THE UNTROUBLED HEART
John 14:1-3 (KJV)
Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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. 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.
John 14:27 (KJV)
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.
I want to preach to you this morning on the subject, The Untroubled Heart.
I think I need to lead into this subject by pointing out first of all, what he was not saying.
He was not saying that it is a sin to be afraid.
Many of you have heard about the man in Astoria who was sure I was living in sin because I confessed publicly that I am afraid of bees.
He showed me two Scriptures against fear,
2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
1 John 4:18 (KJV)
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
And set about as an evangelist for the bees, to convert me to love them.
But fear itself is not sin. Jesus said,
Luke 12:4-5 (KJV)
And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Jesus said that a man ought to fear the one who can kill the body AND cast into hell.
The words fear and troubled are closely related as we can see in, John 14:27 (KJV)
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.
So when Jesus told the disciples to let not their heart be troubled, He did not mean to say they should never be troubled.
Jesus Himself was troubled.[1]
Jesus’ soul was troubled
John 12:27 (KJV)
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
The soul is that part of man that connects with his surroundings, the natural world.
In this case, the hour of Christ’s betrayal by Judas Iscariot, His capture, His trial and His crucifixion were drawing at hand.
Let me set the record straight. Jesus was not troubled about the Father’s plan.
· He was not troubled about giving His life
· He was not troubled about going to the grave
· He was not troubled about whether He would be resurrected.
His concern was that, somehow, Satan would prevent Him from this hour.
· What if his disciples were able to mount a resistance and somehow prevent His capture?
· What if they were not able to prevent the capture, but were able to incite the soldiers to kill them all in the Garden?
Jesus was not afraid of the cross, but He was troubled in soul that Satan would not hinder the God’s plan.
Jesus knew, and because of Him you and I know that Satan never actually prevents the plan of God, he only participates in it.
But it does make sense that we become troubled in our soul for God to be glorified.
And notice what Jesus did. He prayed.
A troubled soul makes for fervent prayer.
· Let your soul be troubled about the devil’s activity in our world.
· Let your soul be moved to cry out to God frequently and fervently, “not my will, thine be done.”
Jesus’ spirit was troubled
John 13:21 (KJV)
When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
The spirit is that part of man that connects with his God.
Consider the context of this passage.
Jesus chose just twelve men to be His apostles, the men who will be the foundation of His church.[2]
Of those twelve, one would betray him.
Once again, the concern is not His crucifixion. He came for that very purpose.[3]
But this is someone who claims to be one of His disciples – a follower of Jesus.
· Judas doesn’t believe Jesus
· Judas doesn’t know His as Saviour
· Judas’ spirit was not alive – he had not relationship with God
And that is something Jesus is concerned about.
If you are a child of God, if your spirit has been quickened, made alive by the Holy Spirit of God, it ought to trouble you that there are people you know
· Who would betray the church that Jesus loves
· Who would hurt the cause for which Jesus died
· Who would sell out for something more comfortable
It ought to trouble us that there are people who claim to be Christians but are false professors.
Notice what Jesus did – He separated from him.
Judas left, and from the other gospels, I believe he left previous to observing the Lord’s Supper.
But Jesus told His disciples
Let Not Your Heart be troubled
The heart is the seat of affection.
Twice in this John chapter 14 Jesus urged his disciples, “let not you heart be troubled.”
The wording of Jesus’ instruction tells me that this is a choice the disciples were to make.
· They could either let their heart be troubled or
· They could let not their heart be troubled
It was up to them.
They had reason to be troubled, didn’t they?
In John 13 Jesus informed them:
· He would be betrayed
· He would be betrayed by one of them and
· They didn’t know which one of them it would be
John 13 ends with, John 13:37-38 (KJV)
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.
So when we get to John 14 it begins with those words,
John 14:1a (KJV)
Let not your heart be troubled:
It is a choice we make, and I think this chapter tells us exactly how to do it.
I. THROUGH FAITH
John 14:1 (KJV)
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
This simple verse is actually more critical than I think most people ever think about.
A lot of people believe in God.
The book of James says that even the devils believe that.[4]
Jesus connected faith in God to faith in Himself.
And when you look into this chapter further you see that this becomes a major theme.
John 14:7-14 (KJV)
If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Jesus 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?
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.
Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
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; because I go unto my Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Notice first of all
A. The relationship to Jesus and the Father
They are not the same person, but they are the same God.
There is a growing error in some Independent Baptist Churches where a doctrine is built on a particular passage[5] and, rather than allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, they use Scripture as proof texts for their preconceived doctrine.
Jesus is not the Father, the Bible is very clear on that. But Jesus and the Father, with the Holy Spirit, are One God.
He is the express image of God the Father and
No mane comes to the Father but by Him.
Note secondly
B. The importance of faith
I find the word “believe” or some form of it, four times in verses 7-17.
So here’s the thing, there is a lot of difference between knowing a thing and believing it.
I am afraid a ton of church goers know what the Bible teaches
· About God
· About Jesus
· About heaven and hell
· About being saved
But they don’t believe it.
Philip seemed to be having that problem right then.
Notice his words in verse 8,
shew us
“Show us, he said, and we will be sufficed, satisfied.”
He didn’t want to believe. He wanted to see.
The Bible says we walk by faith, not by sight. I am afraid that if you can’t be satisfied without some form of physical evidence, your heart will just have to stay troubled.
And then notice
C. Answers to prayer
John 14:13-14 (KJV)
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
May I just say that, when your faith begins to result in answers to prayer, that will settle the troubled heart.
We let not our heart be troubled next
II. THROUGH A FORTIFICATION
John 14:16 (KJV)
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Speaking of prayer, Jesus said He’d pray for us.
He said He would pray to the Father and He would give us another Comforter.
We know that Comforter to be the Holy Spirit of God.
Chapters 15-16 teach us more about the Comforter but here we learn
A. He represents the presence of Christ
John 14:16-18 (KJV)
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; 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.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Jesus said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”[6]
The Great Commission ends with Jesus words, “and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”[7]
He does that through the Holy Spirit.
B. He teaches us and reminds us
John 14:25-26 (KJV)
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Have you ever sat through one of those classes where the teacher taught so much stuff, that was so much over your head, you just didn’t even know where to begin taking notes?
Jesus told them that the Holy Spirit would come live with them, and He has all of Jesus’ notes with Him.
The Holy Spirit living in you can teach you what the Bible says and remind you of those lessons you’ve learned and strengthen you in times of trouble.
So you to do have to let your heart be troubled.
We let not our heart be troubled finally,
III. THROUGH A FUTURE HOPE
John 14:2-3 (KJV)
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.
I know this was near the top of the chapter but I wanted to save it for last just so it stays fresh out our minds.
Jesus describes his Father’s house, heaven as,
A. Palatial
Notice the word mansions.
One definition I found reads, “According to some experts, the modern day mansions are houses whose floor area is more than 8,000 square feet and have all the desired comforts stylishly built to grab the attention of onlookers.”[8]
Cambridge English Dictionary simply defines mansion as, “A very large expensive house.”
And our Father’s house has many of them.
B. Prepared
Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.”
That is not a troubling statement.
When you were a kid, did your mom ever go prepare your bed for you?
It wasn’t like you feared for your mom or fretted she would never come back. You weren’t afraid while she was away.
There is something very comforting knowing that she would meet you, bed turned down, to tuck you in and say good night.
Have you placed saving faith in Christ?
Then trust His promise, He is away right now, preparing a place there for you.
C. Personal
Many mansions and
For you
Tells us that that those mansions are being prepared for you and for me.
We don’t become personality-less blobs in eternity.
We retain our individuality, our identities and our personalities, only perfected and sanctified.
And then, when it is in the Father’s time, Jesus promised, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
· Jesus is coming again.
· Jesus is coming for you and me.
There is no reason to let our heart be troubled.
· We have a sure faith
· We have a constant companion and
· We have a future promise
Conclusion
I said earlier that the heart is the seat of our affection.
The reason we don’t want to let our heart be troubled is that it will change what we love.
Apostle Paul knew a man who had once lived for the Lord and been his helper for the cause of Christ.
But when things got really difficult Paul wrote and said, 2 Timothy 4:10a (KJV)
For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; ….
I don’t know if Demas was truly saved or not.
I do know that he was a disappointment to Paul, and a lesson of what not to become for these past two thousand years.
Let not your heart be troubled.
[1] It is interesting to me that these passages seem to lead up to each other.
[2] Ephesians 2:20 (KJV)
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
[3] 1 John 4:10 (KJV)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
[4] James 2:19 (KJV)
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
[5] Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
[6] Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
[7] Matthew 28:20b
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