When Jesus Speaks to Troubled Hearts - Dan Watson

0:15 So we are continuing in our collection called Jesus in His Own Words, looking at who does Jesus say that He is? Not that everyone else say that He is or these thoughts or these opinions, but who does Jesus Himself say that He is? And one great tool that we have is the Scripture. And in the Scripture, in the New Testament, there's this thing called the red letters. And in a lot of copies of Scripture, you'll see these red letters. And this is what Jesus actually said himself. I want to take us into John chapter 14. So if you've got a copy of scripture, why don't you open up your text to John chapter 14? If not, don't worry. It's going to come on the screen behind me. We're going to start at verse 1, and we're going to read a few verses. It says this.

1:15 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 may also be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said, Lord, we don't know where you're going, so how can we know the way? And Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. I want to ask you a question. Have you ever had those moments or those times where someone asks you, how are you doing? How are you? And our natural response is what? I'm fine. I'm good. I'm good.

2:07 But the truth is this. You're not good. you know that you're not good on the inside, that you're functioning and you're performing, but you're not fine. You're showing up, but something inside of you feels unsettled. You can function, you can turn up to work, you can lead, you can get the kids ready for school, you can put the smile on your face, but somehow you still feel troubled.

2:36 And what's interesting in John chapter 14 is that Jesus speaks to something that these guys haven't even articulated themselves. My heart is troubled, but Jesus knows. And that's why at the start of John 14, it doesn't start with a miracle or a lesson. It starts with Jesus saying exactly what they couldn't say themselves with a sentence that feels so prominent and painfully current right now in our world, in our society is this, don't let your hearts be troubled.

3:14 Which tells us immediately, Jesus is not speaking to a calm and settled group of people who have it all together. He's speaking to people whose inner world is shaking. The disciples are anxious. Their future feels uncertain. Their expectations are unraveling. And before he teaches theology or before he starts speaking about heaven and before he answers even a question, what does Jesus do? He shepherds their heart. Because Jesus knows something that we often forget. A troubled heart will always go searching. A troubled heart will always go searching, searching for peace, searching for clarity, searching for something solid, searching for something true, searching for life. and Augustine named this centuries ago and he said, you have made us for yourself, oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.

4:19 See, I realized this, that restless hearts become troubled hearts and troubled hearts become searching hearts. And what Jesus does at the beginning of John chapter 14 is he speaks into that very condition of what he sees of the people. He doesn't present advice. What does he present? He presents himself.

4:43 To understand the text, we need to understand the context of the text. And so at this moment, Passover meal is taking place and Jesus is there with all of the disciples, the guys who have been following him for three years, watching his ministry and listening to his teachings and seeing miracles and signs and wonders all take place. And then he gets to this mill and Jesus washes the disciples' feet. And then he tells Judas, I know you're gonna betray me, so go and do what you gotta do. And Judas ultimately leaves the place, goes and betrays Jesus, sending Jesus to the cross. Jesus tells Peter, I know you're gonna deny me. And Peter is mortified. This room now feels so unsettled. And then Jesus even goes and tells the disciples, hey, I'm leaving and I'm going to prepare a place and you know the way.

5:44 I don't know about you, but it's happened to me many a times. I've been in lectures, I've been in meetings. Maybe you have as well with your professor, with your teacher, with your boss or wherever you're at. And they're trying to explain something to you. and you're looking at them with a blank face. You have no idea what they're talking about, but you don't say, I have no idea what you're talking about. You just nod. And you pretend you understand everything that they are saying. Anybody with me in this place? And then the question gets asked, do you understand what I just said? And even though we don't understand, what do we do?

6:29 Hoping, wishing, believing someone, someone brave would put their head up and say, yo, I don't get it, please explain it. And you're like, thank God for that person. This is exactly what Thomas does. Jesus has said, hey, I'm going away. I'm preparing a place and you know the way. All the rest of this Bible's like, mm-hmm, okay, Jesus. But Thomas is like, Lord, we don't know where you're going. So how do we know the way? That's not rebellion. That's honesty. That's a human response. I don't get it. I don't understand. I can't figure it out. I wonder about you.

7:22 It's like, how do you move forward when you don't know what's happening? You ever had moments, situations, circumstances in your life? How do I go from here to here when I don't understand what's happening? How do I get out of this situation and circumstance when I don't understand? I wonder if that's ever happened to you. And Jesus responds with the most definitive sentences ever spoken. In verse six, he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no one gets to the Father except through me. And then he goes even deeper in verse seven. He says, if you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and you have seen him. And so friends, this is not information this is revelation to the disciples' troubled hearts.

8:23 And I believe today that God wants to give you and me some revelation to our troubled hearts. He wants to speak to us. And I want to give us three things straight out of the text that troubled hearts should know. Number one is this, is Jesus is the way. Jesus is the way, he says it. I am the way. Why does he say that? Because he knows the troubled hearts search for direction. And it's not a direction that you and I are used to. You know, like in the olden days, we'd get the map out and we know where we wanna go, like where our destination is. And we'd figure out the route to get there. And then we would follow that path and we would know how to get where we wanna get to. Nowadays, we just punch it in into our phones and it goes on to our car system and we follow Waze or we follow Google Maps, we follow the GPS.

9:21 And if you're anything like me, sometimes that can really mess you up because my guy on Google Maps, he's got a London voice, by the way. Sometimes he can mess me up and he can take me to places I did not intend to be. And I can get somewhere and he'd be like, turn left. I'm like, I can't turn left. He's like, turn left. I'm like, I can't turn left. It's a dead end. I can't go down. He said, turn left. I'm like, no, you turn left. We were just having this dialogue and I realized I'm speaking to myself.

9:54 It's a different type of direction. It's a different type of way. Like a GPS is mapping something out, but it's not with you. And what Jesus is presenting and offering is himself. He's saying, I am the way. So Jesus is offering presence, not a strategy, not a system, not a philosophy, not a map, but a person. He is offering himself. And so from the beginning of Scripture, the way was never merely informational. It was always relational.

10:30 Every other belief system is saying, hey, here's the steps, here's the map, here's the ritual, here's the ladder, climb it and you'll do well. But Christianity doesn't begin with rules. it always begins with relationship. From the beginning of time, God walked with Adam in the garden. He had got led Israel by fire at night and a cloud by day. David said, the Lord is my shepherd, not my map, not my GPS, but my shepherd. And so the route was never one for us to master. but the way is a relationship for us to trust.

11:17 The way is a relationship for us to trust. And let me tell you, when you trust in that relationship, it changes everything, everything. My boy, Jude Jensen sat down here. He went for a little operation on Monday. Nothing serious, nothing dramatic, but he did need to get put to sleep and go into the operating field. And Jude was waiting for his operation in one room, he didn't ask the questions, hey, what's the path that the doctor's going to take to get to the room that I need to be operating? Like, what's the route? He didn't ask that. He didn't ask, how long is it going to take from A to B? He didn't ask that. The question that he asked was, mommy, will you be with me? Because when fear rises, direction becomes secondary to presence. And that's exactly, friends, what's happening in John 14. The disciples aren't asking for geography or a map or how to get from A to B. What they're asking for is reassurance, because direction feels different when the presence is certain.

12:29 And they wanna know, Lord, will you still be with us? And he says, I am the way. What's he saying? Just follow me, follow me. And so when life feels uncertain, I wanna ask you, what are you really asking God for? Are you asking God for a map or you're asking God for his presence? What are you asking God for? Are you GPS directions? or his presence to be with you. God, what I wanna know is, are you with me? Even though I'm going through this, God, I wanna know, are you with me? God, if I'm about to take this step in this direction, are you with me? Because the truth is this, we weren't just lost. We weren't just lost and we needed a map to find our way. No, friends, yes, we were lost, but guess what? We were more than that.

13:21 We were dead. Ephesians tells us, let's read it in Ephesians. It says this, Ephesians chapter two, verse one. As for you, it's you and me, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the rule of the kingdom and the air and the spirit who is now at work and those who are disobedient. All of us, no exceptions, all of us also lived among them once at a time, We weren't just lost, friends. We were dead.

14:14 And dead people can't find their way home. And so what did God do? God did not send a map or instructions. God came in person, the person of Jesus, who became the way by laying down his life and being the way maker. There is no other way apart from Jesus. Jesus is the way. And so when we want clarity, Jesus offers companionship. When we want certainty, Jesus offers himself. And so friends, the way forward is not something for you to figure out. is someone for you to follow, and his name is Jesus.

14:58 A troubled heart also needs to know today what Jesus says. He says, I'm the way, and then he says what? I am the truth. Why the truth? Because troubled hearts search for certainty. They're searching for certainty. And Jesus offers a truth that does not shift. It does not change. Man, this generation has a different, you know, back in my day, anybody remember cassette players, cassette tapes? Amazing, amazing, amazing. The real ones in the house. Come on. Cassette tapes, if you wanted to make a playlist, what did you have to do? You had to get cassette tape, put it into the tape player. You had to listen to the radio, press record at the right time, play button and the record button at the right time, and then listen to the song, and then try and get as much of it as you could before the DJ spoke again, right?

15:51 Anybody remember that? And then you stop it. And then, this is tough times. And then you had to listen to fine, wait for your next night's song and put it on. And then you would have the perfect mixtape. You put it in your Walkman, be bumping down the street. You put it in the car, just cruising along. You know what I'm saying? Or you put it in your mom's car, she cruises along. This is what happened. And you really couldn't fast forward it or whatever. You didn't know where the song was. And if you fast forward it or rewound it too much, the tape gets messed up and it starts and then jumbled up and then you've got to do it all again and then the DJ doesn't play that song again for another like three four months so you never listen to that so it's just terrible but now what happens the kids these days man my kids get in the car we play half a song they're like skip it change it this song's dead like change I'm like you're dead shut up like just and they they don't want to just keep skipping it how it happened this morning and we're getting ready.

16:49 And Ellis, my little, like, she's not even two yet. She gets mom's first, she goes, don't like it. And just like, just wants to change the song. I'm like, this is crazy. But this is how truth works in some people's minds. If I like it, I'll keep it. If I don't like it, I'll skip it. And if it causes me discomfort and challenges me and costs me, I'll delete it. truth has become a playlist in our society. It's become relative, your truth and my truth. If this person speaks, then it's truth. If this person speaks, then it's not truth. It has become whatever you see on your algorithm. But friends, a troubled heart cannot be anchored in selective truth. Jesus stands in the middle of a world of confusion and says, I am the truth. You don't search for it.

17:45 You don't figure it out. You don't make it up on your own and you don't have to be troubled. I am the truth. C.S. Lewis wrote this. He said, Christianity, if force, is of no importance. If true, of infinite importance. And the one thing it cannot be is moderately important. You can't pick and choose what parts of truth you want. and I love, I love that the world and society is trying to catch up with the truth of Jesus. With the truth of Jesus, history, the text, science, everything is catching up and realizing the truth of Jesus. The Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most historically attested figures in ancient history. The Roman historians reference him and Jewish sources acknowledge him.

18:40 Early Christians died claiming he rose from the dead. You know, the New Testament is the most reliable ancient document that we possess ever. Over 5,800 Greek manuscripts. Over 10,000 Latin manuscripts. Over 20,000 total witnesses. 99.5% of the New Testament is texturally accurate. Well, damn, what about the 0.5%? What about that? Let me tell you, friends, it changes nothing. it's spelling slips, it's word order flips. It's a few added phrases clearly marked in your Bible. There are no doctrine shifts. There are no theology breaks. There are no gospel truth that is touched. There is no picture of Jesus that is changed. And so if we throw out the New Testament because of that 0.5%, then we must throw out Plato and throw out Caesar and throw out Homer and throw out all of ancient history because nothing from ancient history comes anywhere close to the accuracy of scripture.

19:40 Even science doesn't disprove God. It keeps buying up to the truth of God. Scientists say the universe had a beginning and therefore that beginning must have a cause. And that cause, they say, must be timeless, spaceless, immaterial, intelligent, and powerful. Does that sound like anyone you know? Jesus is the truth. This is not your truth or my truth, but this is the truth. The truth with evidence, the truth that stood the test of history, the truth that breaks lies, the truth that breaks trains. And if you know the truth, the truth will set you free.

20:16 Jesus is the truth. Friends, this is not a theory. This is a person. And his name is Jesus. And troubled hearts want truth that agrees with them, how they feel or what they think and what they have been told. but Jesus offers truth that anchors your heart.

20:48 Truth is not shaped by you. We must be shaped by the truth. But we don't pick and choose. So friends, today, let your life be shaped by the truth. Don't try and make the truth be shaped by you. And I have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. No, no, Jesus is the truth. And troubled hearts need to know that Jesus is the life.

21:24 Why? Because troubled hearts are searching for fullness. It's searching all sorts of places and spaces and things and people, they're searching for fullness. And Jesus is saying, I am He. I am the fullness. Jesus is life Himself.

21:48 Have you ever felt that everything in your life was charged for a moment? Your phone was fully charged. Your diary was full. Your schedule was full. Everything is moving forward, but yet somehow you feel empty on the inside. You're functioning, but you're not flourishing. You're busy, but you are not alive. You're doing everything right, but something feels off. And that's when you realize being active is not the same as being alive.

22:23 That's why Jesus says, he doesn't say, hey, hey, I'm gonna improve your life. I'm gonna make it a little bit better. I'm just gonna add on to your life. No, he says what? I am the life. I am the life. It's not just something that Jesus gives. It's who he is. He is life. And we know that because John 1 says this, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning and through him all things were made. Without him nothing was being made that has been made. And in him was life. and that life was the light of all mankind. Friends, he is the life. He's not a supplement to your life.

23:18 He's not like I wake up and I'll take my vitamin C and my vitamin D and my magnesium and what other things you need, fish oil, all that stuff. And then I'll take a little bit of Jesus. I just have just that little bit of Jesus. That's my good supplement of Jesus for today. I feel good. No, no, no, no, no.

23:41 He is life. Every breath in your lungs is borrowed from his generosity. Without him, there is no true life. And in this world, friend, people are looking for answers. They're looking for purpose of life. They're looking for the meaning of their existence. They're trying to search for joy and for peace. It's something that lasts. and Jesus is telling them life is found in one place and in one person. I am the life. As we heard from Pastor Louis last week, I am is I be. I be the life.

24:25 Jesus is the life. He said it in the tomb of Lazarus. I am the resurrection and the life. So he doesn't just teach about life, friends. He's not just a good moral teacher. He is life himself. and when Jesus is in your life things can come alive and because he lives friends did you know that dead things can breathe because he lives because he lives broken things can mend because he lives wounds can be healed because He lives, fear can lose His grip on you because He lives, graves can open which tells me that every dead place and dead thing in your life is a perfect candidate for the resurrection when life itself steps into it.

25:34 Every dead thing in your life is a perfect candidate for resurrection when life, Jesus, steps into it, into your finances, into your marriage, into your parenting, into your career, into your peace, into your comfort. If you invite life itself into your life, it is a perfect candidate for things in you that have been dead to come alive. In Jesus' name. life's not found in success friends it's not found in your job title or the balance of your bank account it's not found in your marital status it's not found in how talented how much applause you get from other people life is not found in comfort or control no life is found in one place, one place only.

26:31 It's found in Christ and Christ alone. I am the way, the truth, and the life. And I love that Jesus to Thomas and the disciples that are there doesn't merely explain what he does. He explains who he is. I am. It's the eternal name of God. I am. It's the answer you need. It's the thing that you've been searching for. I am. So friends, when you got all the questions, you know you got a troubled heart and you're asking all the questions, who will be my peace? Hear that voice say, I am. Who's gonna lead me when I don't know the way?

27:24 I am. Who will anchor me when truth feels unstable? I am. Who will comfort me when my heart is troubled? I am. who's worthy of my time. I am who's worthy of my honor. I am who's worthy of my praise. I am who's worthy of my obedience, my generosity, my first fruits. I am that Jesus is not the answer to one of your questions. He's the answer to all of your questions. I am the way, the truth, and the life. And so John chapter 14, Jesus is saying nothing new. It's nothing new. it's not a fresh idea it's not a last minute adjustment now that he knows he's going to the cross it's what God has always been saying from the Garden of Eden to the upper room to this very moment in the garden he didn't shout instructions he walked with humanity the sin broke that intimacy that separation became present but not the desire the desire was always there and And finally, God didn't send a message.

28:30 He came Himself. In John 14, it's Jesus revealing God's eternal heart. I want you to know me. I want you close with me and I want you with me. And that's why He doesn't give us a path or a map. He gives us Himself.

28:51 That's why He doesn't offer truth as information. He embodies truth as Himself. That's why He doesn't point to life somewhere else. He says that I am the life from Eden to the cross, to the resurrection, to the Spirit dwelling in us. God's desire has never changed. It has always been, I want a relationship with you. I want intimacy with you because you are my son and you are my daughter and I love you. so the question I ask today God's desire is I want to be close the question I ask us today is have you drifted or are you close Are you busy for Jesus or are you walking with Jesus?

29:47 Do you know about him up here? Or do you actually know him? Are you trusting him as your way? Are you submitting to him as your truth? Are you abiding in him as your life? Because you want the father? Look at Jesus. Let's go back to the text right at the end there. It says in verse seven, if you really know me, you will know my father as well. From now on, you do know him and you have seen him. You want to see the Father?

30:26 Look at Jesus. Look at Jesus. and I just want us to look at Jesus look at Jesus the one who stepped into our humanity without losing his divinity the one who spoke galaxies into existence and still knelt to wash the feet of others the one who holds all things together and yet allowed himself to be broken the one who is the way when we're lost and the truth when the world is confused and the one who is the life when there are deadness in our sin Look at Him. Born in humility, lived in obedience, touched the untouchable and loved the unlovable, forgave the unforgivable. He never sinned, He never felt, He never turned away the broken, He never backed down from the cross. And when the nails were driven through His hands, He stayed.

31:18 When the weight of sin pressed on His shoulders, He stayed. When everything went silent and the sky went dark, He stayed, not because He had to, but because He loves. Look at Him. He's risen from the grave, victorious over death, seated at the right hand of the Father, still bearing the scars, not of defeat, but of love and of victory. This is Jesus. He's not just worthy of belief. He's worthy of worship. He's worthy of our praise. He's worthy of our surrender. He's worthy of our obedience. He's worthy of our generosity. He is worthy of our lives. Friends, who else could carry your sin? Who else could conquer death? who else could reveal the father who else could invite all of us to be close there is no one like him there has never been anyone like him and there will never be anyone like him his name is Jesus he is the way and the truth and the life and no one gets to the father except through him and so my question is today do you know him Amen.