Jonathan Tejel GC
John 14:1
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me."
I. INTRODUCTION
A. The Disciples
1. Before we can really talk about John 14:1, we should first examine John 13:31-38. Then we will be ready to understand this first verse of chapter 14.
2. John 13:31-16:33 was spoken by Jesus the night He instituted the Lord's Supper and went to the Garden of Gethsemane. Even though He knew that He was facing suffering and death, John 13:31-16:33 is a passage of remarkable serenity. It is followed by the prayer of Jesus to the Father, John. 17.
3. We find Jesus telling his disciples that difficult moments were coming to Him. He was going to suffer a lot... for us.
4. John 13:31-38 31 When therefore he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; 32 if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. 33 "Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You shall seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, I now say to you also, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
5. You know, Jesus is talking about love for one another and... then here comes Peter... the impulsive one.
6. An ancient commentator said: "The disciples knew it well, but on this occasion they did not know that they knew it." Look at the question Peter poses, 13:36. The disciples had spent three years with Jesus. Perhaps we think that they should have learned enough so that they would not ask such questions. But when times of sorrow come, Christians often forget what they are taught. We do not enlighten ourselves. Only the Holy Spirit can do that through the Word of God. When times of sorrow come, the comfort of the Gospel may slip from us.
7. But Peter said to Jesus: You know what I mean, I don't care too much about love for one another, "Lord, where are You going?" What are you talking about, you are leaving? No, I want to go with you!
8. You know, the other day my oldest daughter asked me a question. Daddy, can we go with you when you travel, just one of us each time, I want to be with you, I don't want to be alone, I want to be with you. Next trip I can go with you, and the next one Edera, and the next Mammy. Is that OK?
9. This is Peter. No Lord, you are not going alone, I'm sorry but I'm coming with you. I don't care about the others; I just want to be with you.
10. And I can understand them, I can understand Peter and the rest of the disciples. They loved Jesus so much, they felt so comfortable with Him, He changed their lives for ever and now what? Alone.
11. Again the same, the fishers to fish, the thief (Mathew) to thieve? What about our lives now.
12. 36 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you shall follow later." 37 Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You." 38 Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a cock shall not crow, until you deny Me three times.
13. And then, verse 1 of chapter 14. Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
B. He is God...
1. If we try to think about Jesus reaction, the only thing that can be said is, He is God.
2. Because if something like this happens to us, our reaction will be different. After these 3 years together teaching you, talking to you about my kingdom, showing you how to live, how to talk to people, how to preach, how to pray and now you guys feel yourselves in trouble.
3. Come on, I'm in trouble, not you, I'm the one who is going to die, I'm the one who is going to be tortured, and you feel scared and depressed?
4. But Jesus is God. Jesus was a very gentle teacher. He taught His disciples again and again. The disciples were like children who easily forget and must be taught again and again.
5. That's the way it is today. Pastors must be gentle with the people. The people are like children who need much tender, loving care. When times of sorrow come to the people, the pastors must gently teach them again and again.
6. And we, the leaders of the Church, we need to be taught again and again, by Jesus.
7. Jesus knows you, knows your struggles, knows your sins, knows your needs. And He knew that the disciples were scared.
II. AUCTION BLOCK
A. Scared...
1. They were scared.
2. You know, it is like a baby, when they realize that their mother is not nearby, they cry and cry and cry.
3. Astrid my oldest daughter, who is 7, has always been closer to me than she was to her mother, but three summers ago, we sent her to Italy to be with her grandparent, for two and a half months. When my wife and I went to pick her up we saw something different in her, in those months that she needed her mom and she was not around, Astrid realize that she needs her mom more than she thought. Now the relationship between both of them is inseparable.
4. As Christians, we think we live our live with Christ, but when we realize that something wrong is going to happen in our lives, we become fearful and we forget about Jesus Christ. He is nearby.
5. Even the disciples, they believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and he came to destroy the Roman Empire, But Jesus was telling them something different─that He was leaving.
6. And they didn't feel prepared to continue with His work.
7. I can't do it, everything is bad now, I can't do it.
8. We don't realize how valuable we are to God.
B. Illustration
1. A depressed man was telling one of his friends, how many problems he had in his life, not enough money, a lot of work, "I don't feel comfortable with my wife, I don't feel good in the church". Everything was going wrong in his life.
2. Then his friend put his hand in his pocket and took out a $50 bill, and ask him, do you want this?
3. His friend was confused, and said of course I want it. Everybody would like to have $50.
4. The friend who offered the money, took the $50 in his hand and crumbled it.
5. He shows the crumbled money to his friend and asked him again "do you want it?"
6. His friend answered him again "of course I want it"
7. What are you trying to tell me, it is still $50 bucks.
8. The friend who offered the money smoothed it out, and put it on the ground and stomped on it.
9. He picked it up and asked again "do you still want it?"
10. By this time his friend was getting upset, "of course I want the $50 bucks!"
11. And then his friend told him whatever life brings you, good or bad, you have to accept it.
12. Just like the fifty dollars no matter what the man did with it, it was still $50 it did not lose its value. That is the same way we are to Jesus, no matter what shape we are in, we are valuable to Him. We do not loose our value.
13. What you need to ask yourself is, What am I "worth".
14. Even though we are beaten down, we are still worth it. We are valuable.
C. Auction Block
1. I don't know how many of you have visited www.ebay.com
2. You go there─in internet─and you search for something that you may need, or maybe you're just looking.
3. I'm sure you know how it works.
4. You have to place a bet, and wait.
5. Even you can have direct access to some of the articles at a special price when you see the Buy it now sign beside them.
6. We have been bought by Jesus, and this is the price...
D. The day when Jesus kept quiet
1. I still don't understand how it happened, if it was real or just a dream. I only remember that it was late and I was laying on my favorite couch with a great book in my hand. And tiredness slowly started to defeat me and I began to nod...
2. Somewhere in my subconscious stage and the dreams, I found myself in a large room, it didn't have anything special but a wall full of draws, filled of index cards, like the ones in large libraries. File cabinets covered the entire room, from the roof to the floor. It seemed endless in both directions.
3. It had different labels. One that caught my attention as I walked closer was under the title "Girls I liked." I carelessly opened it and started to look at the index cards one by one. I stopped caught by surprise because I had recognized each name written on the card: these were all the girls I LIKED!
4. I began to suspect where I was. This large room, with its endless index cards, was a harsh catalogue of my entire existence. There, every single moment of my life was written, large and small ... all the details... moments that I had already forgotten.
5. As I randomly open the file cabinets to explore its contents, a feeling of expectation and curiosity along with intrigue began to surround me.
6. Some memories brought me moments of sweetness and happiness; others, on the other hand, brought me a feeling of shame and blame so intense that I had to turn around to see if someone was looking.
7. The folder "Friends" was besides "Betrayed Friends" and "Friends that I abandoned when they most needed me." The labels went from mundane to ridiculous. "Books read", "Lies I have said", "Solace given to others", "Jokes told" and other titles like "Matters I have fought with my brothers about", "Things I've done when I was mad", "Mumbling I said when Mom reprimanded me when I was a child", "Videos I watched"...
8. The titles didn't stop to amaze me. In some file cabinets there were a lot more index cards than I expected, in others a lot less than I thought. I was astonished about the information volume that my life had accumulated.
9. Could it be possible that I had the time to write each one of those cards? But each one confirmed the truth. Each one had my handwriting and my own signature, written there.
10. When I saw the file "Songs that I have listened to" I was astonished to discover that it had three blocks of depth, and even then I didn't see the end. I felt ashamed, not because of the type of music but at the amount of time that I seemed to have wasted.
11. When I got to "Lusty thoughts" a chill ran through my body. I only opened the drawer a couple of inches. I was so ashamed to find its size. I picked an index card randomly and got disturbed by its content. I felt disgusted with myself because I realized that "THAT" moment, hidden in the darkness, had been recorded...I didn't need to see anything else...
12. Only one thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards. No one must ever enter this room. I must destroy it! In an insane rage, I pulled a drawer, I had to empty and burn its contents. But I realized that I couldn't even get the drawer out. I panicked and tried to pull harder, only to realize that they were harder than steel.
13. Defeated and completely helpless, I returned the drawer to its place. I leaned my head against the giant file cabinet, the merciless witness of my miseries, and started to cry. Suddenly a label in a drawer seemed to slightly alleviate my situation: "People with whom I have shared the gospel with". The drawer handle was shining─I opened it─I found less than 10 cards. Tears began to run down my cheeks again. I was crying so hard that I couldn't even breathe. I fell on my knees and bitterly cried. And again the thought that no one should enter this room crossed my mind. I had to find the key and lock it forever.
14. While wiping my tears I saw Him. Oh no! Please no! Not Him! Anyone but Jesus! And I saw how Jesus oponed each drawer and read each one of my cards. I could not stand his reaction. At that moment I didn't want to meet his gaze. Instinctively, Jesus approached the worst ones. Did he have to read them all? There was sadness in His eyes, he looked for my eyes and I turned my head in shame, I covered my face with my hands and started to cry, again. He walked closer to me and put his arms around my shoulders. He could've said a lot of things, but He didn't say a word. He was there beside me, in silence. It was the day Jesus kept quiet...and cried with me.
15. He went to the file cabinets and from one side of the room He started to open them, one by one. On each card He put His signature on top of mine. No! I screamed and ran towards Him. I grabbed the card from His hands and the only thing I could say was No! No! No! His name should not have to be on these cards. These were not His sins, they were mine! But there it was ... written in bright red. His name covered mine. Written with His own blood. He took the card from my hands, looked at me with tenderness in His eyes and smiled. He continued signing the cards.
16. I don't know how He did it so fast. I looked up, and the next moment He is closing the last drawer. He came to my side. He tenderly looked in my eyes and said:
17. It is finished, I have carried your shame and guilt.
18. We walked out of the room together...and it is still open...because there will be more cards to write...
19. I still don't know if it was a dream, a vision or reality...But I am convinced that the next time Jesus walks into that room, He will find more index cards that makes Him happy, less with wasted time and lustful, shameful cards.
E. Conclusion
1. Let me leave you with these thoughts.
2. "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me".
3. If you feel yourself struggling, if you feel yourself in trouble, if you are afraid of the future... don't worry, believe in Jesus... just believe in Jesus...
4. Think on what he has done for you, and just go...
5. May God bless you all today and every day of your lives, until He comes again.
