God's Help For Troubled Hearts - John 14-16

[Music] john chapter 14. charlie brown was resting his head against a wall with his hands and his face and just looking absolutely miserable lucy comes along as lucy is and she says discouraged again hey chuck he doesn't even answer and she says you know what your trouble is of course he doesn't answer again and she just pipes in says the whole trouble with you is that you are you and charlie brown says now what in the world am i to do with that and lucy responds and says i don't pretend to be able to give advice i just point out the trouble and often times sometimes you feel like that in life that you just get trouble pointed out to you with no solution but the beauty is in jesus we find that he not only will tell us the truth he will tell us of troubles but he comes with a a solution so to speak it's a solution in himself it's help in the troubled times and here jesus at this point in his life he's in his final hours really with his disciples john chapter 14 through 16 is his final words to his disciples he's told them that one of them is going to betray them that's bad news he's told them that he is leaving them he's told peter that you would deny jesus three times i mean talk about a bad day but he doesn't leave it at that he now gives them really what we're going to see is eight helps for those troubling times things that we can remember for our hearts as we're facing the difficulties of whatever it is that we're facing knowing the lord doesn't leave us there to sink in it but to lift us up that we may be triumphant so we're going to skim through we're going to read through we're going to pinpoint these eight things in these three chapters that the lord gives us starting in chapter 14 verse 1. he says this let not your hearts be troubled you believe in god believe also in me so the first thing he gives him is a word of exhortation believe in me the word troubled there means to be afraid or cowardly of course jesus has given them some bad news and he's saying now don't be afraid believe in me just as you believe in god because he is god but when i'm faced with fearful things i have a choice i can let my heart be troubled or i cannot let my heart be troubled right i can run around like a chicken with my head cut off i can say the sky is falling it's all over i'm doomed and done for it's kaput or i can say you know what i'm bummed lord but i'm not gonna bow out i believe your heart for me is good i believe that you are faithful to complete the work you've started and i am going to hold on to you and i'm going to allow you to finish what you've begun and i'm going to trust in your plan jesus is calling these jewish men who put their faith in jehovah god to take the same faith and apply it towards him because he is god manifested in the flesh a great verse in regards to the deity of christ i believe but we note this that god's work in your life is going to center around jesus he always wants to get you to jesus that health issue that you're facing it's to you to lean into jesus that financial trial that you're going through you give in to jesus that the issue that is wracking your family and just ripping it apart it brings you to jesus everything in your life really is meant to push and pull you to jesus as you believe in god believe in jesus too psalms chapter 61 verse 1 and 2 david writes hear my cry oh god listen to my prayer from the ends of the earth i call to you i call as my heart grows faint lead me to the rock that is higher than i so the first word is a word of exhortation believe in jesus the second word he gives is a word of exaltation heaven is your end look at verse two 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 and if i go and prepare a place for you i will come again and receive you to myself that where i am there you may be also and where i go you know and the way you know let's stop right there for a moment in the jewish culture a groom uh when after they were engaged would go in to his father's house as we talked about a couple weeks ago and prepare a place for his bride at his father's house kind of a room addition you might say and at the right time he would come and he would get her and take her away to that place jesus has been working on that heavenly room addition for us for 2 000 years now it's going to be incredible when you look around at the world around you you see all kinds of wonders and beauties and all kinds of great things that god has made he did all that in seven days what's it going to be like in heaven amazing he uses this word mansions to describe these dwelling places that's really what it is dwelling places or a place to say and mansions is a good picture in a sense for us to grasp because whatever god has for us in heaven is going to be glorious like a mansion but listen heaven is not about what i get materially as i think about oh i'm going to get a mansion i'm going to have streets of gold and pearly gates it's not about that it's not even about what is noteworthy is all the angels and singing and the choir and perfect unison and all the lightnings and colors around the throne room of god that i read about in book of revelation it's not even solely about that heaven is primarily about my experience relationally with god i'm going to see jesus face to face and jesus is what makes heaven heaven he has gone to prepare a place for me and me for that place and he is going to come again and as i make room in my heart for him today he is making room in his place for me tomorrow when i go to see him listen to what paul writes as we're facing the troubles of our days second corinthians chapter four therefore we do not lose heart maybe you're losing heart this morning because of your difficulty in trial he says though the outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day for our light momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all so we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what are what is unseen since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal heaven is your end and he says in verse five and six this is the truth of our humanity thomas pipes up and says lord we don't know where you're going how can we know the way and jesus said to him i am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me he basically is reassuring their troubled hearts they're on the right track he is the only way the real truth the real life there is no other way to heaven but by him so he gives him a word of exhortation believe in jesus he gives them secondly a word of exaltation guys heaven is your end and those are great to remember when our hearts are heavy and troubled the third word he gives him is a word of supplication in a sense saying keep praying because god's not done with your life look at verse 12 most assuredly i say to you he who believes in me the works that i do he will do also and greater works than these he will do because i go to my father and whatever you ask in my name that i will do that the father may be glorified in the son if you ask anything in my name i will do it so when jesus says most assuredly it means truly truly take it to the bank you can count on it for sure and so it's something for us to note he said what you saw me do for three years of ministry both in the healings and the teachings and the preachings and everything else that is in in those three years he says you who believe in me will do those things as well even to a greater extent and outreach and truly that's what happened in acts chapter 2 peter shares the gospel and 3 000 people get saved more people saved that one day than all the three years of jesus's ministry you might say god did great things and he continues to do great things today you see jesus left behind a powerful church not a cowering one and sometimes when we're faced with our troubles and our trials we have a tendency to kind of step out of the picture and sit on the sidelines to think man maybe god's just completely done with my life no he's not jesus would remind you as well as me at times that it's not over you're not done and he's not finished with your life even though all you see is man this is a dark stormy night he's still working in fact he wants to use our lives in those difficulties in those trials for his glory i was reading a story about a chinese pastor who was released from prison uh after seven years or so and he was asked that question you know um are you are you regretting that time at all and he said this he said are you kidding god used me to reach people i could never reach outside of that jail people came to know christ they were discipled and churches were started in that in that jail itself god uses the difficulties for his glory but when we're off track how do we get back on track what do we need to do i think jesus said it their best in verse 13 that basically it starts with prayer lord i believe you're in control of my life lord glorify yourself in my life keep working in my life and keep using others for your glory too and i guarantee you this based upon the word of god that that is not a no sorry you're not going to get it type of answer god is going to say yes i want to be glorified in your life and he's going to be doing that work in chapter 16 verse 23 and 24 we read a similar thing look at what jesus said to them therefore you now have um i'm sorry verse 23 of chapter 16 and in that day you will ask me nothing most assuredly i say to you whatever you ask the father in my name he will give you until now you have asked nothing in my name ask and you will receive that your joy may be full you realize this that jesus gave you a vip access path to the very throne room of god that you can come boldly because of the blood of jesus christ you can come confidently knowing that the god who made everything hears your requests and wants to work in your life you can leave joyfully as he says in verse 24 there that your joy may be full knowing that you have received his will for your life he's good to us so when trouble comes pray knowing that god continues and isn't finished using your life number four he gives them a word of consolation back in chapter 14 that the spirit of god is here to help you and i in our troubles look at what he says chapter 14 verse 16 and i will pray the father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you i will not leave you orphans i will come to you so we see this jesus said to them that he would send them another helper jesus doesn't leave his kids in trouble he comes to help out he doesn't abandon them but he was going to leave them and send another helper now another doesn't mean another different helper it's another of the same kind the same essence the same source and he calls this this one the the helper the the spirit of truth we know him as the holy spirit he's the third person of this triune god that we serve the holy spirit is not a force like star wars he's not a thing that you would have in your hand he's a person according to the bible and jesus calls him another helper or a paracletos is the greek word and it simply means someone that's alongside to help how does he help us well we find in the scriptures that he's gentle he's a gentle comforter when we're hurting he's a strong advocate who prays for us when we don't know what to pray or say he's a wise counselor in the scriptures when we need insight into god's word and how it's working in our world he's a powerful strengthener when we are weak and he's a spirit of truth to lead us in god's truth that we not may not be deceived jesus promised he wouldn't leave us as orphans where we're just simply abandoned he gave us a help in our troubles himself the holy spirit in verse 26 of chapter 14 look at what he says there but the helper the holy spirit whom the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that i said to you so the holy spirit is also an incredible teacher he's going to teach us everything that we need to know about who jesus is and walking according to his word that we may live victoriously but it doesn't stop there jesus goes on and explains a little bit more in depth on the holy spirit in chapter 16 verse 7. look at what he says he says to them nevertheless i tell you the truth it is to your advantage that i go away for if i do not go away the helper will not come to you but if i depart i will send him to you and when he has come he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment of sin because they do not believe in me of righteousness because i go to my father and you see me no more of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged now i want to put a slide up here i want you to see there are seven things in dealing with the holy spirit that he will also do the ministry of the holy spirit in your life especially when you're in troubled times the first one is this as we read there that he will convict you of sin it's really the truth about men he convicts us that we're sinners in need of a savior when you feel that poke when you feel that prick and you feel that guilt from that sin guess what it's the holy spirit revealing to you that something is off how do i know you see the holy spirit will convict to push you to jesus while the enemy will condemn to drive you away from jesus the enemy will say hey god doesn't love you you've sinned too much he'll never accept you and he wants you to run from him but the holy spirit says you know what you blew it hey come on in let's talk about it agree with me that it's sin let's confess that let's get back on track back and you start yearning for that time with the lord you start praying and back into his word that's the conviction of the holy spirit working in your life it's a good thing so he will convict you of sin number two he will testify of righteousness the truth about god the personal integrity and godly character that jesus established through the cross he wants us holy and he came to make us new number three he will speak of a judgment coming as we read that there is a judgment that is certain because of sin and satan himself will be judged and condemned by god he goes on in verses 12 through 15 of chapter 16 and describes more about the ministry of the holy spirit he says i still have many things to say to you but you cannot bear them however when he the spirit of truth has come he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority but whatever he hears he will speak and he will tell you things to come he will glorify me and he will take of what is mine and declare it to you all things that the father has are mine therefore i said that he will take of mine and declare it to you so we see four more things he will guide you into all truth in verse 13 and verse 15 to discern it clearly to know it fully to understand it practically there there is no truth apart from jesus you can't have it without him that's what he basically points us to number five he will not gonna he's not gonna do his own thing in verse 13. he's not speaking on his own will and wishes it's it's he's going in alignment perfect alignment with the father and the son and what the will of god is number six he'll tell you things to come things of the future in verse 13 whether they be both prophetic revelations or god's will for your life and then number seven in verse 14 he will glorify jesus jesus is the focus of the work of the holy spirit it's not himself it's not the gifts it's not the the ministries it's jesus and he does list in other areas of the bible gifts and ministries in ephesians 4 and first corinthians 12 through 14 and other places romans 12 that the holy spirit gives us gifts and abilities to minister to build up the body of christ to reach the world but if i was to put it in a nutshell this is what it is the spirit's work in our lives is to bring us to christ he changes us to make us like christ he equips us to minister for christ and empowers us to witness of christ jesus in us and through us is his goal so we're not left alone we're not abandoned in our trouble because god himself is with us jesus sent the holy spirit to be with us in this time the fifth word is in john 14 27 it is a word of relaxation to receive god's perfect peace look at what he says in 14 27 peace i leave with you my peace i give to you not as the world gives do i give to you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid and some of you need to take that to heart and maybe just underline that so he said believe in me he said heaven is coming he said keep praying because god's not done using your life he said the holy spirit is here to help you and to receive number five receive god's perfect peace let me read it to you in the amplified version and the amplified version is basically that it amplifies it it turns it up to 11 on the dial there you know says peace i leave with you my perfect peace i give to you not as the world gives do i give to you do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be afraid let my perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge i like that the world is looking for peace and their definition of peace is simply freedom from chaos but god's definition of peace is more likely power expressed over the storm in your life in other words it calms me down when i'm feeling a frenzy coming on but it also guards my heart to think wisely and discern the truth clearly from all the what ifs that are out there it gives me courage to rise up and face the challenges when the world is saying hey no way and it also strengthens me to endure to the end you see with god i don't have to figure it all out before i have his peace i can simply come to jesus the prince of peace and say lord i give it into your hands this is what paul said in philippians 4 do not be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to god and the peace of god which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and minds in christ jesus how we need his peace in the troublesome times and he's telling his disciples hey i know it's going to be a dark night a tough time but i'm giving you my peace to make it through the sixth word he gives us is a word of fixation chapter 15. he left leaves the upper room noted in chapter 14 verse 31 he says arise let us go from here and they leave that upper room where all that was taking place and they now start heading towards the garden of gethsemane still teaching them along the way to the garden you probably would have passed the temple and there the temple gate is a vine that is engraved over the temple gate or maybe he passed through some vineyards but like jesus does he takes things going on in his world and he brings a godly lesson and so he turns to his disciples and he says and he begins to teach them this i am the true vine verse 1 of chapter 15. my father is the vine dresser every branch of me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that bears fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit you are already clean because of the word which i have spoken to you abide in me and i in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me i am the vine you are the branches he who abides in me and i in him bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing if anyone does not abide in me is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned if you abide in me and my words abide in you you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit so you will be my disciples now why did he say these things because listen when trouble comes we often go into that survival mode right that crisis mode and we have a tendency to clamp down physically or to pull away relationally or to just kind of grit our teeth and bear it through and jesus understands that tendency when it's tough for us and so it's as if he tells the disciples i know what you're going to be facing but when the troublesome times come remember this just simply abide in me and the word abide means to remain at home with stay plugged into jesus rest in his love and his care be obedient to his his word cultivate that fellowship know that in time he's going to produce the fruit when you're struggling right now when i'm not bearing fruit what does he do well look at it note it in verse 2 as a master vine dresser it says that he takes away it's the greek word aero and it really means to lift up or to raise up you see a vine dresser when that that vine is weighed heavy it would brace up the vine gently so that it can get get sun and bear fruit if there are problems taking place and when i'm weighed down heavy from the fruit and i'm dragging in the mud it tells us in verse two that he prunes which actually is the greek word cafaero which is where we get catharsis from it actually means to cleanse he washes the dirt off so the fruit doesn't spoil in the mud just like jesus washed their feet and how does he do it verse 3 tells us it's by the word the word of god here's the point when trouble comes your way jesus seeks to lift you up to brace you up not lop you off he seeks to cleanse what's hanging low and down in the dumps and to cleanse off that the fruit is still valuable rather than just cut off and how does he do it he takes us and he points us back to his word and says hey man let's clean clean you up and get you going i love that what an encouraging news is i abide in him god's intention is not to kill off life it's to enhance life it's been said that fruit is impossible without abiding but it's inevitable with abiding god will bring the fruit abide in him continually knowing he's got your future in his hands we're going to study that more in depth in a couple weeks here but we'll go on the seventh word there's eight of them the seventh word is a word of clarification as he goes in chapter 15 verse 18 that the clarification is this your suffering is not unique and when we're in trouble when we're in trial we think man i'm the only one facing this no look at what he says if the world hates you you know that it hated me before it hated you or in chapter 15 verse 19 though if you were of the world the world would love its own yet because you are not of the world but i chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you remember the word that i said to you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will also persecute you if they kept my word they will keep yours also the world we live in it will never side with christianity i think we have to come to grips with that they will never say oh god bless you keep serving jesus no they never will but just as they came against jesus they will come against us who follow him too we can expect it and not be shocked when it happens philippians calls it the fellowship of his suffering but jesus clarifies for them when the troubled hearts that their hardship isn't unique he's been there and others are in that same boat with them sharing in that look at what he says in verse 21 but all these things they will do to you for my name's sake because they do not know him who sent me they will come against you for my name's sake i want you to think about that for a moment but in the name of christianity persecuting those who are followers of jesus christ how far do you have to be from christ that in his name you are persecuting those who would cling to jesus oh you're just you're too radical type thing or whatever it is and why do they hate christians simply because of the one they represent look at verse 21. i'm sorry 22 if i had not come and spoken to them they would have no sin but now they have no excuse for their sin he who hates me hates my father also if i had not done among them the works which no one else did they would have no sin but now they have seen and also hated both me and my father so they hate his words because he's telling them they're sinners and that stings and convicts they hate his witness because he represents the father in fact he says it in 23 if you hate me you hate the father you can't claim to know god and hate jesus it doesn't work that way and they hate his works because he uh was healing and doing miracles on the sabbath and that that caused them some problems but he says in verse 25 but this happened that the word might be fulfilled which was written in their law they hated me without a cause was there any justifiable cause for hating jesus no no there wasn't but even when we face troubled times we don't have to fear because god's working his plan but we can also take comfort in the fact that others are in the same boat with me this pain this issue this suffering i'm facing for christ's name's sake is i'm not alone in it there's other believers with me in it and the last word he gave them is in chapter 16 it's a word of transformation that your sorrow will turn to joy and your trouble to triumph how does that happen by the resurrection of jesus christ of course in the context they would sorrow because of the pain and the grief of the cross and all that jesus went through but we know the rest of the story god would take that pain and he would turn it into an incredible wonderful promise your sins are forgiven eternal life is yours he's going forward with us and we have hope but knowing the work that's ahead look at what he says in chapter 16 verse 20. most assured that i say to you you will weep and lament but the world will rejoice and you will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn to joy a woman when she is in labor has sorrow because her hour has come but as soon as she has given birth to the child she no longer remembers the anguish for joy that a human being has been born into the world therefore you now have sorrow but i will see you again and your heart will rejoice and your joy no one will take from you so what do i have i have a transforming joy in my presence i can look at what's going on and say hey i may suffer physically and it may even get worse but it can't steal away my hope spiritually like a woman giving birth it's a struggle so i've heard but when that baby comes it's a whole new day the joy of the life that is yours verse 23 of chapter 16. he says there and in that day you will ask me nothing most assuredly i say to you whatever you ask in the father's name he will give you until now you have asked nothing in my name ask and you will receive that your joy may be full you realize that i have a i have a joyful access i not only have a joyful outlook that this world can't take away my hope in christ but i have a joyful access right now jesus has made a way for me to come into the throne room of god as we talked about before never had it before until he rose again making that way and so i had not only have a transforming joy i have a transporting joy in my troubles i can go right to the throne of god and then look at verses 32 and 33 of chapter 16. he says indeed the hour is coming yes and has now come that you will be scattered each to his own and will leave me alone and yet i am not alone because the father is with me these things i have spoken to you that in me you may have peace in the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer i have overcome the world i have a joyful end you see though you may and i may fall to temptation or falter in our witness or fail in every aspect at one point or another he doesn't he won because i couldn't he overcame and that's the promise we hold on to that we have a triumphant joy for ourselves today in him is my peace not my circumstances not when everything is a-okay but i can have peace right now knowing that no matter what i faced even if it's the end of my life i still have heaven to come i believe in jesus i know his spirit is with me i know my suffering is not unique i'm going to stay put and abide in him and i'm going to grow in this relationship so all these words what i like is this what started in chapter 14 verse 1 with let not your heart be troubled ends in chapter 16 verse 33 because i have overcome the world [Music]

Channel: Calvary Chapel North Phoenix

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Id: LT0SOPvArCQ

Length: 32min 33sec (1953 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 22 2021