"Believe" Sermon Manuscript, 5/10

Scripture: John 14:1-4

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 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. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”

Today, I was not supposed to be preaching. Today, Fanklinville and Rehobeth would have been gathered listening to some other wonderful preacher, like Harold Hammond, come and preach the Word. Today, on this fantastic Mother’s Day, I was supposed to be at Duke University with my wife and family to celebrate graduation from the Divinity School. 

But, sometimes like has other plans for us. Things we’re not able to understand. Things we could never foresee or prepare for. Things like a world shutdown due to a virus ravaging the lives of people around the globe.

And so, today, instead of listening to some other better preacher from the comfort of a sanctuary, gathered with church family, singing hymns and praising God together, you’re stuck with me, here on video. I am sorry for that, but we praise God for the gift of technology allowing us to continue to meet together virtually.

Jesus’ disciples had walked for three years with their Master as Christ ministered on earth, and throughout that time they witnessed the power of God, the power of Jesus- the blind were healed, demons were driven away, the crippled were made well, the hungry were fed, storms were calmed, and above all, love was shown to all, everywhere they went.

And so it is that we come to this passage today, John 14.  I mentioned my brother, my friend Harold Hammond earlier specifically- I’ve been blessed throughout my time here to have had him around and available to work with, and he and I have done quite a number of funerals together, and this passage is one of Harold’s favorites to share during funeral services because of the peace it brings. “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; Believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms.” Jesus is telling His disciples and us not to let things of this world cause us any worry, any anxiety, and trouble at all, because Jesus has prepared us a place to live in Heaven eternally with Him.

This is the beginning of Jesus’ goodbye message to the disciples.

Jesus says, “You know the way to where I am going.” Thomas stops him, mid-speech, and exclaims, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

How can we know the way?

This question is a difficult one. Even after 4 years here in North Carolina, I still have to use my GPS to get anywhere outside of Asheboro. I don’t know my own way around this state, somewhere I’ve lived now for four years, and yet, Thomas is asking an even more difficult question of Jesus- ‘How can we know the way to where you are going, Lord?’ Thomas was anticipating a physical journey, walking or riding to get to another physical place where they would find Jesus. The weight and gravity of what Christ had come to the world to do had not yet sunk in for Thomas and the disciples.

We, as a people, as a human race, are in a time unlike any other in history. We’ve had to shut our doors and keep our distance from one another to keep those among us who might be more vulnerable to the COVID-19 outbreak from becoming ill, or worse. It is a magnificent thing: we as a human race have risen up to state with our actions that we believe life is more important than anything else, and we still do not know what lies ahead. We don’t know the way to where we’re going. Because of this, leaders are beginning to become more and more anxious, just as all of us are, too. Unemployment is at all-time high record numbers, our world economy has shut down, and states are beginning to re-open before meeting criteria established by our best scientists and doctors.

We have troubled hearts.

Jesus tells us, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

We respond, “How can we know the way?”

Jesus tells us, as He tells His disciples here, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

This explanation is not enough for our feeble human brains to comprehend. Our world has been completely wrecked by the coronavirus outbreak, and Jesus is telling us, “I am the way,” and we want to know when our baseball will be back, and when we can go back to concerts and out to eat meals at restaurants and return to work without worry of getting sick everywhere we turn. We still don’t know the way.

This explanation wasn’t enough for the disciples, either. Phillip says, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” The Son of God is in their midst, walking alongside them, teaching them daily for three years. They’ve watched His Holy power and they’ve witnessed Jesus’ own love for themselves, and yet, they still don’t see the bigger picture.

Misty and I are struggling with this, too. We’re not sure what God has in store for us- all we know right now, at this moment, is that we have to leave the Parsonage by noon on June 30^th, and after that, we have no idea where God is leading us. We don’t know the way before us. God has blessed Misty with an excellent job at Randolph Community College, but we need to find a place to live, and gainful employment for me, and much of our life is up in the air right now. So far, God has told me, “Trust in me,” but for my human brain which needs some solid, concrete details, I’m just like the disciples. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” and I confess I am filled with anxiety because I cannot see the way forward with my human eyes. 

Neither could the disciples.

“How can we know the way to where you’re going?” “Show us the Father, and it is enough for us,” they begged. Help us to understand! Help us to see and know! Give us something, Lord, please, because we just don’t understand!

Sometimes the message God delivers seems cryptic to us.

Jesus explains to His disciples: “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’? 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.  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”

Plainly, Jesus says, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. If you can’t believe that based on what you’ve seen as you walked with me, believe on account of what you’ve seen me do. You watched and saw the miracles- you were in the boat when I calmed the storm. You saw me walk on water. You helped me feed masses of people with two fish and five loaves of bread. You saw me heal countless sick people and change lives. If you can’t believe what I’m telling you, then believe what I’ve shown you.

What have we seen Jesus do in our lives?

Those times when we had nothing. Those times when our situations were grim at best. Those times we dealt with massive, terrifying ordeals. Those times when exactly the right thing happened at the exactly the right time. Those times when we were sick. Those times when our loved ones were sick. Those times when all of life seemed completely uncertain, and yet, God provides.

God continues to walk with us, carrying us through life at times, and we still want to see, want to know, want concrete proof without a shadow of a doubt- look at your lives, Jesus says. If you can’t believe what I’m telling you, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled,’ then believe what I’ve done for you. Look at your life and see the love I’ve poured into you all these years.

Jesus was preparing His disciples for that time when He would willingly lay down His life and die on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. They couldn’t and didn’t understand all that He had been teaching them and showing them until after His resurrection and He appeared to the disciples to show them- Look! It was all true! Here, see, place your hands in my scars, Thomas. It’s all real. I died and rose again, just for you.

How do we know the way?

Right now, the way forward in all fronts feels unclear, to say the least. Our world braces as we begin to open businesses and travel and attempt to move back into a semblance of our former lives, even as we’re warned a second wave of infections will almost certainly strike. Companies around the world are racing to work towards creating vaccines. People everywhere are hurting from loss of jobs, from grieving loved ones lost to the virus, from not even being able to gather to appropriately celebrate the lives of our dead. We have no clear indication what the way forward is going to look like until we get there and see it for ourselves.

Sounds a little bit like having faith, doesn’t it? I’m not sure what Heaven will be like completely, but I know based on what Jesus has done in me and through me and for me that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will return again.

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. I am the Way, and if you can’t believe what I tell you, then believe what I’ve done.”

Go and believe. Go and trust in the Word of Almighty God, spoken to us through the Son Jesus. Go and love God with all that you are, Go love your neighbors as you love yourselves, and go tell the world what Jesus has done for you, so that they too can believe.