Don't Let Your Heart Be Troubled — Jesus Prepares a Place — John 14:1-14 (08.30.2026)

When I'm finished, I'll say, this is the word of the Lord, and you can respond, thanks be to God.

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you

that I go to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you

to myself, that where I am you may also be.

And you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to him,

Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?

Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to

the Father except through me.

If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.

Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, Show us the Father?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?

The words that I say to you, I do not speak of my own authority,

but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me,

or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that

I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. This is the word of the Lord.

Amen. Thank you, Pastor Nathan. Well, friends, family, glad we are all here

together. Welcome, kids. It's Kids Sunday, as Ben mentioned.

We're glad you're in here. We are glad you're in here.

So for our many online campuses and podcast listeners, if you hear anything

crazy in the background, everything's fine here. We're all fine. Everything is okay.

No, but so glad you're with us. Ben mentioned we're a new church and you guys

really showed up today. Wow. You must have thought he was preaching,

but glad you're all here. Glad you're all here today.

They are working on the air conditioning, just so you know. So you're either

going to sweat from the heat or you're going to sweat from conviction of the

Holy Spirit. So I'll let you decide which one that will be.

But we're glad we're together. Kiddos, again, glad you're here.

I might need your help today, okay? Will y'all help me?

You help me? Millie, you help me? Yeah, all right, good, good, good.

Now, we're in the Gospel of John. We'll be going through the Gospel of John

all year, and we're continuing in chapter 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17,

the Upper Room Discourse.

So all this is happening in one night, one setting, and it's Jesus' final teachings to his disciples.

And so Jesus, in 13, he's washed the disciples' feet. He has foretold of Judas'

betrayal. He has foretold of Peter's denial of him. And he's foretold about

his soon coming departure.

And I want us to look back just a little bit as we start into 13 verses 33 and 36.

Jesus says, where I'm going, you cannot come.

And then in 36, again, where I'm going, you cannot follow me now,

but you will follow afterward.

And this really sets up what we're going to be talking about today.

It's like Peter, Peter's there saying, no, no, no, no, no, Jesus.

Like, I'm not going to, I'm not going to let anything happen to you.

What do you mean we can't follow you? I'm going to go with you.

I'm going to do anything for you. I'm going to lay down my life even for you.

And Jesus says, truly, Peter, you're going to deny me three times.

Where Jesus is going, we cannot follow.

Because as Ben mentioned last week, Jesus is going into death to die for the forgiveness of sins.

He's going into the tomb, buried for three days, but then he's being raised,

for good. Not like Lazarus who died again, right? Because we just saw that in

chapter 12, the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him again. But.

Where Jesus is going, we cannot follow. And he sets this up to bring us these,

such strong words when he says, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God.

Go back with me one more time. Look at verse 21 of chapter 13.

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified,

truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.

He's troubled in his spirit because he knows what's coming. He knows what's

up ahead, the pain that he's going to endure, the suffering that he's going

to take on, the trouble he's going to face for your good.

This is how he says, in his spirit, he's troubled, but he says to his disciples,

let not your hearts be troubled.

The comfort of Jesus Christ in the midst of the disciples, confusion and shock, despair.

He says these words, let not your heart be troubled.

Jesus has taken your troubled heart upon himself. That's what he went to do.

He has taken your troubled heart upon himself.

The disciples didn't quite get it at the time when Jesus said these words,

let not your heart be troubled.

But when he says this, this insinuates two things.

One, there will be trouble in the Christian life.

It's guaranteed, right? There will be trouble. Number two, it also says,

let not your heart be troubled, which suggests that we have some control over our heart.

You have some say to how you respond to certain situations in life,

which is so opposite, right, of what the world says. It says to play the victim,

blame someone or something.

Numb it, find a way to cope it, ignore it, downplay it.

There's going to be a lot of situations in life and experiences in our lives,

that are entirely out of control, for sure.

But our response to the events in our lives is a choice that we choose to make.

So Jesus says, let not your hearts be troubled.

And so what I want us to take away from this passage today is that right there.

Don't let your heart be troubled.

Believer, don't let your heart be troubled because Jesus, as we'll see in this

passage, is the way, is the truth, and is the life.

So there again, 1633 in this world, or sorry, looking forward now,

looking forward, there's a lot of 33s in these.

Looking forward, we'll get to it in a couple weeks. In chapter 16,

Jesus says, in this world, you will have trouble. What does the next part say? Do y'all know?

I have overcome the world. Take heart for I have overcome the world.

So these disciples in this moment of the last supper here, they're kind of shook up.

He just said that one of you is going to betray me.

The main man, Peter, is going to deny him.

And they're starting to get confused. Like, Jesus, you're leaving?

Like, show us the way where you're going. I'm going to come too.

Jesus says, where I'm going, you cannot follow.

Honestly, I'd probably be a little worried too, right? If this guy that I have

put my full trust in, who I believe is the Messiah, the awaited King, if he said, I'm leaving.

You're supposed to reign, Jesus, forever. You're supposed to bring in a new

kingdom. What do you mean you're leaving? How are we supposed to do this without you?

Jesus says, let not your hearts be troubled.

Plenty of things in this life to threaten your heart to be troubled.

It might be a troubled teen. It might be aging parents.

It might be separating parents. It might be anxiety about big future decisions.

It might be pains from a dear friend.

It could be the destructive ripple effect of sin within a community.

But believer, Jesus says, don't let your heart be troubled.

Don't let your heart be troubled.

So remember this, we have a compassionate and merciful King who cares for you,

a great high priest who cares for you and sympathizes with you,

who takes your troubled heart.

He takes your troubled heart if you would give it to him.

1 Peter 5, 7 says, cast your anxieties, hurl them, throw them as hard as you

can, cast your anxieties on God because he cares for you.

So just know the world's going to shake us up. We will have trouble.

We will find trouble in this world, but let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God.

Jesus says, Owen, believe also in me while you're at it, because he is God. We'll get into that.

We can rest in this truth because as we'll see in this passage,

he is the way. He has prepared the place for us. It's secure.

He is the truth, the perfect revelation of God the Father, and he is the life,

the one who gives the spirit to us, his believers, who gives us life.

So verses 1 through 6, Jesus is the way. Jesus is the way.

Jesus says, in my Father's house are many rooms. I'm going there to prepare a place for you.

And this has much more significance than just being sure we've got a place in heaven.

If you're a product of the 90s, it's much more significant than a big,

big house with lots and lots of rooms.

A big, big table with lots and lots of food. A big, big yard where we can play football.

Touchdown. There you go. You guys got it. You guys got it. Thank you,

Audio Journalin, for that hit. That was fantastic.

So it's much more significant than just that.

Jesus continues to say, if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again and will take you to myself that where I am, you may be also.

So here Jesus is actually using wedding language based on ancient Jewish tradition of wedding.

So this has deep, deep love written in this.

What he's saying, he's using wedding language in it. And I hope this helps in

your private Bible reading, because we can just skim over these words.

But if we, if we slow down and study the context, see what's going on,

we can, we can treasure these loving words of Jesus so much more because it

just, it makes it 10 times greater what he's saying here. Jesus is going.

To prepare a place for us. He's showing us that he is the bridegroom to his bride.

And according to those ancient Jewish wedding customs, when a man was to marry a woman,

he would propose and then they'd have like a year-long engagement,

betrothal process, where the man would then go back to his father's house and

he would build on to his father's house or his property and add another room.

The groom would go off, prepare a place for his wife to dwell.

And then when the father said it was time, the groom didn't know when the wedding would actually happen.

When the father said it was time to go back and get your wife,

the room is ready, go back.

The groom didn't know. Only the father knew and said when it was time to go.

You following me? You following me? So then the groom would go back unannounced

and he would go to the betrothed and take her back to the place where he has

prepared a dwelling place for his bride.

You following? You following with me? So the groom would go off.

He prepared the dwelling place. He'd go back and get her.

The father sends the son to go and get the bride, bring them back where they

would be together in face-to-face, in physical union with one another,

where the marriage would be consummated.

You might have heard the word before.

And it's just like when Jesus says that he's going to come back in glory.

We're just saying about it. We just read about it.

When he comes back in glory, we're going to meet him face-to-face when heaven

and earth come together in the new creation where sin and death and sickness

and sadness, and disease are all gone.

We're going to be with him. He's coming back for his bride, church.

We will be there with all peoples from every nation, every tribe,

every tongue, and we will all cry out in one voice, salvation belongs to our

God who sits on the throne.

You see this deep, deep love. He's not just going to prepare a place for you

in heaven. He is the bridegroom to his bride.

Receive that love today, believer. Don't let your heart be troubled.

Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God.

He's prepared the dwelling place for you and he will come and get you and he

will take you there so that where he is, you may be also.

But Pastor Kevin, that's like a long ways away, right? How do we know when it's

gonna be? Well, take comfort now. take comfort now.

Take comfort now while we wait.

This is what, well, kids, help me out real quick. Help me out real quick.

All right. We're memorizing the Great Commission on Wednesday nights, right?

Okay. Okay. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

All right. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded.

What does the last part say? Do you remember?

Behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.

All right. So how is he with us now if he has ascended into heaven?

He's given us his spirit.

Read with me here, Ephesians 1, verses 13 to 14.

Ephesians 1:13–14

And go ahead and read with me, like really read with me out loud.

In him, you also, when you heard

the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him,

were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance

until we require possession of it to the praise of his glory.

He's given us a down payment of a spirit so we can now live in the comfort of

an untroubled heart, knowing that Jesus has given us, he sent us his spirit,

he's prepared a dwelling place, and he will come for us again.

Jesus ascended into heaven, promises to do just that. He's coming back.

And then on the day he does, this is just another cool little detail.

When he does come back, what does the Bible say is going to happen?

In 1 Thessalonians 4.16, it says that there's going to be a loud shout and a trumpet blast.

And guess what happens when the groom goes back to get his betrothed?

Guess what happens? There's a loud shout, Candice, your husband is here to take you away. I love you.

There's a loud shout and a trumpet blast to signal the start of the wedding.

You see the beauty of the imagery here? It's much more than just a room for us to sleep in.

He is the bridegroom to his bride. So take heart, let not your heart be troubled

because Jesus's ascension is the solution to our troubled hearts.

Thomas, as we continue here, he says, Lord, we don't know where you're going? How can we know the way?

Jesus probably, I mean, Thomas is probably speaking on behalf of the rest of

them. Like, what do you mean?

Show us the way. Where are you going? How can we know the way?

But don't let your hearts be troubled.

Jesus says, I'm going away only for a little while, but just like the bridegroom.

Comes back for his bride, I'm coming back.

It's only for a little while. Don't let your heart be troubled.

Jesus reassures their concerned hearts in verse six, when he says that I am

the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

One of the most memorable statements by Jesus, it's one of the seven I am statements.

If you remember, we've been tracking through those over the last several weeks.

This is a callback to Exodus 3, 14, when Moses encounters the burning bush and

God reveals himself as I am who I am, right? You remember this, right?

So I am, here ego, a me in Greek, I am the way and the truth.

This is a callback to show his oneness with the Father, that he himself,

Jesus Christ, is God, the eternal Son of God.

This is another way of showing that believe in me, believe in God,

believe also in me, for I am one with the Father.

So with this passage, we could go into a deep apologetic of the exclusivity

of the gospel, but we're going to keep going today.

But know that there is no other way to the Father except through the Son.

That's the next part of what he says there at the end of verse 6.

No one comes to the Father except through me. There's not a lot of ways to heaven.

There's not a lot of other things you can do.

There's not a lot of practices that you can do.

There's not other gods that can help get you to heaven.

It's only by believing in God, believing also in Christ is what he says,

that you will get to the Father.

Acts 4.12 said that there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other

name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Jesus is the only way to the Father. Believe in him.

Jesus is the way by his sacrifice on the cross.

Jesus alone, Christ alone brings us into right relationship with God the Father.

Next, Jesus is the truth. The fulfillment of all God's promises and the perfect

revelation of who God is.

2 Corinthians 1.20 says this. It says, for all the promises of God find their yes in him.

And that is why, we'll get to this at the end of the verses here.

That is why it's through him that we utter our amen to God for his glory. Jesus is the truth.

Philip then chimes in. He says, Lord, show us the Father.

Show us the Father and it's enough for us. Jesus, Philip, Philip,

have I been with you so long and you still don't know me, Philip?

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

Jesus is saying, if you know what the invisible God is like and you believe

in him, you should believe in me because I am very God of very God, very light for light.

You can see me in the works that I have done. Jesus is the perfect representation of the father.

We're in this, right? We're in this together, right? We see his character. The father is giving.

The father is kind, the Father is loving, the Father is compassionate.

You guys read this on Wednesday night, right?

The communicable attributes of God that we can imitate by being image bearers of Him. Right?

Jesus is all of those things. He is God in the flesh.

He's the perfect representation. And you also had a lesson on the Trinity on

Wednesday night, right?

There's a lot of new faces. If you haven't come on Wednesday night, you're invited.

You're invited to join us Wednesday nights. We meet right here at 5.30-ish.

We start at 6 o'clock. 5.30, we gather together.

A little bit earlier than that, actually. But 6 o'clock, class starts.

We're just studying theology together so that we might grow in our love and knowledge of God.

So you're invited. Come join us so you can know what I'm talking about.

Wednesday nights, you're invited. Shameless plug. Shameless plug.

But we were studying the Trinity, and I can see some of your brain still oozing

out of just the craziness of

what we are trying to fathom when we think of one God and three persons.

Should I explain the Trinity? Benji said no. Benji said no.

One God, right? We believe in eternal God and that exists in one essence,

but three distinct persons.

All right, kiddos, help me out again. Who are they?

God, the son, God, the amen. Awesome. Very good. So three distinct persons.

So the father is in the son.

The son is in the father, but they are not the same. Okay.

It's confusing. I know. I know. But if, if, if the Preston girls were walking

down the hallway and I yelled, Mrs. Preston, all three of them would turn around, right?

Millie, Emma, and Esther, they would turn around, right?

Hopefully because they're one family. Okay. All analogies break down somewhere.

But if I said, so if I said Mrs. Preston, they would all turn.

But if I said Esther, only she would turn. Or if I said Emma,

only she would If I said, Millie, maybe she would turn.

The same way. If we cry out God, all three persons will turn around.

If we say, God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,

only he will turn around because he is a distinct person.

If we said, God who died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins,

only Jesus would turn around. The Father didn't die on the cross.

Only Jesus would turn around, the Son of God.

If we said, what about the God who indwells us? Only the Holy Spirit would turn around.

So they're the distinct persons. Although if we said, oh Lord God,

they would all turn around, right?

Which even that's heresy because the father and the spirit don't have human figures.

They're spiritual beings. So they can't turn around.

Anyways, anyways, anyways, this is what, okay, that's the Trinity.

We weren't supposed to go there. Why'd you guys let me go there?

Okay, let's read this together. first or Colossians chapter one, verse 15 and 20.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him.

This is talking about Jesus, God, the son, and for him.

And he is before all things and in him all things hold together,

and he is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might

be preeminent. First place.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven,

making peace by the blood of his cross.

Don't let your heart be troubled, believer. Don't let your heart be troubled. Jesus has reconciled.

The only way back to the Father, the only way is through the reconciliation

that Jesus Christ offers on the cross.

So you can receive that by faith. Believe in God.

Believe in God. receive the gift of eternal salvation and union with the Trinity.

Because he's inviting you into the Trinity, the Father, Son,

Holy Spirit, perfect communion and unity and love and joy. You're invited into that fellowship.

Don't let your heart be troubled. Don't let your heart be troubled.

Jesus is the truth. He's the fulfillment of all God's promise.

He's the perfect revelation of who God is. And lastly, Jesus is the way.

Jesus is the truth, and Jesus is the life.

The one who makes us a new creation, free to live in the love of the Trinity,

both now and forevermore.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that

I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Those who have come to the Father through the Son, they're born again.

You remember John 3, born again, given the gift of the Spirit.

We just read in Ephesians 1 as a.

Born again, given the Spirit so that you may live a life that glorifies the Father.

The Son, as we see here, the Son glorifies the Father, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

The Spirit glorifies the Son. The Son glorifies the Father.

Not that one is greater than the other, but God sent the Son,

and then God and the Father sent the Spirit to be with us now and forevermore,

so that we might live a life glorifying and worthy of the gospel.

Ephesians 2 says, for by grace you have been saved through faith.

You've probably heard this one before. It's not of your own doing, right?

It is the gift of God, not as a result of work so that no man may boast.

But then you might not know this second part.

We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.

Which God prepared ahead of time for us to walk in.

The works that we are going to do in the name of Jesus Christ only come by prayer,

through Jesus Christ. You with me?

Jesus has gone to the Father. He has ascended and is sitting at the right hand

of God, the Father Almighty, and He has gone to the Father.

Interceding for us, making sense of our prayers, right?

So that his will may be done. He's communing back to us so that we understand

his will and his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

This is why we pray in Jesus's name, because he's there with the father.

We pray to help us walk in these good works, which he's prepared for us to walk in.

If it's up to us, we're going to try to muster the courage and sustainability to do it ourselves.

We're going to fall short, friends. We need the Spirit's empowerment.

We need to pray and be in communion with Christ and the Father so that we might

be able to walk in these good works.

So let not your heart be troubled.

Jesus has ascended. He's interceding for you. He is a solution to your troubled heart.

If your heart is troubled today, I invite you now to lay it.

Lay it down. Jesus is the way.

Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the life. Believe in God.

Surrender the future. Remember God's sovereignty, knowing that he's gone ahead

of you to prepare a place, and he will.

Believer, he will come again to take you home.

Father in heaven, we rejoice in your goodness to us.

Father, that you would send the Son to forgive a wretch like me.

God, we thank you. We thank you for the work that you did on the cross, Lord Jesus.

Your spirit was troubled, yet

you can comfort us to say, don't let your hearts be troubled, believer.

You knew what was ahead, to go to the rugged cross, to suffer the penalty that we we deserve.

Lord, we worship you. We worship you and ask that our lives would be used to

glorify your name through the works that you have prepared for us to do.

Lord, would your name be glorified.

Place in John's Creek, in Alpharetta, amongst all nations, Lord.

We look forward to your coming back to receive your bride and take us to the

place that you have prepared for us.

We believe in faith that this is true, Lord. So come quick, come quick,

Lord Jesus, we pray in your perfect and matchless name. Amen.