Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. If it were not so, 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 receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.

And whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whether thou goest. Now Jesus just said they already knew it. And Thomas comes right back at him and says, we don't know. Jesus says, listen, you know where I go. Thomas says, Lord, we don't know where you're going. Jesus says, you know the way and Thomas says, Lord, we don't know the way.

So we have a little bit of a conundrum, a little bit of an issue. So verse six, Jesus saith unto him as his answer for clarity, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Now notice in verse six, and we're going to get there even more specifically next week, but Jesus answers both questions.

It's not just the fact that he is the way, the truth, and the life. What Thomas asked literally was answered in the last statement. He says this, no man can come unto the Father. So that's where he was going, unto the Father. So that answered Thomas' question of, well, whither ye go, we don't know. And Jesus says, no man can come unto the Father, which is literally where he was going. So that answered question number one for Thomas. Question number two, Thomas says, is and how do we know the way? Jesus says this, but by me. So he answers both questions that literally I'm going to the Father, and nobody can go to the Father unless they go through me. Everybody understand that so far? So he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. But this was a response literally to a beginning statement that Jesus made, let not your heart be troubled.

So what was going on? Let's pray. Lord, I love you, thank you for all that you've done. Lord, I pray as you've worked in my heart through this passage, I pray that you would work in hearts.

Lord, I can't do it. I often, I think, have tried to work in hearts. And Lord, while I know I can't, many times the work you do in my heart, the things you show me from verses that I'm just so excited about it. I'm just so changed by it that I want everybody to see it. I want everybody to feel it.

I want everybody to be excited about it. And yet Lord I know that might not always be the case. But Lord, you can work in a heart, even though I can't. So God, I'm asking you to do that today. Lord, you have given us a statement that our hearts should not be troubled. So Lord, I pray that you'd help me to rightfully divide your word this morning.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. This conversation beginning in verse one in John chapter 14. This happens on the last night before the crucifixion. Do you understand when Jesus says what he says here in John chapter 14? The next day he is going to be going through suffering that none of us have ever gone through.

We will never fully understand. And he would not just bear the weight of physical, emotional, mental abuse, but he would bear the uncarryable burden of spiritual sin. He was getting ready to go through this. And he looks to his disciples and you think really what he was getting ready to go through the next day, you would think it was Jesus' heart that would be troubled. But he looks in verse one and he says, let not your heart be troubled. So what was the context?

What was the conversation? This was the night before the crucifixion. This was literally the Passover meal where Jesus is sharing that. But may I remind you what Jesus shared at the Passover meal which apparently brought great trouble to the disciples.

In chapters 12 and 13 you'll find that this was an ongoing thing and this is what he had shared with the disciples and this is why their hearts had become troubled. He literally, he had washed the disciples' feet. I mean imagine the humility of your savior washing your feet. That act of humility. I mean almost, I don't know about you and I'm not trying to take away the act of what Jesus, it would make me feel guilty that Jesus would wash my feet.

Is anybody else like that today? I mean don't you feel that I'm not even worthy to wash his feet, let alone for him to wash my feet. It just kind of boggles our mind. And then Jesus predicted in this Passover meal in a sense, he predicted the betrayal of Judas. He predicted that one of this inner circle would betray him and lead him to be crucified. And I don't know about you, if you're a kind of a tight group of these men that had been the inner circle and Jesus as one of you is going to betray me, one of you is going to literally deliver me to be crucified, that would bring trouble to my heart. But not only that, Jesus predicted the denial by Peter. That Peter would deny him three times. Peter could not even believe that he would say that, that that would be the case in a sense and Peter was taken back and here Jesus not only washes their feet in an act of humility but he tells them that one of them would betray him and that one of them would deny him and not only that, he tells them that he would soon be going away in chapter 13.

All of this prompted questions in the disciples' minds. Questions of this, who's going to betray him? Who's going to deny him? Where is he going?

Are we going with him? I thought he was setting up his kingdom and he was by the way leaving to set up his kingdom but they thought the kingdom was going to be set up on earth and although he had told them he was going to set up a kingdom in heaven and yet they had all these questions and so Jesus could see and he could sense that although the suffering he was going to face the next day he saw that the things he had shared and by the way he had just given them little tidbits of information and it brought trouble to their heart. Have you ever gotten some information that brought trouble to your heart? So Jesus in chapter 14 verse 1 he makes a statement, let not your hearts be troubled. That means this, that everything from here on out is really centered around the fact that there is a reason that your hearts do not have to be troubled.

Although I've given you some difficult news and although you have questions and although you're a bit confused and although you're kind of hurt, although you're kind of dejected, although you have all these questions, let not your heart be troubled. And so everything he shares is going to be about giving them reasons why their heart does not have to be troubled. So in this first statement he begins these little phrases and every one of them in their own way is a way of explaining to these disciples why their heart does not have to be troubled. May I say this, the same reasons he gives the disciples that evening why their hearts should not be troubled, by the way the same reasons are given to you and me in this passage and applicable to us in 2020. Now number one I want you to notice this, as you look at this phrase let not your hearts be troubled, as we begin just these first few verses we're not even going to get to our theme verse today in a sense, but as we go through this we've got to look at this first statement that he said so that we can understand the rest of the chapter.

Notice first number one I want you to notice the word troubled. You see we've got to break this statement down to understand what he was trying to say and then as he gives the statements following this statement to prove this statement that their hearts don't have to be troubled, we're not going to understand them if we don't understand this statement, this word troubled. This is a Greek word teraso. It literally means this, it means to stir or agitate, to royal water.

I didn't say boil water, to royal water and I don't know about you I was not familiar with that word royal. It literally means this, it means to stir, to make turbulent, to disturb, to stir up sediment. It's literally this unrest and it's kind of be what Jesus is saying don't let your heart be troubled kind of like a troubled sea when it can't rest and these disciples had been on boats on troubled sea all through their ministry with Jesus so they understood this statement that it was kind of tossing to and fro.

There was nothing settling, nothing that they could count on and when you're in the middle of the sea that is being stirred and agitated you can't get your ground. There's nothing certain and constant and still. Everything's moving, everything's up and down.

Nothing can be depended on. So he said don't let your hearts get like this. Now may I say he does not say let not your hearts be sensible. He doesn't even say let not your hearts be sad. You see there's going to be a number of things that are going to come along your path in life and my path in life and Jesus is not saying that you have to literally not be hurt, not be sad, not mourn.

In fact the Bible on many occasions tells us those things. What is he saying? He's saying this listen it's okay that your heart is sad, it's okay that your heart is a bit dejected, it's okay that your hearts a bit discouraged, it's okay that you have questions, it's okay that you're confused but you can't let your heart get troubled because that's a different story. May I remind you as God's children this morning you and I there's it's okay that we're sad, it's okay we're taking an offering for the Clevenger family.

I've been in contact every day numerous times throughout the day with Mrs. Clevenger. She's asked me to do the memorial service and it'll have to be a month or two later down the road and different things and let me tell you something I've told her I'll tell you we have people right here in this building that have lost loved ones just in these past months. It's okay to be sad, it's okay to be hurt, it's okay to mourn, it's okay to cry, it's okay to have questions, it's okay to have a lot of things and a lot of feelings but as God's children we do not have to let our heart get troubled because there is some things constant in our life. We don't have to let our heart be stirred as if it's a troubled sea because we are not on some boat that rocks with our Savior.

He is the solid rock with what we go through. He says let our hearts be troubled. Notice the second word I want you to notice in this phrase is the word heart. He said let not your heart be troubled.

Now sometimes your mind is going to be troubled. Sometimes your body is going to be troubled but what Jesus is talking about here is the soul, the heart. He says let not your heart be troubled.

What is he saying? He is saying keep possession of your own heart when you cannot keep possession of anything else. I mean when everything has gone awry make sure that you guard your heart. Your heart is the main fort. Whatever you do keep trouble from this. Keep your heart with all diligence the Bible says. Out of it are the issues of life. Literally the spirit the Bible says your spirit must sustain your infirmity therefore don't let your heart get wounded. The Bible says a wounded spirit who can bear. Listen to me.

You've got to get this. Jesus said this. Listen there's a lot of things that are going to bring trouble but don't let your heart get troubled. Protect that.

Guard that. It's the main thing and you can't let trouble seep through your mind and your emotions and circumstances and disappointments. You can't let that seep into your heart. Listen to me this morning you and I have totally underestimated how dangerous it is when our heart is allowed to get troubled. We have underestimated that. It begins to cause all kinds of confusion.

It begins to cause all kinds of damage. It begins to cause questions and doubts when our heart gets troubled. There might be some things in our mind that don't make sense but we've got to guard our heart. We can't let our heart get troubled or it will lead to doubting God and doubting God's word and doubting God's love and doubting God's sovereignty. Yes there's some things we can't make sense but His ways are above our ways but we've got to keep trouble from seeping into our heart.

It makes all the difference. All around this area are people who are no longer in church. Not really because they don't love God.

Not even because they don't really believe God's word. But their heart was troubled. Number three I want you to notice this word your. He said let not your heart be troubled.

Your. He is saying this, who is He saying this to? To His disciples. He is saying this, you are my disciples. You are my followers.

You are my redeemed. You are my sanctified ones. You are my men that I have chosen to literally birth the church and to literally begin what will be truth and a gospel to the Jew and the Gentile and that all that want to come to Christ.

However everyone else is overwhelmed by sorrow and grief and trouble at this present time. Let that not be with you. You don't let your heart be troubled. Let the sinners in Zion tremble the Bible says but let the sons of Zion be joyful.

It makes all the difference in the world when you and I are now sons. Listen to me. Christ's disciples should do more than others and we should be more than others because we have more than others. The followers of Jesus should keep their minds and hearts quiet when everything else is loud. You must guard your heart and I must guard my heart when everyone else is troubled.

You don't have to be. Let not your heart be troubled. You're not careful through stress of life and your heart begins to get troubled and you don't guard your heart.

You can begin to get bent out of shape with people and leadership and mate and job and circumstance and everything else. Jesus says let not your heart be troubled. Notice number four he brings this up he says this ye believe in God. Now at first glance you might say okay now remember everything is through the lens of let not your heart be troubled. So everything that we're going to say from now on somehow is saying you don't have to be troubled. He says this ye believe in God. Now this is an acknowledgement that they believed in God and he commands them for that. Ye believe in God and you and I would say well that's an obviously that's a comforting statement and that that's a statement that will keep your hearts from being troubled and dear friend I disagree with you because just the statement that ye believe in God is not a statement that will keep your heart from trouble in fact the fact that you believe in God is a statement that will cause trouble to your heart.

And you're looking at me like what? Look at me dear friend without Jesus if you believed in God there would be no comfort there. You say why is that because if you believe in God we are brought into covenant with God through Christ and we have God's favor and God's promise through Christ. As sinners you and I would despair with our belief in God if it wasn't for Jesus Christ because if we believe in God that means we have to believe in a holy God and if we believe in a holy God that would obviously make it clear that we cannot approach God. If I believe in God that means I believe in a God that I can't get to that can't get to me because I'm a sinner and he's a holy God and I have no way to clean myself enough to get to him there would be no hope. It means if I believe in God then he's a holy God and a holy God has no right but to judge sin.

Do you understand me this morning? Jesus looks at his disciples and he said you believe in God but that's not going to bring comfort because believing in God reminds us that we have to answer to God. We have to give account of ourselves to God and there would be no comfort available. It would not keep trouble away from my heart if all I could do was believe in God. It in fact would create trouble in my heart because now I see a scenario of a holy God and I have no hope. I have no salvation. I have no way to make myself righteous in his eyes.

The best works I could do is nothing but filthy rags. I would have absolutely nothing to keep trouble from my heart if I only believed in God but Jesus said ye believe in God ye men that I have chosen and have followed me and served me ye believe in God believe also in me and that's what keeps our heart from being troubled. Do you get me this morning? Say amen if you do. Listen to me those that believe in God must believe in Jesus to get to God. You see the joy of faith is the best remedy against a troubled heart.

It is a remedy with a promise connected to it. The Bible says the just shall live by faith. The Bible says I had fainted unless I believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That's why Jesus says hey you believe in God that's a great step because God does exist and God is real and you should believe in God but what will keep trouble from coming into your heart is the fact that you believe in me. Have you ever believed in Jesus? You see dear friend if you just believe there's a God then you should have nothing but trouble in your heart but if you believe in Jesus Christ he said no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Ye believe in God he says believe also in me. Listen to me believing in Jesus Christ as our mediator between God and us that makes our belief in God comforting. Because when I believe in God I also believe in Jesus Christ and because of Jesus Christ by putting my faith in Jesus Christ it is now comforting to believe in God. You see I believe when the Lord returns there will be a number of people who believe that there's a God but they've never believed in Jesus.

You believe in God believe also in me. Then he makes another statement that ought to bring comfort to a heart he says this in my Father's house he said you believe in God believe also in me in my Father's house. What a statement in that statement Jesus is proclaiming again that he's the son of the Father. By that statement he's proclaiming that the Father's house is also the son's house because that's where children live.

He said in my Father's house listen to me you've got to get this. This statement points us to the determining factor of our hearts not being troubled. It all rests in the Father's house. We would have nothing to look forward to if it wasn't for the Father's house. If it wasn't for the Father's house all we would have to look forward to is what we have right now and I don't know about you it's not very comforting here right now. But our comfort lies in the Father's house.

Listen you've got to get this. What keeps our hearts from being troubled here on earth is not something from this earth. What keeps our hearts from being troubled here on earth is the promises that we have in the Father's house. It means this it is our faith in the Father's house. It is our future now in the Father's house.

It's our new family in the Father's house. The Bible says this and this is what Jesus said in my Father's house are many mansions. Now may I ask you this why would there be a need for many mansions if there was not the desire of Jesus to have us with him in heaven? Why are all those mansions there? If it's just God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit the fact that they're there the fact that heaven is there and the Father's house has many mansions shows that it is his desire that all of us come to heaven with him.

God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Listen to me Jesus said this in my Father's house are many mansions. Now let me just say this I know there's a lot of talk and may I say this we will know when we get to heaven. There are people believe that we all have our own mansion. There are people believe that in my Father's because of the terminology in my Father's house are many mansions. Mansions don't go in a house there are rooms in a house so that there is the Father's house and we all have an area in the house whatever the case might be and you say you say what is your opinion? Well my opinion is that we have a mansion and we're in the Father's house because that's what the Bible says.

But let me tell you why I believe that because you and I are limited to how we think and we're limited to this earth. It makes no sense for us to think that there's a mansion inside of another house. The mansion is the house but may I remind you that heaven and Jesus do not operate like we do here on earth. Now it might be we're all in one house but you know what the entire solar system could be a house.

All I'm saying is this that whatever we have there and wherever it is and whatever it is and whether it's a mansion if it's a room if it's whatever the case might be may I say it's greater and broader than our minds can imagine. So a little motel room at the Holiday Inn I don't see heaven like that. I wonder if there will be room service. That's the biggest pain for us when we stay in a motel. My wife's always worried are they going to come clean the room? Are they going to come clean the room?

Listen to me I want you to get this. Jesus says this if it were not so I would have told you. That means this his father's house was not a joking matter to Jesus and it wasn't a lying matter to Jesus.

He was very serious. I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't so. So my father's house should be a comfort to you. My father's house should keep your heart from being troubled because whatever happens here this isn't our house. Our home is now in the father's house and that should keep our hearts from being troubled.

You see when a loved one dies that knows the Lord yes it's hard. He didn't say we can't be sad. He didn't say that we can't grieve. He didn't say that we can't have questions but he did say this there's no reason for your heart to be troubled because of my father's house.

Wow. So then he gives another statement that's a comfort we're almost done. He says let all your hearts be troubled.

You believe in God believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you and then he says this I go. How is that comforting? Here again like he had just been sharing in the last chapter he tells them I'm leaving. How can that bring comfort instead of trouble to my heart and how could it bring comfort to their hearts to know that he was leaving he said I go. But he said this I go to prepare a place for you. You and I need to understand the design and the purpose of Christ going away was to prepare a place for the disciples and for you and for me that had put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is saying this you're grieved to know I'm going away but I am going away on an errand for you. I'm the forerunner. For you to get there I've got to get there first. For you to have a place there I've got to go prepare it. There's some business that I have to do with the father before you arrive. You're my bride. I'm making the house ready. God bless you.