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Heart Trouble John 14:1-14
In
the classic Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the dwarfs
return home from a hard day at the mines, their picks slung over their
small shoulders. From a distance, they see that their small cabin in the
woods is unexpectedly aglow, and a billow of smoke drifts from the
chimney. Warily, they make their way into their cabin and discover that
an intruder is asleep in their bedroom. Their imaginations run wild as
they discuss what vile creature slumbers in their room.
The other dwarfs urge Dopey to go and investigate. "Don’t worry. We’re
right behind you," they assure him. Dopey carefully cracks open the door
and enters. Just then, the "thing" under the sheets stretches, and Dopey
and the other Dwarfs flee in unbridled terror. "What was it?" they
scream. "Did you see it? Did you see it?"
Dopey nods his head vigorously.
"Was it a dragon?"
Again Dopey nods yes.
"Did it have horns?"
Using his fingers to imitate horns, Dopey nods again.
"Did it slobber?"
Dopey nods again, slobbering profusely.
The fears of the dwarfs have grown larger with each question.
"What was it doing?" they ask.
Dopey closes his eyes and snores.
Doc cries, "There’s a monster sleeping in our beds! Let’s get him while
we can."
Once again they venture up the stairs to deal with the beast in the bed.
Gathering around the bed, they raise their picks to deal the fatal blow
to the monster. But when the sheets are thrown back, they find a
harmless guest, Snow White.
Have you ever noticed that worry can be so paralyzing.
Perhaps there is a “worrier” in your home. Or perhaps you are the
“worrier,” and every situation that occurs there is an anxiety.
Like…
• What did I say yes to?
• How are we ever going to pay for this?
• What if I get sick?
• What if they say no?
• No one can live up to his/her standard!
• How am I ever going to get this done on time?
Someone has compared worry to being in rocking chair. There is a lot of
movement, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.
Last week we left the disciples feeling a little anxious.
These are hearts that are far from tranquil. It has been a busy night so
far. They had argued about who was the greatest. Then Jesus embarrassed
them by washing their feet. Judas’ sudden departure left them puzzled.
And Peter has been silenced because Jesus told him that he was going to
deny Him three times. To top it off, Jesus has said He was leaving. They
were losing Jesus. He has spoken of His impending departure, and He
tells them that they can’t follow. But He was their Messiah and their
friend. Their hopes were hanging on Him. They had plenty of reason to
worry.
Jesus tells us with resolve and conviction that our way through anxiety
is trust. Verses 1-4
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In
my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told
you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where
I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”
The disciples are certainly stirred up. Their world is about to crumble
and they feel it. Jesus, though, tells them that the way out is to trust
and believe. And they are not to trust in what they think Jesus should
be doing. They are to trust in who He is. They are to believe in what He
is doing. They are to have faith that He is doing exactly what the
Father has Him doing. There is no separation between the two.
And this being true our future is secure.
When it is all said and done, there is a place for us. Jesus wants us to
see this clearly. Our service to Him will not go for naught. When we get
to heaven, we will see that we have been thought of and planned for.
The KJV translates the place as a mansion, but this is an “over”
translation that was too influenced by the Latin equivalent, mansiones.
The meaning, though, is simply a lodging place, a residence.
The reason that the NIV and ESV translate it as room is because of the
cultural situation of the day. For when a son grew up and got married,
his father would add a room to the house. The house gets bigger and
bigger.
And this picture is good news for us. For in heaven, there is room for
all and room to spare. Interestingly, when He arrived to earth from
heaven, there had been no room for Jesus. But no tit for tat here! He
tells the disciples that He was going to make sure there was room for
them and us.
It is important to realize that we don’t go to heaven to find Christ. We
go to Jesus to find heaven.
This is the promise that we find in I Thessalonians 4…
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who
are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore
encourage one another with these words.
At this point, Thomas speaks up and we learn that our relationship with
Jesus is to be characterized by honesty. Verses 5-7
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can
we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known
me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and
have seen him.”
We must appreciate Thomas here. This is not doubt. This is Honest
Thomas. This is trying to get it right, for he is perplexed by Jesus and
he wants clarity. And Jesus offers some.
Jesus is about being.
His immediate emphasis is made with “I AM.”
Where have we heard I am before?
In Exodus 3:14 God tells Moses I am is the sufficient answer to every
question that Pharaoh could ask.
It is about who He is, not about what He does. Verse 6 is a familiar
verse to us and says so much more to us than we will cover today.
Each description of Jesus can and does stand alone, as well as together.
He is the way.
He is the truth.
He is the life.
Jesus is the link between God and man. So Jesus not only shows the way,
He is the way.
As the truth, Jesus is utterly dependable. He is the embodiment of that
which is true and right, and therefore He is completely reliable.
Jesus is our source. He even encourages us to feed on Him, for His words
are life to us.
He is life.
You know, Jesus is terribly narrow-minded. His statements are exclusive.
No one comes to the Father except through Him.
But you know, that is the way truth is. For example, if you want to call
someone up on the phone, you have to do it exactly right. You can’t be
off by one number and expect to get the person you were calling. No
deviation is allowed.
The same is true with the IRS. They are very unforgiving. You must state
your income exactly. No wild guesses are allowed!
Jesus continues to offer comfort to them by letting them know that He
has not been operating on His own.
In fact Jesus and the Father are inseparable. Verses 8-11
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not
know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you
say, ’Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father
and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on
my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else
believe on account of the works themselves.
Surprisingly, the usually quiet Philip speaks up. He seems to be looking
for more out of Jesus. He seems to be looking for God showing Himself
directly. Perhaps it would be good for us to remember that he did not
share in the experience of the Transfiguration, like Peter, James and
John.
John’s point in writing this biography, though, is that Jesus has been
giving signs all along. All the time, by His words, and by His deeds, He
has been pointing to who He is.
The disciples did not think they knew the Father in His full
significance. They did not realize that they did. To know and to see
Jesus is to know and to see the heavenly Father, for Jesus is the
perfect representation of Him. As a result, they really knew God.
And what was coming as a result was going to be great.
Our future is worthwhile Verse 12
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the
works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am
going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my
name, I will do it.”
Great things were coming. These disciples, and all disciples that were
following after (including us), were going to participate in an ever
increasing kingdom. They were going to scatter all over the world. They
were going to be influencers that would see the nations coming to
Christ.
This was all going to happen because He was leaving. But they were not
(and we are not) alone.
We have a direct connection to the Father. Verse 13-14
We can pray. And, simply, we receive answers.
Let’s not misunderstand what is being said here. There is no formula. It
is not praying in the name of Jesus – and “pow” – you get it. Praying in
the name of Jesus is to be in accordance with what the name stands for.
When we pray, we are to pray responsibly, and give expression to what
Jesus stands for. It is then that we will find the true power of prayer.
APPLICATION:
When worry persists, it shows that we trust self more than God.
We all face uncertain times. But we do have a choice. We can either
worry ourselves sick, or we can trust in the promises of Jesus.
Now trusting in the promises is not always the easiest thing. So often,
the pathway of our life does not go the way we want it to. But trusting
God means that we have to admit we are not in control. We want to be in
control. But trusting Jesus shows that we are not, and that our faith is
rightly placed.
What we most need to practice is what Brennan Manning has called
“ruthless trust.” Manning tells the story of John Kavanaugh, who went to
work for three months at the “House of the Dying” in Calcutta. He went
not only to give help, but to receive it. He was seeking a clear answer
as how best to spend the rest of his life. The first morning there, he
met Mother Teresa.
She asked, “And what can I do for you?” Kavanaugh asked her to pray for
him.
“What do you want me to pray for?” she asked.
He voiced a request he has long been burdened about and had come halfway
across the world seeking the answer for: “Pray that I have clarity.”
To that simple, but sincere request she said firmly, “No, I will not do
that.”
When he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are
clinging to and must let go of.”
When Kavanaugh commented that she had always seemed to have the clarity
he longed for, she laughed. “I have never had clarity; what I have
always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”
When we trust God, we are in His presence.
When we have the presence of God, we have all that we need.
Be assured. He’s looking after us He doesn’t go through all the work He
has to save us and make us holy and then forget about us. So rejoice in
His Presence. Rejoice in His work for us. And rejoice that we can trust
Him, even at this very moment.
Trust Jesus…for He has come as our King and Lord – it is right to shout
“Hosanna” – for He is worthy of our trust;
Trust Jesus…for He has come as our Savior – ready and willing to lay
down His life for us – He is worthy of our trust;
Trust Jesus…for He has come as the Lover of our Soul – unwilling to be
defeated by death, He is risen – and so, He is worthy of our trust.
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