A Remedy For Troubled Hearts

So, I would have you turn in your Bibles to John 14, because I want to deal with the same passages. And I actually want to deal with some of the same thoughts. And I have often found over the years that not only the first message, but often the songs as well seem to... I don't know, the Lord coordinates things a lot of times. So, John 14. Now, I want to say it's been ten years probably that I have wanted to preach through John 13 through 17. And finally, that opportunity has presented itself. And so, we all know, you know your Bibles, you know, John is unique among the four Gospels. One of just the facts that makes John so unique, you can't get away from it, is chapters 13 through 17. Can you imagine if we didn't have those in our Bible? This is what's commonly called the upper room discourse. Even though, actually, if you notice carefully about halfway through this, they leave that upper room. But what we have to recognize here is 24 hours from now, these chapters, the Lord's body lays dead in a tomb. His disciples don't fully grasp the imminence of all of that. But we know this, we know that Jesus is saying enough to them that He needs to say in chapter 14, verse 1, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God? You know, there's some question right there as to whether that's an indicative or an imperative. It's actually, you can't tell in the original. It could be in some translations say that you believe in God, therefore, believe in Me. Or you get this double believe. Believe in God? Believe in Me. In my Father's house are many rooms. And of course, the KJV says mansions, rooms. You know what the problem with mansions is? Do you want a mansion apart from your Father's house? No, you want a room in His house. These health, wealth, prosperity guys love to butcher that stuff. If it were not so, would I have told you? Or I would have told you? I go to prepare a place for you. 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. And you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You're going. How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way. The truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. And just here at the beginning, I think to give us a proper flavor, just look at John 16, v. 1. I have said all these things, and you recognize all what things? Well, these things here in chapter 13, 14, 15, leading up to 16, I've said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. Make a note of that. So my title is this. A Remedy for Troubled Hearts. And I want just to bring some thoughts out this afternoon to help you. The fact is that in the Christian life, we have to engage Christ. And that's what we're confronted with here. It's Christ. It's Christ. Go back to John 14. Look at those words. Let not your hearts be troubled. Now look, I recognize this. We need application. We need this to be personal to us. We can look back and we can say, well, Jesus is speaking that to those guys a long time ago. Let me tell you this, the truth that Jesus brings out to calm them and their hearts, relieve their anxiety, it's the same truth to relieve ours. Of course, we know it. All Scripture being God-breathed, it's profitable for you and me, for the man of God. Competent, equipped. Doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness. We know this is applicable for us. And think about this. The Lord is saying to them, don't let your hearts be troubled. And you know what? There's no need to say that unless somebody's afflicted. There's no need to say that when everything's well. It was just saying the song from Job. When everything's as it should be, you don't need to say this to people like that. Usually, when the sun's shining down on me, you don't need somebody to say let not your heart be troubled. That's when you need some other kind of counsel. Like, don't become too secure. Don't become too worldly. Don't fall asleep. Don't begin to coast. That kind of thing. Look here at John 14.27. Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Here it is again. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. When Jesus says, I have said all these things to you so that you won't fall away, you need to recognize that's how bad it is. We don't really do well at entering into other people's suffering. I know we're told to do that, but we don't do it real well. Let alone do we do it well 2,000 years removed. Let me tell you something, these guys were being confronted by a trial of such severity, they were in danger of falling away. Jesus makes that very clear. And what I want you to do is realize something. Do you grasp those words? I am saying these things to you so that you won't fall away. Do you realize what He's doing there? Do you grasp that? You know, we can say, well, Jesus is God. This is the God-man. Can't He just snap His fingers and poof! You're not going to fall away. I just say, wow! You know, He speaks truth for these guys to process in their brains that when they think about, they recognize, they cling to the reality. That provides an anchor for their soul. That holds them steadfast. You realize God uses means. Jesus doesn't just snap His fingers. Jesus is saying, you know what's implied here? If I don't say these things to you, what would have happened? What would have happened if He hadn't said these things? They would have fallen away. That's precisely what He's saying. He's saying that the words I'm speaking to you are going to bring stability to your souls that are going to anchor you guys and keep you from falling away. And in saying what He says, He's preventing that from happening. You see, brothers and sisters, we're 2,000 years away from these guys sitting there in that upper room. And you know why He's saying don't let your heart be troubled? Because fear is reaching out at these guys, grabbing them by the neck. That's what's happening. We don't feel it really well. They're in the midst of experiencing a trial here of such proportion that they might fall away. That's what we're faced with. Just think, we know the word trial. May the Lord help us. Trial. Job. When the sun's shining down on me, but you know what? Through many tribulations, the sun isn't always going to shine down on us. We know the path of the Christian. Trial. Think about that word. What does it mean? That's courtroom verbiage. Courtroom. You know what it's saying? It's saying a difficulty comes upon me, and then what happens? My faith is there in the courtroom. And it's being tested. It's being examined. It's put on trial. You know what happens when a trial comes? What we really believe gets brought out in the courtroom. What you really believe. Oh, when the sun's shining down on us, we can say happily, oh, we believe this, that, and the other thing. Yeah, suddenly look up and find ten graves where your children once sat. When walking the right way is hard. That's where our faith gets tested. When it's so much easier to take this soft path of compromise. When it hurts bad. When it hurts bad. I mean, God brings something upon you that feels like it's tearing your insides out. Part of you, the flesh is being ripped off. It hurts. And God wants you to look at Him as being this God Who's good. Who's my Father. When God's providences feel cruel. Have you ever been there? It's like, Father, if I'm Your child, I'm going to be suffering this. And you know what? It's right there when what you believe gets tested. And we know how Scripture speaks. We can lightly come along to the parable of the soils. And you just kind of pass over it. Did you ever think about that second type of soil? Here it is. The ones on the rock. They hear the Word. They receive it with joy. No root. They believe for a while. And in time of testing... That's what Luke says. Mark and Matthew. Tribulation. Persecution. A time of testing. What's tested? You see, this person believes, but now all of a sudden life gets difficult. But what they really believe gets tested. You see, if you really believe Christ is everything, you won't let go of Him for anything no matter how bad it hurts. But when you're in it for other motives and other reasons, once it gets tough... Oh, everybody's glad to glibly and flippantly jump on board when there's no cost. Who doesn't want heaven? I was looking through there as Chris was preaching. We're reading 2 Corinthians 4 and 5. Paul talks about the unbelievers being blinded. He's talking about those who perish. You ever think about that word perish? Who wants to perish? There's a test. A test what I really believe. We heard Bunyan. You know what Bunyan said? All he had to do was say, I'll stop preaching. That's it. They didn't put him in prison because he was a Christian, folks. Just because he was going to preach. Even though he wasn't bearing the official certificate of the government. He said it was like pulling flesh off him. He had a blind daughter. You see, that really tests what you believe. All you have to say is I'm not going to preach. I'm here to provide. He realized what this was going to do. You think about in the days, you had to offer your little pinch of incense to the Caesar. You talk about what you really believe. You've got some lions roaring in the background there. What do you really believe? You're going to denounce Christ? Are you not going to denounce Christ? You heard the Worm Brand story? You know, in prison, Romania. You know one of the stories he tells? One of the guys that was in there with him? They told him they wanted names. Constantly what they wanted. Tell us who the Christians are. And he refused. And they brought his son in there. And they said, tell us or we're going to kill your son in front of us. And he began to buckle. And it was his son who said, Dad, no. And they killed him. Worm Brand said it messed that guy up. He was never the same again. What do you really believe? And you know what? We may be here in America. We're not under some communist regime. The Caesar's not threatening us. But you know what? We can't get away from it. God's going to test us. Our faith. You know, he's greatly glorified in it. Why? Because he preserves us by faith. And his own name is at stake here. You know what, Paul? What are you doing weeping, breaking my heart? I'm ready not only to be in prison, but even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that where we're at? You know, we say it confidently when the sun's shining. If God were to take your parent, your spouse, your child, your health, your closest friend, is Christ still everything? Brethren, no one's saying it's easy. But I tell you, a God-given faith is no matter how much God crushes us, puts us in the vice, it's still, I'm a dying man. I'm going to face God on judgment. I need Christ more than anything else. These guys, they're being faced with a difficulty that is testing them to the point that they may fall away. And you know what happens a lot of times? People get put in the fires. Well, if God's going to treat me this way, I'm out of here. And you know what? They may not totally reject Christianity, but they do. They walk away. When loneliness grips you in your singleness, I mean it grips you, do you still believe that God delights in purity? What do you really believe when you're lonely? What do you really believe when it gets hard? Do you still believe God delights in marrying in the Lord only? Or do you cave? You know what happens a lot of times? People get in the furnace and they redefine God. They had some idea about who He was and what He wants in His Word, but suddenly life gets hard. Oh, God will understand. So the question is this, what sort of trial are these gays faced with? Well, we see it. I mean, so severe that they might fall away. Let me show it to you. John 13.33. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek Me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. Isn't that interesting? As I said to the Jews. Don't turn here, but listen to this. John 7.34, this is what He said to the Jews. You will seek Me and you will not find Me. Where I am, you cannot come. That's what He's telling His disciples. The Jews said to one another, where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, you will seek Me and will not find Me, and where I am, you cannot come? And you know what? John 8, he says it again. He said to them again, I'm going away, you will seek Me, you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews said, will He kill Himself since He says where I am going, you cannot come? You see, that's what these guys are faced with. Look at John 13.36. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, where are You going? Jesus answered him, where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow afterward. Peter said to Him, Lord, why can I not follow You now? I'll lay down my life for You. And we have this. John 14.4, you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You're going. You see the whole idea here. He's leaving. He's going. That's the idea. You'll seek Me. That's what he says. You'll seek Me. He said it to the Jews. He said it to His disciples. You'll seek Me. Hey, you know when I preached this over there, it was during the five weeks when Ruby was over here. And there was an absence in my life. And so it helped. With these guys, it was a hundred times. But you'll seek Me. I walk into the kitchen. A lot of times I walk into the kitchen and there's Ruby. The place is where she was. You can seek. But she's not there. That's the idea. You'll seek Me. His place is empty. The chair he sat in or the place he slept, it's now empty. Brothers and sisters, you just got to put yourself in these guys' place. These guys were like lambs being carried on the shoulders of that shepherd we heard about. Do you realize what it would have been like to walk with Christ, the perfect Man? You know what it says in John 13? It says, having loved His own, He loved them to the end. They had never been around anybody that had loved them like that before. Ever. Not mother, not father. Not child, not spouse. They were loved. And they can't follow. And it's not just that. Jesus recognizes they're not only going to be deprived of Him who was all in all to them, but they are expecting Him to be the Messiah. They've been expecting Him to set up an earthly kingdom. Not only is that earthly kingdom not going to get set up, but He is going to die some ignomious death. He's going to be scourged. He's going to be nailed to this cross. And you know what it's going to look like? It's going to look like defeat. It's going to look like this thing did not end well. Betrayal. Blood. Death. It looks like failure. It looks like tragedy. It looks like defeat. You have to recognize this for three years. Can you imagine this? For three years you walked with Christ. He's teaching. You know, the queen said concerning Solomon, wow, to be in Solomon's court, what would that have been like? Can you imagine walking with Jesus? No one ever spoke like Him, not even Solomon. He only spoke truth. He only spoke out of the greatest interest for your soul. And you walked with Him. They were surrounded by this. Can you imagine? Can you imagine what it's like when you confront demons? All these demoniacs. They were everywhere they went. He's casting out demons. But He had total control over them. They felt protection. They felt safety. Do you know what was said of the two on the road to Emmaus? You know what happened when Jesus disappeared? What did they say to each other? You remember what they said? Let me ask you something. Have you ever sat in a meeting in a sermon that was so powerful you didn't want to move? Your heart burned. Heaven came close. The two on the road to Emmaus said, did our hearts not burn? I mean, they sat in His presence. Every time they walk away, Thomas looked at Peter and said, you know what it's like when Don Johnson and his greatest or whoever your favorite preachers are, you sit under them and it's like you come away from some of the most glorious preaching and your hair is blown backwards. I'm sure they walked away at times. It's just they were blown away. Their hearts burned. This perfect lover of their souls, three years, He's the miracle worker. They're walking with Him. They never saw a meekness like this in any man, not even Moses. Humility and grace and truth and glory and kindness and godliness and divinity itself all wrapped up in this man, one human being. No one had ever seen anybody like Him before. And these guys had three years. I mean, they were close. They just didn't see Him off at a distance. John says, that which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the Word of life. See, they expected Jesus to take up His throne, set up His kingdom. Instead, very unceremoniously nailed to a Roman gibbet. And what's happened? We said, Lord, where are we going to go? You have the words of eternal life. They're recounting. You're the Christ, the Son of God. What's happening? You see, it's not just He's getting taken away from them, it's how He's getting taken away. This is not what they expected. It's shaking them. It's shaking their faith. It's shaking what they believed. Now it all appears Jesus has failed and unbelief rises. And all you have to do is look at your Gospels to recognize that's the truth. The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, can you imagine this? He's actually come out of the grave. He's resurrected before His ascension. And even then, it says, some doubted. Some doubted. Judas isn't there. And yet, they're doubting. Mark 16, it says, afterward, He appeared to the eleven themselves and as they were reclining at table, He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw Him after He had risen. Luke 24, He says, there was peace to you. Stood among them. They were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And He said to them, why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? Now, okay, you kind of get the setting. You realize this is a trial. Now here's the truth. It's calculated to take troubled hearts away. And we need to all notice this. This is extremely important. Just listen to this. John 16, 1 again. I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. And I would just say what things? What things are calculated to keep these guys from falling away? Well, I would say all the things right here in this Upper Room Discourse, including what we have in John 14. Let not your hearts be troubled. Let me ask you something. Is that good counsel? I mean, if you're really full of anxiety, you're frightened, fear is on your footsteps, some foreboding, when your heart is really deeply troubled, do you appreciate somebody coming along and just saying, just stop being troubled. Is that good counsel? That's horrible counsel. You say, Jesus said it. How can you say, well, it's horrible counsel if that's all you say? And that's not all He said, obviously. But what is it He's saying? What is He saying here? Well, just this. Folks, and our brother was hitting on it earlier, but what's the truth? I mean, if we've got eyes to see here, what He's saying is this. I'm going away. Yep, I'm going away. And you can't come with Me now. Now. You see, that little three-letter word is really important. Because what He's saying is, guys, the situation that you're about to be confronted with, it's going to look like failure. It's going to look like I'm going to die. It doesn't look like I'm gloriously taking up the throne. But what He's saying to them is this. Guys, you're about to be confronted with a situation, but it's not permanent. For the Christian, do you know what? If you don't know the Lord, yeah, there's a trial coming that's permanent. But for the Christian, it doesn't matter how hard it gets here, it's not permanent. Brethren, it's momentary light affliction. Isn't that what we're told? Isn't that what we saw? That truth can carry us no matter how dark it gets. Even if somebody kills your son in front of you. Wormbrand said the man did not lose his faith. It messed him up, but he never lost his faith. And you know what the truth is? His son was a believer. He'll be reunited. We can go through very difficult things here. Yes, the bridegroom's being taken away, but it's not permanent. Listen to what he says. Believe in God. This is 14.1. Or do you believe in God? Or you do believe in God. Believe also in Me. 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? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself. But where I am, you may be also. You know what? One of the main troubles we encounter when we get into the midst of some trying circumstance, we forget what's true about ourselves. And all you have to do is look at Scripture to recognize suffering Christians, how are they dealt with? Always the same way. The authors of Scripture tell them some truth about themselves. Some truth about God in themselves. That's the reality. I mean, the trial hurts. And you know what happens when we're in the midst of the trial? It doesn't seem like there's a way out. It doesn't seem like oftentimes there's no light at the end of the tunnel. These disciples are faced with the biggest trial of their lives. Something very precious is being taken away from them, uprooted out of their lives. Sometimes the roots of things go down so deep in us that the thought of losing something, it hurts. It's going to hurt these guys. It tears a part of them away. And the same truth that's meant to anchor their souls is a truth that's meant to anchor ours. We face difficulties. We face problems. We get there. What's the Lord's remedy? Well, I have certain things to say to you to keep you from falling away when it really gets tough. The same truths calculated to keep those guys from falling away, calculated to keep us from falling away. Our faith. This is the issue. Some truth. We need truths that our faith can cling to. Only then can we weather the storm. I mean, that's what has to happen. When we're experiencing really difficult things in life, what's the remedy? Well, we have to be thinking about what's true, what's true, what's true, what's true. Why? Because of the trial. What is unbelief? Unbelief is always believing something that isn't true. Unbelievers believe something. They just don't believe the right thing. This is the issue. In my Father's house are many rooms. You see the sort of truth, it's truth about your future. Do you see it? If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 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. Have you ever heard somebody goes through a trial, difficult trial in the world? What do lost people say to each other when they go through really difficult things? It'll be okay. It'll be all right. You talk about useless, worthless things. It's the things that lost people say to each other when they go through trials. You've heard them. Sometimes lost people, they're family members or whatever, and they try to say something to us when we're going through trials. And it's just, it's worthless. The world has absolutely nothing to say. Everything's going to be okay. Yeah, right. What an empty thing to say. But for Christ, if we only have eyes to see, this just puts everything in proper perspective. Brethren, yes, we face problems. We do, but the biggest problem is usually not the problem itself. The biggest problem is when we forget who and what we are as Christians. Let me tell you something. Jesus says, guys, if you really recognize what you have, you'd jump for joy. Like we'd jump up and down. We'd shout. We fail to realize and appreciate the real truth about our entire situation. That's precisely what's happened. I'm going to be snatched away from you guys. I'm going to be executed by Roman soldiers. And I know these questions, these doubts, they're going to fill your minds. And when we get really in the heat, that's when the questions and that's when the doubts come. They fill our minds. The fear comes. When everything just appears so wrong, not everything as it should be. Everything appears so wrong. It's like you begin to question everything. What Jesus wants in the midst of all this is for these guys to be steadied by the reality of the real truth of the situation. It's temporary. Guys, yeah, I'm going away from you, but I'm going to prepare a place for you. And you know what? I'm going to come and take you to myself. That's the reality. My father has a house. And the specific reason that I'm leaving, well, it's not permanent. It's in order to go, and I'm going to work on that place. Don't be troubled, guys. What you need to recognize is I'm going away, but I'm not forgetting you. You think while I'm preparing a place for you, I'm going to forget who you are? No, I'm going to be thinking about you all the time. I'm going to have you on my heart. You remember how it was for the priest? On the shoulders and on the breast. What is that? That's only a picture of Christ. The people of God. He says, guys, I'm burying you there. I'm going to go in order to prepare a place for you in my father's house. Don't be troubled. Guys, what's going on here? This is only going to be for just a little while. Then I'm going to take you to myself. And it's going to be so glorious. Whatever trial you guys are facing right now, you just need to make sure that you see everything in the proper perspective. You know what happens? We get so slow to apply these glorious things to ourselves. One of the great problems, brethren, can just boil down to this. You know what happens? We get absorbed in life's problems or busyness. Or, you know what happens when problems come upon us? Oh, woe is us. We always think that we're the only ones suffering. You ever been there? Man, Lord, why am I always suffering? What about the other brethren? It's not that we want the other brethren to suffer, but it just feels like it's self-pity. Woe is me. We've all been there. You can relate. But the problem is that what happens in the midst of all that is we can get to where we read our Bible and we sit down and we just don't really sit and stop and think and process these truths. We can become surface level. We fail to really meditate and lay hold of the truths for ourselves. Brethren, if you're reading the Bible like that right now, then sometimes we can just fall into seasons like that. Kind of become shallow. We kind of move through reading the Word. We're distracted. We just have to sit. We have to think about those promises. I mean, just take Chris's message. You know what? We didn't really get it when our brother spoke. If you really got what he was saying, and I include myself, we would literally hit the ceiling jumping for joy. I mean, we just have no concept about the glories that are ahead of us. Jesus knows, and He said, guys, seriously, you should jump up and down for joy. You should shout. You see, the thing is, sometimes we just have to stop even in the midst. This is what Job did, and it steadied him. God gives, God takes away. But you know, he still had expectations about the future. What we have to do in the midst of suffering is really think about what our actual situation really is. And Jesus really does believe that His disciples, if they grasp this truth and they believe it, and they take the promises that He's giving them for themselves, you know what they're going to do? They won't only escape a troubled heart. They won't only escape fear. They won't only escape this anxiety. They won't only not fall away. They'll actually rejoice. It absolutely revolutionized their lives. Their whole demeanor, their whole bent of life is going to be transformed. Has anybody ever noticed, when reading the New Testament, you ever notice this? God's people are supposed to be full of joy and rejoicing. You ever come across that before? There's only one way to live rejoicing in the midst of that which is deprivation and loss and difficulty, suffering, pain, trial, persecution. Why? How? Well, by seeing and believing that my present situation is not the defining reality. Brethren, that's always it. Even we heard it, a few more rolling suns at most. The momentary light affliction. And brethren, it gives way to something. And I'll tell you, Jesus, He said, this day you will be with Me in paradise. Do you realize these rooms in our Father's house? Absolute paradise. With Me in paradise. This is what He's preparing. Brethren, it was Charles Simeon that said, brothers, we must not mind a little suffering. I mean, God wants to loosen our grip on this world. And He's going to bring us some. I mean, often the world views Christians as somber, joyless. Well, sometimes there is a reason for that. I don't think so much in this church. I see a lot of joy here. But brethren, the last thing we want to do is we don't want to be the kind of Christians that walk around that the world looks at it and say, I don't want anything to do with that. Brethren, we want the kind of Christianity that is absolutely inviting to the lost world. I just ask you this, how many of us can truthfully say we're rejoicing? And I know, you know what? We're all wired different. Some show the joy on the outside more than others. I don't show it on the outside so much, but brethren, I feel it. And I'll tell you, because of the honor that I have to be able to be in Scripture and studying on a regular basis, there are times I fall out of my seat. And I mean, I am so full of joy and thankfulness. Brethren, the truth is, a lot of times Christians give the impression that we're not so happy. And you know what the devil? You see, it's kind of like with Job. The devil loves that. The devil loves it when we have a good talk, when the sun's shining down on us. Then things get hard and we moan and mope and self-pity and we complain. Devil loves that. Because that's the kind of thing that he wanted Job to do. Oh yeah, you put a hedge around him. Well, what do you think he's going to do? You see, God's really glorified when we keep the joy. And the only way you're going to do it, brethren, nobody delights in suffering. Pain is not enjoyable. If you think it is, something's wrong with you. The fact is we don't rejoice in the midst of pain because the pain is rejoice-worthy. We rejoice in the midst of pain because it's not permanent and what's coming just pales in comparison. Momentary light. Eternal weight. I mean, you know what he's saying here? He's saying believe. 14.1, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe. Believe. You believe in God? Believe also in Me. You know what he's saying? Place your confidence in God. Expect God to support you. Expect God to help you through the trials. Expect God to bring you all the way to the end. Expect Him to support your faith. Expect Him to take you through the troubled waters. Expect that. Through the water, through the fire, through whatever it is before us. Expect, but he says this, but also, guys, no matter what you see, no matter they come to get me, you guys just remember this, when they come to take me in trial, just think on things like they all fell down, but I went with them anyway. Think about who's really in control here. Guys, this is gonna look like I've been defeated, but don't buy that. Believe Me. Believe on Me. Trust Me. You believe in God? Believe Me. The disciples are losing hope in this secular kingdom being set up, so they've got this drooping heart. Look at John 14, 10. Do you not believe? There it is. Do you not believe that I am in the Father, the Father's in Me? Verse 11, believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 12, truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do. The Son of God holds Himself forth here as the object for their faith, the object which their faith ought to lay hold on, the place where their faith can rest. He is the true Shepherd. He's the true Emmanuel. He is God with them and with us. The Savior directs them to find their consolation, find their strength, find their all. Right there, their confidence is in God, but let it be in Him as well. You can just imagine Jesus. I mean, think, He's going away. He recognizes these guys are really struggling. These guys are really, where are you going, Lord? We don't know where you're going. Why are you going? Lord, I'll die. I'm going to go with you. They're just... He's looking them in the eyes. Peter, Philip, Thomas, they're the ones directly referred to here. He's like, I may be leaving. Guys, I may be leaving, but don't imagine I'm going to forget you. Believe in Me. I will carry you upon My heart and mind. I go to prepare a place for you. Believe in Me. I am God. If you read Genesis right, I created all that. I can call universes into existence. I'm that God. And I'm going to prepare a place for you. He's been doing that for 2,000 years. He's preparing a place. Believe in Me. I am intent in coming for you as a bridegroom comes for his bride. Believe in Me. Guys, I walked with you. You saw My works. Believe in Me. I'm in My Father. My Father's in Me. Philip, I've been with you so long. I am the radiance of the glory of God. Guys, I may not look very impressive on the outward right now. Believe in Me. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself. To Myself! When we suffer, we're never going to rejoice if we forget that reality. I'll tell you this, I have a pastor friend that one of these old preachers, I think he was Scottish, and he's gone to be with the Lord now. But a pastor friend of mine said that he and his wife met this man. And he said the time they were with him, the aroma of Christ was so evident. He said when we left there, we were changed for a long while afterwards. I've had that happen before in the presence of someone. Oh, can you imagine actually being in the presence of Christ? There's going to be a glory that's going to swallow us. Just a man who has walked close to Christ can have a fragrance of Christ about him to alter people who come into contact with him. Can you imagine when we come face to face with Christ Himself? The aroma of Christ, it's going to be overwhelming. It's going to be absolutely consuming. And it's going to be forever. We're going to be swept up in this glory. I will take you to Myself. You see, we can rejoice when we're suffering because there are truths that transcend our pain. Right? Isn't that the reality? Jesus is coming for me. He's going to take me to Himself. This day you will be with Me in Paradise. Don't ever say this day you'll be in Paradise. It's with Me, just as Chris said. When you're in a trial, if you're thinking such thoughts, we're not trusting Him. And brethren, I'll tell you this, a troubled heart dishonors God and it dishonors Christ. He says don't be troubled. Believe in God. Believe in Me. To be troubled means what? That the Christian's forgotten who God is and what God has said. Or worse, it's having hard thoughts against Him. Our closest, most tender heavenly Friend. And you know what Scripture says, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. It says casting all your cares upon Him because He cares for you. You see what happens? When you don't cast your cares upon Him, you're not humbling yourself before Him. It's proud. That's what it is. And you know what happens? We feel justified being troubled. And you know what that is. We're questioning His eternal faithfulness. We're doubting His unchangeable love for us. Is this a small matter? No, brethren, it's not. It's a proud, rebellious heart when we do that. Job said it. Shall I receive good of the Lord? And shall I not receive evil? We sing it, the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Fretting anxiety and distress is not humility. It's willful. It's wicked rebellion. Brethren, what I want is for you to see the heart of the promise here at the end of Jesus' earthly ministry. Get this, I will take you to Myself. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Did you catch it? To Myself, to the Father. Let me just ask you this, what's heaven to you? What's paradise? Some geographical position? That's not the issue here. And I might mention another passage right here. John 14 and 16. Notice this, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever. Think about this. I'll bring you to Myself. This is the way to the Father. This other Helper. He is going to be with you forever. Brethren, do you see how we're being swallowed by the very triune love and person of God? It's like we just have no concept how glorious being a Christian is until we really begin to soak this in. The Spirit, the Son, the Father. The Father. You just think about that. The Father. What do you think of? Protection, kindness, gentleness, giver. This is the Father who loves us so much that He gave His only beloved Son, His begotten Son. And then Christ, this heavenly Lover that we get some glimpse of in the Song of Solomon who's saying things like, Arise, My Love, My Beautiful One. Come away, My Dove. Let Me see your face. Let Me hear your voice. He's going to lay those arms around us. And I don't care how manly a man you are, you will be melted by such a love and then the Spirit of love and joy and peace with us forever. Are you really grasping this? It's like, where is this? How do I get to this? Jesus says, I'm the way to it all. It's like, if Jesus had said, I know the way, I'm sent to show you the way, I mean, we kind of get that. But here we are. Lost men. Lost. Lost. What a word. We're lost. We're wandering. We don't know where we're going. We're in the dark. Which way? He puts those strong arms around us. Lifts us up and He says, I am the way. That's so different. That means what? I mean, think about this. Evan's not here today. He's off being a firefighter. Imagine if there's a fire. Imagine if you're in that fire. And a firefighter comes up to you like Evan. And he says, follow me, I know the way out. Well, that means one thing. That if he comes to you and he finds you in those flames, you've been put down by the smoke, you have no strength left. And you just look up and you see smiling Evan's face hovering over you. And he says, I am the way. Now see, that means something different than I know the way out. You know what that means. He's going to save me. He's going to take me out of here. I'm the way out. Now, this doesn't just mean follow me. It means He Himself has come to save me. Look, if you look at this and you say, wow, there's something desirable in that. You know what Jesus says? Believe in Me. I'm the way. I'm the truth. I'm the life. You've got some debt to God. What are you going to do? Lay there in hell forever? How many do you think you're going to pay? Not one? Say, I need somebody to pay to get me to this kind of place where I can be with Him. He says, I'm the way. Maybe you sit there and say, I love the world. I mean, I didn't even know how to start to get to this point. He says, I'm the way. I'm the way. Not just I know the way. That means you talk to Him. Believe in Him. Have confidence in Him. Lord, please, take me through. He says, I'm the way. You need an escape from hell? He not only knows the way, He is the way. We need that escape. I'm the way. Do you desire heaven? Do you desire this paradise? Do you desire it? I'm the way. Would you flee from the wrath to come? There it is. I'm the way. I've been wandering too long. Where's the city of refuge? He meets you there out in the wilderness. You're trying to get away from that One who dogs your heels. The Avenger. And I'll tell you, we all have the Avenger of death at our heels. A hundred years is going to catch all of us. I need a refuge. Jesus is just saying, I'm the way. And He's saying that to these men. Do you want One preparing a place for you? I'm the way. Do you want One who's going to come for you? I'm the way. You want One who speaks peace? He says, don't let your heart be troubled. Oh, can you imagine the Son of God saying that to sinners after what I've done and what you've done to actually have the Son of God Himself say, you don't need to be afraid. Peace. Don't let your heart be troubled. Why, Lord? Because I'm the way. I've paid it all. It's finished. What a truth. When we're in the dark, when the sun's not shining down on me, it's only temporary. It's fleeting. I was talking to Pete earlier. He was all stirred up after Chris' message. He was thinking about his glorified body. And I told him, I want to see his glorified body too. Do you ever think about that? I mean, I think about that. I often think we're going to look at each other. And it's not so much that I think about what your glorified bodies look like as much as I just imagine us making eye contact and saying, remember when we lived in the shadow land and we talked about these things and we tried to get into God's Word and we tried to think, and we're just making that eye contact of we made it. And it is so much more glorious than we ever imagined. Probably on our faces, but kind of looking over at each other and just thinking among all those uncountable like the stars, Abraham's offspring will be. So many of the people there, they'll have their story. And we won't know anything about it because they lived long before us or after us. But there will be those of us that ran the race together. And we'll look at each other and we'll say, praise the Lord, we made it. We fought the good fight of faith. And He was the way. Lord, You brought us through. Told us not to be anxious that You were preparing a place and that You were going to come for us. And now we see the place You prepared. Lord, thank You. Thank You. Oh, we thank You. Amen.