John 14 - Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled

Discover the unshakable peace that Jesus promises in John 14 as we unpack its timeless wisdom together. As your guide, Eric Cepin, we'll traverse the complexities of Jesus' farewell discourse, finding solace in the mystery of His union with the Father and the empowerment bestowed upon us through the Holy Spirit. This episode isn't just about theological elucidation; it's an intimate journey into the heart of divine comfort and direction amidst life's tumult.

Our exploration commences with the assurance found in Jesus' guidance, a beacon during trials and tribulations. We draw parallels to the guidance we offer our children, understanding that just as we prepare them for new experiences, Jesus readies us for our spiritual journey. Delving deeper, we witness the profound relationship between Jesus and the Father, an interweaving of divinity that invites us into transformative faith and greater works, echoing through the ages and into our very lives.

We then transition to the profound comfort of being 'home' with Jesus, even as we navigate the intricacies of earthly challenges. I invite you to rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit dwells within us, merging heaven and earth in the sanctuary of our souls. Join me, Eric Cepin, in this episode as we embrace the divine convergence and carry forth the peace of Christ in the face of any storm.

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:13

Hello my name is.

Speaker 4: 0:14

Eric.

Speaker 2: 0:14

Cepin, and I am one of the pastors at the Village Church. The following podcast is a ministry of the Village Church. We hope that it inspires you, that it draws you closer to Jesus and it opens your eyes to the possibilities of living in the kingdom. Enjoy and.

Speaker 2: 0:31

God bless. So yeah, if you want to test the Columbumbian, it is in the coffee maker so you can find out. That's what you want. Let's pray, father in heaven. Thank you for community, thank you for the opportunity to come and worship, thank you for this space, thank you for this day, thank you for the beautiful weather, thank you for the allergies, thank you for just this moment of life that we can take a deep breath and be part of.

Speaker 2: 1:25

And I ask that, as we wrestle with Scripture, that you would give us open hearts and minds and courage to really look, to be transformed and to move towards what you're doing in this world and in our life. And I ask that in your name, jesus, amen. So we are in John 14. We're going to cover the entire chapter of John 14. And I want to just give you a little bit of village lore. We can do that now, since we're like 20 plus years old. But 20 years ago, when Rod Pastor Rod was 52 years old, when Pastor Rod was 52 years old, he stood in front of all the villagers of that time and he preached on John 14. And now I am 52 years old and I am standing before all of you preaching on John 14. Yeah, so that's a fun little fact 20 years later, and John 14 starts with this phrase do not let your hearts be troubled.

Speaker 2: 2:32

And at first, when I went back and listened to Rod's sermon, I had thought maybe I'll just do an homage to him and re-preach that 20 years. But he has so many of his own stories built in that that's a little bit harder than. But I did want to offer one thing that Rod offered 20 years ago. But I did want to offer one thing that Rod offered 20 years ago and he highlighted the do not let. He said that's a choice Do not let your hearts be troubled. Now, this word troubled, the best way to understand it is it's if you take an adult and you spin them around and around and around in circles and then you ask them to do fine motor skill projects. Right, if you do that to an adult, I mean, it's not hard enough for a kid. We found out a few weeks ago. If that happens, you hit your head on a table and blood goes everywhere, but that's a whole different story. But if you do that to an adult, what will happen is that they will become very disoriented, very unsteady on their feet and very confused. The word troubled means to lack a peace or a calm and this, I think, describes it very well Disoriented, unsteady and confused.

Speaker 2: 3:40

Now we're going into the Gospel of John, chapter 14, and it is considered 14 to 16, jesus' farewell speech. And for those of you who are theology, I don't know what I'm going to call you aficionados. This is in the line of Jacob's speech, of Moses' speech and of Joshua's speech. They all are tied together, like Jesus is going back to those last speeches. But for us to understand this speech that he's making, where he says do not let your hearts be troubled, I need to kind of have you think of the disciples as children and you as a child.

Speaker 2: 4:21

And when my kids were little, when we would go to grandma's house or we would go to someone's house that was new, or we were going to go do an event at the zoo, what we learned was that it was very important in the car to have speeches, and these speeches would be instructions on how you were going to behave. And how you're going to behave when somebody offers you some food you don't like, how you're going to behave when one of the kids asks you to do something that you're uncomfortable with, when the adult says hello, what you're going to do, how you're going to look them in the eye, all those kinds of things. And you know the first time we did it, not a lot of success. And you know the first time we did it not a lot of success. Second time we did it not a lot of success. But the more speeches you make on the journey right, eventually people get it right.

Speaker 2: 5:14

This is what Jesus is doing. And Jesus understands that these three chapters are going to be here for his disciples forever. And so he is basically saying I am preparing you guys for what is going to happen right now, because for the disciples everything is going to change. We move from chapter 13, where already he's kind of trying to change their paradigm and he says do not let your heart be troubled. Right after he told Peter you're going to deny me three times and run away. So he's preparing them for his death. But he's also preparing us for the suffering and the hardship that we're invited into when following Jesus. So he says do not let your heart be troubled.

Speaker 2: 6:04

And he begins to give his talk and he says in verse one he says do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. My father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have not told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Now this seems like it's the beginning of one of those. Let me orient you and tell you what's going on. So the first thing he says well, you believe in God. So believe in me, trust me. Things are going to get hard and one of the keys to not having your heart be troubled is to believe in me. To believe me, trust me. And guess what? There are many rooms. I'm going to prepare them, I'm going to secure them, I am securing a place for you. It's not packed out. There are many places with the father and I'm going to make sure there's a place for you.

Speaker 2: 7:13

And then he says something like and you know the way? And immediately, like a little kid. Now, if you remember, if you're a parent and you've done this, you know that as you're giving the speech, kids come up with options based on what you said. And that's what happens here. Thomas says we don't know where you're going. How do we know the way? So, immediately, jesus says don't let your hearts be troubled. Here's what's going to happen. You know the way. And they're like, disoriented, like no, no, don't let your hearts be troubled. Here's what's going to happen. You know the way and they're disoriented, like no, no, we don't know the way. They're spinning in a circle. We don't know the way. So what Jesus does is what any good parent does he takes their disorientation and reorients them, and this is key. It's like a parent saying eyes on me, put my hands on your face, look at me.

Speaker 2: 8:07

And then he says something very clearly I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There's our sixth statement, the I am statement. Next one comes, I think in chapter 15. So, but here's what I love about this statement it is an orientation statement. It says if you really know me, you will know my father as well.

Speaker 2: 8:34

For now on, you do not know him, or you do know him and you have seen him. So he says we don't know where you're going. And he's like where you're going is with me, right, I'm it. Focus on me, that's all. He's like where you're going is with me, right, I'm it, focus on me. That's all he's asking. So they're like where are you going? And he's like focus on me, I'm the way, I'm where we're, just follow me. I'm the reality, I'm the truth, I'm the one who animates life. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. If you know me, you've seen the Father. So orient, where are we going? Where are you going? You're just going towards me. Focus on me, eyes on me. So do not let your heart be troubled.

Speaker 2: 9:16

He's trying to establish something for them. They're confused. So the answer he says to them is keep your eyes on me. Answer, he says to them, is keep your eyes on me. When you and I end up in spaces of life where we feel completely disoriented, where we feel like the room is spinning and all of us have had that in our life I'm sure you can think of hundreds of stories where you're like yes, that's how I felt in this moment. The answer to Jesus, jesus's answer to you, is I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Eyes on me, lift up your head right, Because what do disoriented people usually do? They look down and they're trying to study their eyes on me. If you want to know where the father is, look at me, look at me. So first thing is that he invites them to look at him.

Speaker 2: 10:19

Now Philip is like okay, that's great. You just talked about this, homes and going to the Father and how we know the way, and now you're telling us you're the way and you're the one who's going to give us to the Father. But that's not actually enough. That doesn't really work for me, because I need something concrete. Now you need to understand.

Speaker 2: 10:43

There's this narrative in the Israelites' world and that is what we would call I'm going to use a lot of theological terms today a theophany. They are waiting for a theophany, which is an appearance, a revelation of God. They are looking for a burning bush with a voice to show up. Jesus has just told them what I am the theophany. I'm the burning bush. I'm the one who raised Lazarus from the dead. I'm the one who fed the 5,000. I'm the theophany.

Speaker 2: 11:13

Just look at me, eyes on me, and Philip's like yeah, no, how about you? Show us the Father? Show us the Father. And Jesus answers like a parent. Don't you know me, philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

Speaker 2: 11:39

How can you say show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father living in me who is doing this work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on the evidences of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father and I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.

Speaker 2: 12:31

So, jesus, I mean what we have is kids in the back seat. Jesus is trying to prep them for what's coming, and they are just trying to figure out what the heck he's saying and how they're supposed to do what he's doing, and so he takes their unsteadiness and he offers them a firm foundation. So the first thing he says is like how is it possible that you don't know who I? You haven't figured this out yet, philip. I and the Father are one. There's a unity between me and him. Everything I say isn't my authority, it's the Father's authority.

Speaker 2: 13:05

So in chapter 14, you will notice that the Trinity is being very clearly established, that Jesus is God, the Father is God and the Spirit will show up in a moment. But he's saying look, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Haven't you figured that out yet? If you've heard me, you've heard the Father. Haven't you figured that out yet? If you've heard me, you've heard the Father. Haven't you figured that out yet? But really, what he's saying, the thing that's key for you and I, especially, if we're willing to say, yes, I believe that Jesus is God, that he is in the Father and the Father is in him, then what we need to understand that Jesus is saying to them it's like hey guys, this is all about relationship. We've been in relationship and if you actually know me, then you would know what I have to say is true.

Speaker 2: 13:53

And in some ways, what Jesus is doing in shorthand is saying I'm the dad, I'm the mom. So if you imagine that you're in the van, you're telling your kids and then the kids are like well, what if this happens? And what if this happens? And you're like no, like this is how we're going to do it. I'm the mom. Well, that's sort of what he's saying. Guys, this is the way it is. How much you figure it out. I'm the mom, I'm the dad, like this, is it? This is where we're supposed to go, so let me then tell you what it's going to look like, and he offers two things that they get to do, and there are two things that people have struggled with for a long time.

Speaker 2: 14:23

Number one is that you get to do greater works than Jesus. And number two in your prayer in Jesus' name, he'll do whatever you ask. Okay, greater works than Jesus? I guarantee you. I haven't raised one person from the dead. I'm definitely not doing two Like that's. You know, I have actually met people who have raised people from the dead, but I have not doing two. I have actually met people who have raised people from the dead, but I have to take it on their word. I've never seen it happen.

Speaker 2: 14:52

So what is Jesus saying here? Well, what Jesus is saying is if you are following me and if you believe that I'm in the Father and the Father is in me, and you believe that I have the authority to do these things, then when you go out and do them, you are going to have a greater reach and a greater impact. Because what is actually the primary work of a follower of Jesus? This will give you a little theological question. What is the primary work? Anybody know? Is that that's a guess? Yes, it's the beginning of the primary work to believe. But if we're talking about outward work, make disciples, proclaim the gospel, right? What is Jesus doing effectively? In all his signs, he's making a proclamation of who he is. Yes, it requires the work of belief first, but as a work greater than Jesus. It's you and I proclaiming all over the world who he is and what the gospel is. So he's saying if you really know who I am, then you're going to be able to go out and do this in the midst of trouble. But then he says I'm going to go to the Father and I'm going to do whatever you ask in my name. But I guarantee you, I've asked a lot of things in Jesus' name and it hasn't happened. So what is he talking about? Jesus' name, when he says, in my name? What he is saying is my seal, my mission, my direction. So here's what he's saying when you go out to preach the gospel, proclaim who I am, lay hands on people, you now have the authority, when doing my, my work, to ask and speak in my name and I will act in line with my character. I guarantee it. So as long as you are walking along my mission in the proclamation of the gospel and then laying hands on people and proclaiming who I am and making disciples, and you say it, you speak Jesus' name. You're speaking the authority of the king. He's saying. I will give you that authority.

Speaker 2: 17:12

Now you and I may have some qualms or some conversation with him about how he's going to enact his authority in his name and how he's going to answer that, and we kind of think that maybe we have figured out how he plans on doing things. But that's not what he's saying here. He's saying go, preach the gospel, ask for things in my name and I will act on your behalf in those spaces. So the firm foundation is that you have Jesus always acting for you when you're in line with him and believe in his works and who he is. So that's the steady foundation. He's like I'm in the Father, so I'm God, you're in relationship with me, you're going to be able to do my works in a greater way and you have my power, you have my authority and my name and I will advocate for you. So now here's a really interesting part. You need to imagine that Jesus was interrupted. So his last phrase in verse four is you know the way to the place where I am going. Then he's got a bunch of kids asking him questions and then in verse 15, he picks up his farewell address. So verse 4, you know the way to the place where I'm going Verse 15,.

Speaker 2: 18:40

If you love me, keep my commandments. Verse 15, if you love me, keep my commandments and I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. Before long the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me Because I live. You also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in the Father and you are in me and I am in you. Them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. So he says you know where I'm going, you can follow me If you love me and keep my commandments. I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit, the advocate.

Speaker 2: 19:38

And there's a couple things I want you to take note in the text. Number one is that he says that the Spirit is with them at that moment. Why is the Spirit with them and not in them Because the Spirit is with Jesus and Jesus is with them. That's key. You know the Spirit because the Spirit's in me, which means the Spirit is with you. But when I leave, the spirit will be in you. And what's really beautiful about the holy spirit? When you think about it, you need to think about it as inside your, like. It's inside of your I guess for men this is gonna be hard but it's inside your womb like, because the holy spirit is always birthing forward new creation wherever. So it's regenerating you and burning new creation. So it's regenerating you and birthing new creation.

Speaker 2: 20:25

The words and the language of the New Testament is all built around birth. When it's talking about the Holy Spirit and the womb and something new being created and coming forth, I think that's a really beautiful picture. But then he says I will not make you orphans. I will not make you orphans. This is why I'm sending you the Spirit of God. This is important. There's things.

Speaker 2: 20:50

So where is Jesus going? Jesus is going to make a home, right, he's coming back. That's actually a prediction of his second coming, not his resurrection and return. And then he says you know where I'm going, because all you need to do is just follow me. I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit to make that, so that when you're out there, you're not all by yourself. So what then, does the Spirit actually do? It says because I also live, you also will live, and on that day you will realize that I am in my father and that you are in me and I am in you.

Speaker 2: 21:33

So when you have the holy spirit, theologically we talk about how, through the spirit, through the son, by the spirit to the father. That's how we pray, that's how we engage. But what Jesus is saying is it's not just that narrow If you have the Spirit of God, you are in the Father. Like you are with the Father and the Son, so the Father is with you. So, immediately, what Jesus is saying is while I was alive on earth, I was walking around and the Spirit, heaven and earth touched on me, and I wandered around and people experienced heaven and earth. Now, when I send the Spirit to you, you also, with Father, son and Spirit, are heaven and earth touching, and so, wherever you go, heaven and earth is present. All that is heaven, all that is Trinity is present in you as you engage the world, which is powerful, because that womb picture is that you bring new life and rebirth into spaces that are dead right, because you bring heaven, you bring the Trinity wherever you go.

Speaker 2: 22:48

Now he said all of these really profound things, but he also says that the spirit can't be seen by the world, and so it's going to be given to the disciples. And this is the thing, all those profound, beautiful things. And this is the thing, all those profound, beautiful things. And this is the thing that Judas not Judas Iscariot says but Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not the world? Which is a real typical kid question. Kids always focus, including us, on the thing that may be not that important. Jesus is going to work it out. He just said to everybody look, I'm giving you heaven and earth earth and not going to be an orphan and I'm like well, why are you not giving that to everybody else? And that's a legit question, but probably not the moment. But I feel like this is a place where a lot of us who've been following Jesus for a while find ourselves because we read the scriptures and we're super excited about God's doing, doing, and then we hit something and we're like what, why are you doing it this way I don't understand. And so, again, jesus takes their confusion and moves it towards clarity.

Speaker 2: 23:57

Verse 23,. Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own. They belong to the Father who sent me All this. I have spoken while still with you, but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

Speaker 2: 24:37

So the first thing, anytime you see love and obey. If you love and obey me, we will come and make our home. It's an entrusting. If you are willing to entrust yourself to me, that's what love and obedience is. Entrusting yourself to someone, that's what you're asking from your children. When you say you need to obey, you're saying you need to entrust yourself to me, and then this is what you will find to entrust yourself to me, and then this is what you will find.

Speaker 2: 25:07

And so the first thing for clarity is. He says okay, for me to make my home with you, you will need to entrust yourself with me, which is something he just keeps repeating. And then he says and this is how I'm going to deal with your disorientation. Right, this is how I am going to deal with your unsteadiness and your confusion. I'm going to send the Holy Spirit who will teach, remind and offer peace.

Speaker 2: 25:28

When you and I are in a disoriented space a lot of times we need reteaching, right, we need to be taught. This is what you need to do. When we're disoriented, when we're unsteady, we need to be reminded where we're supposed to put our feet. When we're unsteady, we need to be reminded where we're supposed to put our feet, what's real and true, and when we're confused. Usually confusion develops anxiety, and so what we need is peace.

Speaker 2: 25:54

And so what Jesus is saying do not let your heart be troubled when you enter into difficulty and it's coming. Remember that I bring to you all that you need all the reminding and peace as long as you'll entrust yourself to me. So, really, the theme of all of this just goes back to the I am statement. I am the way, the truth and the life Eyes on me, if you just want John 14, it's eyes on me, because we put our eyes on everything else. And then he says in 27b do not let your hearts be troubled. So he repeats himself.

Speaker 2: 26:38

And then he adds something and do not be afraid. You heard me say I'm going away and I'm coming back to you. If you love me, you will be glad that I am going to the Father. The Father is greater than I and I have told you now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe I will not say much more to you, for the Prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the father and do exactly as the father has commanded. And then I love this last line come now, let us go. War has begun. I added that. But war has begun Now, in this little phrase, before he says all that, do not let your hearts be troubled he adds this and do not be afraid.

Speaker 2: 27:24

And this word afraid, its very first definition is timid and its second definition, or third, I can't remember, is cowardly. I think what Jesus is saying is okay. I've told you everything that's happening. The prince of this world is coming Doesn't have a hold on me, but we are going to war and it's not going to be good. You're not going to think it's good. Do not be timid or cowardly. This is the time to stand firm, all right. This is the time to stand firm, all right. So that's the invitation eyes on me, do not let your heart be troubled. Stand firm, do not be timid, do not be a coward.

Speaker 2: 28:07

Well, I think jesus understands that we're in that place anyway. That's why he's given it to us, so that you can read it over and over again. And so here's what I would like to ask you, based on John 14. It's where have you taken your eyes off of Jesus? I think a good illustration of this you heard read was Matthew 14, but I'm just going to read a part of it, starting in 29b.

Speaker 2: 28:31

Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus, but when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out Lord, save me.

Speaker 2: 28:41

Immediately, jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

Speaker 2: 28:45

You of little faith, he said why did you doubt? I love this because it is an illustration of our life, right? We really want to keep our eyes on Jesus? Really do I really want to? But the waves and the wind of life and it doesn't matter if you live in a third world country or first world country the waves and wind of life quickly get us to take our eyes off of Jesus, and part of discipleship, and I think part of what John 14 is all about, is that things get difficult. Jesus is saying eyes on me. This passage invites us to ask so where are our eyes? Not on Jesus? So I actually have a little more I want to say, but right here I want to pause and just answer that question a little bit so we can just think for a few moments and then, if you are like, hey, I'm willing to make a confession as to where I take my eyes off Jesus. Someone want to run the mic? We can do that. I know the last few weeks have been confessional weeks.

Speaker 6: 30:20

If no one else is going to raise their hand, it's with my job, which can be quite stressful and demanding. I think it's very easy to think see all these things that are very important like in a real way and be like I have to do them. I have to succeed in this task. I have to get this done and worry about my not succeeding in the task and not consider at all that God cares about these things too.

Speaker 2: 31:03

Thanks, matthew, that's good.

Speaker 7: 31:18

I think one place that comes to mind is the evening. Like there's a. I think I have a focus on wanting to have my time in the evening after my kids go to bed, and so there's. I think it comes out in two ways. One is what I choose to do after the kids go to bed is lean into my tiredness, lean into my. I just want to sit on the couch and do nothing, and that has impact on my family, it has impact on me. But I think also, in putting my kids to bed, I want to rush my kids to bed so that I can have my time, and I think there's an invitation from Jesus to sit with my kids as they go to bed and not try to just rush them into sleep but be more willing to respond to fears, respond to questions in those spaces, those sort of in-between spaces.

Speaker 8: 32:36

I don't have a. It doesn't flow perfectly from the question, but I think outcomes. I look away from Jesus when I serve people after feeling called to serve, and then I look for the outcome instead of looking at Jesus and being happy that I was called to serve and so yeah.

Speaker 2: 32:58

I think that was perfectly in line.

Speaker 4: 33:12

I think that areas of competence are where I don't look at Christ. Just reflecting on, specifically, my job, when I started I was very bad at it, because when you start something and I trusted God and I was praying more and I was leaning on Him, and then, as I got good at my job, I was like, okay, I know how to do this, and so I took my eyes off of him and, yeah, it's something I've been thinking about. A lot is how to, especially in areas of competency, deliberately look at Christ and continue to pray and continue to ask for help, even when I feel like I don't need it.

Speaker 2: 33:55

Thank you, peter and I feel like I don't need it. Thank you, peter, ana Ana.

Speaker 5: 34:10

I think I walk away from Jesus in the mornings. Starting my day, I have always structured my agenda and in my morning prayer I said it's not my will, give me your instructions to follow. And most of the time I walk away from that and I just go okay, this is good to do for Christ, but is it what he wants me to do today? So I feel bad that sometimes I think I do not follow his directions and I want to control everything, even though I think he's good and I think he's serving him. But if I don't feel comfortable with it, it I think I'm not doing his will.

Speaker 2: 35:06

Thanks, ana, that's good Jill.

Speaker 9: 35:15

I had two, maybe three, I don't know. He probably knows times this week where I was emotional about something and I talked to my husband and he listens to me and then he says well, what is God telling you about this? And all three of them I said I don't know, and so it was really like I have not checked in with him, and so I guess for me it's when there's an emotion it's just a hot seat thing, but when there's an emotion it should be like Dear Jill, please check in with me.

Speaker 5: 36:01

You have not done this.

Speaker 9: 36:03

So I don't know. It's an invitation and, yeah, that's what's my week.

Speaker 1: 36:17

For me. I notice I'm just coming out of a space like this, but I've seen it multiple times in my life. When I'm really tired, I take my eyes off Jesus and I put my eyes on trying to figure out how to not be tired instead of leaning into Jesus, and I think it's just a place of weakness. So I would really love for him to teach me how to be really tired and lean into him.

Speaker 3: 36:56

Okay, I think for me a good example where this presents, especially as a dude with managing your money, it's really tempting to put your trust into a plan, like what you're doing and how you're managing that plan effectively, and it's one thing to like grow in doing that. But I think ultimately it's one thing to like grow in doing that, but I think ultimately it's Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 is not leaning on your own understanding, but really looking to him and trusting that he's guiding that way.

Speaker 2: 37:28

Okay, so Any other people, all right. Thank you, jake, and then we'll click to the conclusion here.

Speaker 10: 37:52

So on Friday I had a difficult work day and I was praying and I felt like God was telling me to rest and it's going to be okay, but I didn't. I worried and didn't sleep well. And then yesterday, worried and didn't sleep, yeah, just had a lot of anxiety and but, yeah, I definitely took my eyes off of Jesus and ended up getting a headache.

Speaker 2: 38:21

Wow. So there's a physical manifestation of that. All right. So I want to say something really emphatically, because I think this is one of the main points of John 14, and that is that you are already home, you and I, especially, as followers of Jesus, and this is important. We are looking forward to the return of Jesus and we are hopeful for all the tears to be wiped away and for us to be leaping for joy and to be with God, and I am super excited about that.

Speaker 2: 38:57

But the beauty of John 14 is that Jesus is saying as you head into trial, tribulation and the world that's tossed to and fro, you enter in already at home. So Jesus says, starting in verse 2, my Father's house has many rooms. If that were not so would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me. That you also may be and here's the key Not in heaven, not in this mansion. Be where I am. That's important To be where I am. That's important To be where I am Because even when Jesus returns from the second time and brings us into the kingdom of God. It's not about the kingdom as much as it's about being where Jesus is. And then, verse 23, he says Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them. I love this picture because what Jesus is saying is if you step in and believe that I am who I am right, I am who I am and that I died for you and rose from the dead, I'm going to come and we're going to make our home with you. So when you step in, when you are wrestling with where your eyes are, what I want you to remember is that you actually don't need to work really hard to figure out how to get your eyes on Jesus. What you need to do is take a deep breath and say I'm home. Like dad's in the other room right, mom's cooking dinner, like we're in the Jesus mobile home, like that's where we're at right now and the Jesus mobile home is traveling around.

Speaker 2: 41:01

But that's really, really important, because a lot of times we put ourselves in this passage, and this passage is an illustration of what it's like not to have the Holy Spirit. It is not an illustration about how you live your life. Certainly it illustrates how you might feel sometimes, but it's not an illustration about how you live your life. Certainly it illustrates how you might feel sometimes, but it's not reality. This is reality without the Holy Spirit. This is without the Father making home with you.

Speaker 2: 41:32

So even while, like Jake, has a headache and he's anxious, he's anxious next to dad and mom. He's anxious next to the Trinity. He's not anxious. He's anxious next to dad and mom. He's anxious next to the Trinity. He's not anxious out in the dark. And that's really, really key.

Speaker 2: 41:46

So when we say, put your eyes on Jesus, what I want you to think is I just need to go to my dad's room and knock on the door and open it, because he will always say come in. That's it. It's not about trying to figure out how to do it right. You just take a deep breath and know that you're in the mobile home of Jesus and the Father and the Spirit, and eventually that mobile home is going to get its own foundation in the kingdom that cannot be shaken, but this one drives around right the Holy Spirit, trinity mobile home. So with that, let me pray. Father in heaven, thank you for this community, thank you for um just their honesty. I I really want to thank you for their willingness to to speak out um the things that they wrestle with, and I would ask that you would protect that, that you would not allow the enemy to attack it or to throw shame on it. Lord, I just pray that we might rest in the home that you have made with us, and we ask that in your name, amen.