"Let not your heart be troubled"
John 14:1-6
One of the most dreaded diseases in the world today is what we call "heart trouble." Every day we hear of someone cut down by a heart attack. It is no repecter of person, for it effects all.
The heart is a wonderful creation. It beat an average of 75 beats a minute, 40 millions times a year, 21/2 billions time for a person of 70. It pumps enough blood (650,000 gallon a year) to fill more than 82 tank cars with 8,000 gallons each. No wonder, we could say, "What a beat."
But one day when we least expect it, our heart will beat for the last time. When it does, life is over for you and I.
In John 14, Jesus is not talking about physical heart trouble but he is talking about a spiritual illness. He is talking about a troubled heart, a burdened heart, and a sorrowful heart. This kind of heart trouble is common also and no money cannot keep it away, health cannot prevent it, and the only cure for it is Jesus.
The 14th chapter of John has been called the comforting Chapter in the New Testament. It has been read many times at funerals and brought comfort to many broken hearts.
F.B. Myers of England had a Bible that had been passed through many generations. He said, many of the pages were clean just like the day it came from the printing press. But the pages of John 14 worn, spotted with tears of the people who had read it and found the comfort of God.
I call your attention to three things that brought comfort to the disciples and should bring comfort to you and I today.
I-NOTICE THAT JESUS IS THE COMPASSIONATE CHRIST: V-1
A-HE HAD COMPASSION FOR HIS SERVANTS: V-1
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
There should be no break between chapter 13 and chapter 14. The words are inspired, but not the punctuation. Thus the scene in which He says these words are in the upper room with His own.
They were troubled at hearing that one of their number should betray Him(John 13:21), that one of them would deny Him three times(John 13:38), that they saw their Master trouble in the spirit(John 13:21), and that He said only a little while He would be leaving them.
But Jesus not thinking of Him-Self looked at them, and said, "Let not your hearts be troubled."
According to Henry Jacobsen, six Scottish miners were forced to make a heart-rending decision. While they were working some 1,500 feet below the surface, a shaft collapsed. Debris trapped one of their companions. Then mud and water began to rush in.
The miners realized that soon all avenues of escape would be closed to them, and they all would perish unless they fled without delay. With great agony the six men decided to let their coworker die rather than be entombed in that shaft while attempting to save him. They were compelled to abandon him.
In contrast, God is never forced to forsake one of His children. No matter how desperate the situation may be or how great the problems we face, the heavenly Father stays by our side to meet our deepest needs with His infinite wisdom and power. Under no circumstance and at no time will He give up on those He has purchased with the blood of His Son. We may at times feel abandoned, but we will never be abandoned.
B-HE HAD COMPASSION FOR THE SUFFERING: MARK 5:34
And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Here was a woman who like the leper was called unclean. She could not worship at the temple, she was separated from the crowds and her family but she came to Jesus and he didn’t drive her off, but had compassion on her and healed her.
Dave Galloway told of a soldier who had just returned from Viet Nam. His parents were socialites, very well to do. It was near Christmas, and they were getting ready to go out to the first of the round of parties of the Christmas season.
Just then the phone rang, & it was their son on the phone. "Mom," he said, "I’m back in the States." She said, "That’s wonderful! Where are you? Will you be home for Christmas? Can you get here in time for the parties? Everybody will just love to see you."
He answered, "Yes, I can be home for Christmas, but I want to ask you something first." "What is it?" she asked. "Well, I have a friend with me from Viet Nam. Can he come?"
"Oh, of course," she answered. "Bring him along. He’ll enjoy the parties, too." "Wait a moment, mom," he said, "I need to explain something about him. He was terribly wounded, & lost both legs & one arm. His face is disfigured, too."
There was silence on the phone for awhile. Then the mother said, "That’s all right. Bring him home for a few days." "No, mom, you don’t understand. He has nowhere to live. He has no one else. I want to bring him home & to let our home be his home."
The mother was quiet again. Then she said, "Son, that just wouldn’t do. What you’re asking would be very unfair to us. Why, it would disrupt all our lives. I’m sure there are government agencies that would be more than glad to take charge of him. Look, just you hurry home for Christmas now, & then maybe you can visit him once in a while."
"Darling, I’m sorry, but we’ve got to rush or we’ll be late for the party. Call us again as soon as you know when you’ll be home. Goodbye."
When the parents returned home from the party that night, there was an urgent message from the California police asking them to call. They telephoned, & the officer said, "I’m very sorry to have to call you, but we just found a young soldier dead in a motel room. His face is disfigured, & he has lost both legs & one arm. From the documents on him it would appear that he is your son."
Whatever your burdens or sorrows are this morning, the solution to a troubled heart is still the same, to trust, to trust in His compassion.
C.HE HAD COMPASSION FOR THE SINNERS: MATTHEW 11:19
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
Why was He called "friend of sinners"? Not because He took part with them in their sins. But because He did not shun them, but went to them where they were and loved them.
Dwight L. Moody told of the young man who did not want to serve in Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. When he was drafted, a friend volunteered to go in his place. The substitution was made, and some time later the surrogate was killed in battle. The same young man was, through a clerical error, drafted again. "You can’t take me" he told the startled officers. "I’m dead. I died on the battlefield."
They argued that they could see him standing right in front of them, but he insisted they look on the roll to find the record of his death. Sure enough, there on the roll was the man’s name, with another name written beside it.
The case finally went to the emperor himself. After examining the evidence, Napoleon said, "Through a surrogate, this man has not only fought, but has died in his country’s service. No man can die more than once, therefore the law has no claim on him."
Two thousand years ago, Jesus went to a cross to bear the penalty that rightly belonged to us. He died in our place. And through Him, our names are written in the book, with His name written beside ours.
II-NOTICE THAT CHRIST IS THE CREATIVE CHRIST: COL. 1:16
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
The same Jesus who created the planets, the sun, the starts, is now in heaven creating a place for us.
A-HEAVEN IS A PREPARED PLACE: V-2
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
God has never taken His people to an unprepared place. He prepared the garden of Eden before He placed Adam in it. He prepared the Promised Land before Israel entered into it. And He will not take us to an unprepared Heaven.
There will be no scurrying around trying to find a mansion for you, if the Lord were to call you home today. Because Heaven will be ready.
Max Lucado, says, Take a fish and place him on the beach. Watch his gills gasp and scales dry. Is he happy? No! How do you make him happy? Do you cover him with a mountain of cash? Do you get him a beach chair and sunglasses? Do you bring him a Playfish magazine and martini? Do you wardrobe him in double-breasted fins and people-skinned shoes? . . . .And you will never be completely happy on earth simply because you were not made for earth. Oh, you will have your moments of joy. You will catch glimpses of light. You will know moments or even days of peace. But they simply do not compare with the happiness that lies ahead.
B-HEAVEN IS A POPLUATED PLACE: V-2
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
The layout of our future home. Jesus said that in His Father’s house "are many dwelling places"…Some Bible translations use the phrase "many mansions." However, that gives the incorrect idea. We tend to visualize a new real estate development with an agent who shows up with a map and says, "Your mansion is two blocks down and four blocks to the left."…Jesus wasn’t talking about a tenement house but a complete dwelling place surrounding a central patio. We will be in dwellings attached to the Father’s house - right in the same house with the Father. (MacArthur, pp. 15-6)
I Kings 6:5-And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:
In the Old temple, there were many chambers or rooms in which a vast multitude could find a place to stay day or night. Jewish historians say that you could find a child there, the blind, the lame, the levites, the priest. I t was a full house and so will be God’s house in Heaven.
The Bible uses a lot of different words to describe heaven. In one place it is called "a country” indicates the vastness of heaven. In another it is called "a city” indicates the number of inhabitants. It is called "a kingdom" indicating that there is a governmental structure to it all. It is called "paradise" indicating its beauty and desirability. But here it is called, "My Father’s house," and that is another way of saying, "It is home."
Dr. Brackett practiced in a small town in America. He was known as the poor man’s friend because of the hours he spent sitting by the bedsides of the less privileged members of the community and the fact that he never took a fee from them. He lived in two rooms over a shop in the middle of the town. At the ground entrance was a brass plate which read: DOC. BRACKETT - OFFICE UPSTAIRS.
At one time in his life he was to have married but the day of the wedding he was called to a poor Mexican family to assist with difficult childbirth. He stayed with the mother until her child was delivered safe and well. He returned to find that his fiancée had called off the wedding and would have nothing more to do with him. The remainder of his life was one of selfless dedication to the sick, the poor, the old, and the lonely. When he died his funeral was the biggest ever seen.
Then he townspeople came together to discuss ways and means of perpetuating his memory in the town. Various proposals and suggestions were made but as often happens in situations like this nothing was done by anyone except the Mexican couple whose child he delivered on what should have been his wedding day. On the way home from the meeting they removed the sign from his door and the following day it re-appeared over his grave surrounded by flowers. It read: DOC. BRACKETT - OFFICE UPSTAIRS.
C-HEAVEN IS A PRECIOUS PLACE: V-3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
A little girl was taking an evening walk with her father. Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and exclaimed; "Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be!"
Fiske planetarium, on the campus of the University of Colorado, needed money, so its director dreamed up a gimmick. He printed brochures that offered 1,000-acre lots on the planet Mars for only $20. The flyer reads: "this land still features pink skies, unlimited rock gardens, and not one but two moons. So peaceful, quiet, and romantic -- even the natives are friendly." The literature promised, "At one-sixth the gravity of Earth, your golf game will improve immensely -- drives will be six times longer. Mars will provide a world of adventure for the entire family." The gag was surprisingly successful. People across the country have sent in their $20 for a deed, for space flight insurance, and for a simulated sample of red Martian soil.
If this story catches your imagination, then think about the ultimate real estate -- heaven. God has promised it, not to make money but to express God’s love for all who trust Jesus as their Savior.
III-NOTICE THAT CHRIST IS THE COMING CHRIST: V-3
A-WE SEE THE SURENESS OF HIS COMING: V-3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
God gave many promises both in the Old & the New Testaments. He promised the children of Israel a land where there would be milk and honey. It took a while for the promise to be fulfilled, but finally it was fulfilled.He promised a Messiah, and that took a long time. But it, too, was fulfilled. Jesus the Savior was born.
MANY are familiar with that very pathetic picture called " The lang awa’ ship." The young maiden is seen sitting on a rock, with her left hand above her eyes, looking most pitifully across a shipless ocean. "’Wearisome long the maiden must wait, Months and years ere her watching be o’er, For a lover that never will come to land, For a ship that never will touch the shore." Such is not the hope of the Christian, for hath Christ not said, ’’I will come again, and receive you unto Myself?". But, like this maiden, may we watch for the coming of Him whom we love, and who at His coming will bless us with the glory of His eternal presence.
B-WE SEE THE SUDDENESS OF HIS COMING: V-3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
There is a clock in a Church in Strasburg, Germany, and around the dial of the clock are the words, "One of these hours the Lord is coming."
Matthew 24:43-44 "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
The second return of Jesus is expected but it comes unexpected ... what more reason to be ready do we need than that?
I remember when the night Rhonda, our oldest girl was born. Several hours before her birth I was awakened from my sleep by a voice that said, "Evie, its time to get up . My wife was saying, its time for the birth of our child. I was expecting that day to come, but I didn’t expect it that night.
C-WE SEE THE SEPERATION OF HIS COMING: V-6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
This was a very controversial statement to be made in Jesus and it is a very controversial statement to be made in our day. It is a very narrow statement. It is not an all-inclusive statement. Jesus said, "Broad is the path that leadeth to destruction, and narrow is the way that leads to eternal life."
During the heyday of the Vietnam War protests, a college student resisted a hostile mob intent on burning the American flag. Physically guarding the flag pole, he declared, "You are not going to defame the flag for which my father died." It wasn’t his size that intimidated that crowd. It was because he stood for a symbol of freedom and truth.
Likewise, for the Christian, Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" . When the Christian man takes a stand for the gospel of the kingdom of God, he has fixed himself in support of the ultimate truth. That is who Jesus is: the Truth.
I heard the story about a preacher and one of his deacons who had him come home with him and witness to his sister-in law who was lost. As he was talking to her about salvation, he noticed a stripe in the center of the rug. He asked the deacon and his wife to get on one side of it and said, this is heaven. He then asked the sister-in-law to get on the other side of the rug and he said this is hell. He said, the day is coming when there will be a separation of the lost from the saved and you will go to hell and there will be no chance of ever crossing over. But at that moment, you ran across on the other side of the rug and said, Oh preacher, I want to be saved.
Conclusion-A little child, whose mother was dying, was taken away to live with some friends because it was thought she did not understand what death is. All the while the child wanted to go home and see her mother. At last, when the funeral was over, and she was taken home, she ran all over the house, searching the sitting-room, the parlor, the library, and the bedrooms. She went from one end of the house to the other, and when she could not find her mother, she wished to be taken back to where they brought her from. Home had lost its attractions for the child when her mother was not there. My friends, the great attraction in heaven will not be its pearly gates, its golden streets, nor its choir of angels, but it will be Christ. Heaven would be no heaven if Christ were not there.
