You Will Wake Up Home

Transcript

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[0:00] Okay, today's sermon, and I got to be honest, like a hundred, you know, just so thinking this through, decided that today the sermon is really actually going to be 100% about the breatharians because I can't get enough of those guys. I just love those guys. No, I'm kidding. We're not.

[0:19] You can breathe in your nutrients. No, we're done with the breatharians for a while, like a few weeks at least. So we're not actually going to talk about them. Actually, and then so also full disclosure that this sermon is similar to one I preached six years ago. And if you have a memory that long, I'm really impressed. I normally don't rework sermons. I like to start from scratch. But this one, I went back and I looked at it and I thought this one is working. But I did rework a fair amount of it. But I want to let you know that I'm doing that because I guess some pastors do it all the time. Some never do it. And I do it like one in a hundred maybe. And so this is one of those days. But I've changed. I've changed a fair amount of it, too, just to be up front with you. So let's take a look at what we're thinking about today. We're still in the Easter season, but we're actually looking at an event that is just before the crucifixion. But it's a time where Jesus is preparing his disciples for the crucifixion and for what comes afterwards, the resurrection and the promise of the Holy Spirit.

[1:21] And there's a lot happening at the Last Supper. This is during the Last Supper. Jesus is speaking to his apostles, the disciples. And they are among these hours that they're together are among the most intimate and powerful moments of all of Scripture. And if I could go back in time and witness one evening, then I would want to be in this room where Jesus is with his disciples. That would be near the top of my list. He starts off by washing his disciples' feet. Can you imagine that? He takes the role of a servant and he washes away. He washes away their uncleanness. And that's a symbol of what he's about to do at the cross. So there's all this symbolism that's powerful. And he lets them know how much he loves them. He prays for them. He prays for their protection. He prays for their hope. He doesn't want them to be worried. He wants them to receive the Holy Spirit in the future and have help from somebody who can help them.

[2:22] So this is the tenderest moment, what we are about to read next. Because he offers them a glimpse of comfort on the other side of incredible pain and hardship and defeat and death. They're going to witness his death, some of them. So the theme is comfort. That there's hope on the other side of what he is about to do. And there is hope on the other side of what we endure in life. And so this word of comfort isn't just for the apostles. It's for us as well. So I want you to listen here. And since this is such a special reading, I don't think, unless you want to, I don't think you need to read along at home. I invite you to just even close your eyes as it's read and listen to it and take it in for the beauty that it has. This attitude of just taking in and hearing the words of Jesus, the words of comfort, and that they are for you in this very moment. These words of comfort. And we'll spend some time on understanding them more later. But for now, I'm going to invite you to listen to the sweet. Sweet words of the Savior. And they go like this. John chapter 14, 1 through 14. Jesus says to his apostles, Do not let your hearts be troubled.

[3:40] Trust in God. Trust also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.

[4:08] Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you are going. So how can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, I will know you. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

[4:30] Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Jesus answered, don't you know me, Philip? Even after I have been among you such a long time, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father living in me who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

[5:11] 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. And I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to you. I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to you. You may ask me of anything in my name and I will do it. You may ask me of anything in my name and I will do it. Let's pray.

[5:39] Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. And we ask that you would add your blessing to it. In Jesus' name, amen. Do not let your heart be troubled. Do not let your heart be troubled. That's the word. Do not let your heart be troubled. Which is easier said than done. But this is just a word. This is Jesus talking. So we should listen to this. This word troubled has a special place in John's Gospel. He uses it several other places. The Greek word for that is terrasso. It means to be agitated or concerned, disturbed, anxious, or even confused. There are several meanings for it. And John uses it in several places. Most famously probably in John 11.33 when Jesus visits Mary and he begins to weep over the cross. He was weeping over the death of Lazarus. And he was not yet weeping himself for Lazarus. He was feeling the distress of other people. He was feeling troubled because of them.

[6:39] In John 12.27 when Jesus makes his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he begins to speak about his own death. And it says that he is troubled as he speaks about his own death, which makes sense. John 13.21, which is John's death. So if you remember just before this. Jesus himself is troubled at the Last Supper because a friend was about to betray him. So he was telling Judas to go and do what he needed to do quickly. He was troubled in his heart because he knew that he was going to be betrayed. So it's slowly dawning on the disciples even in the supper. And it's sort of a process because they think they're there to celebrate the Passover. But Jesus keeps doing these things. like washing their feet and talking about his betrayal and talking about what is going to happen when he's gone and they're they're it's starting to dawn on all of them that jesus is going to go to the cross or at least something is going to happen after this night that is really important and so they have this cozy dinner and while they're having it they're also realizing that it's going to turn into something more sinister because judas leaves at a certain point to betray jesus and jesus even indicates who it is that's going to betray him and so the pieces

[7:58] are falling into place even as he speaks in other parts of jerusalem where the plan is finally coming together that are that set in place by many people to finally have jesus arrested and then have him killed and so it's an interesting juxtaposition that during this peaceful dinner where jesus has these tenderest moments outside the walls of the room some people end up having some great we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we says this. He says, the reason you don't need to be troubled is because in my Father's house, there are many rooms. And that's a metaphor for heaven, right? Jesus uses metaphors a lot. He uses them in John. And heaven here is a little different than what we normally think of. And heaven, we have a lot of views of heaven. One would be a place where the streets are made out of gold and the gates are made out of pearls and things like that. But here, this is a different metaphor, and I wouldn't take it extremely literally. It's more about the kind of the words that Jesus used.

[9:28] He says that in my Father's house, there are many rooms. And that word for room is mone. It means a place where you dwell or a place where you abide. And so already he's connecting this place in heaven, a room, an abiding place. And so he's connecting this place in heaven, a room, and abiding place, a place where you can dwell with God, a place where you're present and you're participating.

[9:54] And this word echoes so many of the other times where Jesus talks about abiding and dwelling, right? So he says, you should abide in me, right? And also the word became flesh and dwelt among us. So there's this sense that Jesus himself comes and lives and dwells and abides with us in the flesh. And so in this room, it's not like a four walls where you're kind of stuck in there. The real image that we want to pay attention to is this is a place where you connect with God. This is a place where you abide and rest in what God has for you. And it doesn't have to be a physical room. It's just a dwelling place. And so now our dwelling is with God, which is great, an abiding place.

[10:43] The thing that he really wants them to, understand when he talks about this dwelling place, this mone, the room, in my father's house, there are many dwelling places, is that he wants them to be certain that even if they see him die, the relationship doesn't end. And that's important for Jesus. The relationship with Jesus doesn't end when he dies. It's because the resurrection, because he's coming again. And the relationship doesn't end when he ascends to heaven either, because although he's gone physically, he's still with us. And so he wants them to be certain that even if they see him die, he's still with us. And so he wants them to be certain that even if they see him die, he's still with us. And also he sends the spirit to be their guide, their comforter. They're going to experience anguish and anxiety and troubled hearts, but they're going to continue to abide in him because the father has prepared a place. And so he's saying, there's always going to be this relationship between you and me, between you and the father. And as we see, he begins to talk about how he and the father are going to be together. And as we see, he begins to talk about how he and the father are going to be together.

[11:47] And as we see, he begins to talk about how he and the father are one in so many ways, so that having that relationship with him is to have the relationship with the father and vice versa. And now we may ask, how can he promise such a thing, right? How can he promise this? Well, he's speaking for the father. He's joined with the father. And so he says, don't you know, when you see me, you see the father. When you know me, you know the father. When you hear me speaking, you hear the father. And so the father, the father is present in Jesus's words and is doing work. And this points actually to how God really gets things done in the world. And this is what makes God, our God, different from many other gods who tend to be gods of action. It doesn't mean that our God isn't a God of action. He absolutely is a God of action. But when God really wants to get things done in the world, he speaks. He uses words. These are the words that come from the father. Jesus. Jesus says. Now, when we try to get things done, we think sometimes, and I think this way, of building or crafting or making things. I'm an amateur carpenter. I like to build things with wood. And at the end, there's this great sense of accomplishment.

[12:59] But that's definitely an active thing. I'm working with my hands. I built a staircase once. It took forever. Like, it took forever. Months, I think. But I did it with my hands. And it was a great feeling when it was done. And it's still being walked on now.

[13:15] But really, even for humans, the biggest things in the world are done with words. Just like God does. Think about that. Nations are born, yes, by action, but nations are born with words. You look at our country, the Declaration of Independence. Without those words, I'm not sure we would have a nation. So words count. Words are powerful. Right? People propose to each other in marriage. And marriage vows are said with words. And that's what God wants. When you talk to a child and you build them up with words, that builds them up for a lifetime. If you tear somebody down with words, it tears them down for a lifetime. The biggest lie I was ever told, and it's a lie, is that sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never hurt you. And the sentiment behind that is a good one, in that you shouldn't let people control you by what they say or make you feel bad by what you say. But the reality is that words hurt like crazy. And so I think that little, that little phrase probably needs some updating. And maybe I'll think about how to make that one better. Sticks and stones can break your bones, and words can really break you too. But you have to decide to be resilient enough somehow to not let that affect you, if you can,

[14:30] and work on it, practice at it. It's a good life skill. So since these words that God says are so powerful, I want you to hear these words again. These are the words that create reality when they're spoken. So this is what Jesus is saying to you this morning. This is what Jesus is saying to me. As powerful as the words that created the universe, these are the words of Jesus. Listen now. In my Father's house there are many rooms, and I am going there to prepare one of them for you. And I will come back. And I will take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. The same person, Jesus, who spoke the world into existence, speaks a word of comfort to you today. It's a powerful word. In my Father's house.

[15:36] Now here's a metaphor for us. As believers, we're connected with Christ as a person. We're connected in the most intimate ways. We know we are. And we experience troubled hearts. We do. More so now than before, I think, right? We know about loved ones getting sick and dying. We know about people losing jobs. There are broken relationships in this world.

[16:00] In my mind, that's one of the biggest things, is just broken relationships in families, among friends, between peoples, between nations. That's the most glaring thing. The most glaring sign of sin in our world, almost, is broken relationships. There's uncertainty. There's disease, as we know. There's economic hardship. There are many reasons to be disturbed, confused, anxious, troubled. Do not let your hearts be troubled. There is a room waiting for you. There is hope on the other side of all these things. I want to end now with just a story from my childhood, and I'll bet some of you can relate, especially when at a certain age, and this happened less as I got older, but when I was a child, my family would go someplace in the car, maybe somebody else's house for dinner, or maybe some meeting at church or something like that. It was a big town I lived in, so sometimes it was 10, 15 minutes to get there and then come back.

[17:07] So we would start heading back, and I'd be in the back seat, sort of nestled between my siblings. And if it was dark out, and the road was just this quiet hum of the car, I would often fall asleep before I got home, you know?

[17:21] And the road would just go by under the tires. The street lights would play across the inside of the car. Sometimes I would look at the ceiling of the car and kind of see the different headlights and street lights that would kind of send shadows and light across the car. It was all very relaxing, right? My parents would be talking in low voices in the front seat, and I would fall asleep before I got home. And there was this final bump as we went into our driveway, and a little breeze of cool air as the car door opened, and then my mother or my father would pick me up and carry me inside and put me in my bed and tuck me in and kiss me goodnight.

[18:10] And then next morning, I would wake up, and I'd rub my eyes, and I'd open the door, and there out in the living room and the dining room, there was my family. There they were. So think about that. Whenever we drove home late at night, I guess I always knew that I would wake up in my own room, in my own house, and I would find my family there when I woke.

[18:41] So I want to ask you today, are you troubled in your heart? Troubled over death? Troubled over betrayal? Trouble over the trials we are in? In the Father's house, there are many rooms. One of them is for me. One of them is for you. We're driving there now. And some of us may fall asleep before we get there. But when the dark night comes, when the night's journey home is done, we wake up with a new dawn. And we'll rub our eyes, and we'll open our door, and find a home of warmth and laughter and a feast waiting for us. That's our comfort for today. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you that your Son Jesus gives us such hope, such joy, such comfort. Thank you that he went to the cross for us, served us, so that he could give to us eternal life and hope.

[19:47] Father, carry us home. Carry us to comfort. Carry us to your peace. And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen.