A lady driving on a narrow country road nearly went into a ditch when a car came around a sharp turn on the wrong side of the road. When she yelled, “Watch where you’re going!” as she passed his window, the offending driver shouted, “Pig.”

The stunned woman shot back, “Who are you calling a pig? You’re the pig!” and was still fuming in anger when she spun around the curve ahead and nearly crashed into the huge pig that was wallowing in a mud hole in the center of the road.

Some warnings are only understood too late.

In the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus now moves from words of comfort to words of warning to his 11 apostles. The first one: stay close to me.

A missionary recently related a story of a trip to Thailand and he was offering firm, repeated warning to his son “Don’t let go of my hand!”

He was concerned that he’d get lost in the underground marketplace: lots of people, the child too small to understand yet totally incapable of  taking care of himself or finding his parents if he were to get separated from them. And besides: this was a country that was known for kidnapping children and selling them as slaves.

“Don’t let go of my hand” had a very special meaning, didn’t it? But how do you explain to a young child such things when he approaches everything on a very innocent, simplistic level?

If you understand that frustration, you can relate to what Jesus must have felt as He considered His disciples’ future.

Jesus was leaving, that much He’d explained. The Spirit was coming, that they understood. Were the 22 eyes looking at Him on that occasion filled with confidence…wisdom…or were they filled with concern and uncertainty?

Jesus says five times in six verses: Remain in me!

In these opening verses, our Lord uses a similar homespun illustration — that of a vine and its branches — to teach His disciples the importance of fellowship with Him. This was an ancient metaphor that Israel’s prophets had used for centuries. He gives His followers a handful of reasons why they must remain close to Him.

Vineyards were everywhere, and it may be that they passed several on the road from Jerusalem to Gethsemane. They were certainly partaking of juice from the vine at their Passover feast.

* Five points of  resemblance between the vine and the gardener are given:

– 1. Remain in Me because “I am the right stock…the true vine.”

¹  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

The first essential in planting a vineyard is to have the right stock. Every nurseryman guarantees that the plants he sells will run true to type.

The story of Israel’s relationship with God had more “ups and downs” than a yo-yo.

One minute they were worshipping God and the next minute they’re putting up Asherah poles or dancing around golden calves.

This verse describes their behavior: (Exodus 32:6)  “So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”

What prompts such unfaithfulness (then and now?)

What enables a Christian to slip out the back door or a church building and step into the side door of an adult bookstore?

What leads a disciple to let go of the hand of Christ and raise his hand in abuse against his wife or children?

What seduces the Christian into dancing with the devil?

Our problem? We often become enamored with imitations…the fake vine that claims to be rooted in something good is simply that: fake!

It looks succulent and good…others have chosen to drink of its nectar so we do too. That false vine comes in the form of money…power…pleasure…fame….the list needs to come from your lips.

No matter how sweet and filling these items may be today—they are destined to dry up and blow away—as will all people who have joined themselves to them!

2. Remain in Me because “My Father is the husbandman…the right expert (gardener).”

⁶  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Every vineyard must be pruned by an expert. The vinedresser had to know how and when to prune and fertilize the vine, so that it would produce the maximum stock.

Jesus indicates that God is both the owner and the manager of the field. It was His to tend as He saw fit. And there is one goal in mind: to get the most good fruit possible from the vines under His care.

The concept of pruning involves the removal of some shoots in order to enhance the fruit bearing of the other branches. Christ assures his followers that God had already pruned and cleaned their branches and that he would continue to tend them as they grew.

How does He do this? Through the discipline and trials we go through as Christians. “Trials only stop when it is useless: that is why it scarcely ever stops.”

But pruning also involves cutting off the branches that bear no fruit. And we simply cannot ignore the scriptures that speak of this process:

(2 Thess. 1:7b-9)  “…This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. {8} He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. {9} They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.”

Cutting off barren branches is serious business. The fear of an eternity in hell outside of the presence of God exists for a reason: the gardener will not tolerate barren branches.

A while back I was told of a funny video that was in German; but you didn’t need to know German to get the point. A young woman asks her father how he likes the new iPad she gave him for his birthday. He says, “Good.”

But then she watches him use his iPad as a cutting board for chopping his vegetables. She is horrified as he rinses it off in the sink and puts in the dishwasher! A caption in English informs us that no I-Pads were harmed in filming the episode.

In real life, it’s no laughing matter when you see something costly not being used to fulfill its intended purpose, or even worse, being used for something contrary to its purpose.

But the saddest of all is when people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ fail to live for the purpose for which He saved them.

They drift through life like the unredeemed people around them, living to accumulate more stuff that they think will make them happier before they die.

But they never stop to consider what God wants them to do with the few precious years and the gifts that He gives them.

3. Remain in Me because You Can’t Bear Fruit Alone…the right culture.

²  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

³  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

These verses talk of Christians who are habitually unfaithful to the cause of Christ. It isn’t spiritual immaturity or laziness or struggling lifestyles. These are people who have lost their connection/allegiance to Christ.

(2 Peter 2:20-22)  “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. {21} It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. {22} Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.””

4. Remain in Me because if you do, I’ll make you fruitful…the right contact.

⁵  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

The process of pruning must never sever the fruit-bearing branch from the main vine. Cuttings will often bear leaves independently through the vitality resident in them, but they will never bear fruit.

In scripture, fruit, more fruit, and more fruit is the divine order! Growth brings increase in fruitfulness, and the more mature a Christian becomes, the more is expected of him.

Trying to bear fruit on our own is like trying to turn on a light that isn’t plugged in. We can check the bulb and flip the switch as often as we like, but if it isn’t connected to the power source, it will not work!

5. The right fruitage: “The same bears much fruit.”

. ⁸  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

God blesses those who abide in Him:

1. Prayer is answered.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” (vs. 7)

2. God is glorified

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (vs. 8)

3. Our life will be motivated by love.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” (vs. 9-10)

4. Joy will be ours in abundance.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (vs. 11).

A pair of scissors consists of two single blades. Yet the blades, regardless of  how sharp or shiny, are useless without one essential element — the small metal screw that holds them together.

Can you imagine trying to cut some paper or fabric without that tiny screw? Of course, you could put a blade in each hand. But think of the effort and difficulty involved in trying to make an even, precise cut that way. But when that tiny screw brings both blades together, suddenly the cutting becomes effortless.

In our relationship with God, abiding in Jesus is the screw that holds everything together and makes us useful to Him.

 And you know the way to where I am going.” ⁵  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I am thankful for the question Thomas asked, This affirmation of Jesus is one the greatest philosophical utterances of all time! He did not say that he KNEW the way…He declared himself THE FINAL KEY OF ALL MYSTERIES.

We have computer programs which map out the best route to various destinations. There are two pieces of information which we must know before the map can be printed: 1. the point of departure, and 2. the destination.

The disciples actually did know the starting point (Jerusalem) but they think they do not know His destination…I’ll let Jesus tell us:

John 6:38 (ESV) For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 7:33-34 (ESV) Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. ³⁴  You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.”

——————

Ever been asked a question like this: “Are you one of those who believe that Jesus is exclusively the only way to heaven? They usually follow with this exclamation: You know how mad that makes people these days!”

My response: “Jesus is not exclusive. He died so that anyone could comes to Him for salvation.”

Jesus is inclusive! The Bible says Jesus died so that people of all social classes, ethnicities and backgrounds can come to him for salvation.  Jesus excludes no one!

Christianity is not an exclusive club limited to an elite few who fit the perfect profile. Everyone is welcome regardless of color, class, or clout.

When he was on earth, Jesus made many gracious, very “inclusive” offers to help all kinds of people. Here are a few offers of hope to any of Jesus’ hearers without “fine print.” I’ll use italics to emphasize the key words…

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

By the way, Jesus made this statement to a woman whom most of Jesus’ countrymen would have considered a societal outcast, unworthy of civil conversation, much less an offer of eternal life!

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:38).

Then, why “only through Jesus”?

Jesus does not simply teach the way or point the way; He is the way. In fact, “the Way” was one of the early names for the Christian faith :

Acts 9:2 (ESV) and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Acts 19:23 (ESV) About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.

Acts 22:4 (ESV) I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,

Acts 24:14 (ESV) But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,

Our Lord’s statement, “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,” wipes away any other proposed way to heaven—good works, religious ceremonies, costly gifts, prestige, or power.

There is only one way, and Jesus Christ Jesus is the only way to God—it’s the truth and the only option that works. Think about it…God is the one we have all sinned against.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

Since we’re the “offenders,” it makes sense that God is the only one qualified to say how things can be set right with him! Even in our courts the offenders don’t set the amounts of their fines or the terms of their punishment! Why would we think the God of the universe would require less?

All of us are guilty before God. We are sinners in need of a Savior and we cannot help ourselves. Our sin had to be dealt with. Jesus, as God in the flesh, died to pay the penalty for our sins and then rose from the dead.

The Bible puts it this way: “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7-8).

Isaiah 53:6 goes on to say that “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” No other religious leader offers what Jesus provides in His victory over sin and death. And no other leader rose from the dead!

The gospel of Christ is offensive to some, but it is the wonderful truth that God loves us enough to come and take care of our biggest problem—sin.

John 3:17 (ESV) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus’ gracious offer to solve our basic sin problem is still valid today: “Whoever hears my word and believes him [God] who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

The Jews talked much about the way in which men must walk and the ways of God. God said to Moses: “You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you” (Deuteronomy 5:32, 33).

Moses said to the people: “I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you” (Deuteronomy 31:29).

Suppose we are in a strange town and ask for directions. Suppose the person asked says: “Take the first to the right, and the second to the left. Cross the square, go past the church, take the third on the right and the road you want is the fourth on the left.” The chances are that we will be lost before we get half-way. But suppose the person we ask says: “Come. I’ll take you there.” In that case the person to us is the way, and we cannot miss it.

That is what Jesus does for us. He does not only give advice and directions. He takes us by the hand and leads us; he strengthens us and guides us personally every day. He does not tell us about the way; he is the Way.

Following are three reasons why people reject Jesus’ claim to be the only way to God:

1. They are satisfied with their own way or with doing nothing; they refuse on principle to examine Christ’s claims. Like people in a smoke-filled building who doubt that there is a fire, they insist that they will find their own way out.
2. They deny their lostness. These people in the smoke-filled building insist on debating whether there is a fire.
3. They are convinced that there must be several valid ways besides Jesus to get to God. These people in the smoke-filled building reluctantly agree that there may be a fire, but that any way of escape is as good as any other, even though they have not actually chosen a way themselves.

I have faith in a God who acts in history to uphold a particular truth, a vision of social justice and personal holiness that has clear definition and is anything but relative.

Despite my post-modern inclination to embrace nuance, paradox and gray areas, Jesus presents me with a yes or no decision: Will I follow him, or not?

The choice to answer “yes” is a direct challenge to the status quo. All of a sudden, I find that I can’t go along anymore with my culture’s competing truth claims.

Jesus has become not merely one option for my personal growth, nor just a great teacher whose wisdom I can mix and match with other teachers and paths. Instead, I am put in the uncomfortable position of following him as my Lord and my God.

By relating to Jesus as what could be ultimate concern, I shine a spotlight on the inadequacy of all other, less-than-ultimate concerns. Family, country, community, wealth, peace and progress, all these things are good and necessary for our well-being, but they fall short of ultimacy.

In Jesus, I discover that it’s not enough to be happy, healthy and wealthy if I’m not following the ultimate truth.

Despite how offensive and exclusive Jesus may seem to many, following him is ultimately the most inclusive, loving thing we can do.

Some explain it this way: our culture’s way of creating belonging is through shared affinity – for example, the kind of music we listen to, games we play, work we do, or pets we own. Our culture seeks to create unity through subcultures centered on shared consumption, rather than shared purpose.

These various subcultures – including many religious groups, I might add! – are an extremely exclusive way of forming community. They depend upon a group of people gathered around shared traits or interests. They gather around who we are and what we do rather than who God is and what God is doing.

Jesus does things differently. He draws us into community with people that we would not have chosen ourselves. Rather than coming together primarily out of shared hobbies, life experience or social/class backgrounds, Jesus calls people who are profoundly different. These folks might not even like each other; yet, in Jesus, they discover an irresistible love that unites them.

I’ve seen this play out many times: God draws together a bunch of misfits, folks who no reasonable person would have picked out, but who our unreasonable God designed to cohere in his Spirit.

This is the kind of community I want to be a part of: a community that stretches me to love folks I don’t like, to grow beyond the normal bounds of human affinity.

I want to be part of a community so radiant with Christ’s inclusive love that even those who are skeptical of our faith will be drawn to us.

When we are dwelling in the Spirit, others may perceive that we want to be friends with them – not because we like them, and not because they say the right words or believe the right things, but because Jesus already loves them and accepts them.

As Charles Hodge said: “Stick with those you’re stuck with.”

Jesus claimed to be the only way to God the Father. Some people may argue that this way is too narrow. In reality, it is wide enough for the whole world, if the world chooses to accept it. Instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way, we should be saying, “Thank you, God, for providing a sure way to get to you!

The claims of Jesus resound in the Holy Scriptures. He makes it clear that He is not a “good teacher” He is not a “good man” – a man slightly elevated and set apart from other men.

Jesus claimed and demonstrated that He is the holy God. He created the Universe, the Cosmos and the many distant world’s.

He is the Word of God made flesh. He is the Son of God incarnate, who came to save people from everlasting punishment. He alone is the way to God, the only mediator and Savior of human-kind. Only He is able and willing to sacrifice Himself for the destitute race that is human beings.

He has always been with the Father. He is an infinite being who never had a start and will never end. He is Eternal Life.

This is who He is. The way to freedom, salvation and forgiveness is through Him. Only Him. There is only one way to heaven, and that way is on His terms, not ours.

The path of repentance and faith is the only way to heaven. We face our sinful selves and bring our rottenness to Christ and He is able to forgive anyone who comes and trusts in Him. This is a supernatural process that only God the Son can perform.

Christ died so that humans don’t have to. He offers free salvation to anyone who will humble themselves and give up their selfish lives to Him. Our destruction is that we refuse Him and insist on our own way.

This is the only way to God. It is an exclusive way and has a single Savior. All honor, glory and praise is unto His name for ever and ever.

John 3:18 (ESV) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

As a Christian I am not going to tell you that things are not all that bad. If I read my Bible correctly, things are going to proceed from bad to worse as the time of our Lord’s return draws near. The days ahead may be difficult indeed, but our Lord has not left us without hope.

It is at the point of facing the frightening prospects of the future that we can find a common ground with the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The words of the Lord Jesus are words of comfort and encouragement. They contain a message of peace and consolation. It is by understanding and applying the principles of this passage that you and I can look the future in the face with faith rather than fear, with hope rather than despair.

(John 14:12-14)  “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. {13} And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. {14} You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Asking in Jesus’ name means more than tacking a required phrase at the end of hasty and often self-centered prayers. The privilege to approach God “in Jesus name” ought not to be taken lightly. We demonstrate maturity in our faith as we practice the use of Jesus’ name in ways which recognize his enabling power and his unlimited resources. Keep in mind:

Þ Christ’s kingdom purpose—Everything Jesus did aimed at glorifying God and bringing those who believe into his kingdom. Do your prayers fit in with Christ’s kingdom purpose?

Þ Christ’s larger perspective—Christ considers our needs in the context of the needs and desires of his larger family. He knows us individually, but responds to us in community. Do your prayers insist on your will being done or do you seek God’s will for all your Christian brothers and sisters

Þ Christ’s requirement to follow him—Because we are his obedient disciples, Christ promises to answer our prayers. Do your prayers flow from an obedient life? Are you willing to fulfill what God has already asked you to do?

Þ Christ’s promise of peace—Lack of peace stems from a prayerless life, not from unanswered prayer. Are you overanxious to speed up God’s timetable for your benefit? His peace enables us to sort through our desires in order to discover what we really want him to do.

We are encouraged to bring all our requests to God—even our desperate and fearful ones

We need to truly understand the awesome force of loneliness! Because when we are deprived of contact with each other, we wither up and slowly die from the inside out.

A person can have food and water and sunshine and air…but if you keep him/her alone, they will be destroyed. Our Lord understood the deep need of our souls for human contact and comfort. Genesis 2:18 speaks clearly to us here: It is not good for the man to be alone.

Sin separates us from God, and we feel forsaken and are left to wonder if he hears us or cares about us. And Satan is quick to come around on those occasions to convince us that we have been abandoned, left on the doorstep by Jesus because we didn’t measure up.

Satan wants us to believe that we aren’t good enough or smart enough or holy enough to deserve God’s favor.

He wants us to recoil in shame, feeling that God doesn’t want us anymore.

(John 14:18)  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Many situations can cause us to feel abandoned:

• Someone dies that we loved and depended on every day, and we feel abandoned.
• Someone whose companionship has nourished us daily for years is horribly sick, and we feel abandoned.
• The lifestyle we enjoyed for many years–maybe for all our lives–becomes impossible, and we feel abandoned.
• The job we depended on to care for us as long as we lived disappears, and we feel abandoned.

All too often we feel like God let us down. Too commonly we are convinced that we made a deal with God. We would worship Jesus Christ and call ourselves Christians and God would take care of us. That was the deal, and we expect God to keep His end of the bargain.

So when life goes in completely unacceptable ways, it is God’s fault–He is not keeping His part of the deal.

• If someone we love dies, God failed us.
• If someone we depend on gets sick, God failed us.
• If our lifestyle changes in unacceptable ways, God failed us.
• If the job we depended on ceases to exist, God failed us.

Today’s general conditions cause me enormous fears for me, for fellow Christians, for everyone in the Lord’s church.  Commonly, American Christians do a horrible job of separating the American dream from Christian hope. Far too often we combine the American dream with Christian hope. We expect Christian hope to produce the American dream.  So if in any way we fail to realize the American dream, God has failed to keep his promises.

I’m afraid because the American dream is the most important thing in our lives. I’m afraid because too many Christians decide the purpose of Christian hope is to produce the American dream.

Too many Christians decide if God does or does not abandon them by using materialistic standards.  If that is your conclusion, you have a basic misunderstanding of Christian existence:

• Jesus’ cross was not about physical advantages!
• Christian suffering was not about physical advantages!
• Christian martyrdom was not about physical advantages!
• Christian existence:
• Is about forgiveness.
• Is about redemption.
• Is about the destruction of guilt.
• It is about a genuine hope that goes beyond death.
• Is about belonging to God in life and death.
• Is about the strength to live for Christ and die for God.

I believe that most of us know, deep down, that God has never stopped loving us. When things get tough and our experiments get us into trouble, we’ll listen to our hearts and we’ll understand that we were never unloved. You cannot destroy the love of God, no matter how far away you go!

(John 14:25-26)  “”All this I have spoken while still with you. {26} But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

Having assured the disciples that He was not deserting them but rather going before to prepare a place for them, Jesus proceeded to ask for their obedience:

A Christian, in essence, is one who loves Jesus. We have used our religious exercises (such as offerings, church attendance, and dress), as a barometer of love for Christ. While religious devotion may fulfill the greatest commandment, it hardly touches the second greatest—to love our neighbor as ourself.

If Jesus is correct, this second command will have primary emphasis on Judgment Day (Mt 25:31-46). After all, the best barometer of our love for God is our love for his children.

Those whose love for Christ is validated by their obedience are granted a most precious gift, the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32). He is called the Counselor — one called alongside to assist or succor. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was reserved for Christians (Jn 7:39-40).

He actually enters our bodies (Rom 8:9-11; 1 Cor 6:19), and marks us as God’s possession (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30).

Through him we are sanctified (Rom 15:16; 2 Thess 2:13), taught (1 Cor 2:10-16; Eph 1:17-18; 1 Jn 2:27), guided (Rom 8:14; Gal 5:18), and strengthened (Jn 14:26). Through him we receive adoption (Rom 8:12-17), gifts with which we serve the church (Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; Eph 4:11-13), and fruit for the glory of God (Gal 5:22-23).

He intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray (Rom 8:26), and refreshes us when we are downcast (Acts 3:19; John 7:38-39; Isa 40:1-2; 41:17-20; 44:1-5; 54:11-17; 55:1-5; Heb 4:1-11). Even this brief job description of the Holy Spirit makes one want to shout with thankful praise! The Christian community must be cautious not to allow contention over miraculous gifts to overshadow the beauty and necessity of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer.

He is “another” helper of the same nature and ability as Jesus. It is clear in Acts that the world knows nothing of this marvelous gift (cf. Acts 2:6ff) because it operates on the earthly plane. Because the Holy Spirit can’t be dissected or marketed he is rejected by the worldly person (1 Cor 2:14). Yet verses 19-20 make it clear that we, in our bodies, participate in the unity of the Trinity through the indwelling of the Spirit. We are, indeed, partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4).

If their distress over the prediction of His departure were genuine, it meant that they loved Him. If they really loved Him, they must show it by obedience. Love was to be the new motive for their lives; obedience to Him the  new standard for their activity.

The provision for their future included also a new dynamic: the Holy Spirit. Several assertions were made concerning Him in these verses:

– He is an answer to Jesus’ prayer to the Father  (vs. 16)

– He is another “Comforter” (vs. 16)

– He dwells permanently with the believer (vs. 16)

– He is called the Spirit of Truth (vs. 17)

– He is unknown to the “world” (vs. 17)

– He will dwell in the believer (vs. 17)

The word “Comforter” (Greek: paraklete) is misleading to modern ears. It does not mean “sympathizer” so much as “advocate,” one who is called in to defend against accusation and to represent a client in court or to transact business for him. The only use of this word outside of this gospel is in 1 John 2:1, where Jesus is called an Advocate.

Had Jesus remained upon earth, He would necessarily have been restricted by space and time as are all men. The indwelling of the Spirit in the hearts of Jesus’ followers would provide a fellowship with God even closer than they had experienced in the physical presence of Jesus.

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? ³  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. ⁴  And you know the way to where I am going.”

This week I was made aware of a cartoon in which a man was lying on the couch of a psychiatrist. When the psychiatrist asked the client what his problem was he confided that he had all kinds of fears about the future.

“Doctor,” he began, “I’m worried about the energy crisis, inflation, the situation in the Middle East, political and social upheaval in Africa, our diplomatic relations with Russia and China …” In the final frame the psychiatrist responded, “Shut up and move over,” after which he proceeded to get on the couch with the patient.

A cartoon such as this would be much more amusing if it did not contain so much truth. The problems of the future are almost overwhelming. Those in a position to know the facts are privately saying that things are not nearly as bad as they seem—they are worse. Public officials seem to have taken the same approach to our national problems as many doctors do with a terminally ill patient—keep the unpleasant truth from them as long as possible.

Secular philosophy and ethics have come to assume a fearful future. That is why they are dominated by a note of absolute despair: “The life of man is a long march through the night, surrounded by invisible foes, tortured by weariness and pain, towards a goal that few can hope to reach, and where none may tarry long.”

It is at the point of facing the frightening prospects of the future that we can find a common ground with the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are certain other great truths within this passage.

1. It tells us of the honesty of Jesus. No one could ever claim that he had been tricked into Christianity by specious promises or under false pretenses.

• Jesus told men bluntly that the Christian must bid farewell to comfort (Lk 9:57-58).
• He told them of the persecution, the hatred, the penalties they would have to bear (Matt 10:16-22).
• He told them of the cross which they must carry (Matt 16:24), even although he told them also of the glory of the ending of the Christian way. He frankly and honestly told men what they might expect both of glory and of pain if they followed him. He was not a leader who tried to bribe men with promises of an easy way; he tried to challenge them into greatness.

He implied that they should believe Him against all odds. Remember, He was doomed to death, which overtakes all men. Yet He promised to prepare a place for them and to return to claim them!

Faith in Christ’s person will comfort your troubled heart.

Faith is only as good as its object. Trusting in a faulty airplane won’t make it fly! As we’ve seen repeatedly, everything in the Christian life depends on the correct answer to Jesus’ question (Matt. 16:15), “Who do you say that I am?”

If Jesus is who He claimed to be and who all of Scripture proclaims Him to be, then He is absolutely trustworthy in every trial that you encounter.

If He is not who He claimed to be, then eat and drink, for tomorrow you will die (see 1 Cor. 15:12-19, 32).  

Reasons why Jesus had to go away:

1. He must go away (die upon the cross) to prepare our salvation. Only His sacrifice is sufficient atonement for our sins.
2. He must go away (by His resurrection and ascension) to take captivity captive (Eph. 4:8) to triumph over principalities and powers (Col. 2:15) and allow us even now “to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).
3. He must go away (unto the right hand of the Father’s throne) to constantly minister for us.
4. It tells us of the function of Jesus. He said, “I am going to prepare a place for you.” One of the great thoughts of the New Testament is that Jesus goes on in front for us to follow. He opens up a way so that we may follow in his steps.

“In my Father’s house are many rooms.” The traditional interpretation of this phrase teaches that Jesus is going to heaven to prepare rooms or “mansions” (nkjv) for his followers. Based on that imagery, entire heavenly subdivisions and elaborate “mansion blueprints” have been described.

Many think that Jesus was speaking about his Father’s house in heaven, where he would go after his resurrection in order to prepare rooms for his followers. Then he would return one day to take his believers to be with him in heaven. The day of that return usually has been regarded as the Second Coming.

The other view is that the passage primarily speaks of the believers’ immediate access to God the Father through the Son. The “place” Jesus was preparing has less to do with a location (heaven) as it had to do with an intimate relationship with a person (God the Father).

This interpretation does not deny the comfort of heaven’s hope in this passage, but it does remove the temptation to view heaven purely in terms of glorious mansions.

Heaven is not about splendid accommodations; it is about being with God. The point of the passage is that Jesus is providing the way for the believers to live in God the Father. As such, the way he prepared the place was through his own death and resurrection and thereby opened the way for the believers to live in Christ and approach God.

Hope in Christ’s promise will comfort your troubled heart.

The bad news for the disciples (so far as they perceived it) was that Jesus was going away without them. The good news puts all this into perspective: He is going to His Father’s house; He is going back to heaven. He is going there to prepare a place for His disciples, so that they can be with Him for all eternity. Our Lord is telling His disciples and us that there is plenty of room for us all in His Father’s heavenly house.

One of the great words which is used to describe Jesus is the word forerunner. There are two uses of this word which light up the picture within it. In the Roman army the word describes the reconnaissance troops. They went ahead of the main body of the army to blaze the trail and to ensure that it was safe for the rest of the troops to follow. That is what Jesus did. He blazed the way to heaven and to God that we might follow in his steps.

3. It tells us of the ultimate triumph of Jesus. He said: “I am coming again.” The Second Coming of Jesus is a doctrine which has to a large extent dropped out of Christian thinking and preaching. The curious thing about it is that Christians seem either entirely to disregard it or to think of nothing else.

It is true that we cannot tell when it will happen or what will happen, but one thing is certain—history is going somewhere. Without a climax it would be necessarily incomplete. History must have a consummation, and that consummation will be the triumph of Jesus Christ; and he promises that in the day of his triumph he will welcome his friends.

Jesus said: “Where I am, there you will also be.” Here is a great truth put in the simplest way; for the Christian, heaven is where Jesus is. We do not need to speculate on what heaven will be like. It is enough to know that we will be for ever with him.

When we love someone with our whole heart, we are really alive only when we are with that person. It is so with Christ. In this world our contact with him is shadowy, for we can see only through a glass darkly, and spasmodic, for we are poor creatures and cannot live always on the heights. But the best definition is to say that heaven is that state where we will always be with Jesus.

Jesus suggested that the proper approach to the question of human destiny is faith in a personal God. If a personal God exists, who is the judge and redeemer of man, there must be a destiny for man beyond the grave.

The 2nd Coming. Not only here but in Acts 1:11; 3:21; 2 Thessalonians 4:13–17, etc., the doctrine of the second coming of Christ is emphatically taught, the same being one of the foundational teachings of Christianity. Some will go to heaven through the valley of the shadow of death, but those who are alive when Jesus returns will never see death (John 11:25-26). They will be changed to be like Christ and will go to heaven (1 Thess. 4:13-18

1. What Christ will not do upon his return.
2. He will not offer himself a second time for the sins of the world (Heb. 9:26-28).
3. He will not restore any phase of fleshly or national Israel. The Scripture makes it absolutely clear that race is nothing with God (Gal. 3:27).
4. He will not set up a kingdom, having already done that, the church being his kingdom. It has existed continuously since the first Pentecost after the resurrection, and wherever the Lord’s Supper is, there is the kingdom (Luke 22:30).
5. He will not extend a second chance for unbelievers to repent (Heb. 9:27).
6. What Christ will do upon his return.
7. All the dead shall be raised to life (John 5:24-29).
8. The judgment will occur (John 5:24-29; Matt. 25:31-36).
9. The wicked shall be destroyed and the righteous rewarded (2 Thess. 1:7-10).
10. The crown of life shall be given to the faithful (2 Tim. 4:7,8).
11. Christ will stop reigning, delivering up the kingdom to God (1 Cor. 15:28).

III. What Christ is now doing.

1. He is reigning until all of his enemies have been put under foot (1 Cor. 15:25f).
2. He is interceding for the redeemed (Heb. 7:25).
3. He is administering all authority in heaven and upon earth (Matt. 28:18-20).
4. He is providentially overseeing the fortunes of his church on earth (Matt. 28:19,20).
5. He is preparing a home for the faithful (John 14:3).

Since heaven is the Father’s house, it must be a place of love and joy. When the Apostle John tried to describe heaven, he almost ran out of symbols and comparisons! (Rev. 21-22) Finally, he listed the things that would not be there: death, sorrow, crying, pain, night, etc. What a wonderful home it will be—and we will enjoy it forever!

Heaven is the place where God dwells and where Jesus sits today at the right hand of the Father. Heaven is described as a kingdom (2 Peter 1:11), an inheritance (1 Peter 1:4), a country (Heb. 1:16), a city (Heb. 11:16), and a home (John 14:2).

Heaven is “My Father’s house,” according to Jesus. It is “home” for God’s children!

A good deal of the time, the Lord and His disciples may have been camping rather than living comfortably in some spatial home. What Jesus promises His disciples is a dramatic (what an understatement!) improvement.

Biblical hope is closely allied with faith. Someone has described it as faith standing on tiptoe. It looks ahead to the promised, but yet unrealized future.

It’s not like saying, “I hope my favorite team wins their big game today.” You don’t know whether they will win or lose. Biblical hope is like watching the video replay of the game after your team won. You know the outcome, but you eagerly watch the game unfold.

Here Jesus makes two promises that are certain because He is the truth:

First, heaven is a real place, not just an immaterial state of being.

Second, going to heaven is like going home. It’s not like traveling to a foreign country, where you don’t know the language, geography, people, or customs. It’s like going to a familiar, comfortable place where you are welcomed by a Father who loves you and by brothers and sisters whom you know.

Third, Jesus is there right now preparing a place for us. This doesn’t mean that He is working with His carpenter’s tools to add rooms for us. Rather, it looks at His present ministry of intercession for us, of being our advocate, and of keeping us for that day.

It’s always comforting when you travel to know that you have a confirmed reservation when you arrive. Jesus promises that if you believe in Him, you have such a reservation in heaven.

Jesus says the ultimate result is that where I am, you also may be. In Greek it is clear that this is an intentional play upon the “I am” statement. Jesus hints that at his Second Coming believers will share in the “I am-ness” he presently enjoys. They will have unobstructed access to the glorious majesty of God the Father.

The certainty of Christ’s bodily return means terror for those who reject Him, because He will come to “tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Rev. 19:15). But His return means comfort for all that believe in Him, because we will always be with the Lord.

Paul concludes his discussion of Christ’s return by saying (1 Thess. 4:18), “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

In my Father’s house are many rooms [mansions]; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. {3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. {4} You know the way to the place where I am going.”” – John 14:1-4

“I’m leaving.”

As we come to this section in John’s marvelous gospel, those words uttered by our Lord shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who heard them then or is reminded of them today. After all, His disciples knew this time was going to come. From the very beginning, He’d been preparing them for a time when they would need to carry on without Him.

The conversation was extremely distressing. The men gathered to remember God’s great victory that brought their nation into existence. It was a sober time, but a joyful time. They should have talked about God’s incredible power to deliver His people, they talked about their leader going away.

It was not fair! They left everything to follow this man! At the entrance to Jerusalem, he was more popular than ever! A month ago they feared his death, but the last few days he was untouchable. Their concept of victory was in their grasp!

Now the man who was the center of their daily companionship said he was going away, and for the first time he said none of them could go with him. Daily life without Jesus’ physical companionship was unthinkable! All their expectations were centered in his physical presence, and now he said he was leaving.

They should have known that this was not going to be an ordinary Passover meal. They should have known from the moment He had started washing their feet with his own hands, from the way he had blessed the cup and the bread, from the deeply pensive look into their eyes…they should have known.

This has been unlike any other meal the disciples shared with Jesus. He seemed so grave, so solemn. An ominous finality lingered over the Passover “celebration.”

This is one of those “good news/bad news” scenarios. What lies ahead is difficult. But Jesus’ promises are simply out of this world! With these words, Jesus reverted to the original teaching that He had begun before Peter interrupted Him, and at the same time gave a fuller answer to Peter’s question.

The immediate effect of our Lord’s words to His disciples was confusion and sadness. I would like to suggest that this was exactly what our Lord intended them to produce—for the moment. Suppose the disciples really did grasp what Jesus was about to do.

Suppose, for example, that the disciples understood that Judas was about to betray our Lord and to hand Him over to the Jewish authorities, so that they could carry out a mock trial and crucify the Son of God on the cross of Calvary.

I think I know what Peter would have done—he would have used his sword on Judas, rather than the high priest’s slave. I believe the disciples would have attempted to prevent what was about to happen, had they known what that was.

But the confusion our Lord’s words produced threw them off balance. The result was that when Jesus was arrested, they fled. They did not die trying to defend the Savior, and in part this was because they were utterly confused by what was happening.

Jesus’ words were not intended to produce instant “relief,” but eternal joy. The confusion and sadness that the Upper Room Discourse created in the disciples enabled Jesus to die just as He knew He must, just as it had been planned, purposed, and promised long before. The disciples were surely not “in control” at this point in time, but, as always, the Master was.

How would they make it without Jesus by their side?

One day they would all go on that journey. Peter would go relatively soon…then Thomas, Matthew, James…the rest, with the exception of John. Like millions of other believers in the first century, the apostles would walk through the valley of the shadow of death clinging to the unseen hand of their Lord.

But they “had some living” between this moment and that time of their life. Here, their attention was on one relatively simple dilemma: How would they make it without Jesus by their side? And if their leader and spokesman was soon to deny Jesus, how could they trust themselves?

While the crucifixion and ascension will be devastating losses for the disciples, their faith can be sustained in the midst of this present suffering by the assurance of three glorious realities: (1) The enduring presence of the Holy Spirit, (2) Jesus’ return and (3) the hope of a heavenly home.

The glory of our future dwelling is not in its size or prestige but in the presence of Christ.

From the moment of our baptism into Christ, we exist in an “in-between” time – a no-man’s land of waiting to be with the one we adore

We have said good-bye to a life of human aims but not yet said hello to eternity in a divine place

Christ’s presence is real enough to the heart, but our eyes long to see Him

Like Paul, we desire “to be with the Lord” yet must wait for His return

With the wisdom and love that only the Creator and Master can possess, Jesus begins to share with His frightened followers the words they would need until He returned:

Those words would fill the void the other two words had created.

Those words would guide and direct the disciples, soothe and assure them.

Those words would enable them to live, for a while, without Him by their side.

These words will compose our series for the coming weeks. They will be words of comfort, words of warning, words of encouragement, and words of caution.

They should be words that will provide for our every need as we find ourselves in situations similar to the ones faced by these brave but very human individuals who lived so many years ago.

What is living with fear? For some, it is growing accustomed to constant worry about our lives and souls. It can also move us into accepting the uneasy feeling that our salvation is not secure and our future is in question. It is a devilish détente with doubt that makes inner peace impossible.

Living with fear means resigning control and letting those fears control us. Fear eventually can rob us of joy and bind us in panic. It messes up our minds and confounds our common sense…and then the “what if’s begin to take over…..

What if I get cancer?  What if our company announces financial difficulties? When fear takes control over our faith, it renders us ineffective in doing the very tasks to which our Lord has called us.

* Fear has always been connected to sin.

Genesis 3:8-10: “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. {9} But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” {10} He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.””

Prior to the sin of Adam and Eve, they lived in an ideal environment in perfect harmony and fellowship with their Creator. The concept of fear was not even in the mix, was it?

Satan promised a product that would make their life even better—and delivered a product that was nothing like the advertisement! Sin opens the door, and fear enters on the heels of its twin demon: guilt.

What a neat, nasty system we find here. Sin destroys the foundation of our confidence by eroding our relationship with God and replacing it with fear. It leaves us feeling dirty, scared, and unsure of our salvation…and if we remain in willful sin, we should feel that way!

* The power of fear is a matter of focus.

Adam and Eve were in trouble when the focus of their attention moved from God’s love and power to their weaknesses. Fear caused them to forget about the loving way God had provided for them and the gracious way He had sustained them. They instantly developed a kind of fear-driven tunnel vision that allowed them to see nothing but an oncoming train.

* Conquering fear is a matter of choice.

Jesus’ command “to fear not” needs to be viewed in light of another kind of fear, a healthy one that the Bible speaks of often:

(Proverbs 1:7)  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

(Isaiah 12:2)  “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.””

The key to keeping our hearts from being troubled is choosing whom to fear! Faith is actually the choice to fear God only. Put another way, it’s deciding between the greater of two fears.

The final emphasis. According to Jesus, heaven is a place. It is not a product of religious imagination or the result of a psyched-up mentality, looking for “pie in the sky by and by.”

Heaven is the place where God dwells and where Jesus sits today at the right hand of the Father. Heaven is described as a kingdom (2 Peter 1:11), an inheritance (1 Peter 1:4), a country (Heb. 1:16), a city (Heb. 11:16), and a home (John 14:2).

Heaven is “My Father’s house,” according to Jesus. It is “home” for God’s children! Indeed, “heaven is a prepared place for a prepared person.”

Though there is much “fuss” over the idea of the word mansions, the idea is clear: there would be room for all in the Father’s house.    Reasons why Jesus had to go away:

1. He must go away (die upon the cross) to prepare our salvation. Only His sacrifice is sufficient atonement for our sins.
2. He must go away (by His resurrection and ascension) to take captivity captive (Eph. 4:8) to triumph over principalities and powers (Col. 2:15) and allow us even now “to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).
3. He must go away (unto the right hand of the Father’s throne) to constantly minister for us.

(Hebrews 13:6)  “So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?””

(Revelation 2:10)  “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

————————

According to U.S.A. Today (11/16/11), “More than 20 percent of American adults took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression in 2021 … including more than one in four women.”

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports “Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18% of U.S. population).”

I realize that some of you have taken or are currently taking medication for anxiety or depression. I am not a doctor and I recognize that there are complex factors that affect our mental condition. I would not recommend that you go off any medication without your doctor’s consent. But at the same time, I would urge you to think carefully about whether or not you have truly laid hold of the cure for troubled hearts that Jesus promises in our text: Faith in Christ’s person and hope in Christ’s promise will comfort your troubled heart.

You may think, “That’s overly simplistic! That’s a nice thought, but it’s impractical and out of touch with reality!” But these are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to troubled hearts. Either His words are true or they’re not.

So I would ask you to consider whether perhaps you just haven’t applied these words before you conclude that they are simplistic or impractical. And I also point out that Jesus’ words have given genuine comfort to countless believers in the midst of horrible trials over the past 2000+ years of church history. So before you shrug them off, consider whether or not you have truly applied them to your troubled heart.

Jesus is in the Upper Room with the eleven disciples after Judas has left to betray Him. Except for John and perhaps Peter, the others didn’t know yet who the betrayer was, but they were troubled by the news that one of the twelve would betray Jesus.

The Lord has also announced that He is leaving them and that they cannot follow Him. These are men who had left their jobs and families to follow Jesus in the hope that He was the promised Messiah. They were ecstatic a few days before when He rode into Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowd. But now He was talking about His death, not about His messianic kingdom. And to top it off, He had just told Peter that before daybreak, he would deny Jesus three times.

So these men were anxious and troubled! And so the Lord’s emphasis in all of John 14, not just in our text, is to comfort their troubled hearts, especially as they witnessed His brutal execution the next day. If you apply them, these words will also comfort your troubled heart.

1. Faith in Christ’s person will comfort your troubled heart (John 14:1, 4-11).

Faith is only as good as its object. Trusting in a faulty airplane won’t make it fly! As we’ve seen repeatedly, everything in the Christian life depends on the correct answer to Jesus’ question (Matt. 16:15), “Who do you say that I am?”

If Jesus is who He claimed to be and who all of Scripture proclaims Him to be, then He is absolutely trustworthy in every trial that you encounter. If He is not who He claimed to be, then eat and drink, for tomorrow you will die (see 1 Cor. 15:12-19, 32). Or, as church historian Jaroslav Pelikan said just before he died, “If Christ is raised, nothing else matters. If Christ is not raised, nothing matters.” (Cited by David Calhoun, in Heaven [Crossway], ed. by Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson, worldmag.com/2014/11/the_hope_of_heaven.) In our text, Jesus makes four claims that show that He is trustworthy:

A. Jesus claims to deserve equal faith with God (John 14:1).

John 14:1: “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” There are several legitimate ways to translate that verse because in Greek, “believe” in both instances can be either indicative or imperative. A few versions translate the first verb as indicative, “you believe in God,” and the second as imperative, “believe also in Me.” But most versions translate them both as imperatives: “believe in God, believe also in Me.” Since Jesus’ opening words are an imperative, “Do not let your heart be troubled,” it’s likely that He is commanding them both to believe in God and to believe in Him.

But either way that you translate it, Jesus is claiming to be on exactly the same level as God when it comes to trusting Him! What mere man could claim, “You need to trust in God, and to the same degree, you need to trust in Me”? Alexander Maclaren wrote (Expositions of Holy Scripture [Baker], on John 14:1, p. 257, italics his):

The peculiarity of His call to the world is, “Believe in Me.” And if He said that, or anything like it … then, one of two things follows. Either He was wrong, and then He was a crazy enthusiast, only acquitted of blasphemy because convicted of insanity; or else—or else—He was “God manifest in the flesh.”

As Jesus will go on to affirm, because to see Him is to see the Father, you cannot separate faith in God from faith in Jesus. And since Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who created all things (John 1:3), and who was in control over all the events surrounding His death, then you can trust Him in whatever overwhelming circumstances you are facing. Nothing is too difficult for Him and no one can thwart His sovereign will (Jer. 32:17; Job 42:2).

B. Jesus claims to be the exclusive way to God (John 14:4-6).

We’ll come back to verses 2 & 3, where Jesus promises that He is going to prepare a place for us and that He will come again. Then, He says (John 14:4-6),

“And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

I’m glad for the disciples’ dense comments and questions (we’ll see another one from Philip in verse 8), because they resulted in some wonderful answers from Jesus that we otherwise might not have! The word “way” is emphasized by being repeated in verses 4, 5, & 6; it refers to the way to heaven or to the Father (John 14:3, 6). Significantly, Jesus doesn’t say, “I know the way to heaven and I can point you to it.” Rather, He says, “I am the way.”

A missionary hired a guide to take him across a vast desert. When they arrived at the edge of the desert, the missionary saw before him trackless sands without a single footprint or road of any kind. He asked his guide with a tone of surprise, “Where is the road?” With a reproving glance, the guide replied, “I am the road.” Jesus is the way to heaven. We must trust Him to take us there.

This is the sixth of Jesus’ seven “I am” statements in John (6:48; 8:12; 10:9, 11; 11:25; 15:1). It’s another claim to deity. Jesus is saying that we can have access to God only through Him. Just as in the Old Testament, the only way for the Jews to come to God was through the high priest, who could only enter the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement, so Jesus is our high priest through whose sacrifice of Himself we can come into God’s very presence without fear of being consumed. He Himself is the way.

Jesus also claimed, “I am the truth.” Again, He did not say, “I can teach you the truth,” although He did that. He said, “I am the truth.” In this context, He means not only that He is totally dependable, but also that He Himself is the only true way of salvation (Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans], p. 641). He alone is the manifestation of the eternal God of truth. We can only know ultimate reality through knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Jesus also claimed, “I am the life.” Again, He doesn’t say, “I can tell you how to have life,” but rather, “I am the life.” In John 5:26, Jesus claimed, “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.” Having life in Himself, Jesus “gives life to whom He wishes” (John 5:21). Because of sin, the entire human race is under the curse of eternal death, or separation from God. We can have eternal life only in Christ. Eternal life means knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He sent (John 17:3).

The three articles, the way, the truth, and the life imply the exclusivity of Christ’s claims. But His final statement cinches it (John 14:6b): “no one comes to the Father but through Me.” He is the only way to God. Peter underscored this fact to the Jewish Sanhedrin (Acts 4:12), “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (See, also, 1 Tim. 2:5).

Jesus’ claim to be the way, the truth, and the life, the only way to the Father, confronts our postmodern era in two ways: First, there is such a thing as absolute truth in the spiritual realm; second, Jesus only is the absolute truth; all other ways are wrong. People today don’t have a problem if you say that Jesus is a way to God or that you personally believe in Him, as long as you don’t say that all other beliefs are false. But when you claim that Jesus is the exclusive way to God; that He is the only spiritual truth, so that all other beliefs are false; and that He alone can impart eternal life—you will be accused of being intolerant and arrogant!

1. C. Sproul (in Tabletalk, date unknown) points out that the notion that all religions are valid is logically impossible because, if all religions are valid, then Christianity is valid. But Jesus said that He is the only way to God, which eliminates all other ways. So either He was right or He was wrong. Sproul concludes, “If He was wrong, then Christianity has no validity at all. If He was right, then there is no other way.”

Here’s how Jesus’ claim in verse 6 can comfort you when you’re troubled: Believing that Jesus is the way will comfort your troubled heart because you have access to the gracious Father through Him. Through Jesus you can bring all your troubles into the very presence of the God who spoke the universe into existence. Believing that Jesus is the truth will comfort your troubled heart because all else is subjective, shifting, and uncertain. You can stand securely in the truth of who Jesus is. Believing that Jesus is the life will comfort your troubled heart because trusting in Him gives assurance of eternal life and escape from the second death.

Thus Jesus claims to deserve equal faith with God. He claims to be the exclusive way to God.

C. Jesus claims to be the unique revealer of God (John 14:7-9).

John 14:7-9:

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

There is a variant in verse 7 supported by some early manuscripts, which reads, “If you have come to know Me [as you do], you shall know My Father also.” If this is the original reading, then Jesus is emphasizing the truth of John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” To know Jesus is to know the Father. Jesus alone reveals the Father to us. Jesus’ words, “from now on,” refer to the events that will transpire shortly, especially to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The Spirit will guide them into all the truth (John 14:17, 26).

But Jesus’ comment that the disciples have seen the Father prompts Philip to ask (John 14:8), “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” He may have been thinking that if Jesus was going to leave them, some vision of God such as Moses had on Mount Sinai would sustain them in Jesus’ absence. Jesus’ reply is a rebuke that reflects some personal grief (John 14:9), “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

Again, I’m thankful for Philip’s inappropriate request, because Jesus’ reply is another clear claim to be God. As Leon Morris states (p. 644), “These are words which no mere man has a right to use.” Jesus is the visible representation of the invisible God. As Paul wrote (Col. 2:9), “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” This claim of Christ can comfort your troubled heart because often in a time of trouble, God seems distant. The fact that He is invisible makes it difficult to trust in Him. At such times, look to Jesus, who was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). He reveals to us the tender mercies of the Father.

D. Jesus claims to be in intimate union with the Father (John 14:10-11).

John 14:10-11: “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 initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”

This brings us back full circle to verse 1: To believe in Jesus is to believe in the Father, because the two are in inseparable union. God is one God who subsists in three co-equal, eternal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (John 14:10, 17). Jesus reveals the Father to us. The Spirit reveals Christ to us (John 16:13-15). To know Jesus is to know God.

Jesus gives two reasons to believe that He is in intimate union with the Father: His words and His works. Jesus says that He didn’t make up what He taught, but rather His words came directly from the Father. This is a repetition of Jesus’ earlier claims. In John 8:26, He told His enemies, “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” He repeated (John 8:28), “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” (See, also, John 5:19, 30.) Jesus’ words confirm that He is in intimate union with the Father.

But also Jesus’ works prove that He is in intimate union with the Father. This refers to all that He did, but especially to His miracles. Skeptics, of course, challenge Jesus’ miracles because they claim that they have never seen a miracle. But Jesus’ miracles are reported by credible eyewitnesses, most of whom were willing to lose their lives because they believed Jesus to be the truth. At the heart of a skeptic’s rejection of Jesus’ miracles is not science, but rather his love of his sin and his refusal to submit to Jesus as Lord.

Note that Jesus challenges us (John 14:11), “Believe Me that …” Faith in Jesus isn’t a vague, “I believe for every star that falls, a flower grows.” Rather, we are to believe specifically what Jesus claimed: that He deserves equal faith with God; that He is the exclusive way to God; that He is the unique revealer of God; and that He is in intimate union with the Father. Jesus adds that if you can’t believe His words alone, at least believe because of His works. Believing in the person of Christ will comfort your troubled heart.

2. Hope in Christ’s promise will comfort your troubled heart (John 14:2-3).

John 14:2-3: “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

Biblical hope is closely allied with faith. Someone has described it as faith standing on tiptoe. It looks ahead to the promised, but yet unrealized future. It’s not like saying, “I hope my favorite team wins their big game today.” You don’t know whether they will win or lose. Biblical hope is like watching the video replay of the game after your team won. You know the outcome, but you eagerly watch the game unfold. Here Jesus makes two promises that are certain because He is the truth:

A. Christ is making a reservation for us in heaven.

The picture is an Oriental house where the father would add rooms to accommodate his grown children and their families so that they all lived in the same compound. There are several comforting truths in this picture. First, heaven is a real place, not just an immaterial state of being.

Second, going to heaven is like going home. It’s not like traveling to a foreign country, where you don’t know the language, geography, people, or customs. It’s like going to a familiar, comfortable place where you are welcomed by a Father who loves you and by brothers and sisters whom you know.

Third, Jesus is there right now preparing a place for us. This doesn’t mean that He is working with His carpenter’s tools to add rooms for us. Rather, it looks at His present ministry of intercession for us, of being our advocate, and of keeping us for that day.

It’s always comforting when you travel to know that you have a confirmed reservation when you arrive. Jesus promises that if you believe in Him, you have such a reservation in heaven.

B. Christ will make a return for us on earth.

He promises to come again and receive us to Himself, that where He is, there we will be also. When Christ comes or when we go to heaven, we will be reunited with our loved ones who have gone before us. But being with Jesus Himself will be the best part of His coming and our going to heaven.

The certainty of Christ’s bodily return means terror for those who reject Him, because He will come to “tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Rev. 19:15). But His return means comfort for all that believe in Him, because we will always be with the Lord. Paul concludes his discussion of Christ’s return by saying (1 Thess. 4:18), “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Conclusion

Jesus’ words (John 14:1), “Do not let your heart be troubled,” mean that we can do something about our troubled hearts. It’s a command, indicating that we have volitional control over our emotions. We don’t need to be victimized by our feelings. We can do something to deal with anxiety or a troubled heart, namely, believe in Jesus as God and hope in His promise of heaven. As the psalmist told himself when he was in despair (Ps. 43:5), “Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” And, since Jesus was troubled on our behalf (John 14:21), we don’t need to be troubled by life’s problems. God is now on our side!

So the next time you’re troubled and anxious, before you do what the world does and pop a pill to calm your soul, do something radical: Believe in God; believe also in Jesus Christ. Faith in His person and His promise will comfort your troubled heart.

John 14:1 – Do not let your hearts be troubled; trust in God, trust also in me.

The immediate effect of our Lord’s words to His disciples was confusion and sadness. I would like to suggest that this was exactly what our Lord intended them to produce—for the moment.

Suppose the disciples really did grasp what Jesus was about to do. Suppose, for example, that the disciples understood that Judas was about to betray our Lord and to hand Him over to the Jewish authorities, so that they could carry out a mock trial and crucify the Son of God on the cross of Calvary.

I think I know what Peter would have done—he would have used his sword on Judas, rather than the high priest’s slave. I believe the disciples would have attempted to prevent what was about to happen, had they known what that was.

But the confusion our Lord’s words produced threw them off balance. The result was that when Jesus was arrested, they fled. They did not die trying to defend the Savior, and in part this was because they were utterly confused by what was happening. Jesus’ words were not intended to produce instant “relief,” but eternal joy.

The confusion and sadness that the Upper Room Discourse created in the disciples enabled Jesus to die just as He knew He must, just as it had been planned, purposed, and promised long before. The disciples were surely not “in control” at this point in time, but, as always, the Master was.

Do You Trust me?
Faith is a living well-founded confidence in the grace of God, so perfectly certain that it would die a thousand times rather than surrender its conviction.

Such confidence and personal knowledge of divine grace makes its possessor joyful, bold, and full of warm affection toward God and all created things — all of which the Holy Spirit works in faith.

Hence, such a man becomes without constraint willing and eager to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer all manner of ills, in order to please and glorify God, who has shown toward him such grace.

We have trusted many people and many things:
Personal nature: We often trust our families, we have trusted our friends.
Public nature: We have trusted our transportation services, We trusted our national security services, We trusted our military services.

What do all of these things have in common? Sometimes they fail our trust.

 God wants US to trust Him
Moses trusted God to deliver the Israelites at the Red Sea. Joseph trusted God while he languished in the Pharaoh’s prison. David trusted God for a victory when he was facing down Goliath. Jonah trusted God to answer his prayer in the belly of the fish. Peter and John trusted God as they stood before the Sanhedrin and gave their defense of the Christian faith.

What does it mean to trust?
Webster: Basic dependence on someone or something, Belief that something will happen or someone will act is a prescribed way

Trust is found in our unswerving belief that the God of Heaven will indeed work on our behalf to bring His perfect will for our lives into being.

Far too often in life we become completely focused on the trials and difficulties of life and we lose our focus on Christ.

When Peter walked on the water with Jesus he was doing well until he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the waves. The same is true of us today. God can get us through the most impossible situations but we must keep our focus and trust on Him. How can we ever expect to find help and healing when we are still focused on our difficulties and not our deliverance

Jesus was calling the disciples to trust God through any and every circumstance of life. He was  about to be crucified and they would be scattered. Jesus was telling them to trust even when they did not understand because God was still at work

If I were to ask you individually, most of you would very quickly say that you trust God but there are times when trust is not so simple. Trusting God means we believe in that which we cannot see and sometimes may not understand

Trusting God is literally against our human nature. Trusting God means that we have to admit that we are not in control of our lives

We need to place our trust in something or someone and we do it every day. We trust our cars to get us to our destination. We trust our employers to deliver paychecks. We trust our doctors top heals our illnesses. How much more should we trust God?
Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.

Exodus 14:31 (NIV)
³¹  And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Exodus 19:9 (NIV)
⁹  The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.

2 Kings 17:14 (NIV)
¹⁴  But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their God.

Psalm 9:10 (NIV)
¹⁰  Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 13:5 (NIV)
⁵  But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

Psalm 25:2 (NIV)
²  in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

Psalm 31:14 (NIV)
¹⁴  But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”

Psalm 37:3 (NIV)
³  Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Disasters strike and tragedies happen in our lives. Life can indeed be hard. Life can be uncertain. Life is beyond our control. In times like this, life is beyond our understanding. We are left with raw emotions and tough questions. Answers are beyond us as we grapple with the question of why.

God asks the question: Do you trust me?
Nothing and I mean nothing that we go through in life is beyond God. The truth is that we can and must rely on God in every situation in life. Times that just don’t make any sense in human terms; we need to trust in God. The more senseless life becomes the greater our need to trust in God.

The writer of Proverbs states it simply and clearly that God wants your full and complete trust. Trust God with all of your heart. We must hold nothing back and surrender to Him all that we are, all that we have, all that we may become because without the presence and guidance of God we will go nowhere.

God asks the question: Do you trust me?
God wants you to trust even when you don’t understand. When life just doesn’t make sense. God wants us to follow Him when the future seems uncertain. It is only when we completely trust God that He to give us the power of His direction and the power of His presence.
Psalm 9:9-10 (ESV) The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust n you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 40:4 (NIV)
⁴  Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.

Psalm 52:8 (NIV)
⁸  But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.

Psalm 56:3 (NIV)
³  When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

Psalm 56:4 (NIV)
⁴  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Psalm 56:11 (NIV)
¹¹  in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Psalm 62:8 (NIV)
⁸  Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah

Psalm 91:2 (NIV)
²  I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 118:8 (NIV)
⁸  It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

When we feel weak, God is our strength. When we are pressured by life, God is our relief. When we need security, God is our refuge. The full resources of God are at our disposal when we place our trust in Him

God asks the question: Do you trust me?
If you do not place your trust in God, there is no access to His power, His mercy or His love. When trials arise and we go through difficulty; it is then that we must place our trust in God. Without trust in God there is no comfort, no peace, no strength and no relief.

Once my hands were always trying; Trying hard to do my best;
Now my heart is sweetly trusting, And my soul is all at rest.
Once my brain was always planning, And my heart, with cares oppressed;
Now I trust the Lord to lead me, And my life is all at rest.
Once my life was full of effort, Now ’tis full of joy and zest;
Since I took His yoke upon me, Jesus gives to me His rest.  — A.B. Simpson

God has made a promise that He will never forsake those who seek Him. The promise that God made so long ago is still valid today because God has never broken a promise yet. He is true and faithful to His people.

Our treasure is love from the God who created love. Our treasure is grace and peace from the God of all comfort. Our treasure is security from the God who never changes. Our treasure is protection and provision from the God who is all powerful. Our treasure is acceptance from the God who knows everything. Our treasure is eternity from the God who sacrificed His own Son that we could gain it. God is asking only one question this morning, do you trust me?

Thomas is determined to follow Jesus wherever he goes. In fact, earlier he urged the other Apostles to join Jesus as he returned to Judea even if it meant dying with him (John 11:16).

But he can’t follow Jesus if he doesn’t know where he is going or the way he is going to get there. So when Jesus declares that the Apostles know the way, Thomas feels obligated to correct him.

Where are we going to go to “find” God? He is an omnipresent Spirit. There is no certain place that one can travel to increase the odds of encountering him. However, God will manifest himself more visibly in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:3).

Even now Jesus is returning to the throne room where God’s “manifestation” is surrounded by angels and elders (Rev 4-5).

While Jesus can “travel” there now, the rest of us will have to wait. But we will, indeed, find ourselves standing before that throne, turned judgment seat. Getting there is not the problem; it is where we stand when we get there that is in question.

The way to the Father is not a road but a relationship. Only through Jesus will we be able to stand before the Father on that day. Once Jesus has explained to Thomas his unity with the Father, and demonstrated it through his resurrection and ascension, there will be no more question for Thomas.

Nahum 1:7 (NIV)
⁷  The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,

Romans 15:13 (NIV)
¹³  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:28 (ESV) And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

* What is your A.Q. (Acceptance Quotient)?

The story of Peter and Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper shows us something magnificent about the Savior and about His ability to accept others in spite of the sin that clings to them. As an I.Q. test measures our minds, indicating our intelligence quotient, an  A.Q.  test measures our attitudes, indicating our acceptance quotient.

* THE APPLICATION OF THE A.Q.

– Willingness to accept people without partiality.

James 2:1-4 serves as an excellent application of this principle. How do you respond when somebody who doesn’t quite fit the typical membership profile comes to your worship service?

(James 2:1-4)  “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. {2} Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. {3} If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” {4} have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

– Willingness to accept another style without jealousy or criticism.

   (Mark 9:38-40)  “”Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” {39} “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, {40} for whoever is not against us is for us.”

– Willingness to accept offenses without holding a grudge.

   (Romans 12:14-21)  “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. {15} Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. {16} Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. {17} Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. {18} If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. {19} Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. {20} On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” {21} Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Now for John 14

This is part of Jesus’ farewell discourse. In the next four chapters (John 14-17), Jesus must drive home three critical facts:

• He is leaving.
• The Apostles will continue Jesus’ mission with opposition from the world.
• The Holy Spirit will assist them in their mission.

This is one of those “good news/bad news” scenarios. What lies ahead is difficult. But Jesus’ promises are simply out of this world!

To be troubled is a natural and expected response to a distressing situation. We are troubled when things go wrong in our lives. Surely, if there was ever a time to be troubled, it was the day Jesus was crucified. Jesus prepared His disciples for this event by calling on them to trust Him and by leaving some special resources with them

Jesus suggested that the proper approach to the question of human destiny is faith in a personal God. If a personal God exists, who is the judge and redeemer of man, there must be a destiny for man beyond the grave.

Similar verses that speak of being afraid

(Matthew 8:26)  “He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”

(Matthew 10:28)  “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

(Luke 12:7)  “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Jesus wants His followers to stop being afraid at any given moment of our life and also to take control of those feelings for the events in our future. And, besides, if we don’t take control of those emotions, they will take control of us, won’t they?

But His words went much deeper than that. He was also saying that they should believe Him against all odds. Remember, He was doomed to death, which overtakes all men. Yet He promised to prepare a place for them and to return to claim them

1. A home to envision (14:1-3)

Knowing how awful it is to be left alone, Jesus gave His disciples a new way to think about His approaching absence. They were told to see it as a time when He would prepare a heavenly place for them.

¹  “Let not your hearts 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 go to prepare a place for you? ³  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.

2. A direction to embrace (14:4-11).

Do we want to draw near to God? Do we want to be close to Him? Jesus gave them a direction to look in their time of trial.

⁴  And you know the way to where I am going.”⁵  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸  Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹  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’? ¹⁰  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. ¹¹  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

3. A presence to experience (14:12-14).

He assured them that He would continue to be ‘there’ for them through the Spirit and through their prayers.

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. ¹³  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

4. A helper to expect (18:16-18, 25-26).

They would not be orphans…they would have “one who comes alongside.”

¹⁶  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. ¹⁸  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

²⁵  “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

5. A command to obey (14:15, 20-21, 23-24, 31).

They were given a series of commands so they could understand what God expected from them.

John 14:15 (ESV)
¹⁵  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 14:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

John 14:23-24 (ESV)
²³  Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴  Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

John 14:31 (ESV)
³¹  but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

The question of “making it without Jesus” has challenged Christians since Jesus went to Calvary. It grows out of the strange paradox of our faith:

• Our Lord is with us, yet He is away from us
• From the moment of our baptism into Christ, we exist in an “in-between” time – a no-man’s land of waiting to be with the one we adore
• We have said good-bye to a life of human aims but not yet said hello to eternity in a divine place
• Christ’s presence is real enough to the heart, but our eyes long to see Him
• Like Paul, we desire “to be with the Lord” yet must wait for His return

* The power of fear is a matter of focus.

Adam and Eve were in trouble when the focus of their attention moved from God’s love and power to their weaknesses. Fear caused them to forget about the loving way God had provided for them and the gracious way He had sustained them. They instantly developed a kind of fear-driven tunnel vision that allowed them to see nothing but an oncoming train.

* Conquering fear is a matter of choice.

Jesus’ command “to fear not” needs to be viewed in light of another kind of fear, a healthy one that the Bible speaks of often:

(Proverbs 1:7)  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

(Isaiah 12:2)  “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.””

The key to keeping our hearts from being troubled is choosing whom to fear! Faith is actually the choice to fear God only. Put another way, it’s deciding between the greater of two fears.

WONDERFUL ASSURANCES  FOR THE TROUBLED HEART

• You are going to heaven (13:36-14:6)
• You know the Father right now (14:7-11)
• You have the privilege of prayer (14:12-15)
• We have the Holy Spirit (14:16-18)
• We enjoy the Father’s love (14:19-24)
• We have His gift of peace (14:25-31)

Only after the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 did they understand, and everything made sense.

• Jesus still had been arrested, tried, convicted, and killed–but they understood.
• Jesus had been resurrected, but now they understood.
• They knew where he was, why he was gone, and the certainty of his return.
• Now they understood forgiveness as never before.
• Now they had hope as never before.