“Setting Troubled Hearts at Rest: A Basis for Relief”
John 14:25-31
We usually see the scene in a movie or a television ad – the head of the family has died and the family is sitting nervously in the lawyer’s office as he prepares to read the will. Tension and anxiety fill the air. Some are leery, some are hopeful. Then the will is read and each is bequeathed something - some are disappointed, some angry, and some thrilled. But each person now knows just what the deceased thought of them, how much he valued them. But now life must go on.
John 14 portrays a similar scene. A family is gathered for the reading of the will – but there is no lawyer. In fact, the head of the family is still alive and no one knew He would be sharing his last will and testament. But that’s just what Jesus does as He wraps up their time in the upper room. And what He bequeaths is a basis for relief, even if it would take a while for the disciples to realize it.
The first item Jesus bequeathed was POWER FOR LEARNING AND GROWING. He promised to send them a professor, a mentor, who would do two primary things. First he would TEACH THEM. In Psalm 32:8 God told David, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Jesus announces the ultimate fulfillment of the promise: “…the Counselor, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things…” Jesus has been the lesson book and the Holy Spirit will now be the teacher to explain the text and make it clear. He will unfold the meaning of Jesus’ words and life on a need to know basis. Whatever the disciples needed to know to better understand and witness for Jesus, the Holy Spirit would teach them. At the moment they could not know or understand Jesus’ Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem, nor His death on the cross, nor His resurrection, nor His ascension, nor Pentecost. As those events occurred, their teacher, the Holy Spirit, would teach, explain, and make them clear.
To put it another way, the Holy Spirit would change the way disciples – including us – perceive and process reality. HE WILL GIVE US THE MIND OF CHRIST, so we can live out the will of God our Father in all things and all circumstances. He will give us discernment. Paul wrote about it in one of his letters to the Corinthian Church (1 Cor. 2: 6-16). “…No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”
In addition to teaching them the Holy Spirit< Jesus said, would REMIND THEM. How many of you can remember what I said last week? (It’s okay to be honest…) What about what I said two weeks ago? Ah, how soon we forget! Well imagine the disciples. They had been listening to Jesus for three years! And now He was dumping all this information on them in such a way that their minds were in a fog. How in the world could they ever remember the many things Jesus taught them? “…the Counselor, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” THE BIBLE IS PROOF THAT JESUS WAS RIGHT. We need to remember that the Gospels were not first books of the New Testament to be written. The disciples hadn’t written down Jesus’ words as He spoke them – they didn’t take minutes. It was at least ten years after Jesus’ life and death that the first Gospel was written; John didn’t write his until 40-50 years later. So how could they remember so much? The Holy Spirit brought to remembrance.
And He stirs our memories as well. The Holy Spirit is the search engine that takes the present moment of our lives and searches for the truth of God that is buried deep within us. Why else is it that a person who is experiencing dementia or Alzheimers can still remember and resonate with Scripture verses and hymns? The Holy Spirit brings to remembrance. As the late Charles Spurgeon put it, “He puts all those old treasures into the ark of our soul, and when the time comes, he opens it, and brings out those precious things in right good order, and shows them to us again and again.” But realize The Spirit can only bring back that which is already stored up within us. Only when we consistently deposit the Word of God, the life of Jesus, into our minds does the Spirit have something to pull from.
The second item Jesus bequeathed was a CAPACITY FOR PEACE. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” Peace is a word with many shades of meaning and understanding. So we need to notice precisely what Jesus said. JESUS GIVES HIS PEACE. It’s the untroubled calm that Jesus was displaying because of His relationship with His Father – a relationship marked by security and love. Consider what Jesus did in the next 24 hours after speaking these words. While dying on a cross He committed His soul to His Father, He left His mother under the care of John, and He forgave the very people who opposed and condemned Him. That’s peace. It’s a fulfillment of the Hebrew word Shalom which meant peace with God, with the world, with others, and with self. That’s Jesus – even on the cross.
I like the derivation of our English word ‘peace’; it comes from a Latin word which mean ‘to fasten – fastening to achieve a stable condition.’ Jesus is not saying peace is available – He’s giving it out. He can do so because of His relationship with those who believe. WE ARE FASTENED TO HIM. (Jn. 6:37) “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (Jn. 10:28) “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Because our peace is fastened to Jesus, it is independent of circumstances. It means we can, as Jesus did, give our lives into the hands and heart of our gracious Father. It means we can live with the certain knowledge that (Rom. 8:28) “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”
JESUS’ PEACE IS A UNIQUE PEACE. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” I frequently see an ad on television which shows two people on a white, sandy beach sipping beer with the sound of lapping waves providing a serene calm. The world sees peace as absence of conflict; Jesus, by contrast, brings peace right in the very middle of conflict. The world depends on personal ability; the Christian depends on spiritual adequacy in Jesus. The world sees peace as something to work for; the Christian receives, by faith, the gift of peace. The world walks by sight and depends upon externals, but Christians walk by faith and depend on the eternals. The world’s peace is built upon treaties and agreements; Christians’ peace is built on the adequacy and strength of Jesus. The world’s peace is always temporary; Jesus peace is permanent.
The apostle Paul inherited Jesus’ peace. In spite of beatings, trials, and intense opposition He was at peace. That’s why we should heed his advice, written while a prisoner awaiting possible death. (Phil. 4:6-7 NLT) “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” PRAY, GIVE THANKS, BE AT PEACE. Pray, give thanks, and God’s peace will guard you heart – will form a garrison around your heart. Listen to how The Message translation puts it: “Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” As Peter wrote the early church (1 Pt. 5:7 Phillips) “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties on Him, for you are His personal concern!” Fasten yourself to Jesus.
Bob Wieland lost both his legs in Vietnam. For an athlete with dreams of a pro sports career, the tragedy was especially difficult to bear. Bob was spared the destruction of bitterness, though, by his reliance on God and His Word. "I do the best I can to apply the Word of God to my life, because I know it works." Bob took God at His Word, casting all his cares on Jesus. He claimed that the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength (1 Cor. 1:25). Maybe that explains why Bob, who walks on his hands, completed the New York and Los Angeles Marathons, the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, a three-year walk across America on a custom-made bicycle, and bench pressed a record 507 pounds. True inner peace comes as a gift from Jesus to those who believe in Him.
The third item Jesus passed on was PROOF FOR BELIEF. (29) “I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” JESUS ACTIONS MATCHED HIS WORDS. Jesus knew that the disciples would not understand and therefore not fully believe, until He completed His mission on earth. So after sharing so much with them in the upper room Jesus headed out to Gethsemane, where He prayed for strength to do the Father’s will, and then to Calvary where He died upon a cross to fulfill the Father’s will. Three days later He rose from the dead. Then He appeared to the disciples and the lights went on! They now understood. They now fully believed in Jesus as the Savior of the world. They now realized that He was, indeed, as Palm Sunday had predicted, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then Jesus ascended to go back to the Father, just as He said He would. Now they understood. Then came the day of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit descended upon them and filled them. Now they understood. With this Counselor, this teacher, this mentor within him, Peter stood up a preached a sermon proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord – and 3,000 people were baptized as they came to believe in Jesus. Now they understood. Jesus had said they would do even greater things than He did – now they understood.
Because BELIEF LEADS TO PEACE, and because proof is what leads to belief John wrote his Gospel. He concludes it by stating (20:30-31) “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” I urge you to believe in Jesus Christ. As He left the upper room with his disciples He said (14: 30) “…the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me.” Indeed, the prince, Satan, won the battle at Calvary – but Jesus won the war! The only true security you can have, the only source of permanent peace you can find, is in Jesus. Jesus Himself put the choice to the disciples, and to us (16:33): “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” The choice is yours. Trouble or peace; anxiety or calm; fear or faith. You have the basis for relief in the inherited gifts of Jesus.
Madeline Rockwell wrote of her grandparents. “My Grandmother was a ball of fire, while Grandpa was slow and deliberate. One night they were awakened by a commotion in the chicken house. Grandma sprang out of bed, ran to the chicken house and found the cause of the racket, a large black snake. Having nothing to dispatch it with, she clamped her bare foot down on its head. There she stood, until Grandpa finally arrived, a good fifteen minutes later. He was fully dressed, and even his pocket watch in place. “Well,” he said cheerfully to my disheveled and enraged grandma, “If I’d known you had him, I wouldn’t have hurried so.”” Jesus has defeated Satan. Satan has no hold on Him. So we have no need to hurry. Fasten yourself to Jesus. Set your troubled heart at rest. “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Let us pray.
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change, He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake To guide the future, as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart, And all is darkened in the vale of tears, Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears. Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay From His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.
