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Weekly Message | November 23rd, 2008
Passage: John 14:1-14
Key Verse(s): 6
This is Thanksgiving week. Today we are here together as one people who worship God the Father through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Once we were all strangers. By God’s grace we are here all together. Someday we may depart from one another. Until then we are here together we love one another as Christ loves us so dearly. Today, we will think about the meaning of trusting in God. Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." It is not His rebuke to them. It is His spiritual direction for them.
First, "Do not let your hearts be troubled…In my Father's House are many rooms. . ."(1-4). Look at verse 1: "Do not let your hearts be troubled." The Last Supper was both joyful and painful for the disciples. In a few hours, Jesus was to be arrested, sentenced to death and die on the cross just like a criminal. The disciples were going to experience the radical changes. It was to prepare their life without Jesus’ physical presence. Jesus would not be with them any more. This prospect of change troubled them.
Troubles arise in our hearts as we fear losing what is so familiar with us. In English language the word “familiar” and “family” might have something in common. What is familiar is just like about our family members. We see them all the time. Wives may assume the love of their husbands as given. Husbands may take their wives for granted. We are not here forever. Someday these familiar faces disappear. Recently we traveled about one month outside of this country. Our grandson Evan momentarily thought that he lost their grandparents forever—thinking that their grandparents no longer liked him. When he saw us again, he was leaping with joy. Look at verse 1 again: "Do not let your hearts be troubled." Jesus urged his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled. Here, "let" carries the notion that we have a definite level of control. According to Jesus, our hearts are under the control of our deepest will. Being constantly anxious about our life's needs is not God's will. Jesus commands us, "Do not let your hearts troubled." However, how can we control the state of our anxious hearts? Can we simply to turn “on and off” of the switch of our hearts?
Look at verse 1b: "Trust in God; trust also in me." According to Jesus, our troubled hearts find comfort and strength when we trust God and our Lord Jesus. God alone is worthy of our trust. Things, people and institutions are necessary for our living. Things pass away. People change. Institutions rise and fall. Therefore, if our ultimate trust is God himself, we may not be disappointed. Jesus said, "Trust in God; trust also in me." The order is also important. First trust God; then trust Christ. Jesus, in his humility, asked his disciples to trust Him afterward. We trust that God exists (Heb. 11:6a). God is our loving Father. Jesus is our faithful Savior and Lord. Jesus, after his extensive life together with his disciples, tells his disciples to trust him.
In the movie, Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee says, “To be a good soldier you must love the army. To be a good commander you must be able to order the death of the thing you love.” God loves us so much he order his Son to death. In the similar ways, God orders the deaths of his people. Then, can we still trust God? We say "Amen" to Romans 8:36 and 37 which say, "As it is written, `For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Then what do we trust God for? It is about life security. At this time the disciples had no houses of their own. They were always on the move—with no places to stay. It is not uncommon that people around the world experience serious housing crisis. Most of Japanese people in the city of Tokyo live in tiny apartments. These days tens of thousands of people experience their house foreclosures. They leave their dream homes. Not all people have these privileges. Having house on our own is the mark of success in this world.
Look at verse 2: "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." Jesus offers a vision of Father’s house to his disciples. There are many mansions (NKJV). Mansions are huge housing units that provide ample opportunities for enjoyable living. This word picture shows us how simple the kingdom of heaven is. In heaven, God is there. God's house is there. Our rooms are there. They are the places where we live forever. God will provide the work, the space and projects that are meaningful for us. In this world, we need all types of organizations simply because resources in this world are limited. We live under constraints in this fallen world. However, in heaven we will be with Christ. We will see God face to face. We will enjoy being with other fellow Christians.
The kingdom of God is a great place for exciting work. Christ goes in advance of us to prepare God's mansion for each of us. There we will engage in projects that will last. There we will work for what will remain. There we will prosper as God's people. There we will display our potential without any shadow of death. We will not get sick so we will work. With our hard work, we will accomplish what matters to God. There Shep. Kevin will compose heavenly music with no pressures for the work for living.
Look at verses 3,4: "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." Jesus' preparation is not the physical construction of our mansions. Rather, Jesus prepares to welcome us. Jesus will assigns to each of the way we will serve God.
Second, "I am the way and the truth and the life." (5,6). Jesus gave all His disciples the glorious promise of the kingdom of God. But Thomas, said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Probably, Thomas thought that before Christ departed, he wanted to ask even one important question to Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." To Thomas' simple question, Jesus gave a profound answer.
Jesus is the way. Jesus is the way in our troubles. Jesus is the way for us to trust God. Between God and us there is a great gulf. Once we were all far away from God. How far are we away from heaven? Christ has brought us near to God. Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." Jesus shortened the distance. Jesus brought us near to God--it is through the blood of Christ. The way to God the Father was built on the blood of our Lord--it was through His sacrifices and death. We enter our heavenly home through this living way—the way through the blood of Christ.
Jesus is the truth. As sinners, we break our words. We are disappointed when others break their words. But Jesus never breaks His words. Jesus keeps His word. Jesus' words "Trust God; trust also in me" are trustworthy. Jesus said, "I have authority to forgive sins in this world"(Mk. 2:10). Does Jesus have power to forgive our sins? Does Jesus really change sinners? Jesus is the truth. All His claims are true and effective.
Jesus is the life. Life is not only in good times. God's life is in seemingly bad times as well. We experience God's life in times of troubles. While visiting Taiwan, Korea, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria for the past one month, I find one common issue that all people face. They all would like to find the way in their situations. How can these missionaries in the new land find ways to self-support and build the gospel ministries? What advice could I offer? I have no prepared answers for them. I listen to them, hear their stories and learn about their situation. I point them to Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. When people feel that there is no way out, one exit they consider is death. They give up hope. They stop trying. However, in Christ there is always a way. So we try again. We keep coming to God. We choose life. We fight the good fight. We keep our faith. We finish our race.
Third, “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it”(7-14). Jesus said in verse 7, "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Jesus' words had hope of God. But Philip spoke up, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Perhaps Philip wanted some kind of supernatural experience in order to believe. How did Jesus answer?
Look at verse 12. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Jesus did not say, “If anyone who has faith in me will become just like me.” Neither did he say, “If anyone has faith, he will be even greater than me. No one will ever become the Savior and Lord by having faith in Jesus. No one can ever laid the eternal foundation of salvation as Jesus did on the cross. No one can sit at the right side of the glorious God. However, by faith we can do what Jesus did. We can do more than what Jesus did. Jesus further gives us promises in regard to prayer.
Look at verses 13-14. "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Here, Jesus wants his disciples to pray. Through prayers and work they experience Jesus—the way, the truth and the life. Jesus’ disciples had virtually nothing at the Upper Room. They remembered Jesus who said, “it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses from Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”(Acts 1:8). In the course of obeying this command, the disciples did not remain troubled and fearful. Rather, they pioneered their lives, settled in the waste lands of the world and created new civilizations.
Pessimism is creping into America--the sunniest nation of the world. These days we hear what we thought to be unthinkable—even a few months ago. Three US automakers (GM, Ford and Chrysler) are on the verge of bankruptcy. They might disappear from us. This year we have watched how prominent financial institutions disappeared in a few days. The No. 2 City Bank Group is also at the stake. As a nation we have become debtors to other nations. We must accept this reality. America is still the most powerful nation, yet quite wounded. These are times of trouble. “In the U.S., there’s a crisis of confidence,” said Nandan Nilekani, co-chairman of Infosys Technologies, the Indian software giant. “In India,” he added, “for the first time after decades or centuries, there is a sense of optimism about the future, a sense that our children’s futures can be better than ours if we try hard enough.” (NY Times 11/23/08)
On personal level, we trust God. Instead of merely blaming others for these national troubles, we manage to live within our means. We dedicate again to excellence in what we do. High school and college students study and develop skills. We must pray to develop our personal capabilities and grow up in influences.
As Christians we pray together. We have to overcome this national crisis by loving our neighbors as ourselves. We need to pray for one another to help and support one another. I am committed to pray for those who seek prayer support. I remember the needs of his people around me and pray for their specific needs.
On December 7 we will have early Christmas service at Student Union. From tomorrow we will have prayer meeting at 6:30 P.M. Shepherd Mark Gamber will deliver the message on Sunday. We will pray for this family (Mark, Carol, Mark, Agnes and Ruth) who has prayed for all of us over the past 30 years. We have to pray for one another so that we may find the way of hope and life through Christ Jesus.
In the much larger level we must pray for world mission. We will never resolve its own national crisis if we are preoccupied our own needs. We must open our eyes to the world. Young college students must have chances to see the world through short-term mission. See the world and find how others strive for their living.
American people and corporation will continue to innovate and create values for the world only when they engage with the world and desire to serve the world. In doing so, America reap the benefits of their work in the form of better standard of living. Therefore, we must be mindful of others, learn their languages and know their culture. Over the years I have visited 24 countries. Each time I visit other country for my academic conference I visited those who work for mission. I could have been a mediocre researcher at the University of Toledo. In doing so, my eyes opened to the world. It challenged me to study further. We have prayer topics to send 100,000 missionaries to 233 nations by the year 2041 which include Moslem countries, North Korea and China. For our Christmas offerings in two weeks we will offer what we have prepared. We will offer for our own needs—renovation and expansion and world mission. Korean UBF found the way to support North Korean people by purchasing corns from China and distribute them. These corns are not for the privileged people but for the people in need. UBF will keep doing this for years to come.
Jesus is the way in our troubles. Jesus wants us to trust God. Then the practical ways to trust God is our prayer topics. In this Thanksgiving week we find how God has worked in us. But by prayer in the name of Jesus we see the great work of God. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life to God. Even when we feel that there is no way, Jesus is the way. So we trust God and Jesus. We dare to try to find a way. We choose to live, not to die. Jesus is the truth in that his promise of prayer is real. As long as we pray and we dare to live according to our prayer topics, we are never finished. In Jesus we have life—now and forever. Through Jesus we can do great things.
November 23, 2008. Toledo UBF.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
