1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,680 Well, would you open your Bible at John’s Gospel and chapter 14? 2 00:00:05,680 –> 00:00:11,060 This is the second of two weeks in this wonderful chapter of Scripture, words that Jesus spoke 3 00:00:11,060 –> 00:00:16,520 when he was walking with his disciples towards the garden of Gethsemane just a few hours 4 00:00:16,520 –> 00:00:20,840 from his arrest, and then his trial, and his crucifixion. 5 00:00:20,840 –> 00:00:26,540 Pivotal moment for our Lord himself, and of course for the disciples as well. 6 00:00:26,620 –> 00:00:32,439 So what Jesus says to the disciples here, and therefore what he says to us here, really 7 00:00:32,439 –> 00:00:38,980 gets to the core of what Christian faith is all about, and so we’re spending these two 8 00:00:38,980 –> 00:00:43,020 weekends in this marvelous passage of Scripture. 9 00:00:43,020 –> 00:00:49,860 I want us to see through this time together how what Jesus promises is really very different 10 00:00:49,900 –> 00:00:56,900 from other brands of faith that some people confuse with authentic Christianity, so we 11 00:00:56,980 –> 00:01:01,860 coined one or two phrases. We’ll add a new one today that I hope are going to be helpful. 12 00:01:01,860 –> 00:01:07,180 If you were here last week, you may recall we talked about orphan faith. Remember that 13 00:01:07,180 –> 00:01:12,739 after three years of following Jesus, the disciples had his teaching. They had seen 14 00:01:12,739 –> 00:01:18,099 his example, and so they would have been in a position to go out into the world and to 15 00:01:18,300 –> 00:01:22,660 Now, this is the greatest teaching this world has ever heard. We have seen the example of 16 00:01:22,660 –> 00:01:28,160 the greatest life that has ever been lived. They would have been in a position to forge 17 00:01:28,160 –> 00:01:34,699 or construct a faith that drew inspiration from the example of Jesus without needing 18 00:01:34,699 –> 00:01:40,879 him actually to be present, and I say that because that is exactly what many people think 19 00:01:40,879 –> 00:01:46,339 Christianity is. They think it is simply an ethic. They think that it is a way of life. 20 00:01:46,540 –> 00:01:51,099 They think that it is simply following the pattern of a certain teaching, and I call 21 00:01:51,099 –> 00:01:57,459 that orphan faith, and we saw from John chapter 14 and verse 18 that it is not Christian faith 22 00:01:57,459 –> 00:02:04,300 because Jesus says, I will not leave you as orphans. He says, I will come to you. And 23 00:02:04,300 –> 00:02:11,000 orphan faith is not real Christianity because it forgets the promise of the resurrection. 24 00:02:11,000 –> 00:02:15,380 The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, real Christianity is more than an ethic. It is 25 00:02:15,539 –> 00:02:20,839 more than a way of life. The risen Lord Jesus Christ promises His presence to you. 26 00:02:20,839 –> 00:02:27,520 Then we looked at a second brand of faith that falls short of authentic Christianity, 27 00:02:27,520 –> 00:02:33,259 and we called it non-invasive faith. And we thought about a situation in which a person 28 00:02:33,259 –> 00:02:38,000 needs to have treatment for a serious illness. And you go to the doctor and he says, well 29 00:02:38,000 –> 00:02:43,160 now I can do surgery. And then he says, but there is also another treatment I can offer 30 00:02:43,440 –> 00:02:47,660 and it’s non-invasive. I think we agreed last week that most of us would want to go 31 00:02:47,660 –> 00:02:53,559 for the non-invasive. Give me non-invasive. Give me minimally invasive, you see. 32 00:02:53,559 –> 00:02:58,259 And there are folks who think about Christian Faith in these terms, too. They see it as 33 00:02:58,259 –> 00:03:03,860 something external to themselves. In other words that it is a creed, that it is a list 34 00:03:03,860 –> 00:03:08,300 of beliefs. Oh yes, I believe that Jesus is God and man and I believe that He died and 35 00:03:08,300 –> 00:03:12,679 yes that He rose again. They believe this but it is somehow outside of them. It remains 36 00:03:12,699 –> 00:03:19,699 external. Non-invasive faith does not cut into the fibre of everyday life. And non-invasive 37 00:03:21,220 –> 00:03:25,940 faith falls short of authentic Christianity because as we saw last week the Lord Jesus 38 00:03:25,940 –> 00:03:32,940 said, The Holy Spirit will live with you and He will be in you. Live with you and be in 39 00:03:33,559 –> 00:03:39,300 you. Well, you can’t get more invasive than that. And so non-invasive faith forgets the 40 00:03:39,559 –> 00:03:44,419 promise of the Holy Spirit, and therefore falls short of true Christianity. Remember 41 00:03:44,419 –> 00:03:51,059 that once for all the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for us on the cross. But on a continuing 42 00:03:51,059 –> 00:03:58,059 basis He gives Himself to his people by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 43 00:03:59,100 –> 00:04:06,119 Today I want to suggest that there is a third brand of faith that also falls short of authentic 44 00:04:06,559 –> 00:04:12,059 Christianity, and it causes confusion for people. I am going to call this trouble-free 45 00:04:12,059 –> 00:04:19,059 faith. Trouble-free faith very simply claims more than Jesus has promised in this world. 46 00:04:21,880 –> 00:04:26,579 If you have a television, as the vast majority of us I am sure have, you will know all about 47 00:04:26,579 –> 00:04:31,679 this. If you have seen religious programming, you will have seen religious teachers who 48 00:04:31,980 –> 00:04:38,119 will speak like this, they will say, you know anything is possible for you in this world 49 00:04:38,119 –> 00:04:44,079 if you just have enough faith. If you have the faith, there is a healing that is there 50 00:04:44,079 –> 00:04:49,040 for you. If you have the faith, prosperity will come to you and be yours and so forth 51 00:04:49,040 –> 00:04:56,040 and so on. And trouble-free faith really holds out the idea that there is a life of unclouded 52 00:04:56,279 –> 00:05:03,279 joy for you and for your family in this world, and that it is there for the taking if only 53 00:05:05,420 –> 00:05:09,559 you have the faith to grasp it. 54 00:05:09,559 –> 00:05:14,279 Now of course this kind of trouble-free faith has immense appeal. All of us want to live 55 00:05:14,279 –> 00:05:18,760 long and happy and successful lives. All of us want our children and our loved ones to 56 00:05:18,760 –> 00:05:22,760 be healthy and happy and so forth, and so there is an instinct within us that says well 57 00:05:22,760 –> 00:05:28,640 now how could God want anything other than that for us as well? 58 00:05:28,640 –> 00:05:35,160 Trouble-free faith is with us in other ways. When it has a social conscience, when it appeals 59 00:05:35,160 –> 00:05:41,000 to the church as a body, when it comes to us and challenges us about our life in this 60 00:05:41,000 –> 00:05:46,579 world it speaks like this, it says now if we would just all live our faith. If we would 61 00:05:46,640 –> 00:05:53,640 just all go out there and live our faith, this world could be completely different. 62 00:05:55,200 –> 00:05:59,799 In other words trouble-free faith challenges the people of God and promises to the people 63 00:05:59,799 –> 00:06:06,799 of God that if we just rise to it somehow we can bring the life of heaven to earth. 64 00:06:07,720 –> 00:06:14,160 In other words it claims more than Jesus has promised to us in this world. 65 00:06:14,839 –> 00:06:20,540 Now, trouble-free faith has always been lurking there and causing confusion among Christian 66 00:06:20,540 –> 00:06:24,380 people – right back to the times of the New Testament. 67 00:06:24,380 –> 00:06:28,459 In 1 John, in the first letter of John, the Apostle has to write to certain people who 68 00:06:28,459 –> 00:06:32,179 were deceived by this. He says in 1 John 1.8, 69 00:06:39,540 –> 00:06:44,140 In other words, if someone grasps on to the idea that we can grow in holiness 70 00:06:44,200 –> 00:06:49,160 to the point where we no longer are battling with sin and somehow get beyond it in our 71 00:06:49,160 –> 00:06:54,700 sanctification, John says, well, if you think like that you really are deceived. 72 00:06:54,700 –> 00:06:58,720 And whatever kind of faith you have, it may be very sincere – it’s not Christian faith 73 00:06:58,720 –> 00:07:02,839 because he says the truth is not in us. 74 00:07:02,839 –> 00:07:07,660 Another example of this kind of trouble-free faith would be – it arose in Corinth – when 75 00:07:07,660 –> 00:07:14,600 Paul writes to 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 8, he says with some irony to some of the 76 00:07:14,600 –> 00:07:21,600 folks in the congregation there, he says, now, already you are kings. 77 00:07:21,600 –> 00:07:25,540 You see what he’s saying there, he’s saying, you know, you seem to have the idea a king 78 00:07:25,540 –> 00:07:29,799 has all power, has all authority, can do anything he wants. 79 00:07:29,799 –> 00:07:34,839 And it seems, Paul is saying that some of you think that you’re there already. 80 00:07:35,000 –> 00:07:40,420 And he says, how I wish that this was true, this is 1 Corinthians 4.8 and 4.9, how I wish 81 00:07:40,420 –> 00:07:44,720 that you really were kings, he says, so that we might be kings with you, because he says, 82 00:07:44,720 –> 00:07:50,019 it seems to me that God has placed us apostles at the end of the procession, and we’re dragging 83 00:07:50,019 –> 00:07:54,200 along as it were like men condemned to die in the arena. 84 00:07:54,200 –> 00:08:02,720 Now, the issue with trouble freefaith, that falls short of authentic Christianity, because 85 00:08:03,100 –> 00:08:07,380 just as orphaned faith forgets the promise of the resurrection, and just as non-invasive 86 00:08:07,380 –> 00:08:13,459 faith forgets the promise of the Holy Spirit, trouble free faith forgets the promise of 87 00:08:13,459 –> 00:08:17,200 Jesus’ second coming. 88 00:08:17,200 –> 00:08:21,100 That’s our focus today, but I did want us to see the big picture. 89 00:08:21,100 –> 00:08:26,720 In this critical hour when Jesus right before his arrest is speaking about the things that 90 00:08:27,720 –> 00:08:29,660 most with his disciples. 91 00:08:29,660 –> 00:08:35,020 He’s getting to the core of what Christian faith in this world is really all about, he 92 00:08:35,020 –> 00:08:42,020 grounds their faith in three promises, the promise of the resurrection, I will not leave 93 00:08:42,780 –> 00:08:48,400 you as orphans. I will come to you, verse 18, the promise of the Holy Spirit, He will 94 00:08:48,400 –> 00:08:54,159 live with you and He will be in you, verse 17, and the promise of the return of our Lord 95 00:08:54,479 –> 00:08:59,760 Jesus Christ, verse three, which we look at today, I will come back and I will take you 96 00:08:59,760 –> 00:09:04,739 to be with me that you also may be where I am. 97 00:09:04,739 –> 00:09:11,260 These three promises, absolutely central to authentic Christian faith. The promise of 98 00:09:11,260 –> 00:09:16,200 the resurrection. The promise of the Holy Spirit. The promise of the second coming. 99 00:09:16,200 –> 00:09:18,979 No true Christianity without them. 100 00:09:19,299 –> 00:09:21,659 Now, we’re going to look at the promise 101 00:09:21,659 –> 00:09:28,960 of Jesus’ return today, and I want us to see three things. First, that Jesus confronts 102 00:09:28,960 –> 00:09:38,520 us with the reality of life in this world. Second, that Jesus establishes our hope, not 103 00:09:38,520 –> 00:09:46,440 here in this world, but in another world. And third, that Jesus calls us to faith in 104 00:09:47,159 –> 00:09:52,500 himself. Well, let’s begin then with Jesus confronts us with the reality of life, and 105 00:09:52,500 –> 00:09:59,820 I want us to see what was happening just before Jesus spoke these words in John 14. You know 106 00:09:59,820 –> 00:10:05,400 that folks who are cynical about Christianity often make the accusation that Christianity 107 00:10:05,400 –> 00:10:10,960 is just a crutch for weak people. You know, if you can’t really face the realities of 108 00:10:10,960 –> 00:10:16,000 life, then religion will give you something that you can lean on. In fact, true Christianity 109 00:10:16,080 –> 00:10:24,880 is entirely the opposite. If you follow Christ, he will confront you with the truth about 110 00:10:24,880 –> 00:10:30,679 yourself, about other people, and about the world in which you live. He will confront 111 00:10:30,679 –> 00:10:38,219 you with truth that most people spend a large part of their lives avoiding. And this is 112 00:10:38,219 –> 00:10:43,520 exactly what was happening in the upper room when the disciples met with Jesus for the 113 00:10:43,599 –> 00:10:49,979 last supper. Jesus confronted Peter with the reality of his own failure. At the end of 114 00:10:49,979 –> 00:10:57,280 John 13, the situation was very clear. Peter had come a long way in following Jesus. I 115 00:10:57,280 –> 00:11:03,159 mean, he had been the one that confessed that Jesus is the Christ. He’d gone up the mountain 116 00:11:03,159 –> 00:11:09,559 with James and John and Jesus and he had seen the transfigured glory of the Lord. His faith 117 00:11:09,559 –> 00:11:17,419 was riding high. He was making progress. Things were moving forward for him and when Jesus 118 00:11:17,419 –> 00:11:25,840 spoke about the cross, chapter 13, verse 33, he says, now where I’m going, you cannot come. 119 00:11:25,840 –> 00:11:30,039 But verse 37, Peter says, Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I’m ready to lay down my 120 00:11:30,039 –> 00:11:36,880 life for you. Peter feels that he’s strong enough to take a real stand for Jesus Christ 121 00:11:37,880 –> 00:11:43,659 moment even as it is Christ’s. And Jesus says, verse 38, you know this well. 122 00:11:43,659 –> 00:11:48,340 Will you really lay down your life for me, Peter? I tell you the truth, before the rooster 123 00:11:48,340 –> 00:11:57,340 crows, you will disown me three times. And a few hours later when Jesus is arrested and 124 00:11:57,340 –> 00:12:02,280 Peter follows at a distance up to the courtyard and a servant girl says to him, aren’t you 125 00:12:02,340 –> 00:12:06,900 he laid down his life for me, one of those who was with Jesus, Peter denied three times 126 00:12:06,900 –> 00:12:12,140 that he had ever known his Lord. In other words, what’s happening here is 127 00:12:12,140 –> 00:12:16,400 Jesus is saying to Peter, you’re going to discover you’re not the man you think you 128 00:12:16,400 –> 00:12:23,640 are. Here he is with making progress in following Jesus, feeling so strong, but suddenly he 129 00:12:23,640 –> 00:12:31,239 finds his feet of clay and his whole evaluation of himself suddenly changes. And don’t we 130 00:12:31,239 –> 00:12:36,840 all know this in our lives, don’t we know this so many times. You know, you’re doing 131 00:12:36,840 –> 00:12:41,599 well, you’re making progress, you’re praying more, you feel you’re exercising some faith, 132 00:12:41,599 –> 00:12:48,940 studying the Bible, growing in confidence and then suddenly you say something so foolish 133 00:12:48,940 –> 00:12:54,539 or you do something you should know you should never have done and suddenly you see again 134 00:12:54,539 –> 00:13:03,940 with fresh clarity, your own feet of clay, sin had a way of humbling all of us. After 135 00:13:03,940 –> 00:13:10,780 so long I’ve let my Lord down again, and after all these years of being a Christian why is 136 00:13:10,780 –> 00:13:17,219 it that I have not progressed further than this? Now Jesus is confronting, Peter, this 137 00:13:17,219 –> 00:13:23,500 reality that we all know in our own lives, the reality of our own personal failure and 138 00:13:23,500 –> 00:13:27,559 ways in which we fail our Lord. 139 00:13:27,559 –> 00:13:31,700 And along with that, there was a second thing happening in the upper room that was to do 140 00:13:31,700 –> 00:13:36,880 with great disappointment for the disciples. These men had been with Jesus, they had left 141 00:13:36,880 –> 00:13:41,539 everything and as a team, they had followed Jesus for the last three years, they had bonded 142 00:13:41,539 –> 00:13:45,380 together, they loved each other, they had gone out on mission, they had served, there 143 00:13:45,380 –> 00:13:51,119 was a camaraderie between them, a depth of relationship and bond. And then in the last 144 00:13:51,320 –> 00:13:58,320 Jesus says to that group, now one of you is going to betray me. 145 00:13:59,179 –> 00:14:04,159 And Mark records that when Jesus said that, with sadness, they all, one after the other, 146 00:14:04,159 –> 00:14:11,159 began to say, Lord, is it me? It’s very interesting that not a single one of the disciples said, 147 00:14:12,719 –> 00:14:19,320 Lord, is it Judas? You know, when you look at Christian art and you see pictures of the 148 00:14:19,700 –> 00:14:25,159 disciples, you think you can usually work out which one is Judas. He kinda looks a bit shifty, 149 00:14:25,159 –> 00:14:29,440 you know? He’s a bit dark under the eyes and all this kind of thing. You say, I know which 150 00:14:29,440 –> 00:14:33,900 one’s Judas there, but you know it wasn’t like that. 151 00:14:36,059 –> 00:14:40,280 None of the disciples imagined for a moment 152 00:14:40,280 –> 00:14:47,280 that their friend Judas could betray the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you imagine? 153 00:14:48,159 –> 00:14:51,299 Judas! Whoever would’ve thought that Judas would do 154 00:14:51,299 –> 00:14:58,299 a thing like that? Our friend! Who we were on mission with! And if that can happen to 155 00:15:03,059 –> 00:15:09,260 him, what does that mean for me? All the insecurity that comes in a situation like that. 156 00:15:09,260 –> 00:15:14,500 When someone you love, someone you respect, someone you look up to, walks 157 00:15:14,760 –> 00:15:21,760 away from Christ, falls into sin in a flagrant way. Boy, it’s heartbreaking and it rocks 158 00:15:23,940 –> 00:15:30,619 everybody’s confidence. And on top of that, Jesus had just told them chapter 13 in verse 159 00:15:30,619 –> 00:15:36,580 33, my little children I will be with you only a little longer. So these men have committed 160 00:15:36,580 –> 00:15:40,520 three years in which their lives have been built around the Lord Jesus Christ, and now 161 00:15:41,239 –> 00:15:47,960 he is going to be taken from them just a few hours from then. And so Jesus is now confronting 162 00:15:47,960 –> 00:16:00,859 these folks with the realities of life, failure, disappointment and loss. These are the realities. 163 00:16:00,859 –> 00:16:07,859 Now that of course was 2000 years ago, and our world of course is very different from 164 00:16:08,479 –> 00:16:13,340 the world in which the disciples lived when Jesus met with them in the upper room. I’ve 165 00:16:13,340 –> 00:16:18,219 been thinking in my mind, what would it be like if Peter could be translated sort of 166 00:16:18,219 –> 00:16:23,340 Star Trek-like, you know, as a time traveler from the first century to join us just for 167 00:16:23,340 –> 00:16:27,340 one day here in 21st century America. 168 00:16:27,340 –> 00:16:31,799 And can you imagine, you know, Peter kind of suddenly arrives, he’s being transported 169 00:16:31,799 –> 00:16:40,020 across time and you are given the privilege of giving him a one day tour of Chicago. 170 00:16:40,020 –> 00:16:43,260 So you say, oh Peter, wow, it’s wonderful to meet you. 171 00:16:43,260 –> 00:16:45,219 We’ve been reading your letter in the New Testament. 172 00:16:45,219 –> 00:16:49,940 We know all about you and marvelous to welcome you to 20th century Chicago. 173 00:16:49,940 –> 00:16:51,140 You come and get in my car. 174 00:16:51,140 –> 00:16:53,260 And he looks at your vehicle and what’s this? 175 00:16:53,260 –> 00:16:58,260 And you said to him, oh Peter, I use this instead of a donkey. 176 00:16:58,260 –> 00:16:59,260 Okay. 177 00:16:59,260 –> 00:17:04,719 But as you get into your car, you know, your cell phone rings and Peter says, what all 178 00:17:04,719 –> 00:17:05,819 in the world is that? 179 00:17:05,819 –> 00:17:09,140 And you say, oh, this is my iPhone. 180 00:17:09,140 –> 00:17:13,300 And you try to explain it to him, it’s almost impossible to explain this to him. 181 00:17:13,300 –> 00:17:18,660 He sees your email in there and he says, how do they get the scrolls so small that they 182 00:17:18,660 –> 00:17:20,599 go in there? 183 00:17:20,599 –> 00:17:26,540 And then you take him into the city and you take him to one of our marvelous city hospitals. 184 00:17:26,579 –> 00:17:33,400 You show him the radiology unit and you say to him, Peter, in 21st century America, this 185 00:17:33,400 –> 00:17:37,540 is how we help people who are sick. 186 00:17:37,540 –> 00:17:43,420 And then you take him to the university campus and you show him the facilities for education 187 00:17:43,420 –> 00:17:50,640 and people from all over the world and the vastness of intercultural dynamics of learning. 188 00:17:50,640 –> 00:17:54,839 And then you think, boy, it’s the afternoon and we’ve only got one day, and it’s Peter 189 00:17:54,839 –> 00:17:56,079 I’m showing around. 190 00:17:56,160 –> 00:17:59,959 I suppose I’d better show him some churches because I guess he’d be interested in that. 191 00:17:59,959 –> 00:18:04,800 So you say, Peter, let me show you around some of the churches and the Christian ministries 192 00:18:04,800 –> 00:18:06,280 in Chicago. 193 00:18:06,280 –> 00:18:10,540 And you take him around as many churches as you can fit in in the afternoon. 194 00:18:10,540 –> 00:18:13,420 You take him to see some of the Christian ministries. 195 00:18:13,420 –> 00:18:21,599 You take him to see Christian institutions and seminaries serving thousands and thousands 196 00:18:21,599 –> 00:18:22,760 of people. 197 00:18:22,760 –> 00:18:26,000 And Peter says, this is amazing. 198 00:18:26,099 –> 00:18:31,500 Your world is completely different, we didn’t have anything remotely like this. 199 00:18:31,500 –> 00:18:36,400 And then he says, let me ask you a couple questions. 200 00:18:36,400 –> 00:18:45,079 Are there any folks in this city with its marvelous facilities who have experienced 201 00:18:45,079 –> 00:18:50,319 the loss of someone they love like we did? 202 00:18:50,439 –> 00:18:58,680 Are there any folks in these marvelous Christian institutions that you have that feel disappointed 203 00:18:58,680 –> 00:19:03,719 in others, let down, even betrayed, like we did? 204 00:19:03,719 –> 00:19:11,119 Are there any folks in these great churches that you’ve been showing me? 205 00:19:11,119 –> 00:19:16,099 Any folks who have been humbled by their own sins and who grieve over failing their Lord 206 00:19:16,099 –> 00:19:17,459 like I did? 207 00:19:18,359 –> 00:19:27,280 And do you know what, I think when the tour was over Peter would be saying to you and 208 00:19:27,280 –> 00:19:38,660 to me, your world is completely different and yet it is exactly the same. 209 00:19:38,660 –> 00:19:41,979 See, the world never changes. 210 00:19:41,979 –> 00:19:46,839 Failure, disappointment, loss. 211 00:19:46,839 –> 00:19:55,140 What is the experience of life in this world, wherever you are in any continent, and wherever 212 00:19:55,140 –> 00:20:00,640 you’re placed in the line of human history in any century? 213 00:20:00,640 –> 00:20:05,160 We can’t educate out of that. 214 00:20:05,160 –> 00:20:10,000 Prosperity doesn’t lift us beyond that. 215 00:20:10,000 –> 00:20:14,599 The experience of failure and disappointment and loss that is woven into the fabric of 216 00:20:14,599 –> 00:20:21,260 this world, transcends economic circumstances, transcends educational opportunities. 217 00:20:21,260 –> 00:20:23,560 It transcends everything that makes us different. 218 00:20:23,560 –> 00:20:29,239 It is the nature of life in this world. 219 00:20:29,239 –> 00:20:34,020 Jesus confronts His disciples with the reality of life. 220 00:20:34,020 –> 00:20:37,380 No escapism in authentic Christianity. 221 00:20:37,380 –> 00:20:39,959 No sentimentality here. 222 00:20:40,739 –> 00:20:47,199 He sits with them in the upper room and they’re face to face with the realities of life, failure, 223 00:20:47,199 –> 00:20:52,900 disappointment, and loss. 224 00:20:52,900 –> 00:20:55,239 Now that’s the first thing that’s very important for us to grasp. 225 00:20:55,239 –> 00:20:57,380 Here’s the second. 226 00:20:57,400 –> 00:21:04,540 As Jesus confronts them with the reality of life, the reality of our life, He establishes 227 00:21:04,540 –> 00:21:09,640 their hope and our hope in another world. 228 00:21:09,640 –> 00:21:14,180 Now what is Jesus going to say to us about living in this world of failure and disappointment 229 00:21:14,180 –> 00:21:15,219 and loss? 230 00:21:15,219 –> 00:21:18,939 Well let’s take it up in John 14 in these familiar words. 231 00:21:18,939 –> 00:21:22,579 Jesus has confronted them with the reality, now what will He say about it? 232 00:21:22,579 –> 00:21:23,819 He says this, 233 00:21:34,199 –> 00:21:36,500 Now look at what He says, 234 00:21:40,459 –> 00:21:43,400 There are many rooms. 235 00:21:43,400 –> 00:21:45,239 Now folks this is astonishing. 236 00:21:45,239 –> 00:21:51,140 Jesus has been talking about the realities of our life and experience in this world and 237 00:21:51,140 –> 00:21:57,099 He calls us to trust Him in regard to a promise that relates to another world. 238 00:21:57,099 –> 00:21:59,339 Do you see that? 239 00:21:59,339 –> 00:22:04,959 When Jesus says do not let your hearts be troubled, He’s not saying look do not let 240 00:22:04,959 –> 00:22:09,979 your hearts be troubled because I will make this world a better place for you. 241 00:22:09,979 –> 00:22:15,239 He’s not saying you will see that over millennia as education improves and health improves 242 00:22:15,239 –> 00:22:20,579 and longevity improves you will find people grow out of this experience of failure and 243 00:22:20,579 –> 00:22:21,719 disappointment and loss. 244 00:22:21,719 –> 00:22:24,920 He’s not saying that. 245 00:22:24,920 –> 00:22:28,520 He’s not saying as you become a more mature Christian if you pray more if you grow in 246 00:22:28,520 –> 00:22:33,479 your sanctification, if you gain a deeper knowledge of the Bible that your experience 247 00:22:33,500 –> 00:22:36,540 of failure and disappointment and loss will somehow recede. 248 00:22:36,560 –> 00:22:38,739 He’s not saying that. 249 00:22:39,680 –> 00:22:43,479 This fallen world will always be what it is. 250 00:22:43,479 –> 00:22:45,599 The fallen world. 251 00:22:45,599 –> 00:22:50,520 And with all of its blessings and with all of its joys, our experience of life in this 252 00:22:50,520 –> 00:22:51,819 world is scarred. 253 00:22:51,819 –> 00:22:56,880 It is scarred with failure, it is scarred with disappointment, and it is scarred with 254 00:22:56,880 –> 00:22:58,119 loss. 255 00:22:58,140 –> 00:23:04,219 And so Jesus, confronting us with that reality, establishes our hope not in this world but 256 00:23:04,219 –> 00:23:06,459 in another world. 257 00:23:06,459 –> 00:23:10,880 That is telling us clearly that sin and disappointment and loss are woven into the fabric of life 258 00:23:10,880 –> 00:23:16,920 in this world, and any attempt to suggest that somehow we can move beyond them is naive 259 00:23:16,920 –> 00:23:21,260 at the best and deceptive at the worst. 260 00:23:21,959 –> 00:23:33,300 Now grasping this truth will bring stability to your faith, and this is why it is so important. 261 00:23:33,300 –> 00:23:45,680 See my burden today is that some Christians really are thrown too easily into confusion. 262 00:23:46,599 –> 00:23:54,260 They feel that having faith in Christ somehow they should be insulated from failure, insulated 263 00:23:54,260 –> 00:23:58,339 from disappointment, and insulated from loss. 264 00:23:58,339 –> 00:24:04,459 And so when a crisis comes, either in their own life or in the wider world, they lose 265 00:24:04,459 –> 00:24:09,420 their moorings, their adrift. 266 00:24:09,420 –> 00:24:12,540 The foundation of their faith seem to be completely shaken. 267 00:24:12,560 –> 00:24:17,839 They lose themselves immediately in questioning you know how could God possibly allow this 268 00:24:17,839 –> 00:24:20,800 to happen. 269 00:24:20,800 –> 00:24:25,099 If that’s you, if that’s the pattern of your life that you’re always being cut adrift whenever 270 00:24:25,099 –> 00:24:31,119 something goes wrong in your life or something goes wrong in the world, let me try and help 271 00:24:31,119 –> 00:24:34,699 you. 272 00:24:34,760 –> 00:24:44,119 Where did you get the idea that if you follow Jesus you can expect a life that is free from 273 00:24:44,119 –> 00:24:45,839 failure, disappointment and loss? 274 00:24:45,839 –> 00:24:49,020 Where did you get that idea? 275 00:24:49,020 –> 00:24:54,119 Did your Lord not say precisely the opposite? 276 00:24:54,119 –> 00:25:00,680 Did your Lord not say there will be wars and rumors of wars? 277 00:25:00,680 –> 00:25:02,079 Did he not say that? 278 00:25:02,079 –> 00:25:04,479 Did he not say there will be earthquakes? 279 00:25:04,479 –> 00:25:07,839 Did he not say there will be calamities? 280 00:25:07,839 –> 00:25:13,400 Did he not say to his own disciples, that is to us who follow him, trust him, did he 281 00:25:13,400 –> 00:25:18,579 not say to his own disciples in this world you will have trouble? 282 00:25:18,579 –> 00:25:20,400 That’s John 16.33. 283 00:25:20,400 –> 00:25:23,280 Did he not say that? 284 00:25:23,280 –> 00:25:26,859 See, Jesus confronts his disciples. 285 00:25:26,859 –> 00:25:29,359 He confronts us with the realities of life. 286 00:25:29,359 –> 00:25:35,260 He says in this world, you who trust me, you who love me, you who follow me, you will have 287 00:25:35,260 –> 00:25:36,260 trouble. 288 00:25:36,260 –> 00:25:37,260 Please understand this. 289 00:25:37,260 –> 00:25:43,040 And so he establishes our hope not in this world, but in another world. 290 00:25:43,040 –> 00:25:50,040 Now, that is critical to the stability of your faith. 291 00:25:50,040 –> 00:25:56,719 See if your hope is established in this world, you will be shattered by failure and disappointment 292 00:25:56,719 –> 00:25:58,719 and loss. 293 00:25:58,719 –> 00:26:05,439 If your hope is in this world, what will you do when you experience a loss that can never 294 00:26:05,439 –> 00:26:08,000 be replaced in this life? 295 00:26:08,000 –> 00:26:12,119 If your hope is in this world, what will you do when you experience a disappointment that 296 00:26:12,119 –> 00:26:14,719 lasts a lifetime? 297 00:26:14,719 –> 00:26:20,199 If your hope is in this world, what will you do when you hit a failure that changes long 298 00:26:20,199 –> 00:26:22,040 term the course of your life? 299 00:26:22,800 –> 00:26:31,800 Now, you see Jesus is establishing his disciples in this critical moment in a faith that can 300 00:26:31,800 –> 00:26:39,380 endure through the misery of personal failure, a faith that can survive the gut-wrenching 301 00:26:39,380 –> 00:26:46,839 pain of disappointment, a faith that will be able to stand through the experience of 302 00:26:46,839 –> 00:26:50,660 an irreplaceable loss. 303 00:26:50,699 –> 00:26:54,099 … And to do that, there’s only one way in which that can be established. 304 00:26:54,099 –> 00:26:59,359 That faith has to be established in a hope that is not in this world, but is in a world 305 00:26:59,359 –> 00:27:01,140 to come. 306 00:27:01,140 –> 00:27:02,520 And that is core to the gospel. 307 00:27:02,520 –> 00:27:09,439 That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians in chapter 15, he says, if we have only hoped 308 00:27:09,439 –> 00:27:18,260 in Jesus Christ for this life, then we are more to be pitied than all men. 309 00:27:18,260 –> 00:27:22,619 And he goes on to say, here’s our hope, that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. 310 00:27:22,619 –> 00:27:27,400 Our hope is that He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 311 00:27:27,400 –> 00:27:32,959 So as Jesus confronts us now with the painful realities of life in this world, unavoidable 312 00:27:32,959 –> 00:27:37,119 in every culture, whether you are a Christian or whether you are not a Christian, it’s the 313 00:27:37,119 –> 00:27:39,359 universal experience of life. 314 00:27:39,359 –> 00:27:41,079 In this world, you will have trouble. 315 00:27:41,079 –> 00:27:42,900 You will experience your own failure. 316 00:27:42,900 –> 00:27:47,540 You will be disappointed with other people, and you will experience loss. 317 00:27:47,540 –> 00:27:49,300 That’s what it’s like in this world. 318 00:27:49,300 –> 00:27:53,599 Now Jesus says, your hope therefore must be established not in this world but in another 319 00:27:53,599 –> 00:27:59,500 world and Jesus’ answer to our experience of failure, disappointment and loss lies in 320 00:27:59,500 –> 00:28:02,180 the Father’s house. 321 00:28:02,180 –> 00:28:05,459 That is what we learn from these words in John 14. 322 00:28:07,199 –> 00:28:11,239 If you’re struggling with that you maybe say, yeah, but don’t we have the Holy Spirit now? 323 00:28:11,239 –> 00:28:12,920 Isn’t that what we were saying last week? 324 00:28:12,920 –> 00:28:15,180 Yes, praise God, we do. 325 00:28:16,140 –> 00:28:22,040 But remember that the Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. 326 00:28:22,040 –> 00:28:27,219 It has mortgage language, a deposit, what’s to come. 327 00:28:27,219 –> 00:28:29,459 Paul says the Holy Spirit is the deposit. 328 00:28:29,459 –> 00:28:33,260 In other words everything that you know of Jesus right now, all your joy in Him, all 329 00:28:33,260 –> 00:28:40,239 the sanctification of the Holy Spirit is a small beginning, a down payment of what will 330 00:28:40,560 –> 00:28:49,140 be yours in the presence of Christ with unclouded joy for all eternity. 331 00:28:49,140 –> 00:28:52,920 Your hope is established in another world. 332 00:28:52,920 –> 00:28:56,280 Therefore I have to see my life in this world as a journey. 333 00:28:56,280 –> 00:28:57,280 I am a pilgrim. 334 00:28:57,280 –> 00:29:00,640 I do not belong here in a permanent way. 335 00:29:00,640 –> 00:29:05,839 My life is hidden with Christ in God, and what happens to me here including the failure 336 00:29:06,000 –> 00:29:13,619 and the disappointment and the loss is the stuff in which God works preparing me for 337 00:29:13,619 –> 00:29:16,760 the Father’s house. 338 00:29:16,760 –> 00:29:19,160 So Jesus confronts us with the realities of life. 339 00:29:19,160 –> 00:29:25,199 Isn’t it good that in real Christian faith there’s absolutely no escapism, and Jesus 340 00:29:25,199 –> 00:29:28,520 establishes our hope not here but in another world. 341 00:29:28,520 –> 00:29:33,920 Isn’t it good that in real Christian faith there’s no naive optimism, no sentimentality, 342 00:29:33,920 –> 00:29:35,280 no fluff? 343 00:29:35,760 –> 00:29:38,060 Jesus talks reality. 344 00:29:38,060 –> 00:29:44,260 To establish His disciples in a faith that will stand in everything that life will throw 345 00:29:44,260 –> 00:29:45,800 at them. 346 00:29:45,800 –> 00:29:47,359 Then here’s the last thing. 347 00:29:47,359 –> 00:29:50,800 Jesus calls us to faith in Himself. 348 00:29:50,800 –> 00:29:54,719 For that reason whatever the difficulties and the pressures we face in this world, whatever 349 00:29:54,719 –> 00:30:00,680 our own failures, whatever our disappointment or loss, there is no reason to despair. 350 00:30:00,959 –> 00:30:04,180 Christ calls us to faith in Himself. 351 00:30:04,180 –> 00:30:11,199 I try to picture Jesus walking with the disciples. 352 00:30:11,199 –> 00:30:15,880 He’s confronted them with these realities of their failure. 353 00:30:15,880 –> 00:30:19,660 So that disappointment with Judas and now he said I’m only gonna be with you just a 354 00:30:19,660 –> 00:30:22,479 few more hours. 355 00:30:22,479 –> 00:30:24,699 And then must he not have turned to them. 356 00:30:24,699 –> 00:30:29,900 I picture the piercing eyes of Jesus as best I can, looking into the very souls of these 357 00:30:30,420 –> 00:30:34,380 men, and saying, now do not let your heart be troubled. 358 00:30:34,380 –> 00:30:35,640 You trust in God. 359 00:30:35,640 –> 00:30:36,640 You trust me. 360 00:30:36,640 –> 00:30:38,040 You trust me. 361 00:30:38,040 –> 00:30:41,479 He’s calling them to faith. 362 00:30:41,479 –> 00:30:48,000 And in particular he calls them to faith in this, he says in my father’s house there are 363 00:30:48,000 –> 00:30:49,000 many rooms. 364 00:30:49,000 –> 00:30:54,160 And of course he’s talking about heaven from where he came and to where he would shortly 365 00:30:54,160 –> 00:30:55,239 return. 366 00:30:55,400 –> 00:31:00,180 And he says to them, you trust me here, there is room for you there. 367 00:31:00,180 –> 00:31:02,020 There’s room for you there. 368 00:31:02,020 –> 00:31:07,780 And I just love the fact that when Jesus speaks about heaven, the image he chooses to convey 369 00:31:07,780 –> 00:31:12,520 its wonderful reality to us as he talks about it as home. 370 00:31:12,520 –> 00:31:15,459 The father’s house. 371 00:31:15,459 –> 00:31:18,140 He’s saying to his disciples, now you trust me. 372 00:31:18,140 –> 00:31:24,380 You’ll be more at home in my Father’s house than you have been at any place in your life 373 00:31:24,380 –> 00:31:29,280 or any other time in your life. 374 00:31:29,280 –> 00:31:35,859 And then the Lord Jesus says this, he says, I go to prepare a place for you. 375 00:31:35,859 –> 00:31:41,479 Now please don’t have in your mind the idea that Jesus is somehow working around the clock 376 00:31:41,479 –> 00:31:44,699 to try and get heaven ready in time for us to go there. 377 00:31:44,699 –> 00:31:45,900 That’s not what he is saying here. 378 00:31:45,900 –> 00:31:50,619 You know when you have guests, you know if you have a room that has to be ready for a 379 00:31:50,619 –> 00:31:52,339 guest, is it like this in your home, you know? 380 00:31:53,219 –> 00:31:53,939 Oh, we better get it all tidied up. 381 00:31:53,939 –> 00:31:55,660 Get it all organized because they’re coming. 382 00:31:55,660 –> 00:31:56,979 Oh, when are they coming? 383 00:31:56,979 –> 00:31:59,500 That is not how the Lord Jesus is preparing heaven. 384 00:31:59,500 –> 00:32:01,959 Listen, he creates the cosmos with a word. 385 00:32:01,959 –> 00:32:06,199 He can get heaven ready for believers in a single command. 386 00:32:06,199 –> 00:32:11,000 So, someone said to me last night, you know, I’ve heard preaching about how Jesus was a 387 00:32:11,000 –> 00:32:16,260 carpenter and he’s been doing all this carpentry for 2000 years in order to get… 388 00:32:16,260 –> 00:32:18,500 I said, forget that, forget that. 389 00:32:18,500 –> 00:32:22,219 Listen, the Son of God’s not struggling to make heaven ready for you. 390 00:32:22,260 –> 00:32:24,219 What’s he saying? 391 00:32:24,280 –> 00:32:32,660 When he says, I go to prepare a place for you, it means that through his going, the 392 00:32:32,660 –> 00:32:9,180 place is prepared and where is he going? 393 00:32:39,180 –> 00:32:41,819 He’s going to the cross. 394 00:32:41,819 –> 00:32:44,699 He’s going to the grave. 395 00:32:44,699 –> 00:32:46,780 He’s going to die. 396 00:32:46,780 –> 00:32:48,099 He is going to rise. 397 00:32:48,099 –> 00:32:51,300 He is going to ascend to the right hand of the Father. 398 00:32:51,459 –> 00:32:56,219 What he’s saying is this, through his dying, and through his rising and through his ascending, 399 00:32:56,219 –> 00:33:00,219 he opens the way for the disciples into glory. 400 00:33:00,219 –> 00:33:03,219 That’s how the place is prepared. 401 00:33:03,219 –> 00:33:05,420 That’s why he says, don’t you be troubled. 402 00:33:05,420 –> 00:33:09,540 I’m going from you now but I’m going into death and through death and I’m going to come 403 00:33:09,540 –> 00:33:14,300 out of death and in this way heaven will be opened to you. 404 00:33:14,300 –> 00:33:16,140 It’s marvelous. 405 00:33:17,140 –> 00:33:21,260 I was thinking about this after watching the Super Bowl last Sunday. 406 00:33:21,260 –> 00:33:24,140 Boy, that was a good game wasn’t it? 407 00:33:24,140 –> 00:33:28,599 Now, my imagination, come with me on this. 408 00:33:28,599 –> 00:33:36,219 You imagine yourself on the field, in the Super Bowl, and amazingly the ball comes over 409 00:33:36,219 –> 00:33:39,939 and it’s in your hand. 410 00:33:39,939 –> 00:33:44,060 For one moment right there in the Super Bowl, 30 yards in front of you, you see the goal 411 00:33:44,180 –> 00:33:48,540 line, and all the crowd are cheering and the glory of it all. 412 00:33:48,540 –> 00:33:58,319 You begin to move, and as you move, there in front of you are these defensive linemen. 413 00:33:58,319 –> 00:34:04,699 Huge guys, and they’re looking right at you. 414 00:34:04,699 –> 00:34:10,219 You read the names on their helmets in that moment. 415 00:34:10,219 –> 00:34:13,179 One of them is called Law. 416 00:34:13,179 –> 00:34:15,860 Another one’s called Sin. 417 00:34:15,860 –> 00:34:20,199 Another one’s called Death, and behind them there’s another one bigger and meaner and 418 00:34:20,199 –> 00:34:22,340 uglier than them all. 419 00:34:22,340 –> 00:34:24,860 Satan himself. 420 00:34:24,860 –> 00:34:32,979 And you look at them and you glimpse the glory that’s beyond and you know that there is no 421 00:34:32,979 –> 00:34:36,659 way past these guys for you. 422 00:34:36,659 –> 00:34:41,560 They stand between you and the goal, and you know that they will flatten you before you 423 00:34:41,560 –> 00:34:45,320 ever have a chance to get there. 424 00:34:45,320 –> 00:34:53,560 But now an offensive lineman comes at great speed towards them. 425 00:34:53,560 –> 00:35:00,040 They are looking to take you out, and he takes them out. 426 00:35:00,040 –> 00:35:01,479 Opening your way to the goal. 427 00:35:01,479 –> 00:35:06,360 Folks, that is what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. 428 00:35:06,360 –> 00:35:09,199 When he says I go to prepare a place for you. 429 00:35:09,199 –> 00:35:14,080 He’s talking about Heaven being opened through his death and resurrection. 430 00:35:14,080 –> 00:35:21,760 He’s talking about the flattening of the condemnation of the law and of your sin and death and Satan 431 00:35:21,760 –> 00:35:27,639 himself, so that the way is opened for you to enter into the glory of the father’s house. 432 00:35:27,639 –> 00:35:30,560 That is what he is saying. 433 00:35:30,560 –> 00:35:37,159 And then he says this, and if I go to prepare a place for you and that he has done. 434 00:35:37,199 –> 00:35:43,719 I will come back and take you to be with me. 435 00:35:43,879 –> 00:35:46,580 Love that word, take you. 436 00:35:46,580 –> 00:35:50,760 Jesus Christ will take all his people into the father’s house. 437 00:35:50,760 –> 00:35:55,659 There’s no other way into the father’s house except that Jesus Christ who died and rose 438 00:35:55,659 –> 00:35:58,939 should take you there and he gives you his word on this. 439 00:35:58,939 –> 00:36:02,500 He says as I go to die and rise for you, I will take you. 440 00:36:02,500 –> 00:36:06,659 I will come back and I will take you into the father’s house. 441 00:36:06,659 –> 00:36:12,080 And he will do this for you in one of two ways. 442 00:36:12,080 –> 00:36:19,840 If you die before Christ comes, he will take you into the father’s house without the 443 00:36:19,840 –> 00:36:20,840 body. 444 00:36:20,840 –> 00:36:25,540 Some of us will be here perhaps and we will have a service and your body may be brought 445 00:36:25,540 –> 00:36:30,959 in a casket here or may be buried in the ground, but you will not be here, you will be absent 446 00:36:31,820 –> 00:36:40,179 and you will be present with the Lord, because Jesus Christ has taken you there. 447 00:36:40,179 –> 00:36:46,239 And if you live until Christ comes, then he will take you into the father’s house in 448 00:36:46,239 –> 00:36:52,419 the body, you will be caught up to meet with him in the air and then your body will be 449 00:36:52,419 –> 00:36:57,379 transformed in a moment, the Bible says, in the twinkling of an eye to become like his 450 00:36:57,399 –> 00:37:05,239 resurrection body, adapted and prepared for all eternity, but either way, it will be Christ 451 00:37:05,239 –> 00:37:08,719 who takes you into the father’s house. 452 00:37:08,719 –> 00:37:15,320 And I end simply by reading this description of what that day will be like from 1 Thessalonians 453 00:37:15,320 –> 00:37:22,459 words that many of you know well, but it’s just fascinating to me that Paul says there, 454 00:37:22,459 –> 00:37:27,520 According to the Lord’s own word we say. 455 00:37:27,520 –> 00:37:29,060 And it’s discussed much. 456 00:37:29,060 –> 00:37:33,300 What word of Jesus did Paul have in mind when he writes about the Second Coming of the Lord? 457 00:37:33,300 –> 00:37:37,419 I think he’s got to be talking about John 14, hasn’t he? 458 00:37:37,419 –> 00:37:38,959 According to the Lord’s own word. 459 00:37:38,959 –> 00:37:43,919 When he said, I go to prepare a place for you and I will come back, and I will take 460 00:37:43,919 –> 00:37:49,580 you to be with me that where I am, you may be also. 461 00:37:49,659 –> 00:37:54,860 Paul says, according to the Lord Jesus’ own word, we tell you this, the Lord Himself will 462 00:37:54,860 –> 00:37:59,239 come down from heaven with a loud command and with the voice of the archangel and the 463 00:37:59,239 –> 00:38:04,479 trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ, that’s those who have already gone to be with 464 00:38:04,479 –> 00:38:07,699 Him will rise first. 465 00:38:07,699 –> 00:38:13,340 And after that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them 466 00:38:13,639 –> 00:38:23,580 the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will be with the Lord forever. 467 00:38:23,580 –> 00:38:31,760 And then he says, so encourage one another with these words. 468 00:38:31,760 –> 00:38:34,899 Let’s pray together, shall we? 469 00:38:34,899 –> 00:38:42,840 Father, in all of our own failure and in our disappointment and in our loss, we thank you 470 00:38:42,840 –> 00:38:49,040 that the Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, comes to us and his word to us is trust 471 00:38:49,040 –> 00:38:51,919 in me. 472 00:38:51,919 –> 00:39:01,639 Thank you for a hope that is established in Christ in another world, for all that lies 473 00:39:01,639 –> 00:39:09,520 ahead, for everything that we know of you and every taste of your love and every joy 474 00:39:09,520 –> 00:39:11,620 of your presence in this life. 475 00:39:11,620 –> 00:39:15,520 We give you our thanks and praise. 476 00:39:15,520 –> 00:39:22,719 And to know that that is the deposit guaranteeing what is to come brings us new strength and 477 00:39:22,719 –> 00:39:24,340 new hope. 478 00:39:24,340 –> 00:39:36,399 Pray, Father, that today by the Holy Spirit, you will graciously strengthen us in our failure, 479 00:39:36,399 –> 00:39:46,620 comfort us in our loss, grant to us living hope in our disappointment as we fix our faith 480 00:39:46,620 –> 00:39:53,540 upon Christ who loved us and gave himself for us, ascended to the right hand of the 481 00:39:53,540 –> 00:39:58,360 Father and one day will come again in power and glory. 482 00:39:58,360 –> 00:40:00,239 Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly. 483 00:40:00,239 –> 00:40:04,439 And all the people of God together said, Amen.