Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled

Public Meeting, Week 3, Sem 2/23

We all have worries, don’t we? Things like: will I ever find a boyfriend or girlfriend; what if I fail uni and can’t get a job; do people at church genuinely like me or are they simply tolerating me because it’s the godly way? 

What I want us to do today is to bring all our worries to God and look at what Jesus says in this passage. Hear him say to us don’t worry. That’s what this passage is about. But this is easier said than done. So let’s think about it.

Don’t Worry

John 14:1 Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

A sure-fire way to get someone to worry about something is by telling them not to worry. Imagine a phone call from a family member that begins with “don’t worry, but…” Straight away I’m worried. It’s natural. But at the same time, Jesus wouldn’t tell us not to worry if he didn’t expect us to worry. That’s a comfort in itself. The key is what we do with it.

Jesus tells us to “believe in God; believe also in me.” Firstly, belief in the Bible is never just agreeing with a certain truth. Belief in God is not the same as believing the earth is flat. They are categorically different. That kind of belief can’t help you when your mum gets cancer or when a relationship breaks down. For Jesus, belief is intricately tied to our hearts.

Think about it this way. What’s the corrective to a troubled heart? It’s neither peace nor calm. It’s trust. Consider a child who grows up in a loving home. Worrying about interest rates and mortgage payments would not even factor into their minds. Or consider a married couple where one spouse is constantly worried about the other’s faithfulness. What does that signify if not a lack of trust?

When Jesus tells us not to worry but believe, he’s not asking us to just take a gamble. It’s no leap in the dark. That kind of belief is just wishful thinking. The belief that Jesus has in mind is an antidote to a troubled heart. In other words, trust.

Secondly, we are not told to just believe in God. That’s not enough. Jesus says, believe also in me. Think about it. Believing in God is such a vacuous concept because what God are we talking about? Why do we assume that God, if he even exists, is actually loving and good? He could just as likely be arrogant and spiteful. That’s why Jesus says, believe also in me. To be clear, Jesus is not adding another layer to faith, as though it were a 2-step process. Instead, by equating himself to God, Jesus is qualifying God. In other words, he is defining who God is and what he’s like.

It’s because of Jesus that we know God to be a loving Father worthy of our total trust. It is a faith built upon the unassailable character of the person of Jesus Christ. He is patient and kind; neither envious nor proud. He harbours no selfishness or resentment, instead rejoices with the truth. He lifts up the poor from the dust and sets free the oppressed.

Why do we trust God? Because Jesus shows us he is trustworthy. We take that step of faith, not blindly, but because we are convinced of his character. Of who Jesus is. And that God is who Jesus says He is.

Don’t Worry, Be… Prepared

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Notice Jesus refers to God as Father. He could have said in my master’s house. Instead, the overriding relationship Jesus uses to talk about God is father. Not only that, he’s in a house with many rooms. What does that say about the person of God? He’s no introvert.

Not only that, there is a place for us there. While everyone else is frantic about buying a home in Australia, we have a place that already has our name on the door.

Not only that, having prepared a place for us he will undoubtedly ensure we get there in the end. Think about that the next time you worry about whether you’re really a Christian.

Jesus Answers Questions

The rest of the chapter can be understood as Jesus’ response to three questions from Thomas, Philip, and Judas (not Iscariot) respectively.

4 And you know the way to where I am going. 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

7 From now on you do know him and have seen him. 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

21 And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”

That’s the structure of the chapter. We don’t have time to go through each question but I want to just highlight one point out of Philip’s .

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

Philip’s question is especially relevant to us because it is not dissimilar to people today who say God is fictitious or imaginary precisely because we can’t see him. After all, why believe in a God you can’t see? And Jesus’ answer will surprise you I think.

Because Jesus doesn’t rebuke Philip for wanting to see. Philip’s problem is not that he is asking too much. In Jesus’ thinking, Philip’s has already seen. He already has exactly what he is asking for. His problem is recognising what he sees. Philip has seen God because he’s seen Jesus. He should have known. That’s why Jesus says what he does.

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Now someone might say, that applies to Philip. But Jesus hasn’t been around for 2,000 years. Can we ask the same today? Well, if we did we might find Jesus’ answer to be the same.

10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

Listen closely to what Jesus says. The words I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me… speaks them? No. It doesn’t say that even though that is the logical comparison. That should be the logic: It’s not me saying this, it’s God saying it. That’s what you expect. Instead, Jesus makes a different connection. It’s not me saying it, it’s God doing it. The words that I say to you is the work the Father is doing. In other words, God does his work through his word. Or to be more precise, the Father does his work through the words of his Son. There’s at least two applications we can draw from this.

Is God Working?

Firstly, look around you. Do you think God is at work here at ECU? Where? When? How? Whenever and wherever his word is being talked about. That’s why we focus so much on the Bible here at the Gospel Stand. There are lots of things we can do, but if we truly want to see God at work, we have to focus on his word.

Secondly, we should work on our worries by focusing on the word. Bad puns I know. The point is God has not left us to overcome our worries on our own. He has given us his word and the Word became flesh. Bring all your worries and anxieties to Jesus and let not your hearts be troubled.