"I AM..." | The Way, the Truth, and the Life: The Cure for a Troubled Heart | John Lee | Apr 2, 2023
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Please grab your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to John 11. This morning we are continuing our current sermon series entitled “I AM” in which we have been studying various passages from John’s Gospel with the intention of fixing our eyes upon the person and the work of Jesus Christ..so that...we might know Him, love Him, and follow Him. If you are able to I would like to invite you to stand for the reading of God’s Word.
John 14:1–6(CSB)
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.”
5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
A profound difficulty that is comprehensive and intrinsic to the human experience is the turbulence of a troubled heart. It is beyond our finite capacity to escape the overwhelming weight caused by the world’s brokenness and the rushing rapids of turmoil stirring inside our souls.
The unholy turmoil that stirs within us and troubles our hearts are the anxious and depressed thoughts that attempt to cloud our view of God and others. We are troubled by the mirage of temptation and the allure of sin. Guilt and shame are the symptoms of our sin-sickened hearts and leave us despairing and despondent. We are also troubled by the debilitating fear and concern of what others may think of us and the result of this inner turmoil is a dismal, despairing, and downcast heart.
The brokenness of our world also contributes to our heart’s despair. It troubles us that someone can walk into school and murder teachers and students. It troubles us as we read about tornados and hurricanes, which destroy entire cities, leaving families mourning the loss of loved ones and the loss of everything they had worked so hard for. It troubles us that murder is being redefined as healthcare. Our hearts are troubled by the indescribable selfishness, insensitivity, and blatant evil within our culture and society.
It deeply troubles me that there are so many of you with troubled hearts. My heart is troubled by those in our church family who are burdened by physical pain, tortured by their past trauma, and debilitated by stress and anxiety. It troubles me that marriages are hurting and that our children are growing up in a world that is coming apart at the seams.
Perhaps you’re here this morning feeling weighed down by the challenges and struggles you’re facing in your life. Maybe it’s a difficult diagnosis, maybe you have lost a loved one, or you’re struggling to make ends meet. Perhaps, you are wondering, Is there any hope for a calm and quiet heart? And if there is…How can I maintain a calm and quiet heart amid the chaos around me and the turmoil within me?
Well, Jesus is going to give us more than wishful thinking this morning as He reveals to us that regardless of our present circumstances or inner emotions, we do not have to live with troubled or distressed hearts. Instead, we can trust Jesus and we can have hope because Jesus purchased our forgiveness, became the way to the Father, and promised His return.
In John 14 we find ourselves walking into the middle of a scene and as a result we’ve missed some context to the conversation that Jesus is having with His anxious disciples. Jesus and His disciples are in an upper room lounging around a table and celebrating what would be their last Passover Feast.
As they sit around the table Jesus reveals to the Twelve that one of them would betray Him. Imagine how you would feel! “There’s no way one of us would betray you Jesus! Maybe one of the Pharisees or one of the Roman soldiers but surely not us who have been with you for 3 years!” No doubt these men looked around the table and asked, “Is it Him? No way it could be me! Surely it’s not going to be James or Matthew! Who could it be? “ Imagine your distress and anger as Judas gets up and leaves the table to go and betray Jesus!!
The disciples hearts are inflicted with even more trouble as Jesus alludes to the fact that He is going to leave them. And Jesus tells them in John 13:33 that
John 13:33 (CSB)
33...., ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
“What?! Where in the world is He going that we can’t come? Why is He going to ditch us?” And while the others are simply thinking these questions Peter interjects and says, “Lord, Why can’t I go with you! I will lay down my life for you!”....and to his surprise Jesus looks him right in the eyes and tells him, "Look dude, I appreciate the sentiment but the truth is, you are going to deny me 3 times before tomorrow morning!”
I imagine Peter sitting back down confused....his shoulder drooping....his head down…and his heart hurting…and the other ten disciples distressed and discouraged by the uncomfortable events that had just taken place.
Not to mention the plethora of other reasons why their hearts were already troubled. In fact, their anxiety and turmoil can be traced back to when Jesus told them that with his arrival the kingdom of God had come... you see...if these guys were honest the Kingdom of God didn’t come in the way they had hoped it would. Rome was still in charge and Israel was still occupied. It was also unsettling to them that Jesus spoke so often of the coming persecution they would endure (John 15:20) and the fact that the world was going to hate them and that many of them would even be killed for their faith in Jesus (John 16:2).
And so ....as they sat around the table in the upper room…Judas just bailed on them to go stab Jesus in the back, Peter is told …you're not as faithful as you think, and guess what guys....my time has come for me to leave. It would be an understatement to say that the tension in the room was high and that the emotional turmoil and distress was palpable. But in this emotionally trying moment…Jesus comforts His disciples. Look at v.1
John 14:1 (CSB)
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled....
This is amazing! The fact that Jesus takes the time to care for His disciples…including Peter who in just a few hours would deny Him…but also Jesus is on the verge of experiencing the wrath of God for our sin…yet in verse 1, Jesus compassionately comforts his disciple’s troubled hearts.
And although the emotional distress and turmoil that you and I face today may not be the same as what the disciples were going through...the cure for your troubled heart is the same as it was for them. But the truth is…as we work through the text you will see that while there is a cure for your troubled heart......the cure might not be exactly what you expected. You see…Jesus is not going to say, “Look...don’t let your hearts be troubled because I will always make it possible for you to escape and elude the difficult days that lie ahead. Don’t be troubled, because if you can simply muster up enough faith you will be elevated above the ordinary struggles that others face. You will be spared physical affliction. You will be spared financial stress. You will be spared the disdain of your co-workers. You will experience triumph in every arena of life. So don’t let your hearts be troubled.”
No! Jesus doesn’t say any of this. Friends as much as we might think that these things would help…it’s not the answer. So what is? Well look back at v.1
John 14:1 (CSB)
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
Brothers and Sisters....the remedy or the cure for what troubles the human heart is belief or trust in Jesus! Now, you might think, “But John, I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus. Why is my heart still troubled.” And friend..that’s a great question but understand that this belief that Jesus commands here in verse 1 is not saving faith.
You see....these guys around the table are already saved. In fact, Jesus declared back in John 13:10 that they are already “clean” or forgiven of their sins. So this is not a gospel appeal. Jesus isn’t urging them to trust him for salvation and reconciliation to the Father. Instead, Jesus claims equality with God and He invites His disciples to trust Him in the same way we trust God the Father. And further, He’s asking them and He is asking us to believe and trust and to invest our confident hope in who Jesus is as a person and in what He has accomplished on the cross, and what He accomplished when rose form the grave, and what He accomplishes now as He rules from the right hand of the Father.
Let’s be honest......It’s In times of anxiety and stress, that we tend to doubt whether God can be trusted. We begin to wonder if he really cares or if he knows what’s best for us. Our hearts, like ships at sea, are battered by winds of uncertainty and taking on the waters of doubt. In those moments we need to be reminded that God controls the seas. In this moment....the disciples are being buffeted by the winds of anxiety, and Jesus gives them this command: believe in me. Believe in Me. Trust in me. You see Jesus knows that Belief in Him will be their hearts’s anchor in the coming turbulent days. Belief in Jesus will calm the troubled waters that will inevitably rock their hearts.
And maybe this is your question as you find yourself struggling this morning, “Why should I believe? Why should I trust Him? Well, in our text, Jesus is going to give us 3 reasons why we can trust Him....3 reasons why our hearts should not be troubled.
I can trust Jesus because I have a room in God’s home.
You can trust Jesus because you have a room in God’s Home.
John 14:2–3 (CSB)
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.
Jesus refers to heaven as a home…God’s home. And Jesus says, “Look, God’s house is huge....it has a ton of rooms!” In other words, He’s not going to run out of space…in fact…you’re going to have your own space that Jesus is preparing specifically for you. You’re not going to have to sleep on the floor or on someones couch because there’s a place designed just for you!
Let this sink in....Jesus is telling Peter....who in just moments is going to deny Jesus…three times…yet....even Peter has a room. Which means that all of us other fragile saints who follow Jesus so imperfectly…our hearts do not need to be troubled…don’t let your sorrow....don’t let your fear…don’t let your shame produce turmoil in your soul....rather Jesus tells us....Don’t let your heart be troubled.... Trust in Him. Trust in God. Brothers and Sisters…as a child of God there will be a place for you in his house!
Also, notice that Jesus says, My Father’s House…not my Father’s hotel. Think about this....A hotel stay is temporary whereas a home is permanent. When your family comes through town they generally stay at your home…while friends stay at the hotel. And Jesus says.... “God’s children live with him in his home.”
There is that old saying that Home is where the heart is. Which speaks to the fact that home is where our hearts find rest....for..... a Home is place of belonging and comfort.....Home is a place where we are generally accepted for who we are and not for what we produce…home is a place where we are loved to the end…Home is a place were we are always welcome and never forgotten.
For many…the idea of “home” is something our hearts long for. We desire a place where we fully belong…our hearts ache for a place where we can be safe…secure…and loved. But with the transient nature of our culture and our city…many are troubled by the absence of anywhere to truly call home. Not to mention those who have only known broken or unhappy homes....who... as a result....live with a deep sense of failure...the inability to settle down ..and the nagging inner longing for a place to belong.
The truth is......this longing for home is something deeply rooted within every human heart .......for we are an exiled race. And.... It all began when Adam and Eve sinned against God and were kicked out of their home in the garden of Eden. Soon after they were exile.... their son, Cain, murdered his brother and God cursed Cain and made him a wanderer and a fugitive. Not long after Cain’s descendants rebelled against God as they sought to make a home and a name for themselves…but God destroyed the Tower of Babel and scattered mankind across the face of the earth. And the story continues to repeat itself and throughout human history men and women feel a longing to be home…to return to the garden. And Jesus tells us that this deep seated longing will be resolved.....for we will find the home we are longing for with Him in eternity. You see, If you follow Jesus you are not a citizen of this earth …you are citizens of heaven…and while you are here you will find unrest in your soul.
Brothers and sisters…there’s a desire that earth can’t fill and this unfulfilled desire is a reminder that this life isn’t all there is. In fact, God has planted within our hearts the desire for something more…something greater. And as we travel down this long and deserted path Jesus promises us that ewe will find at the ned of his dusty road a room prepared for us by the master’s own son. which leads us to number 2…you can trust Jesus because He is preparing a place for you.
2. I can trust Jesus because He is preparing a place for me, and will get me there.
John 14:2 (CSB)
2 ... I am going to prepare a place for you..
What does it mean when Jesus says, I am going to prepare a place for you? Well, If you're like me then your mind goes to one of those home renovation shows and I picture Jesus with a tool belt on demoing a house. But…that’s not at all what this text means. You see, God’s house is not in disrepair and it needs no improvement. Our future dwelling place has been perfectly designed and has been perfectly suitable for redeemed sinners from before the creation of the world… so …what then is Jesus saying here?
The preparation of the place is not with a hammer and some nails. Rather Jesus used a cross and a grave. You see…Jesus began his preparing your future home by laying down his life so your sins can be forgiven.
So as Jesus sits with His disciples around the table…he is pointing out to them that it’s not God’s house…or their room that needs preparing but rather it was the way to their room in God’s presence that had yet been prepared.
In other words.....it was in the going itself that Jesus prepared the place for his disciples and for us....meaning.....it was his death and his resurrection that made possible the way for us who follow Jesus to go to heaven. So…when Jesus said that the “place” was not yet prepared he was pointing to the fact that in just a few hours he would atone for the sins of His people. He was foreshadowing the fact that He would overcome and defeat Satan. That He would satisfy and suffer the wrath of God in our place. And....that He would ascended into heaven and take his seat at the right hand of God.
Brother’s and Sisters....Jesus overcame and removed every obstacle to our being accepted into God’s presence. As a result, we can have a calm and quiet heart. Also, we can live without any fear or anxiety wether or not we will make it to heaven. Do not let your sin or guilt or sense of unworthiness cause trouble to your heart. Jesus went to the cross where he died and he went to a grave where he rose from the dead so that He would earn our forgiveness and thus prepare a place for us with him and the Father forever.
Now…it’s imperative to understand that Jesus’s talk of a “House” in which there are “rooms” is figurative. He is using imagery that may be difficult for some to understand....so in v.3 Jesus shifts his language from a metaphor to literal. Look at v.3
John 14:3 (CSB)
3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.
In other words, Jesus says, “I go this night through death for you, and I go Easter Sunday morning out of death for you, so that I myself might be your living dwelling place”? You see …Jesus is shifting the focus from a place to a person. He is saying that Heaven is not some etherial place up in the sky somewhere but the essence of heaven is the immediate presence of Jesus. Heaven is wherever Jesus is.
This text is not teaching us that Jesus is coming back at the second coming to takes us to heaven. It doesn't say that… It says, “I will come again and I will take you to myself, and where I am you will also be.” You see..this text is not focusing on a return to heaven but a reunion with Christ. And where will he be when he comes? Well…consider 1 Thess. 4:16-17
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (CSB)
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still 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.
We will meet him in the air, and he will establish his reign here on the earth where we will be with Him forever.
You see.... The ultimate purpose of God is to bring heaven to earth, as we read in Revelation 21-22. There will be a new heaven established on a new and redeemed earth. Listen to how John describes it:
Revelation 21:1–4 (CSB)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Brothers and Sisters..the focus of heaven isn’t on a place but on a person. The essence of heaven is not streets of gold or pearly gates! No! The essence of heaven is the presence of Christ.
William Hendriksen writes,
“So wonderful is Christ’s love for his own that he is not satisfied with the idea of merely bringing them to heaven. He must needs take them into his own embrace.”
One day ... when Jesus has put all his enemies under his feet He will return…and not only will we escape our current trials but more importantly we will forever be with Jesus!…and our salvation will come into its crowning glory. John writes in 1 John 3
1 John 3:2 (CSB)
2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is.
And it is in anticipation of this great future that Jesus says in John 14:1
John 14:1 (CSB)
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
This leads us to the third reason why our hearts should not be troubled.... which is the fact that you can trust Jesus because He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life
3. I can trust Jesus because He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life
John 14:4–5 (CSB)
4 You know the way to where I am going.”
5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”
Thomas is confused.....He misunderstood Jesus and took what He was saying literally. Jesus was speaking symbolically of His death as the means by which we are reconciled to God. But Thomas…poor Thomas.....He still thinks that Jesus is talking about a literal place and so He says, “Look…you say we know the way to wherever it is you’re going… but..... how can we know how to get there…if we don’t even know where there is?!?!” But Jesus is patient and he immediately clarifies it for Him. Look at v.6
John 14:6 (CSB)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Friend…the tragic plight of the human condition is that we are alienated from God, we are ignorant of truth, and we are condemned to both physical and spiritual death. Because of our sin we need a mediator…to bring us into God’s presence, correct our ignorance, and regenerate us from the power of death. Let’s briefly look at each of these claims individually beginning with “I am the Way.”
Jesus is the only way sinful man can be reconciled to a Holy God. According to tyhe Bible mankind is utterly ruined and we are condemned before God for the guilt of our sin.
Romans 3:23 (CSB)
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
As a result we have been exiled form God’s presence and His blessing and our only hope for life is to be reconciled to Him. The condition of man is so bad that there is nothing that we can do to reconcile ourselves to God. You can do your best to turn over a new leaf and live a morally upright life, but you would still have the guilt of your previous sins to pay for. Not only that but sin does just make you guilty but sin has completely corrupted mankind. Mankind’s alienation from God is completely hopeless because of sin.
The gospel tells us that we can only be reconciled if God sent a savior to die for our sin. You see…only Jesus…God’s sinless Son…can atone for sin through his death and make a way for sinful people to be reconciled to God. A way that requires us to humble ourselves as we confess and repent of our sin and surrender our striving to rule ourselves. Friend ..it is only through Jesus that sinners can come to God and find life. Jesus is not one of many other ways to God…NO! He is THE way…the only way.
So....Jesus is the way…and Jesus is The Truth.
Consider Ephesians 4:18
Ephesians 4:18 (CSB)
18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.
In order for us to be saved…God must enlighten us through the revelation of God’s truth…the fullest expression of which came through Jesus Christ. You see.....Jesus is the way to God not only because He died on the cross for our sins, but also in revealing the truth of God so that we might believe and come to God through faith in him
Friends we live in the most enlightened and educated time in history …yet…our world and its systems can only be defined as foolish and ignorant. Why? Well because truth is not found in a system of philosophy but in the Person of Christ Jesus and unless we are obedient to Him who is the truth there can only darkness, foolishness, and ignorance.
Brothers and Sisters…this should drive us to the pages of Scripture! My prayer for you all each week is that you would hunger for God’s Word. That Mission Church would be students who are devoted in study of God’s Word. Friends… this earth will pass away but not the Words of the Lord. And it’s The Word of the Lord that is the ultimate standard of Truth that will set us free. I promise you……the time you spend reading your Bible will serve you so much greater than the time you spend on twitter or watching the news.
So......Jesus is The Way…The Truth…and Jesus is The Life.
Friends…the wages of sin is death…physical and spiritual death. And apart from Christ we are unable to do anything to earn salvation....the result is a living death and a life lived without satisfaction and without hope …a life headed to eternal separation from God.
But…the good news is that Jesus came so that you can have life....and not just any life but an eternally abundant life with Him. Jesus is the only source of eternal life and this life is offered to any who would believe and follow Him.
We are saved by Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life. And Jesus is not demanding you to achieve anything…He is not waiting for you to morally improve....He is simply calling you to receive Him in trusting faith so that He might overwhelm you with His grace and mercy. Friend…you will never receive a better offer than the one that lies before you right now.....and you will never have a better time to receive Jesus than right now.
We can trust Jesus because He is the way, the truth, and the life. We can trust Jesus because we have a room in God’s home. And we can trust Jesus because He is preparing a place for us, and He will get us there.
Now…You might feel at this point: Those comforts are wonderful. But they are so far away — at death or at the second coming. What is causing the unholy turmoil in my soul now is that I don’t know what’s best for my children. My marriage is fragile and unaffectionate. My health is failing. I can’t stand my job. I am so lonely. If Jesus doesn’t want my heart troubled now, is there some encouragement for faith closer than the second coming?
Yes, Jesus is very much with you right now…He is with you today. Bounce down a few verse to v.16-18
John 14:16–18 (CSB)
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.
Yes, Jesus left physically and ascended into heaven....but…to all who believe are given the person of the Holy Spirit. God dwells with you because His Spirit is in you. The Holy Spirit…The third person of our Triune God..The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead is with you....comforting you....and growing you in your likeness of Christ.
Yes, Jesus will return for us! He will come again…personally, visibly, and physically return and take us to Himself just as He promised. But…in the mean time..understand …brothers and sister....you have not been abandoned…you have not been left alone! You are not an orphan in this world! God is fully and perfectly and lovingly here on the person of the Holy Spirit.
You may be feeling pain and loneliness. You may be facing a crises if massive proportions. Your heart does not need to be troubled…for you can trust in Jesus who perfectly embodies and expresses all that is true of the Father, and He is here with all who believe in the person of God the Holy Spirit.
Let’s Pray