Triumph over Trouble
Tony Khalil
Midland SDA Church
July 16, 2011
At our current rate of spending the national debit of the United States of America will exceed our gross domestic product sometime within the next five years. Gasoline prices have virtually tripled in a few short years with seemingly no end in sight. Now food prices appear to be starting a similar climb. The Federal Reserve has pumped billions of un-backed dollars into our economy which according to some economists could have catastrophic results if we find ourselves in something known as hyperinflation, where our money becomes all but worthless as the cost of goods climb from dollars to thousands of dollars in a very short period of time. The cold war has been over for decades now but the threat of nuclear attack some would argue is greater now than during the cold war. Then we had one adversary who was just as scared as we were of the results of a nuclear exchange, but today with the scenario of such weapons falling into the hands of terrorists who place little value on human life, we have reason to worry. Then there is global warming and climate change and the increasingly undeniable evidence that the earth is getting hotter. During a Michigan winter that doesn’t necessarily sound like a bad thing until were faced with the projections of the catastrophic results the melting of the polar ice caps would have on this planet.
The list goes on and so could I. No, this is not going to be a sermon about the nearness of Christ’s return evidenced by the fulfillment of the signs given in scripture. As relevant as all of this pending calamity may be to that subject, today we are going to discover how amidst all of this chaos in the world around us, and possibly the chaos in our own lives, we can find true and lasting peace. Do you need Peace in your life? Do you feel concern about your finances, kids, or health? Are there times you worry about your circumstances, lying awake at night wondering what you are going to do to meet next month’s bills or how you can fix a troubled relationship? We all have struggles and concerns. Let’s pray and then discover Gods plan for dealing with the stress in our lives.
(Pray)
As Christians you would think that we would be exempt from worry, but unfortunately the statistics are not unlike those regarding divorce, and we are more similar than we should be to our unconverted neighbors and friends. Christians today worry, Christians today experience stress, Christians today are restless. Yes, we are human and therefore susceptible to the myriad of problems that plague this race, but here is the good news. We have no reason to be stuck in the pit of worry and fear because Jesus has given us the formula to overcoming the thoughts that trouble our minds. This formula is found in our scripture reading this morning. Let’s turn there together. We will be using John 14:1-3 as our base camp for today’s message so you might want to put your Bible marker there for quick reference.
Let us begin with the first of four principles Jesus has given us to overcome the worry in our lives. Starting with verse 1 we read…
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,…”
There it is principle number one. Believe in God. That sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? And the good news is that it is, but do you think Jesus meant that we are just to believe in the existence of God and that will help us find peace, or does belief involve more than that. Let’s unpack the word “believe” together and see if we can’t increase our understanding of this verse. The word translated here as “believe” is the Greek verb pisteuo, which means to put ones faith in or trust with an implication that actions based on trust will follow. I like that to put faith or trust in something so much so that actions based on that trust are produced. Many times we say I trust in God and I’m waiting on Him, but this word ”believe” is saying trust in God and move forward as if you really mean it. That’s helpful isn’t it?
Turn with me now in your Bibles to Psalm 78. Starting in verse 19 we’ll read through verse 22. This chapter is recounting the unfaithfulness of Israel during their wilderness years. Speaking of Israel it says…
19 Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed
out,
And the streams
overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for
His people?”
21 Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious;
So a fire was kindled
against Jacob,
And anger also came up
against Israel,
Listen now to verse 22.
22 Because they did not believe in God,
And did
not trust in His salvation.
Israel did not believe in God? What do you mean? They witnessed the plagues He brought on Egypt leading to their miraculous exodus. They saw how he parted the Red Sea. They followed the cloud and the pillar of fire as God led them to the promised land. They heard God speak on Sinai, obviously they knew that he existed. But they did not trust him to the extent that actions based on trust were produced.
What does it mean to trust in God? The simple answer is to believe He will do what He said He will do. As correct as this definition is, I believe it is incomplete. May I propose that trusting in God also means believing that he is in control of everything and will do what is best as it relates to the things that trouble us. Proverbs 29:25 says… “The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.” The problem is the great temptation to trust in ourselves , or the things we can see rather than the sure unseen God of the Bible. The Psalmist talks about this in Chapter 20 verse 7 when he says… “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
In 1976 I was six years old and a first grader in Mrs. Cooper’s class at Dexter M. Ferry Elementary School. The school was about a block and a half from our home, so at lunch time my sister and I would often walk home for lunch. When we arrived home my mother would have lunch prepared for us at the kitchen table where we would eat before returning to school. All through my elementary school years I never gave thought to where the food came from, how much it cost, or where we would get our next meal from. That was not my concern or my responsibility. It belonged to my Parents. If at the age of six I would have worried about the source of my meals it would not have done any good. There was nothing I could have done to secure my own meals. I was incapable of earning an income at six. And likewise it is with God and us. We have no legitimate reason to worry because we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and bids us in his holy word to…cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 I believe this is partly what Jesus had in mind when he said in Matthew 18:3… “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Part of becoming like children is learning to trust God. Is there anyone more trustworthy? Has God ever broken a promise? Have all of His prophecies been fulfilled? Yes. We can trust God and He will come through.
I remember shortly after Brenda and I were married and on our own. She began to feel the responsibility of adult life realizing she was no longer under the care of her parents. It was an awakening for her and there were many times she would say to me “I don’t want all of this responsibility. I want to go back to being a kid.” The good news is that we are always Gods children. We don’t need to turn back time and give our cares to an earthly father for we have a Heavenly Father who is here to bear our burdens.
The second step in John 14 to overcoming worry is found immediately after the first.
“You believe in God, believe also in Me”
Step one; believe in God. Step two; believe in Jesus. You may be thinking, “Isn’t that kind of the same thing?” The answer is yes, in some ways it is the same but in others it is altogether different. Let me explain. For many people the most consistent source of stress is from an unsettled conscience. They carry a heavy burden of guilt from things they have done in their past. The memory of their past haunts them to the extent that they cannot enjoy the present. But if we believe in Jesus, although our past may be equally sinful, we have freedom of conscience in knowing that His blood has covered our sinful past and we are no longer guilty of those things. We can move forward in the knowledge that we have a Savior who died in our place to make the way of salvation attainable by the worst of sinners.
Turn with me in your Bibles if you will to John 6: 38-40 and follow along as I read the words of Jesus. He says…
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
There we have it, the purpose of Christ’s mission in His own words. We see it again in Acts 16:31 in response to the inquiry of the Philippian Jailer, Paul and Silas respond… “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Jesus is the delegate of the Godhead who brings us salvation and it is only through his forgiveness that we can have peace from our troubled conscience. In the book Desire of Ages p104 Mrs. White writes… “God does not send messengers to flatter the sinner. He delivers no message of peace to lull the unsanctified into fatal security. He lays heavy burdens upon the conscience of the wrongdoer, and pierces the soul with arrows of conviction. The ministering angels present to him the fearful judgments of God to deepen the sense of need, and prompt the cry, "What must I do to be saved?"” Apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, we should not expect peace. She says that He lays heavy burdens upon the conscience of the wrongdoer, and pierces the soul with arrows of conviction. That sounds terrible, doesn’t it? But it is not as terrible as being lost. He does not want us living in “fatal security” thinking everything is okay on our way to death and destruction.
Let’s imagine for a moment that we live on a small Pacific island with a volcanic past evidenced by the mountain in the midst of the island. One morning we wake up and the sky is sunny and beautiful like most mornings. The water is clear and warm and we hear the same tropical bird sounds we have grown accustom to hearing. But there is something different about this day. When we turn on the radio we learn there has been an earthquake somewhere out in the ocean while we were sleeping and a Tsunami is fast approaching our little island. By the end of the day there will be two types of people. Those who went on with their day as they always did, living, one could say, in fatal security, either without knowledge of the pending catastrophe or in ignorant unbelief, trusting their senses rather than the warnings. And those who heard the warnings, believed, and hoisting their children to their shoulders, began the burdensome journey up the jagged rock to the safety of higher ground that the mountain provides. Which group would you choose to be in? Would you prefer blissful ignorance or the momentary discomfort, scrapes, and bruises that might result from the difficult mountain climb. With the knowledge that the climbers are the only survivors, the decision is clear. This is how a guilty conscience is designed to bring us to salvation. When the geologists detected the earthquake, pinpointed its epicenter, and modeled its path of travel did they do the merciful thing by broadcasting the warning to our island? Or should they just have said “aw let’s just forget about it. If we let them know, it will ruin their day with worry and the hardships of climbing that mountain. Let’s just let them enjoy their last day.” Just as ludicrous as that response would be, so to would it be if we were allowed to escape the pain associated with a guilty conscience on our path to everlasting destruction. God does the merciful thing when He pierces the soul with arrows of conviction. And just as our story had a mountain that brought safety, we too have a Rock of Salvation in Jesus. Acts 4: 10-12 reads… 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’[a] 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Yes belief in Jesus brings peace from our conscience through the process of confession, forgiveness, and salvation.
Turn with me back to John 14: 27 and we’ll read what Jesus has to say about this peace. ..
“27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
If we believe in Jesus we can claim this promise.
Let’s go back a page or so to today scripture John 14:1-3 and discover together the third principle in Christ’s four step prescription for overcoming worry. It’s found in verse two and it says…
“2 In My Father’s house are many mansions;[a] if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
When the world seems to be coming down around us and everywhere we look we see discord and strife, we can have victory over our discouraging thoughts if we remember that this life is not all there is. There is a song I remember from my college days written by Stephen Curtis Chapman entitled “More to This Life” and the lyrics come to my mind when I think of the promise of eternal life. The chorus says…” But there’s more to this life than living and dying, More than just trying to make it through the day; More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see, And there’s more than this life alone can be.
I sometimes think of the Atheist and try to put myself into his frame of mind where there is nothing beyond this life. What a depressing existence. How does one go on day after day believing that 70-100 years of trouble and strife is all there is with nothing beyond? I know that there are many today that are suffering various degrees of mental illness and depression as a result of physiological issues, be it chemical imbalances or whatever, and their despondency is not necessarily related to issues in their lives, but if there is anyone that should be discouraged and depressed about the futility of their life, it is the Atheist. I don’t believe that apart from Christ and the assurance of the free salvation he offers us, we can ever have true happiness. We may find moments of Joy and one could train their mind not to think of the future beyond their existence. But how could one find true lasting purposeful peace in this life without the hope of a better life beyond? How does one survive the loss of a child, a spouse, a father, or mother without the promise that this is not really the end? It is not possible. But we have reason to rejoice in the knowledge of a home waiting for us.
Christ has told us he goes to prepare a place for us. Most of us here have a guest bedroom in our home. And when you are expecting overnight guests you prepare that room for them, do you not? You dust the furniture, change the sheets on the bed, perhaps open the window and air out the room. I remember when the Aerokahanas from Great Lakes Adventist Academy were coming to Midland a couple of years back and we were having four of them stay in our home overnight. Brenda prepared the whole lower level of our home for them and Aidan was so excited that he put one of his treasured stuffed animals and a piece of candy on each of the four beds. When we do this, it’s because we expect them to come. It is not just an exercise we go through because we hope someday someone will show up at our home and spend the night. No, we carefully, thoughtfully prepare that room for the intended guest. Praise the Lord, Christ is doing that for us. Not just in case we happen by chance to make it, but because He is expecting us. He has invited us, He is preparing a place for us, and He plans for us to be there. Is that not a reason to be happy? In Ephesians 5:20 we are admonished to give thanks for all things. I would propose that this could also mean we can be happy in all circumstances. I can promise you that you will have circumstances in your life that in and of themselves do not bring happiness, but through the knowledge of a future home with Jesus, we can have joy regardless of our circumstances.
Finally we have come to number four in Christ’s prescription for overcoming worry in our lives. I hope you still have your marker in John 14: This time we’ll be reading verse three. Jesus Says…
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus is coming again! Can you think of four words that bring more happiness to the heart of a believer than these four? Jesus is coming again. We started this message by wading through a list of some of the troubles of our time, a list that has the tendency to bring hopelessness and discouragement on the hearer. Jesus himself spoke of a time like this. Turn with me to Luke chapter 21 verses 25 and 26. Jesus Says…
25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Men’s hearts failing them from fear, does this sound familiar? The follower of Christ has no reason for fear, no reason for sadness, and no reason for worry because of the following verse 27…
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And for what reason should the hope of Second Coming of Christ erase worry from our minds? Recite with me 1 Thessalonians 4: 16 & 17. You know it by memory.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
There is the answer, the last sentence of verse 17: “And thus we shall always be with the Lord” The thought of life eternal and a heavenly home pale in comparison to our hope of being forever with the Lord; restored to our right place at last. He created us to be his friends and his friends we shall be once again. This is true lasting peace. Revelation 21 verse 4 tells us that God himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes. We can have peace in knowing that there will be an end to our sorrow.
Oh Yeah! I don’t want to forget. In addition to these four great steps Christ has given us in John 14 to overcoming worry in our lives, there is one other way. I have no scripture to support it and I’m not sure how well it works but it is used by many. It’s called ignorance! Ever more prevalent than in generations past we find people that ignore all signs of danger somehow managing to keep their minds disengaged. These are the people that excuse their own destructive behavior with statements such as “Oh well, everyone has to die of something”. I’m sure you know who I am talking about you have undoubtedly met those that subscribe to this method. They sound like they are having fun and are happy in their lives, but the problem is, as blissfully happy as they may appear to be, it leads to destruction. I think I’ll choose Christ’s method, how about you?
I hope there are some here that have found the content of this message meaningful in their own lives, but perhaps also, by knowing Christ’s prescription for peace, you can share it with those you encounter who may be struggling with worry and stress. You now have the framework for a simple one scripture bible study that you can easily give to a discouraged friend. All you need to remember is John 14:1-3 and you can explain how they can find freedom from worry by 1. Believing in God: 2. Believing in Jesus: 3. Knowing He is preparing a home for them: and 4. That He is coming again soon. It is my prayer that you will remember and have the opportunity to share it with someone soon. Are you willing to do that? If so would you raise your hand to show God that you he may use you in this capacity? I praise God for your response and your willingness to be used by Him. May He lead others to you, that you might direct them to Him.