Sermon Tone Analysis

What would you consider to be the hardest commandment in the bible to follow?

Some seem to struggle with “Thou shalt not lie”, having made a habit out of imbellishing the truth.

Many kids today chaffe at the commandment to “Honor their father and mother”, growing up in a world where media and the culture constantly attack the role and importanct of parenthood.

The truth is, the bible is full of commandments (not just the 10 commandments that we like to quote from) and each have their own struggle as we battle the flesh in our desire to obey God rather than man.

In our text today, Jesus gives us another commanment, in .

He says “Let not your heart be troubled”.

At first reading, it sounds more like a request, but actually what Jesus is telling is is “STOP BEING TROUBLED”!

This reminds me of a skit that I watched while teaching a biblical counseling course.

A young lady comes in a counselors office looking for help from an issue she was battling.

He asks her what the issue is, and she says that she has a fear of being buried alive in a box.

This fear keeps her home most times, not wanting to be in anything boxy, like a car, a bus, a building, a house… you get the picture.

So the counselor tells her that he has 2 words that will help and if she would apply them, they would change her life.

As she leans in to hear these sage words of wisdom, he sits back in his chair and says “STOP IT”.

Just Stop being afraid, stop being confused, stop worrying, Just “STOP IT”

Many of us can relate to this woman, Not that you have an irrational fear of being buried alive in a box…but we do have fears.

We find ourselves confused at times.

We are anxious.

We get news from the Doctor that sends our lives crashing down.

We have financial troubles.

We have marital troubles.

We have troubles with our kids and grandkids.

The future can be a very troublesome concept in many of our minds because we don’t know what is going to happen...

Let not you heart be troubled…Those words in themselves are powerful.

They speak to the very core of our beings.

To be troubled means to be in a state of confusion.

And you only need to turn on your TV or Radio to see how confusing our world has become.

The foundations on which our society have stood for years are crumbling.

The line separating what is right and what is wrong is becoming more and more blurred.

So to read these words for scripture holds special significance to us today.

These words were spoken by Jesus immediately after He had told his disciples that he would be leaving them.

He would be betrayed by one of his own, and even Peter would deny Christ.

You can imagine how this revelation shook these men.

They had followed Christ for 3 1/2 years.

They had left family, and careers and even their own religion to follow Him and now they are hit with this Mack Truck, Jesus will be leaving soon.

Are you there with them?

Can you feel the fear, the confusion?

Where will they go, what will they do?

I thought that this was the messiah and would be here forever.

He had come to lead them to a victorious battle over the romans and set up his Kingdom where they would rule and reign with him!

They had staked their future in Him, and now, soon, he would be gone.

So Jesus says, Let not your heart be troubled “STOP IT”!.

But unlike the couselor in our story, he doesnt stop their.

He begins to teach them truths that would help the not be troubled.

Promises for them to focus on that would settle their hearts and their minds in a very confusing and worrysome moment in thier lives.

I would venture to say that all across this sanctuary today, there are troubled hearts.

We are anxious about tomorrow, things aren’t turing out how planned.

Let the words of Christ this morning bring you comfort and peace this morning as we take a few moments and study “Christ’s Cure for a Troubled Heart”.

The Promise of Home

John 14:10

Before be begins these promises, Christ makes a statement.

Ye believe in God, Believe also in me.

He says the same faith that you put in God and His Word is the same faith that you should be putting in Me and My Words.

He was drawing them in, settling their minds on a central truth that they had to come to grips with before any of the next few words would have the power that He intends for them.

Believe.

Place your faith in ME!

Then he goes on to tell them about a home that was waiting for them.

He says in my Father House, there are many mansions.

To help us understand what he is talking about, we must first answer the questions “What is the Fathers House”?

Many have translated this to mean heaven, which is where God abides, but if we look closer at scripture, we see that every time “The Fathers House” is mentioned, it is the temple being discussed.

The place of service and worship for Those who had placed their faith in God.

The Mansions that are mentioned have been the subject of hymns and songs and sermons.

To think that Jesus is preparing us our own personal mansion and has been doing so for 2000 years is a great thought, but what his word was translated so from the original greek so long ago, It simply meant a room.

These verse are a beautiful picture of the future that we have in Christ.

The Church is the bride of Christ and is made up of all who have placed thier faith in Jesus.

The Way Through Redemption

He Chose Us

The #1 rule for interpreting scripture is Context.

The 2nd rule is Context, the third rule is context.

So in the context of this verse, what is being said.

What was the disciples worried about?

Christ was leaving them, but he was leaving them to accomplish something.

He was going to prepare the way for us to have a place in the presence of God.

His focus was Calvary, his steps would lead him to the cross, the way lined with his precious blood as it was spilled for you and for me.

When Christ says, I go to prepare a place for you He is saying that He is making the way for them and for us to come to God through His shed blood.

He Paid Our Price

Jesus had to prepare the way to God through calvary.

As Paul says in Romans, our redemption does not come through the Law, but through Grace.

It is not realized through our effort, but freely given to all those who believe.

Jesus was telling the disciples to stop being troubled.

He was going to do what they could not do themselves.

Christ made the way to God by way of the cross.

Scripture tells us in that without the shedding of blood, there is not remission of sin! Remember, this was the passover that they were celebrating.

For centuries, they had come together to sacrifice a spotless lamb, whose blood would cover their sin placing their faith in this sacrifice and the atonement that the blood would bring, and now the disciples are face to face with the lamb of God who had come to take away the sin of the world.

The Promise of redemption brings us hope in troubled times.

Christ tells them be not troubled, I am going to prepare the way for you to have a place with God.

This truth is one we can cling to when life throws us a curve ball.

When confusion and fear sets in over what the future may hold.

When we are anxious over some aspect of our life.

Christ says, I have prepared the way for you.

When life hits us hard, Follow His Steps to the Cross.

We can find comfort and healing in the truth that we will find their.

Our redemption from sin and this world, our future Home in heaven with Christ!

The Way Through Resurrection

He Is Preparing our future home for us

“And If I Go” - His focus was the cross, his destination was the cross, he would be lifted up, crucified for you and for me.

Paying the price for our sin.

He would be buried, but praise God He was not going to stay in that grave.

In the context of what is he is saying, “I will come again” He is saying that the grave would not hold him, he would raise in victory over sin, the grave and death itself.

He would be the first fruit, whereby we can trust that there will come a day when we, who have placed our faith and hope in Christ, would also be raised together with him.

And if he d