Treatment for Troubled Hearts
(John 14:1-31)
1. Did you ever play board games like “Shoots and Ladders” or “Gooses Wild” or even “Candyland?” You know the kind of games—your goal is to get to the finish line….
2. John chapter 14 is outlined in a similar fashion: we begin with “troubled hearts” in vs. 1, and we end up with “peace” in vs. 27.
3. Like a board game, we can often get sent back to the start….shoots and ladders…remember the long shoot…
4. If you don’t play the game, you can’t get sent back to the start—but you can’t win, either; many Christians STOP playing the game; they have peace because they have no conflict, and they have no conflict because they are wasting their lives…
5. The 11 apostles are with Jesus, in the Upper Room; in but a few brief hours, Jesus will be hanging on a cross…the disciples know something is up, but not sure of what….betrayal….denial….going away…what can all this mean?
MAIN IDEA: As we serve the Lord and live out life, there are plenty of opportunities for our hearts to be troubled; how can we move down the board to the end, namely a time of experiencing God’s peace?
TS------------ Let’s take a look at a few stops along the way that can further us onward to our journey for peace, and then we’ll look at the goal itself.
I. Steps to Peace
1. A sense of long-term security (1-4)….
(1) if we know that the long-term is secure, we can better endure the surprises of the short term….
(2) Jesus reveals two areas that should make us feel more secure:
a. He is building an addition to His Father’s house for us, still working as a carpenter
b. He will return like a groom for a bride
(3) The first Century Jewish wedding procedure (EXPLAIN)
Note: I included the page below as a bulletin insert; you can just study it out and summarize it (Ed)
John 14 and Ancient Wedding Customs
In John 14, Jesus talks about going away to prepare a place for believers. He then says that He will come back and receive us to Himself.
This terminology clearly refers to the Jewish wedding customs of His day.
In first century, marriages were arranged between parents—but with the permission of the perspective bride. If a marriage was arranged and the couple was officially betrothed (engaged), the man would soon leave for his father’s house. Over the next year, he would build an annex (attached to the father’s house) for he and his bride.
The bride and her attendants (the virgins of the “10 Virgins” parable, for example) never knew exactly when the groom would arrive to sweep up his bride and take her to the wedding feast (which would be held at his father’s house, perhaps even in a different town). Since they did not know “the day nor the hour,” they had to be ready! The groomsmen would precede the groom and make the announcement to the bride and her bridal party, “Behold, the groom is coming!” They would hurriedly pack and prepare themselves.
Soon the groom would arrive and whisk his bride away to the wedding feast. During the feast, the marriage would be consummated in the annex room, which the groom had built.
You can see how this imagery is used in John 14. Jesus is the groom; the church is His bride. He leaves for an indefinite period of time, coming to surprise His bride one day, so she had better be ready. He is busy at work right now “preparing a place for us” (a place, not a mansion; accurate translations have ruined many a song! -- sorry). This place is an annex added to “His father’s home.” By the way, if you have your heart set on a “mansion” in glory, remember that we are talking figures of speech here. If you look at the description of heaven in Revelation 22, it makes a mansion look like kid’s stuff. Take it from me: you won’t be let down!
The return of which Jesus speaks is what we call the “Rapture,” an event yet future when the “dead in Christ” will rise, and living believers will be “caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air” (see I Thes. 4:13ff and I Cor. 15:51ff for more details). We will then participate in "the Marriage Supper of the Lamb," (the figurative "consummation" period) after which we will return with Christ to help Him rule during the Millennium. Although our souls do meet Him at death (2 Cor. 5), the “consummation of the wedding” ("Marriage Supper") will take place when the entire Body of Christ is present in heaven.
2. Some simple beliefs to hang on to (5-7)
a. though these are simple beliefs, they are also offensive
b. Donahue…
c. How can I be saved…the way
How can I be sure…the truth
How can I be satisfied….the life
3. Being Active in Kingdom Work (8-14)
a. if you are serving Jesus, you are serving God
b. greater works….?
c. Prayer….same relationship as when Jesus walked with them…did He always grant the disciples requests/suggestions?
d. The context of these verses is KINGDOM WORK
e. Many Christians have little peace because they are not doing much
e. If you are serious about getting a life, get serious about getting a ministry
4. Appreciate God’s Presence In Your Life By His Spirit; Discern His Work By
Obedience (15-21)
a. The Holy Spirit has a new relationship in the church age…indwelling
b. Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:13…
c. He is our “Comfortor” ---exhorter, encourager, consoler….
d. When the Holy Spirit is active, we love Jesus; the measuring stick of our love for the Savior is OUR OBEDIENCE….
e. Talk is cheap….Mystical experiences w/out concrete obedience are unimpressive to God….The HS does work mystically, but the real thing shows itself…
f. We are in the HS’s Foster Care “I will not leave you as Orphans”
5. Jesus puts it all together in vs. 22-26
a. When I talk about Christian BALANCE, I mean the entire package…
b. When we cultivate the spiritual life, God is AT HOME with us….
c. The HS would remind & teach the apostles in a special way
---the HS can also teach us as we examine the Word…
As we serve the Lord and live out life, there are plenty of opportunities for our hearts to be troubled; how can we move down the board to the end, namely a time of experiencing God’s peace?
We’ve looked at a few stops along the way that can further us onward to our journey for peace, and now we’ll look at the goal itself.
II. Shalom (27-31)
1. Warren Wiersbe writes, “Shalom—peace—is a precious word to the Jewish people. It means much more than just the absence of war or distress. Shalom means wholeness, completeness, health, security, even prosperity in the best sense. The world bases its peace on it resources, while God’s peace depends on relationships….People in the world walk by sight and depend on the externals, but Christians walk by faith an depend on the eternals…”
2. It was grevious to the disciples that Jesus would be returning to the Father…but Jesus wanted them to rejoice for His sake (love is a two way street); this was all part of God’s plan…
3. Verses 29-30 are key: they tell us that God knows that evil times are coming, but He still allows them because they are part of His overall plan…
4. One of the hardest, most distasteful truths about God is that He allows tragedy to occur….we all hate that, but God makes no apology…He just reveals that such is the case….and He expects us to trust Him though we do not understand….and He expects our faith to remain unshaken because He has forewarned us….
5. This peace that God offers does not come in a fifth bottle, an injection, a promotion, or a 5,000 square foot house…it is available to all believers, rich or poor, young or old, black or white…
6. Put simply, peace is a fringe benefit to those who serve and love the Lord with all their hearts…
CONCLUSION
As we serve the Lord and live out life, there are plenty of opportunities for our hearts to be troubled; how can we move down the board to the end, namely a time of experiencing God’s peace?
We’ve looked at a few stops along the way that can further us onward to our journey for peace, and then we looked at the goal itself: shalom.
2. My prayer for you is that, no matter what the year holds, you will be a man, woman, or youth of peace!
