Untroubled Hearts

John 14:1 (KJV) Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Tonight we’re looking at one of the most familiar passages used in Christian funerals. This text is probably used more than Psalm 23 to comfort those who have seen a loved one depart this life. Of all the times I have preached this text or heard it preached, I don’t think I have ever heard the text carefully examined.

The focus of the text is not the Christian, but it is all about Jesus.
The focus of the text is not Heaven, but the Son of God.

In chapter Twelve Jesus was troubled over what was to come. The shadow of the Cross grew greater over His life each day. He told His disciples:

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.

Our Lord was troubled, but He did not want His people to be troubled. He was going to lay His life down for us. So He tells us:

Let not your heart be troubled

The King James obscures what Jesus actually said. As He spoke of His coming crucifixion the disciples became more and more troubled. Other than Judas Iscariot the thief (who only wanted money) the other eleven loved Jesus and did not want Him to go. Their faces reflected what was on their hearts, so Jesus told them:

“Stop being troubled”

Do not let your worry about the Master’s impending death rob you of joy. Peter, don’t let the thought of your betrayal of Me trouble you. Disciples, do not worry about My impending death and departure. Death to Jesus was not an end but a beginning. Then Jesus says something that is radical – and insane – if it is not true. He said:

Ye believe in God, believe also in Me

We skip over this without thinking about what Jesus said. He said:

You BELIEVE IN God

The fool hath said in his heart “there is no God” (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). The atheist is a fool according to God. The evolutionist who believes nature to be God is a fool. The unbeliever who bathes in sin thinks there is no God – or hopes so – because

corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity

They will not come to the light that is Christ because …

John 3:19-20 (KJV) …. men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Those without God love their sin. Yet those who are saved come to Christ, the Font of Salvation. They come to the Living Waters. They believe in God. Jesus said “You who are My disciples BELIEVE IN GOD” and then said the radical thing:

Believe ALSO in ME

As you believe in God, believe in Me. Have the same faith and obedience to Me that you have to the Father. With these words Jesus elevated Himself above all of the other religious leaders of the world.

Jesus raised Himself above Buddha.
Jesus raised Himself above the leaders of the Hindu faith.
Jesus raised Himself above Mohammad and Islam.
Jesus raised Himself above the Dalai Lama.
Jesus raised Himself above even Moses and Judaism.

The leaders of other world religions all had a beginning and an ending. They all had parents who came together in love to make them. The leaders of other world religions were probably moral. They most likely sought after their concept of God. But Jesus said something no other religious leader dared say. He said:

As you have believed in God, believe IN THE SAME WAY about ME

Though Jesus entered this world through a virgin woman, His Father was The Eternal Father and the Holy Spirit. The Angel told Mary:

Luke 1:35 (KJV) …. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

The Angel called Christ “that Holy Thing”. Though born of the line of David, the inheritor of the Throne of Israel, Jesus was both Perfect Man as well as Perfect God. I would never say to you if you believe in God, believe in me in the same way. Why not? Because I know I am a sinner. All who are among mankind are sinners. I try and remind you weekly:

Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

If Jesus were mere man then to make a statement like He made would have not only been blasphemous, but misleading and dangerous. If Jesus were but man then the best thing He could say was what Paul said:

1 Corinthians 11:1 (KJV) Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

That’s the best thing any Christian can say to another – follow me as I follow Christ. But Jesus said “Just as you follow God, follow ME!”. This would be a magnificent arrogance if a lie. But it is not. Christ is God. Christ is perfect Man. Christ is always holy, and always righteous. Christ does not get better with age, but is always God.

Hebrews 13:8 (KJV) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Jesus is going to the Father. He is going Home. He will soon die on the Cross of Calvary. He says:

“Let NOT your hearts be troubled”

Why? Because the Bible says that we are to guard our hearts:

Proverbs 4:23 (KJV) Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

What is in your heart will effect how you live your life. Judas Iscariot had money in his heart, so he is off selling Christ for thirty pieces of silver. The Pharisees – supposedly righteous men – are hiring an assassin in Judas, contrary to the Word of God that they claim to believe. Why do they think this is all right? Because they have allowed the devil to stir and trouble their hearts. Jesus wants our hearts to be filled with assurance that He is equal to God. Now He goes on to prove it.

John 14:2 (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.

The “Father’s house” is Heaven.

Isaiah 66:1 (KJV) Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool …

Some versions translate the Greek μονή (monḗ) as “rooms”. I like the King James better here. The word μονή means “a place to stay or a residence”. The same word us used in verse 23 where Jesus says:

John 14:23 (KJV) … If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (μονή) with him.

Heaven is for those who love Jesus. If you love Jesus you will do what He says. If you love Jesus the Father will love you. And the Father and Son will make a place for you in Heaven. I have flown many times in my life, but only one time in first class accommodations. In coach you have overweight people flowing over onto you, and you are squeezed into a small space with horrible leg room. But in first class you have extra wide seats, wide aisles, and wonderful treatment. I have been in motels many times, but rarely in a first class motel. Regular motels are fine. There are stains on the floor that make you wonder, and ragged sheets on the bed. But they are fine for an overnight stay. But first class has full size bars of soap, not the slivers you get in the common. It has bathrobes, and soft towels, and a paper delivered to the door in the morning.

Heaven is first class. And there is room for everyone who loves Jesus. Heaven is a place of family. As a son of God, both the Father and the Son will come and live with you. Heaven is a mansion, not a Motel 6. And Jesus prepared that place for us by Calvary.

Jesus took the worst and lowest death upon Himself so that we can have the greatest afterlife. We will live with God in Heaven.

We will not live apart from one another in God’s Heaven. There will be room for all, but there will be no “Beacon Hill” or special accommodations for just a few. The Pope will not have a castle for us all to look up to and admire, nor will Saint Peter be guarding the entry gate. We will all be treated with love and respect. We will inherit only the best in glory because of Christ. Jesus can guarantee this because – unlike the other religious leaders – He is equal to God. Jesus plainly told the Pharisees:

John 10:30-33 (KJV) I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Jesus Christ made Himself equal with God. Why? Because He IS equal with God. Jesus Christ is the Co-Owner of Heaven. He said:

I go to prepare a place for you

I go. No one else goes to prepare a place. I am not one of many who are preparing a place. I GO. I AND ONLY I. It is Jesus and Jesus alone Who offered payment for our sins on Calvary. The Scripture boldly declares:

1 John 2:1-2 (KJV) …. if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And {Jesus} is the propitiation {covering} for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

As Charles Swindoll said:

Jesus was crucified in order to pay for the sins of all men … and then He was resurrected from the dead three days later. He is fully God and fully Man, the theanthropos [from the Greek for “God” (theos) and “Man” (anthropos)]; yet He is one person.

John 14:3 (KJV) 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.

Gautama Buddha (560-480 B.C.), Mohammed (A.D. 570-632), Confucius (551-479 B.C.), and all other religious founders began their life at birth and cease their lives when they died. Christ alone rose from the grave and is alive forevermore. Jesus’ ministry did not cease when He died. He promised that He would die, go to Heaven, then return to us to take us to Heaven. Why? Because we who are saved belong to Jesus. What does the Bible say?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV)19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Some of you who profess Christ still think you belong to yourselves. You don’t. Jesus purchased you from damnation and the devil by shedding His Blood for you on the Cross. He willingly did this. No one made Him, but He loved you so much He was willing to pay the price.

I belong to Jesus.
You belong to Jesus.
We are to glorify Him in our lives.
Always! Always! Always!

Christ purchased you so that you can shine for Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

You are called to be a vessel of honor. You are called to shine for God. You are called to walk upright, bring glory to His Kingdom.

Romans 14:8 (KJV) For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Let us live as His! For His glory. Amen!