Dec. 12, 1999 John 14:1-6, 25-31
How can I have peace for the future?
INTRODUCTION
A man was walking on the beach one day, and he noticed something shiny sticking up out of the sand. He went over to investigate and found that it was an Arabian lamp much as he had seen in stories of Aladdin. Even though he knew the stories were fables, he thought that he would give the lamp a try. He closed his eyes, rubbed the lamp, and to his amazement, a Jeanie appeared! The Jeanie informed him that he was very old and very tired, so he only had the power to grant one final wish. The man thought for a minute. Then he got an idea. “Jeanie, give me the page of the paper that has the stock report for one year from today’s date.” Puff, the Jeanie was gone, and in his place, a paper began floating down to the man. He thought to himself, “I’m finally going to be able to have peace about my future. I will be able to know for certainty what stocks to invest in so that I can have a secure financial future. Now I can get married to my girlfriend, I can plan where I’m going to live the rest of my life, and I can start my own business. I’ll never have to worry ever again!” When the paper finally made it down to the man, and he was able to grasp it, he looked it over, and the Jeanie had come through. The man began to plan exactly where he was going to place all of his assets. Then he placed the paper in his shirt pocket. What he failed to see was that on the other side of the paper was the obituary column. The name at the top of the list would have caught the man’s eye if he had seen it – the name was his.
Most of us would like to know something about the future. That’s why psychic hotlines are such money-makers. They claim to have the ability to see into the future. They claim to be clairvoyant. Everyone wants to know what tomorrow will bring so that they can prepare for it today. An ironic announcement appeared in the newspaper one morning – “Due to unforeseen circumstances, no clairvoyant meeting will be held until further notice.” [Union-Sun Journal, quoted in Lloyd Cory, Quote Unquote] My personal belief is that if we knew our own personal future, it would scare us so much that it would take away our peace rather than increasing our peace. That’s what happened to Jesus’ disciples. Just before Jesus died, He and His disciples gathered for one final time until after His resurrection. Jesus told them what was getting ready to happen. In John 13:31ff, Jesus told His disciples that He was getting ready to go away – He was going to die. At Peter’s protests over this, Jesus told Peter that he was going to deny three times that he had ever known Jesus. That was one piece of Peter’s future that he did not wish to know about.
You can imagine the fear that this revelation must have created in the minds of those men. They had devoted the last three years of their lives to Jesus and His ministry. They had left behind their jobs for Jesus. In all the traveling that they had done with Jesus, they had spent very little time with their families. What was there to go back to when Jesus was gone? If Jesus was going to die, who would there be to lead them? Were they going to be the next ones to die? Was everything that Jesus had said and done for nothing?
Jesus, knowing men’s hearts better than anyone else ever could, began to give these fishermen some anchors to which they could cling and which would give them peace even when it seemed like Jesus was far away. As we examine each of these, see if they will help to bring some peace to the way that you view your future too.
1. Jesus knows my future, and He’s not worried. (vs. 25)
Most of you know that Dan and Stacie Cooley are expecting the birth of their first child in May. They know that the baby is a boy, but that’s about all that they know about him. I suppose that Dan and Stacie like most parents have many questions about what their son will be as he matures. What color of hair and eyes will he have? What kind of friends will he have at school? Will he love the outdoors like his dad does? Will he get saved at a young age? Will he grow up to be rich so that he can support his mom and dad in their old age? Who will he marry? Will we be able to be good parents to him? Many questions & many things that every parent would like to know about the future of their child. We figure that if we knew the our child’s future, we would know how they turned out, and it would take some of the pressure off of us so that we could have a little peace.
Jesus, however, never had to wonder about his twelve children – his twelve disciples. He knew exactly how they were going to turn out. Jesus had just a few moments earlier told Peter that before the night was done, Peter would deny Jesus three times. Jesus knew that not only Peter would desert him, but all of the disciples would. He knew that even as the eleven were gathered here, there was one of their group who was on his way to the Pharisees to tell them how that they could arrest Jesus. Jesus knew that after He died, all the disciples would cower in fear in a room that was bolted shut. And He knew too that even after He appeared to them, they would decide to leave the teaching ministry behind and go back to fishing. Had Jesus been anyone else, that might have created some anxiety. Jesus was getting ready to turn over His whole ministry and the job of spreading the Gospel to the whole world to this bunch of fearful, self-centered, weak-faithed men. But Jesus knew more than their immediate future. He knew what lay ahead. He knew that Peter, the one who would soon deny Him, was also the one who would stand up in the middle of Jerusalem and proudly proclaim the name of Jesus with the result that over 5000 would be saved in one day. He knew that John would be standing there at the foot of the cross and that John would take care of His mother, Mary for the rest of her life. He knew that the rest of His disciples would bravely carry the message of the Gospel to all corners of the globe. He knew that the work was in good hands.
When the Father chose to bring you into this world, He already knew what the future would hold for you. He knew all of your faults as well as your strengths. He knew the pains that you would bring on yourself and the pains that would come on you through no fault of your own but simply because you are a part of this world. He knew whether up to this point you would choose to accept or to reject His offer of salvation. He knew all of these things about you, and yet He still chose to love you.
In the book of Genesis, right after the flood, God describes what mankind will be like now that He has rescued them. He says that “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (Gen. 8:21) which is pretty much the same description that He gave of the people prior to the flood. It’s like God was saying, “Even though I have given man a second chance, I already know that he will fail again. But I choose to be gracious anyway.” Did you know that you cannot surprise God? He already knows how that you will fail Him. But he is not worried, because He knows that His forgiveness is greater than any sin that you will ever commit. Rom. 5:20b “. . . where sin increased, grace increased all the more . . .” You can never outsin God’s forgiveness and grace. Jesus knows my future with all of its faults and failures, and He’s not worried because He knows that the blood He shed is enough to pay all of the penalty that I owe.
1. Jesus has already given me every resource that I need for the future (vs. 26)
You know that sick feeling that you have whenever you go on a long trip? It’s the feeling that says, “What am I forgetting?” A couple of summers ago, our family took a trip to Kentucky to visit my brother and his family. I had been in charge of packing the car because Tammy was gone somewhere that morning. When we arrived in Kentucky and got out of the car at my brother’s house, we began to pull all of the luggage out of the car. Suddenly, Tammy got this look on her face like the world had just come to an end. She put her hands on her head and began walking around in circles with her eyes pointed down at the ground. And she was mumbling something under her breath. When I finally was able to get her to tell me what she was so upset about, she asked one simple question: “Where is the kids’ suitcase?” “The kids’ suitcase” I said. “I didn’t know that there was a kids’ suitcase.” We (I) had left all of the kids clothes at our home which was 8 hours away, and we were going to be there for a week! Thankfully, some hand-me-downs from my brother’s kids and a quick trip to Wal-mart supplied us with enough to get us through the ordeal. Tammy doesn’t let me pack the car anymore without her supervision.
Jesus told His disciples that He wasn’t going to send them out into the job that He had for them without giving them the resources that they needed in order to be able to do the job. He told them first that they were going to receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus called the Spirit the “Counselor” or “Comforter”. That’s exactly what the disciples needed at this time. Jesus was getting ready to go away. Jesus had been their counselor and comforter. Jesus told them that someone was coming who would be able to fulfill the role that He had filled so that they would not be alone. This Spirit who was to come would have the job and the ability to “teach them all things”. He would be the One now who would tell them what to do just as Jesus had given directions while He was on earth. And He was the one who would help the disciples to understand all those things that Jesus had declared to them over the last three years of His ministry. One of the things that was frustrating for the disciples is that the teaching that Jesus gave to them were often in language that was difficult for them to understand. Look in 16:17ff. It says that they were talking among one another trying to see if any of them could understand what truth Jesus was communicating to them. Jesus Himself admitted in 16:25 that He used figurative language when He spoke with them, but He said that a time was coming when He would say everything to them in plain and clear language. That was part of the Spirit’s job to make clear the things that Jesus had said in parables and figurative language. A little bit later in this teaching that Jesus gave to them, He explained further what the role of the Spirit would be. Look at 16:7ff. It says that the Spirit will convict of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. To convict means to cause to see. One of the Spirit’s jobs would be to cause people to see their own sinfulness in comparison to the righteousness of God and see that they were under the judgment of God. When the disciples shared God’s Word with men, it was the Spirit who would go before them and use what was shared to bring conviction in the hearts of men. And then Jesus said that the Spirit would remind them of everything that He had said to them. Did you ever wonder as you were reading through the life of Christ in the Gospels how the disciples could remember all those things that Jesus said and did? I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday much less whatever was said to me. The first time that I meet someone and they tell me their name, within 5 seconds, I will have forgotten it. How in the world could these men remember all of the details of Jesus’ life? The way that they remembered was because the Holy Spirit brought these things to their remembrance so that they could write them down, and we would be able to know all of this about Jesus. (2 Tim 3:16 KJV) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Pet 1:21 KJV) For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Jesus was going to give them the Holy Spirit to teach them, to train them, and to guide them as to what they were to say and do. They had the words of Jesus, and they had the Spirit to enable them to remember and understand the words.
You and I have the same resources that these disciples did. We have the words of Jesus. We call it the Bible. In it, I have the wisdom to enable me to know how to react and act toward the people with whom I interact everyday. And we have the Holy Spirit who takes the words in the Bible and enables me to understand them and convicts me about how those words need to change the way that I live. Those two resources have sufficient ability to enable me to successfully handle anything or anyone that comes my way today or at any point in the future. I can have peace knowing that no matter how long the journey I travel, I have everything that I need. The Spirit gives me peace. (Gal. 5:22) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace . . .”
3. Jesus has a home for me in the future (vs. 2)
There is a certain peace that comes from knowing that you will have a place to live when you get to wherever it is that you are going. Some of you have heard the story of my family’s move to WV and the strange and terrifying experience that was. I won’t take the time to tell the whole story here today. It is enough to say that when we moved here, we did not have a home. We stayed with a couple in the church because the loan on our house had not yet closed. And for a time, we were without all of our worldly goods because our broken-down truck was stuck in Charlotte, NC. That was not a peaceful experience.
This summer, we have several teams from different churches in SC that are thinking about coming here to do a mission trip. The greatest problem that we are facing with this is where to house them. We have enough room here that they could sleep, but we have no shower facilities or cooking facilities. One thing that we are thinking about doing is rigging up a curtain on the back porch, running a hose across the ceiling rafters and making a temporary shower back there. Every shower would be a cold shower. This building would be their home for a week or for however long that they stayed. They will look forward to getting back to home once they have lived in such primitive conditions for a few days. But no matter how luxurious your stay away from home might be, there is always a refreshment that comes when you walk through the front door of your own home.
Jesus told His disciples that He was going to be busy while He was gone. He wasn’t going back to heaven to rest from His ministry while on earth. He was going back to prepare a home for them. Many years later, Jesus came to John, the Apostle and let him see what our new home is going to look like. Turn to Rev. 21:10ff. [read verses 10-21] When Jesus makes a home for us, He doesn’t just make some little dirt-floor shack. He spares no expense in order to make it the most beautiful and restful place that we could ever be. I can have peace because I have a home prepared for me.
4. Jesus is coming back to get me in the future. (vs. 28 cf. vs. 3)
At the same time that Jesus told His disciples that He was going away, He told them that He was going to be coming back. His separation from them would not be permanent. I feel sorry for our cat, Sunshine, sometimes whenever we leave to go out of town for a few days. Since we cannot communicate with her, she doesn’t know how long we are going to be gone. As far as she knows, we are never going to return. She is left to fend for herself in a dark, cold house not knowing what will happen to her when the pile of food and water that we have left runs out. The day of our departure is a sad day for her, but the day of our return is a sad day for us. She smothers us with so much attention that we can’t get anything done, and she walks all over us in bed so we can’t get much sleep. She thought that we were gone for good which caused great fear and anxiety in her.
Jesus didn’t have a communication problem with His disciples. He let them know that there would come a day when the separation would be over. They would be re-united with their friend and Savior. What He didn’t tell them was when the day of His return would occur. Over in the book of 1 Thes., Paul compares the return of Jesus to the coming of a thief in the night. 1 Thes. 5:2 . . . the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. He doesn’t mean that Jesus’ return will be a bad thing; he means that His return will come when the world least expects it. Many people believe that Jesus is coming back on Jan. 1, 2000. They think that the Y2K bug and the return of Jesus are together going to signal the end of the world. I’ve never been one to predict the date of Jesus’ return because Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour in which He will return. But I’m pretty confident that He will not return on Jan. 1 of this next year. Most of the world is making preparations for Y2K. But there is another event that most of the world should prepare for and has not. The event is J2C as a friend of mine put it. – “J” Jesus’ “2” second “C” coming. Do you know the difference between Y2K and J2C? With Y2K, we know when it is going to happen but we don’t know if it is going to happen. With J2C, we don’t know when it is going to happen, but we know for absolute certainty that it is going to happen! You may have made elaborate preparations for Y2K to insure that your body makes it through to the new year. But if you have not prepared your soul to meet Jesus when He comes, your Y2K preparations will do you no good in hell. Mt. 16:26 “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? . . .” Jesus is coming. Are you prepared?
The great thing about this re-union is that Jesus and those who have taken Him as their personal savior will never be separated again. We will be together for ever. Turn with me to 1 Thes. 4, and look at verse 14ff. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [or precede] them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. You know, there are going to be a lot of great things about heaven. There will be no more sickness there. Here in our church, we have several that are dealing with cancer. That will be gone. There will be no more crying there. Jesus said that He will wipe all tears from our eyes. We will get to see loved ones that have gone on before. I don’t remember whether it was Ben or Victoria that said it, but one of them said that they will get to meet their granddad, my dad, that they never got to meet here on earth since he died long before they were ever born. And we could list a lot of other great things about heaven. But none of them is so great as the fact that we will get to see Jesus, the one who loved us so much that He gave His life for us on a cross that was stuck up on a hill on the outskirts of Jerusalem. At the end of vs. 3 in John 14, Jesus said, I’m coming back to get you “that you also may be where I am.” And that re-union will not be short-lived; it will last into all eternity. It really doesn’t matter what you and I will be doing when we get to heaven; the important thing is who we will be with. Jesus is coming back to get me; is He coming back to get you? Are you ready for J2C – Jesus’ 2nd coming?
5 Jesus is the ruler of my future. (vs. 30 cf. 16:33)
In verse 30 of John 14, Jesus said, ”I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me.” Who was Jesus speaking of? He was speaking of Satan. Jesus called him the “Prince of the power of the air”. Because of man’s rejection of the rule of God over their lives, Satan has control of this world. But Jesus said, “He has no hold on me”. As much rule as Satan may have in this world, he has no control over Jesus. Then over in John 16:33, Jesus says this: I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus told His disciples up front, and He tells us that in this world, we are going to have troubles. Things are not going to be easy. The reason that we have troubles in this world is because of a war that is going on between Jesus and Satan, and the war that goes on inside of us over who is going to have control of our lives.
The world thinks that it can provide peace for us. Over in 1 Thes. 5:3, it talks about the fact that “while people are saying ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” The world’s kind of peace is based on several things. It is based on subjugation. If whoever the ruling power is can get its enemies under its thumb and under subjection, then there will be peace. If they can bring order to their world or to their lives, then there will be peace. They look at a young child sleeping or a comatose patient, and they say, "Aren’t they peaceful?” That’s not peace; that’s just inactivity! They think that peace is predictability. If everything happens the same way from day to day, and the stock market doesn’t fluctuate wildly, and everybody’s armies stay on their side of the dividing line, and the gas prices stay just as they are, and nothing changes, then that is peace. If my bank account is larger than my bills, then I will be financially secure, and I will have peace. [tell story of young man who started off in mail-room of a major company and slowly made his way up the ladder of success thinking that with each promotion and pay raise, he would finally find peace. What he discovered once he made it to the top was that his job and his money created more worries instead of less. He ended up desiring the job back in the mail-room because there were less worries there]
The world points to all kinds of places and situations that can bring us peace. They point to a peaceful cruise, or a peaceful mountain resort, or a peaceful whirlpool. And those things may provide rest and relaxation, but they don’t provide peace. (Jer 8:11,15 NIV) They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace. 15 We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there was only terror.) Jesus said, “My peace is different than the world’s peace.” Look at verse 27 of John 14: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” What is the difference between the peace that Jesus offers and the peace that the world offers? The peace that the world offers is based on circumstances. If circumstances change which they have a habit of doing, then there goes your peace. The peace that Jesus offers is found in a relationship with Him and is based on the fact that He is the ruler of my circumstances. He said, “I have overcome the world!” Since Jesus does not change, if my peace is based on Him, then my peace remains regardless of what is going on in the world around me.
6. Jesus is the way for me to be secure in my future. (vs. 4-6)
Thomas came to Jesus on that night before Jesus died, and he said, “Lord, you’ve told us that you are getting ready to go away. You’ve told us not to be afraid though. And you’ve told us that we will join you one day. But we don’t know where you are going, and we don’t know how to get there. How can we have peace?” Jesus responded with verse 6 of John 14: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” If you’re looking for direction in your life, if you feel like you’re lost and don’t know where to go, Jesus says I am the way. If you feel like no one has the answers for the questions that you are asking, if you feel like that there is no one you can trust because everyone lies to you in order to take advantage of you, Jesus says I am the truth. If you feel like you are just existing, living from paycheck to paycheck and from battle to battle, Jesus says I am the life. A relationship with Jesus is the way that you will find peace and security for today and every day for the rest of your life. He completed that verse by saying “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus isn’t just a way, He is the only way. You can’t tack Jesus onto whatever else you’ve got going in your life or whatever else you’re relying on. He’s not duct tape that you can strap around all that is a part of your life and expect Him to hold it all together. He wants you to bring it all to Him, let Him have it, getting rid of what doesn’t belong and acknowledging His ownership and control of everything that you are and have. Let Him deal with all the worries! Let him deal with all your past! Let Him have control of your future! Then, you will have peace. Jesus said, (Mat 11:28-29 NIV) "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
CONCLUSION
On a blustery day, a fellow was working on his roof, which had a sharp peak. So he decided to be safe he should somehow secure himself to something on the earth. He tied a rope around his waist, pulled it tight, climbed to the roof, and went over the peak. Then he threw the rope over the side and said to his boy, ‘Tie that to the tree.“ “Well”, the little kid thought, “That tree is rather small.” So he tied it to the bumper of the family car.
Mom was busy in the house with chores of her own. She discovered, however that she needed to make a quick trip to the store. She went out, put the car in reverse, and you can imagine the rest of the story.
This guy’s trusting in a rope is just like those who hang on to religion for security. [Tales of a Tardy Oxcart, p. 508] They have their rope tied to something on the earth that changes rather than having it tied to something in heaven that never changes. Who have you got your rope tied to?
INVITATION
Maybe as we went through these anchors this morning – anchors that were intended to create peace, maybe you find that they have created fear and anxiety instead of peace.
1. Jesus knows my future – He knows about the sin that I have done. He knows about the sin that I have planned.
2. Jesus has given me resources – Maybe the Holy Spirit has used the words of Jesus this morning to cause you to see where you stand in relation to the righteousness of God.
3. Jesus is preparing a home – My home is already prepared. I know that if I reject Christ, then I will spend an eternity in hell separated from God and all that is good.
4. Jesus is coming again – When He comes to get His own, I will still be sitting here. He will not be taking me to be with Him in heaven.
5. Jesus is the ruler of my future – If Jesus is the Ruler of my future, and I have rejected Him, then I am without hope.
. . . but there is an answer for your fear . . .
6. Jesus is the way for me to find security for my future – Jesus doesn’t want you to be afraid of the future. He wants you to welcome each day knowing that no matter what happens in that day, Jesus is right beside you and always will be.
Will you come today and meet the Prince of Peace? Will you allow Him to have complete control of your life?
