morning, we look to Billy Graham and although he passed away in February of 2018.

He knew there was more to come.

You see when we think of Billy Graham this morning, what’s remarkable is that his legacy on earth… was not just a part of his life… but what started on earth continue into eternity.

For you and I that have accepted Christ as our Lord and savior, we realize that, this too is our hope.

That life doesn’t end, just because our bodies stop breathing… but rather, we have eternal life with Christ.

You see, as a pastor, there are seasons of life individually that we go through.

And seasons that we go through as a church.

You may or may not realize it, but this morning… many of us are hurting.

Whether it’s sickness, pain, the loss of a loved one, something brining us down, in the life of our church… there are many needs this morning.

And church, I just want to encourage you this morning.

That God is for you.

That what you’re facing, you’re not facing alone.

That you have hope in Jesus this morning.

And so, for the next ½ hour, I just want to look at Jesus.

You see, we’re going to continue in our “I am” series and if you have your bibles turn with me to the book of John 14.

But what I want us to see this morning is that 1. Jesus is our Comfort.

2. The Way, the Truth, and the Life and 3.

That he is our helper today.

1. Jesus is our Comfort

If you’re not already there, turn with me to John 14.

And as you’re turning there, I just want to unpack the scripture that we’ll read together this morning.

We understand that Jesus has walked with His disciples.

That one by one, he called them from where they were and told them to “come and follow after me.”

These disciples, were relatively young, late teen years and early 20s, walked with Jesus as he called them, to leave the fathers, leave their fishing, their tax collecting, their old way of life behind and follow after Jesus.

Jesus would go on to be their rabbi, their teacher, and friend.

Where for 3 years he became very close to all of them.

He loved them, he spent time with them, in times of trouble, he showed up.

When they had no catch of fish, Jesus showed them the way, when they were scared on the water, Jesus came through and spoke “peace, be still.”

When they were hungry, Jesus allowed them to take part in the miracle of feeding, when Peter had no money for his taxes, Jesus took care of the answer through a fish.

You see Jesus was also there for their physical needs.

Their day-to-day need for food and drink, he had been there to help make sure these needs were met.

But now, everything would change.

You see, the night before Jesus would be crucified, he met with His remaining 11 disciples in the upper room.

And what’s interesting is in these moments, Jesus knew he was going to be crucified, and killed and in horrendous pain… and yet, in these moments, he comforts his disciples.

Jesus tells them: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.

You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

I’m not sure if you’ve ever lost anyone before… but Jesus was their best friend.

He had perfect and complete love; he was their teacher and master… You see, the disciples understood that Jesus would die the next day.

And so, in this moment, Jesus is meeting them where they are.

His disciples are hurt, and mourning, and struggling to make sense of things, yet Jesus isn’t focused on his own pain, he meets them in theirs.

And there are 2 things that Jesus asks the disciples to do, which, apply to us this morning as well.

1. Jesus tells them: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

He was not telling them not to start being troubled.

They were already troubled.

Instead, Jesus was telling them to stop being troubled.

The word troubled there in the Greek by the way is the word tarassō which means “to shake up” or “to stir” and it’s the same word that is used to describe the literal stirring up of the pool of Bethseda.

Jesus is saying don’t allow this situation to stir things up for you in your life.

Then he goes on to say: “you believe in God, believe also in me.”

The word believe here by the way, is the word pisteuō: refers to an ongoing trust in Him.

You see, although the disciples genuinely believed in Jesus, their faith was already beginning to waver.

Friends, the disciples needed to have the same kind of faith, the same kind of confidence even when Jesus wasn’t their face-to-face….

Not to believe in themselves, but to believe in Him!

I remember a few years back in Myrtle Beach, I was a youth pastor at the time and if you’ve ever been to Myrtle Beach, you know there are a lot of attractions and shows to attend.

Well, this particular Sunday afternoon, we took our youth group to an escape room.

Has anyone ever gone through an escape room before?Well in case you haven’t the facilitators place you and your team in a room, which is based on a theme, and from one clue to the next, your job is to try and escape the situation that you are in before disaster hits.

Sometimes, the disaster can be a ticking time bomb, sometimes it can be pirates are going to come and take over your ship, but disaster is imminent, and your job is to escape the problem.

In life, things kind of work the same way.

As I mentioned last week, many of us like to be fixers of problems.

When the toilet won’t flush, we want to fix it right away.

When our child left his school lunch on the counter,we pick up the phone right away and fix the problem.

When there’s a weed in the garden that’s sprouted up, we like to fix things right away… You see, many of us like to have things in our control.

When we feel like we have things under control, it comforts our minds… When Johnny doesn’t have his lunch (that’s the problem), my solution (I called the school), now… Johnny will have school lunch today… Problem fixed, move on with the day.

And my mind is comforted knowing, that I solved it.

What about when someone passes away?

What about when you get the phone call you didn’t expect?

You see friends, the bad news has come.Jesus was going to be crucified, and yet… even death, the story wasn’t over.

Jesus would go on to say: “. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

You see, for many people, when life ends… they think that’s it.

Many people are lost, and so… many people place their hope now in temporal comforts.

I mean As Americans, so many turn to comfort foods, to comfortable couches, to comforters and even southern comfort, but as Christians, we have true comfort this morning in Christ.

I don’t know where you are today.

I don’t know what you’re going through.