Christ’s Cure For Troubled Hearts

I am going to back up and begin the teaching tonight in John 13:36. I really think that it introduces us to what Jesus begins to say in chapter 14. Back up to John 13:36. “Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou?” Before I forget, I want to point out that we’re going to have four questions, from a literary prospective, package this fourteenth chapter. The first question is found back in John 13:36. The question is then answered in the first four verses of chapter 14. The question given by Simon Peter is, “Where are you going?” Jesus told them in the upper room before He was to be crucified that He is going to leave them. Peter then asks, “Where are you going?” Jesus answered and said, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.” Now without skipping a beat, there are no chapter-verse divisions, you move right into chapter 14, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that were I am there ye may be also.”

I can't tell you how many times I've read these words at a funeral to bring comfort to troubled hearts. Jesus says, “Let not your heart be troubled…,” don't let it be agitated, don’t let it be afraid. Actually, chapter 14 opens and ends with this statement where Jesus actually tells them in verse 27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled…,” and this time He adds, “…neither let it be afraid.” Now, whenever God spoke to someone in the Bible and said “don't be afraid,” guess what? He did it because they were afraid. God didn't tell them not to be afraid if they weren't afraid. Like, “Me? What? What are you talking about?” You can't really put one over on God like, “Hey, I'm not afraid. No problem here.” Jesus knew that their hearts were troubled. You know, it's part of being human that there are times we are fearful. With what's going on in our nation today, I didn't hear the news until between our morning services, about the policemen that were shot this morning and people just freaking out. What's going on in our nation? It's kind of like open hunting season on the police department. We see the racial tensions, and the political turmoil, and the trouble which is in our nation today. It's so easy to look around and be troubled. Later on in the morning, a gentleman came and was almost shaking he was so distraught and troubled by the turmoil that's going on in our nation today. It's so easy for our hearts to be afraid and to be troubled.

In context, there are a couple of reasons why they were troubled. First, Jesus was leaving them. He told them He was going to leave them, and they weren't really clear on what was going on. They believed with all their heart, rightfully so, that Jesus was the Messiah. In their mind, Messiah would set up His kingdom immediately on planet earth. He wouldn't be crucified. He wouldn't die on a cross. Their messianic hopes meant that they would be delivered from the Roman government, the yolk and bondage of Rome, and the Messiah would rule and reign and sit upon the throne of David. They had a literal expectation of the messianic kingdom and the Davidic kingdom coming to pass. When Jesus now tells them, “I am going away,” it was freak out time for these guys. “What do you mean You're going away? You're the Messiah. We’ve forsaken all to follow You, and now You're telling us You’re splitin the scene?” This distraught them; it upset them.

The second reason they were upset and bothered was He said, “One of you is going to betray Me,” in Chapter 13. They were looking around the room; they don't have any idea who it is. They don't immediately look at Judas and say, “It must be Judas because he is always dressed in black, he kind of has beady eyes and those bushy eyebrows, and he looks like a deceiver so it must be him.” No one knew that it was Judas. No one knew who it was, and many of them asked, “Lord, is it I?” Their hearts were troubled because one of their very own was going to betray Him, and then Peter their leader would deny him. Three reasons their hearts were troubled: Jesus was leaving them, one of them would betray him, and their own Peter, the spokesman, the leader of the group, would deny that he knew Jesus three times before the rooster would crow the following morning. And, as Jesus spoke, we know that indeed that came to pass.

Jesus gives them, in these first three verses, three reasons their heart should not be troubled or three ways to cure a troubled heart. Take them to heart tonight yourself. The first is to believe in Jesus—as you believe in God, believe in Me. He says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” Wow, what an amazing statement. You believe in God, believe also in Me. Do you know what the implication is there? Jesus is God. If Jesus says, “You believe in God, believe also in Me,” He is actually saying, "I am God.” Now, we are going to see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all three persons of the Godhead, referred to in this chapter, and when Jesus said, “You believe in God…,” He is referring to Father. When He said “Believe also in Me,” He was referring to Himself. Now, God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit, though they are three separate persons, there is only one God. They are one in essence. They are not one in person, they are three separate persons, but they are one in essence. This is what we call the Trinity or the triunity of God. One God in three persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

One of the solutions to your troubled heart tonight is to simply trust in God. It’s that simple—trust in God. The just shall live by faith, not feeling, not sight, not emotion, but faith. When your heart is overwhelmed ask God to lead you to the Rock that is higher than you. Just say, “Lord, help me to trust in You.” There are times when we simply need to trust in the Lord. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” He shall make your path straight. I don’t know what you’re going through tonight, I don’t know what you’re facing tonight, I don’t know what problems you’re dealing with, maybe it’s financial, maybe marital, maybe physical. I don’t know what your issues are tonight, maybe it’s psychological. Whatever your issues are tonight, you can trust in Jesus Christ. Amen? He is the solid Rock, and you can put your faith in Him. You can put your trust in Him. Whoever trusts in the Lord will not be put to shame and will not be disappointed. I would say it like this, the first cure is to believe in His person, Jesus Christ is God. Put your faith and trust in Jesus.

The second anecdote for a troubled heart is in verse 2. You believe in a person, Jesus, and you believe in a place called in verse 2, “my Father’s house.” “In my Father’s house are many mansions…,” I personally have no doubt about it, you may disagree with me and your welcome to do that. Obviously, I think you’ll be wrong. I believe the Father’s house here is a reference to heaven. What a great description of heaven. Isn’t that cool? “…my Father’s house…,” that’s because we are going to go home. This world is not our home. Heaven is our real home. Don’t get too comfortable down here; this is not your home. Jesus described heaven as “my Father’s house,” and in His Father’s house are many, and I am reading from the King James translation, and I make no apology for that even though I realize there are better renderings here, but I love the old King James “mansions.” The word would perhaps be better translated “abiding places,” and the idea of homes in those days, they would actually add on and the kids would all live together. They would just add rooms, and they would all live in their rooms. It would be one big house with rooms for all the kids—the idea of abiding places. I heard one translation that said “apartments.” I thought, “No, thank you. I’d rather have a mansion.” I mean, what Christian waits their whole life to go to heaven to move into his apartment. “In my Father’s house are many mansions.”

Growing up as a kid in church, my dad used to sing solos for the church. He used to sing that song,

My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, He has riches untold.

I’m a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I’m a child of the King.

I'll never forget sitting in church as a little boy watching my dad singing about his Father in heaven—watching my dad just light up as he talked about going to heaven, and his Father in heaven, and his home in heaven. I know that should be a motivation for us. Heaven is not just a final destination for a Christian, it's to be a present motivation for our lives. As someone said, “When the outlook is bad, try the uplook.” I like that. Get your eyes off of the earth, and get your eyes on heaven. So, Jesus is going to the Father’s house, and there are many mansions there, and He is preparing that place. “If it were not so, I would’ve told you.” I believe that heaven is a real place. Why? Because Jesus said so. Then He says, “I go to prepare a place for you.” I love that! Jesus went back to heaven, and He’s preparing you the ultimate crash pad or crib or house or whatever you want to call it. It’s gonna be awesome! When we get to heaven, we’re going to be home, and we're going to be in the Father's house.

The first cure for a troubled heart is a person, His name is Jesus. The second cure for a troubled heart is a place, it's called heaven. There is nothing wrong with being heavenly minded, for you to long for heaven, desire heaven or hope for heaven. If that motivates you to do nothing on earth, then that's a false hope of heaven. It should be a comfort and a motivation to serve. I believe that those who are truly most heavenly minded are truly most heavenly good. I believe that those that have done most for God in this world have thought most of the next world. Those who think only of this world do little for God in this world. Those who think of the next world are motivated to do more for God in this world. Have I thoroughly confused you? In other words, you should be heavenly minded. If you are, you'll truly be earthly good—how you spend your time, what you do with your treasure, and how you invest your talents in the kingdom of God motivated by the fact that there is a heavenly hope. I think we should sing about heaven. I think we should think about heaven. I think we should encourage others to trust in Jesus so they can go to heaven with us, and that’s our hope.

In verse 3, He says, “And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Every phrase in these verses is kind of like a “can you dig it!” verse. You just want to shout every time Jesus utters something here in these first three verses. “I’m going to prepare a place and if I do, I will come again.” Here’s the third cure for a troubled heart. It’s called the promise of His coming. You trust in His person; You trust in a place, heaven, you’re going to go there; and then the promise that He would come again. When He comes again, He will receive us unto Himself. I want you to think for just a moment deeply about this simple fact that from the lips of Jesus Christ, (and I believe these are the words of Jesus, not just because they are in red but because they are in the Bible, and I believe that Jesus spoke them) Jesus actually promised to come back. I don’t think this coming here is a spiritual, mystical coming to individuals at their death or any other kind of secret coming. I believe that it is a coming to receive the church up to heaven to be forever with Him—Jesus promised to come again.

I’m supposed to get through this whole chapter tonight, we can get bogged down, but I want you to listen to me very carefully, I believe that this is the first place in the Bible where the rapture of the church is disclosed. I believe that Jesus Christ is disclosing a New Testament mystery that will be revealed to Paul and through Paul, the rapture of the church through Jesus Christ, and I’ll explain what that is. Jesus doesn’t mention any signs that have to come before He returns. He didn’t say the moon will be turned to blood. He didn't say Israel would become a nation. He didn’t say there would be famine and pestilence and all of these things. He didn’t say the antichrist will come on the scene. He doesn’t mention any of that. All He says is, “I will come again.”

I happen to believe that the rapture of the church is imminent. By imminent, I use that word specifically meaning that nothing has to happen in this world before the church is raptured and caught up to be with the Lord. I've been around long enough that I've seen all the predicted antichrists come around for the last 40 years. Everybody and their brother was the antichrist. Have you seen recently that Donald Trump is the antichrist? That Donald Trump is a prophecy, and Donald Trump is going to bring the last days and all of this stuff. Christians are so silly. I hope and pray they are not real Christians that are following the silly teachings. We are not looking for the antichrist—We are looking for Jesus Christ. Amen? That's where our hope lies. I'm not looking for the tribulation; I'm not looking for the mark of the beast. I see the stage set for those things, the last seven years of man's history upon the earth before Christ comes back in His second coming and He brings in the kingdom age. I'm looking for the imminent return of Jesus Christ. I believe that He can come for us tonight before we finish John chapter 14. Wouldn't that be sweet? I think so. I’m ready to go. I’m ready to be caught up in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye!

The rapture is first disclosed by Jesus here. “I will receive you. I will snatch you up. I will take you up. I will catch you up.” You say, “Well, where do we find the word “rapture” in the Bible? I don’t believe that’s taught in the Bible. I do believe that good Christians can have different views about the rapture, the second coming, and the tribulation. There are people who don’t believe in the rapture. There are people who believe the second coming is after the millennium or it’s before the millennium. They believe the rapture is in the middle of the tribulation, at the end of the tribulation, there’s all these different views. I think people, perhaps even in the church, are more confused today, in my estimation, than they have been in quite some time, even with all the teaching on this subject. It’s quite convoluted. I believe the rapture happens around seven years prior to the second coming. It’s not the second coming. Jesus comes only for the church, the bride of Christ, meaning true born-again believers found in different churches, different denominations, anyone who is born again comprises the universal church, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Let me give you some of the references on the rapture. The first is 1 Thessalonians 4:13. That’s one of the clearest teachings on the rapture where Paul says, “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren…,” the largest Christian denomination in America, the ignorant brethren, “concerning them which are asleep…,” or have died, “…that ye sorrow not…,” interesting. In the same context of “sorrow not,” John 14, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4, “I don’t want you to be sad. I want you to sorrow not.” Concerning those Christians that have died, he uses the phrase “fallen asleep.” They are with the Lord, but their bodies are sleeping awaiting the resurrection. He says, “I don’t want you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, “…that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain…shall be…,” and here’s our word, “caught up…,” the word is harpazo. It means to be raptured, and in the Latin Vulgate translation you find that word rapturas, we’re caught up; we’re snatched up to meet the Lord in the air, “…and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Two things happen at the rapture. There’s the translation of the living saints and the resurrection of the dead saints, but in the reverse order. First, the resurrection of the dead saints. People are troubled by, “What does it mean the dead in Christ shall rise first if when we die we go immediately to be with the Lord?” It’s the resurrection of your body. We’re waiting for the redemption of our body, so when the Lord comes to rapture the church, He’s first going to raise up those that are “sleeping” in their graves. Did you know the word “cemetery” means resting place? So, we lay them in their beds, and there’s a great gettin up morning. Hallelujah! I heard that during the Civil War a bunch of soldiers were sleeping outside in an open field and the snow came that night burying them all in the snow. In the morning, when the trumpet was sounded to rise and the revelry, each man one at a time came popping out of his snow-covered spot, and it looked like the resurrection morning—the great gettin up morning. What a picture that would be. There’s the resurrection of those who have died in Christ, and then there’s the translation of those who are alive and caught up to meet the Lord, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The second classic passage on this doctrine of the rapture is 1 Corinthians 15, which is the famous resurrection chapter. At the end of that chapter, beginning in verse 51, Paul begins to speak about the rapture. He says, “…we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality…then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” He’s kind of mocking death because the resurrection and translation is going to be that victory over death, a catching up to be with the Lord. Paul opens that up by saying, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep…,” or die, “…but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of any eye…,” and then he begins to describe how our bodies will be metamorphosized and changed and caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So, John 14, 1 Thessalonians 4, and 1 Corinthians 15. Now there are other places, I believe, in the New Testament that you find the rapture, and I will admit there are times you can’t be clear, “Is this the rapture or is this the second coming?” I do believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, that before the antichrist can even be revealed, the church must be raptured, and then he can be revealed, and he will make a covenant with Israel for seven years, known as the 70th week of Daniel. That last seven years will be a time of Jacob’s trouble—God’s wrath poured out upon the world, and the last three and a half known as the Great Tribulation. It will culminate in the second coming of Jesus Christ. I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, and I believe in a pre-millennial second coming of Jesus Christ, that He’ll come before the kingdom age and will set up His kingdom by sitting on the throne of David to reign for a thousand years and that will flow into the eternal state.

I know I went into a lot about the rapture, verse 3, but if that doesn’t cure your troubled heart I don’t know what will, certainly alcohol or drugs won’t do that, but trusting in Jesus, believing that there’s a place called heaven, and resting in His promise. Amen? Jesus Christ is going to come again and take us home to heaven. Now, he says in verse 4, “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” Thank God for Thomas. Here’s our second question. “Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Thomas asks the question. He is sometimes known as doubting Thomas, and he’s always looking on the negative side of things. He says, “Lord, we don’t know where You are going. How can we know the way?” When I get to heaven, I’m actually going to thank Thomas for asking that question. Thank you, Thomas, for asking that question because look at the answer that Jesus gave to Thomas. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father…,” which He mentioned in verse 2, the Father’s house, “…but by Me.” This verse clearly teaches the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus Christ. It’s that simple. The only way to get to heaven is through Jesus Christ. We used to sing, “And if you wanna get to heaven, you can’t go round the cross.” You can’t get there by any other means. He is the One mediator between God and man. Again, there is so much said that is contained in that statement of Jesus. Jesus didn’t say, “I just teach the way.” He didn’t just say, “I show you the way.” He didn’t say, “I’m just going to tell you about the way.” I am the way. Notice it’s “the way” not one of many ways.

Can anything be more contrary to our culture today than to say there is only one way to God and that’s through Jesus Christ. Try saying that on the Oprah show. I mean, you’ll be crucified. Try saying that on a college campus. Try saying that at the mall. Try saying that anywhere! “Crazy! One way to God? All paths lead to God.” I’ve seen the little clip on YouTube where Oprah says, “There can’t be just one way to heaven.” She actually said that. She said, “There can’t be just one way to heaven.” Excuse me?! Why not? Because thus saith Oprah? I need to calm down here for just a second. What is with that? When I was in school, I hated math. I still hate math. I don’t like math, I just thought I’d share that with you. I didn't take any advanced math by any means. My kids all did and excelled; they were way smarter than I. I credit it to my wife. You know, when you’re in a math class working out an equation or a problem, guess what? There’s only one answer. If you get it wrong, it’s wrong! Try telling your math teacher, “All answers are right. There can’t be just one answer.” Yes there is. If you get in a plane to fly from Los Angeles to Honolulu and the pilot sets the bearings on where you’re going to go. Would you go up to the pilot and say, “Ah, don’t worry about that stuff on the dashboard, all paths lead to Honolulu.” I mean, if you’re off by one degree you’ll end up in the Pacific Ocean. I mean, who says there can’t be one way to God?

Jesus said there is only one way to God. I like to be with Jesus. I mean, I’d much rather take Jesus over Oprah any day. I think He knows what He’s talking about. I am the way. What could be more exclusive than this? Exclusive, but it’s true! Amen? It may be exclusive, but it’s true! I love what James Montgomery Boyce does with this text. He points out that Jesus meets the greatest needs of humanity in these three statements: way, truth and life. Man is separated from God and needs reconciliation. Jesus is the way for man to be reconciled back to God. I love that. All have sinned. All have fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous, no not one. We’re separated from God. Guess how we get back to God? Through Jesus Christ. When He, the Godman, died on the cross for us, He was the substitution for our sins. He paid in full the penalty of our sins, was buried, and three days later rose from the dead. Now He can reconcile us back to God. The second thing He said is, “I am the truth.” Man is ignorant of God. Go out into the street and ask the common person, “What do you know about God?” You’ll get some crazy and bizarre answers. Man is blinded by sin to the knowledge of God, to an understanding of God, and to whom God is. So, he’s estranged from God, he needs reconciliation back—Jesus is the way. He’s ignorant of God—Jesus is the truth. I love that, and the truth will set you free!

Do you want to know the truth about God? It’s found in the person of Jesus Christ. He goes on to amplify this in this chapter, “…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Do you want to know what God is like? Take a long, hard look at Jesus Christ. Amen? Have you ever done a study of the life of Christ? You’re just amazed at the person of Christ—His words, His works, His nature, His character. You can’t muster up a thought about Christ that’s too exalted. He is to have preeminence in all things. He is the truth about God.

he third thing Jesus says is, “I am the life.” Man is dead in trespasses and sins. We are separated from God. We are ignorant of God, and we do not have the life of God. Guess what Jesus is? The life. Do you know what a Christian is? A Christian is a person that has the life of God in their soul. That’s what regeneration is. When you are born again, God’s life comes to live in you. Isn’t that awesome? God’s life comes to live in and dwell in you. Remember when you were born again? You just came alive and your eyes were opened. You understood God and the truth about God, and you had a relationship with God. Naturally, you needed to grow in your knowledge through the Word, but it was just so awesome! Once I was dead, now I’m alive. Once I was lost, now I’m found. Once I was living in ignorance, and now I know the truth and it has set me free! What a glorious thing that is.

I like the fact that Jesus said, “I am the way.” He didn’t just point the way. Someone likened that to an escalator. What a great illustration. Jesus just doesn’t point the way. He didn’t just tell us about the way. Step on Him and He takes you there! Escalators are cool. I like to trip out on them, have fun with them, and slide down the wrong way. If you see Pastor John at the mall freakin out on an escalator, you’ll pray for me. I love it when you’re coming down an escalator where the little step in front of you just SWOOP sucks right into level and you step right off and say, “Whooo!” It’s kind of like magic, it’s so cool! An escalator—when you want to go up, what do you do to go up? You just step on it, right? You just stand there and you go up. Do you know what you do to go to heaven? In faith, you just put your weight on Jesus Christ and He takes you Whoo right up to heaven. You just put your faith in Him. It’s not being good, not going to church, not getting baptized, not being of a religious persuasion, not being of any race. It’s not a religion, it’s not a rite, it’s not a ritual, it’s a relationship. You trust in Christ, and He’s the One that actually takes you there by His grace. How marvelous that is! Jesus says, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me,” just to make sure that we get it straight and we understand that He is the way to heaven.

“If ye had known me…,” verse 7, “…ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” Here’s the third question. The first one is Peter, the second one is Thomas, and the third one is Philip. “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” I love these guys. They had no inhibitions or fears about raising their hands and asking questions. When I was in school, I didn’t even know how to ask a question. I just sat there, you know. You have to have some intelligence to be able to ask a question. “Lord, show us the Father, and we’ll be satisfied. You’re talking about the Father, and we want to see the Father.” This is the basis for so much idolatry today. We want to see, we want to touch, we want to feel. “Show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” “Jesus..,” verse 9, “…saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” So, Jesus is going to take us to the Father’s house, Jesus is the way to the Father, and Jesus reveals the Father.

One of my favorite doctrines or concepts theologically is what is called revelation. I love to think about the idea that God can only be known by revelation—God has to reveal Himself. One of the chief means by which God has chosen to reveal Himself is in the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus says, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father,” Jesus is not the Father. That’s not what He is saying. There is a false idea that there is no Trinity; Jesus is the Father, Jesus is the Son, and Jesus is the Holy Spirit, sometimes commonly called “oneness” or “Jesus only”. They deny the Trinity. Jesus is not the Father; Jesus is not the Holy Spirit. What does He mean then, “You’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father?” What He means is you’ve seen the Father living through Me. You’ve seen His nature and His character. Have you ever seen the son of a Father and you say, “I can see your Father in you, not only by the physical appearance but by the personality, by your voice.” The other day I heard my own voice, and I sound just like my dad. My voice sounds just like my dad. I look like my dad. My son, sadly, looks like me. We prayed that wouldn’t happen, and God didn’t answer prayer. He looks like me, pray for him. When you look at Jesus, you see the nature and the character of the Father. In a sense, when people look at you they should see Jesus. They should see God in you. You’re not God, but they can see God through your life. That’s what Jesus meant here. “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father because I came to reveal the Father by My words and by My very works.” If you don’t believe that, “…believe me for the very works’ sake,” that Jesus performed.

Speaking of works, verse 12, He says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do…,” why? “…because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” Wow! Some of you are already thinking Porsche, Ferrari, Harley Davidson, a diamond watch. “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” I obviously don’t believe that’s what Jesus was talking about. I took a little more time on these first several verses than I wanted to, but I don’t want to miss this point in verse 12 when Jesus says, “…greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” I think people have misinterpreted that statement, and they get this idea that we’re going to do miracles greater in quality than Jesus did. How do you do that? Instead of raising one dead person you raise five at the same time? I mean, how do you do greater works than what Jesus did? I think what Jesus is talking about, let me make it very simple, He’s not talking about quality He’s talking about quantity. In context, the Holy Spirit is going to come, the church is going to be born, they’re going to go out and preach the gospel, and people are going to be saved. Some feel that it is speaking of “spiritually” they’ll do greater works. That could be involved as well, but they’re going to go out and preach, people are going to be saved, and if miracles are wrot, miracles are wrot, but more miracles are going to be wrot. People’s lives are going to be changed because the church is going to grow and multiply and take the gospel to all the ends of the world. So, the greater works is comparative—they’re greater in quantity not greater in quality. I’ve heard people say, “Yeah! We’re gonna do these miracles and these things.” I believe that God can heal and God can do miracles. God can do wonderful things, but this is not the verse that guarantees that we Christians today are going to do more miraculous things than Jesus did. That’s foolish. I mean, He was God in the flesh, and He could command Lazarus to come out of the grave, but certainly when the Holy Spirit would come, that His works through us would be multiplied beginning in the book of Acts.

Jesus says, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” Go back to verse 13. “Anything” must be in the will of God and it must be to the glory of God. God will not answer selfish prayers. You cannot pray for selfish things and expect God to answer them. It must be in the will of God and for the glory of God. Amen? This morning we read one of the reasons God says “no” to your prayers or your prayers are blocked because a husband doesn’t give honor unto his wife as unto the weaker vessel and his prayers are hindered. Another reason is that your prayer is not in the will of God. Why would you want God to answer a prayer that is not in His will? You’d be pretty stupid to do that. God gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him. You say, “God, I like that person. I want to marry them. They’re really cute. They love You. I want to marry that person, but not as I will but Thy will.” You ask God, “God, I want to go to this college. I want to go to this school. I want to get this job. Lord, I want to buy this car, but not my will, Thine be done.” Accept whatever God wants you to have, it’ll happen. If it doesn’t happen, let me tell you something—you can thank God for unanswered prayers. You can be thankful that God doesn’t answer prayers the way we want because our minds and our understanding are limited. I don’t always pray the way I should, and I want God to answer according to His will. “Lord, this is what I would like to see. This is what I’m asking for, but if You’ve got something better, or You don’t think it’s good, You don’t think it’ll glorify You, Lord, I just pray that Your will be done.” Some people think that takes a lack of faith. I think the opposite is true. I think that takes great faith that you trust God to know better than you. I think that’s a good place to be. I’m not trying to weaken the text, I simply believe that if it’s in His will and will glorify Him then we should ask boldly and confidently, and God will answer our prayers.

Jesus said, verse 15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth…,” referring to the Holy Spirit, “…whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” These are amazing statements that Jesus makes here, and we probably should save them for next week, but let me say a few things about them. Jesus said He would not leave His disciples “comfortless” but that He would send the “Comforter.” In verse 16, the other “Comforter” is a reference to the Holy Spirit, and the word “another” means another of the same kind. So, when Jesus would leave, the Holy Spirit would then come and He would be a “Comforter” to them, another of the same kind indicating the deity of the Holy Spirit. The word “Comforter” there is the word parakletos, which means one who comes alongside another to comfort and strengthen them. He is the “Comforter,” the Holy Spirit, to strengthen and comfort us. He is called the Spirit of truth in verse 17. He dwells with you and will be in you. The disciples had the Holy Spirit with them and then the Holy Spirit came in and indwelt them. He says in verse 18, “I will not leave you comfortless.” The word comfortless is not the same Greek word in verse 16. It’s a word which indicates “I will not leave you orphans.” I’m going to send the Holy Spirit to take My place, and you will not be orphans. Again, he’s saying all this to comfort their troubled hearts. “At that day…,” verse 20, “…ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” I’ve highlighted the phrase, “ye in me, and I in you.” You in Me is our position of being justified before God the Father in the person of Christ. It’s the believers standing or position. “I in you,” is sanctification. One is position and one is power. The Spirit of God comes inside of us and empowers us to be able to live the Christian life.

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot…,” here’s our fourth and last question. This is known as Judas, whose also known as Thaddeus, not Judas Iscariot. He has been dismissed; he left the upper room. He said, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” That is, He’s going to come by the agency of the Holy Spirit, thus the world will not see Him or know Him. “Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost…,” he makes it very clear that this parakletos, this Comforter, is the Holy Spirit. “…whom the Father will send in my name, he…,” using this personal pronoun in reference to the Holy Spirit, “…shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Now, this “teach you all things” and “bring all things to your remembrance” is one of the clear references in the New Testament to the fact that the apostles would have the work of the Holy Spirit in giving them perfect recall to write the gospels and the life of Christ. He’ll “bring all things to your remembrance.” The Holy Spirit would actually bring to their minds this perfect recall that they could write the things that Christ said and did. Then, in the epistles, that they would teach all things. All scripture given by inspiration of God, which is the Holy Spirit. I believe that verse 36 is a fascinating text which supports the doctrine of divine inspiration, that He will bring all things to your remembrance, and He will teach you all things.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” I’ll explain what Jesus meant by that. 29 “And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” He is referring to satan working through Judas who will betray Him only hours away in the garden of Gethsemane, but he “…hath nothing in me.” 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” This is why some people believe they got up from the supper, walked out of the upper room, and in the journey from the upper room into the garden of Gethsemane that Jesus taught as they journeyed.

How does Jesus end this chapter, verse 27? “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” Pretty good, huh? This, I might say, is the last ingredient, the last anecdote to calm a troubled heart. It’s called the peace of God which passes all understanding. Have you ever experienced that? When you should be freaking out, when you should be worrying, when you should be distraught you just have this peace of God that passes human understanding. God is in control because Jesus leaves us something. He leaves us His peace. This is not peace with God, this is the peace of God. This is the experience of the child of God. This is an actual experience where you can lose someone that you love, they die, and you can have peace. You can experience a traumatic setback in your health and you can have peace. You can lose your job and you can have peace. You can watch the news and you can still have peace because Jesus gave it to us. It’s His peace. “The peace of God can rule in your heart,” Paul said to the Philippians. He guards or garrisons your heart. He protects your mind from all the assaults of worry and fear. He forms this garrison around your mind. It’s that peace that He gives to us as this deposit before He goes back to the Father. What a glorious truth that is!

We have His person, “…believe in God, believe also in me;” we have the place He’s preparing, heaven, brings comfort to my heart; we have the promise that He gave, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also;” and we have His peace—perfect peace. Peace is not the absence of trouble. We think of peace as the birds are singing, the wind is light, it’s 75 degrees out, it’s quiet, and everything is perfect. I’m sipping on my Arnold Palmer and chowing down on a Five Guys burger. That’s not peace. Do you know that everything around you can be going just perfect and in your heart it’s like a raging sea? I mean, you can have the money, the popularity, and you can be at the parties. You can be having fun outwardly, you’re doing all the cool stuff with everything going for you, but the Bible says there is no peace to the wicked, says the Lord, they’re like the troubled sea. So, you try to find it in a bottle, and you can’t find it in the bottle. You try to find it in drugs, and you can’t find it in drugs. You try to find it in sexual encounters, and you can’t find it there. You try to find it in money, and you can’t find it there. There’s only one place to find peace in your heart and that’s through Jesus Christ. He’s the one that gives you the peace; He’s the Prince of Peace.

If you’re here tonight and you haven’t trusted Jesus Christ, you haven’t said to Jesus, “Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins and be my Savior.” If you don’t have peace about where you’re going to go when you die, maybe tonight when you lie your head on the pillow, you don’t know that if you died in your sleep that you’d go to heaven. I don’t want to freak you out, but do you know that there is no guarantee that when you go to bed tonight you’ll wake up tomorrow morning. I’ve lived long enough to see people that I thought were in pretty good shape and healthy go to sleep and not wake up. They go to bed and are dead in the morning. You have no lease on life. Are you ready to die? You’re not ready to live until you’re ready to die. Are your sins forgiven? Do you know that if you die you’re going to go to heaven? Are you really a Christian or do you just come to church? Maybe you come to church with your parents or maybe just because you don’t have anything else to do, or maybe because the air conditioning is broken at your house. “It’s always real cool at Revival, man. They just crank that air on. Let’s go over there. Let them pay the electric bill.” Maybe you’ve been baptized or maybe you have religion. Do you have a relationship with God? Do you really know that you’re forgiven? Do you know you’re His child? Have you trusted Him? Have you stepped onto the escalator or are you just watching other people go up it? Have you put your weight on Jesus Christ?

The Bible says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Salvation is a free gift, and I want to give you an opportunity tonight before I dismiss you. If there is any of you here who would say, “Pastor John, I want to make sure that I’m a Christian. I want to make sure that I’m forgiven, that I’m a child of God. I want to make sure that if I die I’m going to go to heaven. I want to have the peace of God in my heart. I want to have peace with God and I want to experience the peace of God.” Then, you need to receive Jesus Christ tonight as your Savior and Lord.