Comfort for Troubled Hearts

Well morning everyone, what a joyous occasion. Let me just tell you one of the many reasons why it encourages me this morning and I pray that it encourages you.

I was reading my own times this morning Psalm 145, wonderful Psalm. Right at the heart of it is one generation telling about the greatness of God to the next generation.

And God raising up a new generation of people to love and to worship him.

And one of the amazing things I thought as Beth is standing here, she was two when the Lord brought us to this church.

She was two. And yet here's somebody declaring she wants to follow Jesus.

Isn't that amazing? Just to see the Lord raising up the next generation of folks to love and to worship him.

So John 14 is where we are this morning. So please do what you can to get that open in front of you.

And track along with me.

I need love. But I don't trust it.

If I drop my game, my Chandler, and show you who I really am, you might notice me.

But worse, you might notice me and leave me.

And I can't have that. I won't survive that.

Now some of you might have got it from the name Chandler, but this is actor Matthew Perry writing in his autobiography.

I've just finished it. It is as funny as it is tragic.

And read it and this is what you'll see.

You'll see a man on the outside whose acting career keeps hitting new heights with friends.

But you'll also see a man who on the inside keeps hitting new depths as he struggles with addiction and finding his purpose and meaning in life.

And this quote out of the whole book really resonated with me.

Because on some level, I reckon all of us know what he's getting at.

Because it's what we do, isn't it?

We default to doing it as human beings.

We long to give the impression to the outside world that we have life sussed.

We know what we're about.

We know where we're going.

We know what we believe.

There's no trouble in my life.

And yet so often on the inside, we're this ball of insecurities and mistakes and hurts and secrets, sin and shame and worries about what tomorrow might hold.

And if truth be told, we don't have a clue what tomorrow is going to hold.

And yet we're caught in this tension between projecting to the outside world that we're sorted and yet inside we don't have the answers.

And I guess that's why people today talk about imposter syndrome.

We talk about faking it to make it.

What's incredible if you look at the history of both of those ideas, concepts, phrases that they aren't about until the 1980s.

It's funny, isn't it?

It's something about the way that we try and lift our lives as modern day people.

And it can be paralyzing at times, can't it?

Living with that tension, not knowing what to do to square that circle in our lives.

And if that's you here today, then Jesus has, in this passage, some life-alteringly good news for each and every one of us.

You know, I used to think Christianity was essentially God congratulating good people.

You spend enough time with Jesus and you learn that actually Christianity is God rescuing bad people.

Jesus specializes in being a savior to those who know they've got nowhere else to run but to him.

You look at him in the gospels, he's strengthening weak people, he's lifting up broken people, he's comforting troubled people.

And Jesus longs and is willing to be a savior to those who will accept him.

Do you know just how much he loves you today?

See, John 14, it contains within it some theological truths that I take it that we should never scale the, we'll never touch the bottom of.

It should blow our minds.

But at its heart is a really simple invitation that Jesus makes to all those who will read on.

And it's found at verse 1.

He simply says, believe in me.

See, chapter 14 finds its place in this section of John's gospel that runs right through to the end of chapter 17.

And this is often called the farewell discourse.

And this is Jesus preparing his disciples for what life is going to be like for them once he's gone.

He's explained, if you look at verse 33 of chapter 13,

he's explained that he's leaving them, that he's going.

And you can imagine the questions that are flying about their minds at that point.

How will we cope when Jesus isn't physically around?

I mean, what a tag team partner to have in life.

Talk about some kind of agony aunt.

To be able to tag in when you've got questions in life.

How will we cope when he's not around?

How are we going to stand for him when he's not by our side?

How will we experience the joy of knowing him when he's not physically standing right beside us?

And what we've got to see is that in John 14, the disciples are panicking.

But Jesus, troubled as he is, he isn't.

And here he is speaking, verse 1 and verse 27, which kind of bookend this chapter and what it's all about.

Here he is saying, do not be troubled.

And if you're troubled today, this is for you.

Especially this is for you.

You see, what does Jesus want them to know, troubled hearts?

What does he want us to know as we can eavesdrop in on this years, years later?

What does he want us to know?

We're going to see two things this week, two things next week.

As we think about the future until he returns.

Here's the first one.

And it's that our mistakes won't jeopardize the future.

So the Bible is the inspired word of God.

But make it clear in your mind that the chapter divisions aren't.

Okay, so this is where the big number 14, if you've got it there in your Bible,

it doesn't really do us any favors here.

Because this really is a continuation of everything that's happened in chapter 13.

And particularly, if you have it there, where we left off in chapter 13.

Peter's reacting to the Jesus newsflash.

And the adrenaline kicks into his body.

Do you see it?

I'll never deny you.

They might scarper and run, but I'm going to be right here.

I'll never deny you, Lord.

That's what he says.

I'll never deny you.

Why can't I dine with you?

Don't underestimate me.

But Jesus, knowing the mess of things that Peter is about to make,

and to know that Peter is about to be almost crushed by his own failings and weakness.

He's saying, Peter, see when that happens.

See when you find yourself in that place of making another mistake.

Just remember what I said to you in this moment.

Do you know what I love?

And we reflected on this in small group, growth group this week.

Or last week even.

That I love that Jesus knows my mistakes before I've even made them.

I'm in what social scientists call the midlife years.

And do you know what that means?

That means I've got a cracking vantage point to two directions in my life.

And I look back the way.

And I see all the mistakes that I have made in life.

And I think, that is a weighty, weighty thought.

When I see all the mistakes, all the things I should have said,

all the ways that I should have acted,

all the things that I did and I didn't have a clue what I was doing,

the ways that I was naive to life.

And I look back and the weight of those mistakes.

And then what I also do is I look forward to all the mistakes that I don't,

I haven't even made them yet.

But Jesus knows them.

He knows the mistakes I'm going to make as a parent.

He knows when I'm going to lose my cool.

He knows the mistakes I'm going to make as a pastor.

He knows the mistakes I'm going to make as a neighbor.

He knows the mistakes I'm going to make as a friend.

And the thought of the sins ahead of me,

the mistakes I'm going to make, almost crushes me as well.

And that's why, dear friends, you need to take great comfort in the fact

that Jesus knows your mistakes in the past

and he knows your mistakes in the future.

And get this, none of it has changed his mind about you.

None of it has changed his mind about you.

You see, Chandler's worried about people getting too close

and seeing the real him.

But Jesus knows all of it.

And there are no sweeter words for our souls to hear

than Jesus saying to us,

don't be troubled.

And Beth, you hear this today.

Are you in?

Is she in?

You're there.

Great.

Because I remember getting baptized and thinking,

you know, my life is going to be plain sailing from here on in.

And just hitting the crash of my mistakes.

Come back to these words again, again, again, again.

We are saved by grace.

And what takes these words and makes them more than just a thinking of you

sympathy card from Clinton's?

What gives gravity to the words?

Do you see Jesus says that he's going to prepare a place for us?

And before he's talking about heaven,

Jesus here is talking about going to the cross.

And that's the place where he's talking about going.

That is the place where he is going to willingly die,

bearing the punishment that all my mistakes and my sin

and my rebellion against my creator deserve.

It's there that he goes willingly to make me right with God.

And it's there, that's the place where we become sons and daughters

of the living God because of our faith in him.

In other words, salvation is all of him.

It's all of him.

You ever had that experience when you,

maybe think of it like this,

when you go out with a friend for a meal

and it comes to the end and it's time to pay

and you both have that moment, don't you?

You both want to pay and you come out with that line.

What are you going to do with the bill?

You're going to split the bill, right?

Always love that.

My dad still does that when I go out for a meal for him,

gives it the whole thing.

She doesn't want your autograph, dad.

It's okay.

But he wants the bill.

That's what he wants, okay?

We always want to split the bill.

And here's the thing about salvation.

We don't split the bill with Jesus.

We don't split the bill with him.

It's all of him.

Jesus pays it all.

It's why we love singing that song here,

that old, old hymn.

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.

In the words of Sam Albury,

what is right in him,

talking to Jesus,

far outweighs what is wrong in you.

There is more grace in him

than there is guilt in you.

He is better at saving

than you are at sinning.

So he says right here as he goes to the cross,

he says, don't be troubled.

And because he goes to the cross,

he ascends to heaven.

Do you not love the intimate and homely language

that Jesus uses there to speak of heaven?

This is not the father's hotel.

This is not a place where guests check in,

they stay the night,

they have a breakfast,

they leave a review and trip advisor

and they check out again.

This is the father's house.

Children live there with their father.

And listen, as I say that,

I'm so conscious that for many of us here today,

your home growing up was not a safe place.

It causes you to shudder as you think about it.

If that's you here today,

let me just say,

I'm so sorry that that was your experience.

I'm so sorry that was your,

maybe the first place,

the things you think about when you think of home

aren't positive.

Let me just say,

this will be everything

that you and I could ever hope for in a home.

A place of warmth,

a place of protection,

a place of communion,

a place of delight.

Of course,

it's everything in a Bible story

that Adam and Eve had with God

before sin entered the human equation.

How often we think of heaven

as a place where our dreams come true,

like heaven will be some kind of

never-ending game of golf

up in St. Andrews,

or it'll be a week-long shopping trip in Milan.

But what makes heaven heaven?

Do you see it in the text?

It's what Jesus says at verse 3.

Is that one day he will return

and he will take us to who?

To himself.

What makes heaven glorious

is not so much what is there,

it's who is there.

Jesus says,

I will return

and take you to myself.

And no longer has that sentence finished

and Thomas chips in

at verse 5.

And this guy always strikes me

as a bit of a pragmatist

when you meet him in the Gospels.

Just wants stuff to make logical sense.

It's why at the end of this Gospel,

he's going to say,

unless I see the scars,

I'm not going to believe,

which is a legitimate thing to say.

Right?

He's the kind of guy

who cuts his grass in straight lines.

He's the kind of guy

who labels different spices

in his food cupboard.

He's the kind of guy

that we see here

won't set out on a journey

without knowing

where he's going

and without knowing

how he's going to get there.

Do you see?

He says,

how?

How will we get to that place?

And Jesus says,

unashamedly and unreservedly,

that he is the way to God.

And with these words,

let me just say really quickly in passing,

Jesus poses a real problem to pluralism.

You know,

the belief that all roads

kind of lead to God,

that all religions

are like different paths

up the same mountain.

One path is called Buddhism,

another is Islam,

another is Christianity,

but ultimately,

whatever path you're on,

we're kind of all going to reach

the same summit.

So we don't have time

to examine the holes in that claim,

but the next time

someone tells you

about a mountain,

let me encourage you

to listen to love

and then reply

respectfully and graciously,

which is, of course,

is always the way

that true tolerance should be,

that I hear what you're saying,

but I don't think it works.

As I heard someone put it recently,

if everyone is right,

that means Jesus is right.

And if Jesus is right,

not everybody's right,

only he is right, right?

Let me do it again.

If everyone is right,

that means Jesus is right.

And if Jesus is right,

then only he is right

and not everyone's right, right?

That's what Jesus is saying here.

I am the way,

the truth,

and the life.

He's the only way to the Father.

Make no mistake

that that is an exclusive claim,

but also make no mistake

that that couldn't be

a more inclusive claim

to anyone who comes to him,

anyone who believes in him,

shall not perish,

but will have eternal life.

But that said,

see in the context,

this is not about apologetics.

We've got to understand

that this is about assurance.

Jesus doesn't give Thomas

a postcode.

Neither does Jesus give Thomas

a personal trainer routine.

Eight steps to follow

to get the perfect room.

Five rules to follow

to get to heaven.

No, no, no,

he doesn't say that.

Doesn't give him a postcode.

Doesn't give him

a personal trainer routine.

He gives him a person.

And he says,

look at me.

Look at me.

Friends,

our mistakes will not

jeopardize the future.

And secondly,

our limits won't hinder

the mission.

And here's what I love

about Philip.

As he chips in here,

I love that he gets

what the greatest privilege

and joy in life is.

And we always love

the God's great story,

guys,

you will know this quote

because we start off

every single session

that we have

as we think about

God's purposes

and the Bible story.

We always start with this.

From Augustine,

to fall in love with God

is the greatest romance.

to seek him

the greatest adventure,

to find him

the greatest human achievement.

So often in the Christian life,

we lose that,

don't we?

But it's so true.

Philip wants to see

the glory of God.

The privilege that Moses had,

the one that Isaiah had,

and maybe the one

with Jesus still around,

Philip senses

that he can get in

on the party as well.

So he says,

Jesus,

almost before you go,

could you just let us see,

even a glimpse,

just let us see

the glory of the Father.

And Jesus says,

you have seen him.

In fact,

whoever has seen me

has seen the Father.

As Jesus,

as it were,

allows us to be

that little child

who stares in the keyhole

or cup to the wall,

whatever your thing was,

at the greatest

and most joyous relationship

that has ever existed.

The Father is in me

and I am in the Father.

Which means

that if you are here today,

and I know some of you are,

you're thinking about

this Christianity stuff.

What's it all about?

How can I know

what God is like?

Right here is your answer.

You want to know

what God the Father is like.

You need look no further

than to Jesus.

You need to spend your time

getting to know him

as you read the Gospels.

And as you do that,

you will perfectly see

what the Father is like.

How often we think about God

like that crazy uncle

who comes to Christmas dinner

with full of non-PC opinions

and behavior.

And Jesus comes along

almost as the cool cousin,

almost apologetically

making up for his misdemeanors.

That couldn't be any further

from the truth.

No, Jesus, friends,

in all his beauty,

in all his captivating glory,

reveals a Father

who is eternally worthy

of our affection

and of our attention.

Jesus shows us

a picture of God

who is far better,

who is far more holy,

who is far more loving

and kind towards us

than you and I

would ever believe possible

if it wasn't for the fact

that Jesus said

it was true.

And as we thought about last week,

and if you weren't here last week,

if you haven't listened to this sermon,

get involved.

It just stirred my soul

for the glory of God.

We thought about last week

that to gaze at Jesus

is to be taking in

the greatest view

in the universe.

You pick up your Bible

tomorrow morning.

It's cold and wet outside.

We're almost at December

in Scotland

and it's Baltic.

You do that tomorrow

in all your weaknesses

and tears

and all your questions

and doubts

with all your fears

and anxieties

and niggles

as you look at the day ahead.

The call is not

to tick the box.

The call is to still yourself

in all the busyness

of modern day life

and behold Him.

That to be a Christian

is to be caught up into

by the power

and the presence

of the Spirit

that we will so wonderfully

think about next week

and that's why

I want you to come back.

It's to be caught up

into the very life

of the Father,

the Son

and the Spirit.

What is evangelism

if it's not just

telling others

about the beauty

of this God

who longs to save

and thrill us

with the person

of His Son?

Always,

sorry,

and I take it

that's precisely

the greater works

that the disciples

will do

if you're asking

that question

of the text.

Because Jesus goes,

this is exactly

what they will do,

greater works.

It's always a wonderful

question to ask

with the bits

of the Bible

that are more difficult

to understand

is to ask of them

what they can't mean.

Well,

this can't be

Jesus promising

that His disciples

will do better miracles

than He did.

Like we're going

to be able

to turn water

into better wine.

I can't really

comprehend

what that would look like.

Or that we're going

to be able

to raise the dead.

I think in the context

of John,

the works

and the words

of Jesus,

they work together

as signs

to help us see

that true life

is to be found

by believing

in His name.

And in the context

of the story,

after Jesus' death

and resurrection

and as He ascends,

the Spirit

is going to be sent,

the very presence

of Jesus,

not being geographically

tied anymore

as it was

when He was physically

on earth.

And the greater work

must be tied up

with the fact

that people

the world over

will come to find life

in Jesus' name

as they respond

to the message

of His life

and work.

Now,

if that was a mouthful,

let me just put it

like this.

Because Jesus

goes to the Father,

people are going

to become Christians

and meet God

and savor Him

and God is going

to move

in ways

far greater

than what the disciples

have seen up

until this point.

Now,

some of you

might have seen

the news

this week

about the rising

migration levels

in the UK.

Did you see that?

I'm trying to put this

into context.

The rising migration

levels in the UK.

Now,

let me encourage us

to put politically

thinking about that aside

and to think about that

theologically.

As people

from all over the world

come to our country,

find their home here,

friends,

what an opportunity.

What an opportunity.

You know,

I was particularly,

I was taken

by the fact

that the majority

of people

in that percentage

rise are now

coming from

out with Europe

to settle

in the UK.

You know,

I was speaking

to my friend

Wayne from Crubbers

the other day

who was telling me

how they have seen

at Crubbers

an influx of people

coming from

Hong Kong.

Some people

were already Christians,

some people

coming to hear

about Jesus

for the first time.

Just had this

lovely moment

when I thought

about this

enthusiastic pastor

from New York

is telling me

about the church

that he pastors

in Edinburgh

and now in his words

one-tenth of his

congregation

are from Hong Kong.

My WhatsApp groups

with pastors

up and down

the country

at the minute

are filled

with stories

about how people

from Iran

have been coming

to churches

in the UK

and being introduced

to Jesus

and it's been great

to get to know

Pedram

as he's been

with us recently

reading the Bible

together

and learning so much

from Pedram.

There was a stat

this week,

did you see it?

I read it,

about how the fastest

growing church

in the UK

is the Chinese-speaking

church.

In fact,

experts reckon

that by 2030

the number of

Christians in China

will surpass

the number of

Christians in the US.

Some even put that

as early as 2025,

which is barely

around the corner.

Do you see it?

The greater works

that Jesus is talking

about is he's no longer

geographically tied

as the Spirit

takes the message

and as it were

just fans it

into flame

around the world.

People from all

over the world,

down the generations,

coming to know

Jesus for

themselves.

Friends,

our mistakes

won't jeopardize

the future.

Be so clear

on that today.

And our limits

won't hinder

the mission.

And that's why

Jesus ruling

and reigning

in heaven

for us

is better

than Jesus

walking and talking

on earth

beside us.

What comfort

and confidence

that we can take

from him

and his

words today.

And I take it

as we finish,

this should free us

to be faithfully

witnessing

wherever we are.

and this is

where I finish

just as we close

with my friend Luke.

And I bumped

into Luke

at a conference

I was at

a few weeks ago.

I've not seen Luke

in 10 years

since we did

the Cornhill course

together 10 years ago.

And he was telling me

just one of those

questions when you

haven't seen somebody

in so long.

You just say,

what have you been up to?

You know,

kind of keep it

really narrow like that.

Yeah,

what have you been up to?

And he told me

about how

after he graduated

he spent some time

working at B&Q

in Aberdeen.

And in his first week

he accidentally

sent a brand new

kitchen

due for a family

in Oxford

to a family

in Aberdeen.

Right?

Big mistake.

And I texted him

this week

and said,

how did that go?

And he simply said

it was a great day

for all involved.

Mistake.

Mistake.

But he kept on going.

Loving his colleagues,

speaking to them

about Jesus.

But the same questions

that I know so many

of us here today

when you're witnessing

in your place of work

wherever you are

you ask as well.

Do people see?

Does anybody even notice?

Is anybody listening?

Is this making

any kind of difference?

Eventually God calls

Luke back

to church work again

and it comes to

his final day

on the job.

And those questions

that he's been asking

well,

they kind of get answered

because everybody

in his workforce

chips in to get him

a gift.

And they buy him

a pastor's key ring.

They buy him

a bag of pasta.

They buy him

an Amazon voucher.

And they buy him

I love the things

that people buy you

by the way

when it's their last day.

And they buy him

a really nice

leather Bible.

They've all signed it

with his initials

stamped on the front.

And it wasn't so much

the gifts

I think got him.

It was what people

said that meant

the world to him.

They just said

thank you.

Thank you.

And so through Luke

and his witness

knowing Jesus

and walking with him

personally

as folks

as he dealt with them

and he was trying

to be as honest

as possible

about his faults

and failings

but as honest

as possible

about the forgiveness

and life

that he's found

in Jesus.

I love the fact

that there's a whole

bunch of folks

in a warehouse

at B&Q up in Aberdeen

who've heard the gospel.

And let's not

underestimate

the things

that God can do

as we just

sow the seed.

Do you know

and just as we close

there is no freer

place for our hearts

to be

than resting

in these words

of Jesus

right here

when he says

do not let

your hearts

be troubled.

And just hear

that today.

Do not let

your hearts

be troubled.

You believe

in God

believe also

in me.

Let's pray

will we?

And so

heavenly father

I'm so conscious

that so many

of us

will be coming

at this

from different

places today.

And lord

I ask that

your spirit

that he would

be at work

in our hearts

bringing the

comfort

and the

challenge

the reassurance

that comes

from Jesus'

words as we've

heard them today.

We just thank

you for the

celebration

that today

has been.

Father we

thank you

for the

gift

of new

life.

We thank

you for

the gift

as it were

of spiritual

life.

And father

I pray

that you

would just

stir our

hearts

with a

greater

affection

for the

Lord Jesus

as we

leave here

today.

Fully

confident

in the

truth

of his

promises

and the

beauty

of his

person

and work.

So father

we thank

you for

your commitment

to us

your people

today.

Be with

us for

the rest

of this

Sunday

we pray

in Jesus

is worthy

and in

his

wonderful

name

we ask.

Amen.

Amen.