Thank you, Jennifer, that was
beautiful. I'd like to direct your attention
tonight to the Gospel of John chapter 13. John chapter 13. Let's begin
reading in verse 33. This is our Lord speaking here,
and in verse 33 he says, little children, yet a little while
I am with you. You seek me, and as I said unto
the Jews, wither I go, you cannot come. So now I say to you, a
new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as
I have loved you, that you also love one another. And by this
shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love
one to another. And Simon Peter said unto him,
Lord, whither goest thou? And Jesus answered, Whither I
go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me
afterwards. And Peter said unto him, Lord,
why can I not follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy
sake." Now what Peter is saying here about himself, every other
disciple present thought the same thing concerning themselves. All of us have a tendency to
think too highly of ourselves and we think we're above doing
certain things. His younger brother Andrew heard
these words and I'm sure he thought in his heart, Lord, I would die
for you too. John, James, Matthew, Philip,
all of them alike thought, yes Lord, we won't forsake you, we
would die for you. And in verse 38, Jesus answered
him and said, 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. And Peter, along with all the
other disciples, couldn't believe what they heard. In Matthew's
account of the story, Peter said to the Lord, Though I should
die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. And then it says in
these words, Likewise also said all the disciples. And though
it's very helpful in the way of reference and study, I believe
that this may be a case where having the Bible divided into
chapters and verses does us a great disservice. And I have little
doubt that there should not be a chapter division here. Our Lord is continuing the same
thought and the same statement of what He just said. This isn't
a new and different conversation beginning in chapter 14. It's the continuation of the
same one in chapter 13. So look at verse 1 of chapter
14. The Lord says, let not your heart
be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. Now we need to understand some
things here. The disciples had given up everything,
everything. Some had given up their career
and their businesses. Others had left their jobs and
families to follow the Lord Jesus. They had put all their eggs in
one basket. And I see them like little lambs
in the bosom of the great shepherd. being carried and loved by them. And now their great shepherd,
one who meant everything to them, tells them that he must leave
them. The time had come for the good shepherd to lay down his
life for the sheep. And I'm telling you, they were
devastated. Devastated. Why Christ had enabled
them as his sheep to lie down in green pasture. He had enabled
and guided and directed them safely by the still waters. And He had restored their souls.
He had shown them and led them in the paths of righteousness,
had He not? For His own name's sake. But
now, now, they would walk in the valley of the shadow of death
for a while. And as it is with all God's sheep,
there will come times of darkness. affliction, suffering, grief,
and even death. And the Good Shepherd says, let
not your heart be troubled. What amazing words of comfort. It's as if he repeats the words
of David concerning himself, saying, fear no evil for I am
with My rod and my staff will comfort
you. I prepare a table for you in
the midst of your enemy. I will anoint your head with
oil. Your cup shall run over." Oh,
what abundance in the Lord Jesus Christ. Mercy and goodness shall
follow you all the days of your life. And dear lamb, you shall
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. In other words, don't
let your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. And first, what an amazing statement
when we consider when these words were spoken. Was it not when
our Lord was about to be delivered into the hands of wicked men
to be crucified and slain? Was it not when He was about
to suffer His greatest personal trial, sorrow, bitter agony,
and even death itself? And we find these amazing words
falling from His gracious lips. And He says, let not your heart
be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled.
He has no concern for His own destiny. He's overflowed with
the sympathy and the concern for those whom He eternally loved. And I say without reservation,
had it been your eye, we would have demanded sympathy for ourselves. What incredible self-denial is
found here. Our Lord sets His mind on comforting
and sustaining His chosen people from their sorrow and grief at
the very time that He Himself would suffer His greatest sorrow
and grief. Truly, it's amazing love, isn't
it? Our Lord knew that He was about to be exceeding sorrowful
even unto death, Matthew 26, 38. And Christ knew what awaited
Him. For He had from the beginning
been with His Father, ordaining and predestinating all things
that were to come to pass, even those things concerning His own
death. And soon our Lord would be in
horrific agony Not only in body, but in soul. We try to, as we
read the Scriptures and try to talk about the suffering that
our Lord went through in His body, but
my, we can't even begin to enter into the soul suffering of our
Lord and Savior. My, being made sin for His people. On his mind were his pitiful
people. And he utters the selfless words,
let not your heart be troubled. Though through the prophet our
Lord had declared, is it nothing to you, all you that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the
Lord hath afflicted me." Who afflicted him? His own father
afflicted him in the day of his fierce anger. Yet his concern,
and I just can't get over this, folks. I never want to get over
it. His concern is with those whom He eternally loved, and
He utters those comforting words, let not your heart be troubled. Oh, shouldn't we admire the One
who loved His people so much that at such a time as this,
He would be concerned with those who were the very ones who deserved
what He was about to suffer for them. How humbling a thought
is that? I also cannot help but to adore
the amazing confidence of our Lord. Even though He's about
to be put to death, He feels no fear, but bids His people
to wholly put their trust in Him. Can we put our trust in
Him? Oh, He's worthy of our trust.
In verse 1 again, let not your heart be troubled, You believe
in God, believe also in me. Now notice those words that follow
that statement, let not your heart be troubled. He said, you
believe in God, believe also in me. I believe these words
can be read and understood in different ways and still all
be true. You know, the Word of God is that way. It has so many
layers that reveal the same things. And it might be considered and
read, you believe in God and you believe in Me. God's elect believe both the
Father and the Son to both be God and equally to be the object
of their faith. These words might also be understood
to say, believe in God and believe in Me. Said in a way to encourage
His people to exercise faith in both the Father and the Son
for their comfort, peace, and salvation, both being God. It
might also mean believing in God means you also believe and
trust in me, for he says here a little later, for I and my
Father are one. We must never forget that God
is in three persons. And it also means believing that
God will never leave you nor forsake you. It's as though the
Lord Jesus is saying here, God the Father is always with you,
and believe also that though I go away, and I might be absent
from you for a while, that whatsoever I have said to you, I'll see
to it that it's accomplished. So, let not your heart be troubled. You believe, so act like it. How desperately I need to hear
that very often. Very often. For Christ's sake,
shouldn't we act like we believe? Don't you imagine that there
were some tears being shed on this occasion? Yet our Lord dries the tears
of those whom He loves. by reminding them that He would
be with them to always do them good. Child of God, the Lord
will never leave you nor forsake you. He's always about doing
you good. Christ, our great mediator, is
still telling us the same thing today. Let not your heart be
troubled. Don't be worried. Don't be disturbed. Don't be distressed. Believe
in God. He's worthy to be believed in.
Trust in Him who always has your eternal best interest at heart. He works all things together
for your good. And that's eternal good. But, there's
going to be some bitter waters in this life. There just are.
There's going to be some trouble. There's going to be some sorrow
and grief. You can count on it. There are going to be some devastating
things to fall upon us in this life. And I'm telling you, to
these twelve men, there was absolutely nothing more devastating as the
thought of Him leaving them, much more dying. And dying the
way that He said He was going to die. And if they ever needed
encouragement, it was now. Do you need encouragement? I'm
in constant need of it. And again, how ironic that the
one who is going to die is encouraging the very ones for whom he was
going to die. And that's just beyond our human
perception, isn't it? You know, I read some Scriptures
this past week and it occurred to me like never before just
how quick All the things concerning the death of our Savior transpired
so swiftly. Swift justice, said the Jews,
but swift injustice, said God Almighty. And today, guilty and
habitual murderers sit on death row for years, fouling appeals,
the taxpayers foot the bill. But hear me, when man put God
on trial, They arrested, convicted, and executed him in a matter
of hours. They arrested him in the garden
the evening before his death. All his disciples, these very
twelve that he's encouraging now, left him. And he was alone. At 6 a.m. the next morning, they
bring him before Pallet. Pallet sends him to Herod. Herod
sends him back to Pallet. And by 8 a.m., our Lord is being
led away to die on Calvary's mountain. His trial lasted less
than an hour. He was convicted and sentenced
in less than an hour. It would have taken at least
an hour for them to shuffle Him Herod and back to Pilate. And
then we're told in the third hour, 9 a.m., according to Mark
15, verse 24, Christ is beaten. He's stripped while the soldiers
cast lots for His clothes. And He hung on the cross between
two criminals. The whole time He's being insulted
and being mocked. And He shows grace and mercy,
saving one of the two male factors. And by the sixth hour, twelve
o'clock noon, three hours of darkness covers the land. By the ninth hour, three o'clock
in the afternoon, Christ cries out to His Father, My God, My
God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And then He says it's finished.
And he gives up the ghost, breathing his last breath, and all these
things transpiring in a nine-hour period of time. Swift injustice
executed by man. Divine and holy justice executed
by God Almighty. Oh, what a gospel. What a gospel. Yet knowing that he would endure
all these things in such a short period of time, he at the time
of our text finds need to encourage his closest friends and he says,
don't let your heart be troubled. Isn't that amazing? Don't think
for a moment that their hearts weren't troubled. I can assure
you they were. Honestly, it seems as though
my heart is always troubled about something. It ought not be. It ought not be. Oftentimes,
it seems that my heart searches for things to be troubled about.
And like Martha, I'm cumbered and troubled about many things.
Notice again the next words to come out of the Savior's mouth.
Believe. Believe. Believe in God, believe
also in Me. Look down at verse 11. Believe in Me that I am in the
Father, and the Father in Me. Or else believe Me for the very
work's sake. Do you see what our Savior, our
Shepherd, our Friend is encouraging us to do? He's encouraging us
to believe. I think sometimes professing
Christians really don't want to believe. They would rather
wallow in their woe. Been there and done that. Let's
just be honest with ourselves. Christ says, believe Me. Not
just what you've heard. Not just what you've seen. Believe
Me. I and My Father are one. Believe Me for the very work's
sake. You know what you've seen Me
do. In other words, if you believe in God, then believe also in
Me, for I am God. Many today claim to believe.
But you know, claiming to believe is easy. Oh, I believe. I believe. Believing is a whole
other matter. Men and women say, oh, I believe
in the sovereignty of God. I believe in God's power in creation. I know that He can create and
form, that He can speak things into existence. create whatever He desires. I
believe in His power and providence. I know that He can bring to pass
all His eternal purposes and He can do whatsoever He desires
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
I believe that with God all things are possible. Just not sure for
me. He's most certainly capable of
doing in time what He purposed in eternity. Now listen to me. Just in that way, as you say
you believe in these things, when your heart is deeply troubled,
rely, depend, and trust your Sovereign Savior. Truly, He's
the only one who will always do what is best for your eternal
soul. As far as that goes, He's the
only one who truly knows what is best for your eternal soul.
And it didn't take me long to find out after I heard the gospel,
to find out that I truly don't know what's best for me. The
things that I've prayed for sure weren't best for me. I'm so glad
that God don't answer all prayers, aren't you? But I struggle with my health.
Let not your heart be troubled. Your bad health may be the very
thing that keeps you hanging and clinging on to Christ. Well,
I struggle with relationship. Oh, don't let your heart be troubled.
Believe. A trying relationship may be
what causes you to trust in Christ for everything. Well, I struggle
with my job. Let not your heart be troubled.
Believe. God uses many things to keep
us trusting in Him alone. I struggle with my finances.
Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe. God may yet strip you
of everything and cause you to set your affection on things
above. And here's one of my heartbreaking
troubles. I struggle with my faith. Let not your heart be troubled.
Believe! Believe! This may be the very
thing that causes you to earnestly pray, Lord, help thou my unbelief. Help me to believe, Lord. I believe,
but help thou my unbelief. See friends, there's no discharge
in this war in which we fight. As long as we live in these bodies
of sin, we will struggle with armies of grief, And way too
many of God's people, I'm convinced, way too many of God's people,
I'm not talking about the unbelieving, but the people of God are struggling
in the midst of trouble. What are we gonna do? I'll tell
you what we're not gonna do. We're not gonna let our hearts
be troubled, right? God, please make it so. Let not your heart be troubled.
You know, it's the easiest thing in all the world, especially
in times of difficulty, to let your heart be troubled. It just
comes natural to us, doesn't it? So easy to party and pity. You know, when I was young and
didn't get my way, I'd get upset and my mom would always say,
well, David Lee, why is it when our parents are Get after us,
they always use our middle names. David Lee, David Lee, are you
going to have a little pity party? She used to say that to me all
the time. It's so easy to party in pity. It's so easy to wallow
in woe. Like pigs in the mud, we like
to wallow in our woe. Don't do it. Don't do it. The regenerate heart has no reason
to be troubled. For your names are written in
heaven. Look at verse 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. 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." Now, if your heart's troubled, child of God, you think about
that. Your name's written in heaven. Heaven is where the Father
and the Son and the Spirit reside. It's in heaven where Christ has
promised to prepare for us a permanent and eternal dwelling place and
residence. And I don't pretend to know much
about pearly gates, streets of gold, or mansions of glory, but
I know this much. Heaven is heaven because my Redeemer
is there. And I can assure you that I will
not be admiring the work of the architect who built my heavenly
abode. I'll be admiring the architect
himself. Heaven is heaven because that's
where Christ is. And here's why your heart and
mine really should never be troubled. The end of verse 2, He said,
I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again. He's coming back. He's coming
back. I will come again and receive
you unto Myself that where I am, There ye may be also. Now, let
me ask you this question one more time. Why should my heart
ever be troubled? Why should my heart ever be troubled
when I know who it is that will be preparing a place for me?
Has he ever failed at anything? No. The Lord Jesus Christ said,
I go. I can have great confidence and
comfort knowing who it is that's preparing the place for me. I
can take great comfort in knowing what He will do when He goes. He says, if I go, I will come
again. You can count on it. He's coming
back. So don't let your heart be troubled.
He'll be back for you. And the promises of our Lord
just keep getting better. He says, I will receive you to
Myself. Where He is, we shall be also. What a glorious thought. As both
God and Judge, the elect of God, stand accepted in the Beloved. Oh, that's a word that I like.
Accepted. We all want to be accepted. But
to be accepted by God, that gives it a whole other meaning, doesn't
it? accepted in Christ our Beloved. You see the verdict's in. Not
guilty, says the judge. Innocent, but not just that. Unblameable. Oh, unblameable,
above and beyond blame. Not just innocent and guiltless,
but unreprovable. Unreprovable? Above and beyond
reproof before a thrice holy God? How can it be? But that's not all. It still
gets better. Oh, the sweet promises of our
sweet Savior. He says that where I am, there
you may be also. Together forever with Christ. Should our hearts be troubled?
No, they shouldn't. Do you believe that? If you do,
then is there any reason for you to
let your heart be troubled? No, there's not. Then, let not
your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. Oh, may the Lord Make that effectual
to our hearts and enable us to truly trust in Him for everything. Thank you.