John 14:1  

“Do not let your hearts be troubled; trust in God, trust also in me.”

Jesus had just washed His disciple’s feet and reminded them that not only was He the Messiah, but that he would be crucified and that they would be scattered. So in John 14 Jesus calls the disciples to trust God through any and every circumstance of life, even when they did not understand and they could not see Him at work. Have you ever had one of those weeks when everything seems to go wrong? When it doesn’t seem to make any difference how hard you try, everything seems to backfire on you? The harder you try, the worse it gets and then your whole world seems to crumble around you leaving you wondering where is God in all of this is? How do you think the disciples were feeling? Their week had begun gloriously with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the people were waving palm branches & shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!”  But Jesus had not come to establish an earthly kingdom, He refused a temporary crown of glory and the fickle crowd began to change. As their dreams of a Jewish kingdom with Jesus as their miracle working king began to dissipate their praise turned to persecution. Jesus knew exactly what the next few hours would bring, after eating the Passover meal together, He knew Judas would betray Him. He knew about the false trials of the night, He knew of the cross and the borrowed tomb and how troubled the disciples would be. So He begins to prepare them for all that is to come with words of comfort. Today that is exactly what some of you need, His words of comfort. Maybe you have recently lost loved ones, a job, your health, or a relationship that has left you lonely & depressed. We all experience difficulties and Jesus says that part of the solution to a troubled heart is trust. 

Jesus tells His disciples to trust in 3 things:

• His Presence

Jesus begins by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.”  The word “troubled” means to be disturbed or agitated. On three previous occasions this word was used to express Jesus’ deeply troubled feelings: when He faced Lazarus’ tomb (11:33), when He contemplated the cross (12:27), and when He reflected on the betrayal of Judas (13:21), now the disciples will face the same feelings. When we read the words “Let not your heart be troubled” most of us would put the focus on the word troubled. But an equally if not more important word is the word “heart”. Jesus is saying that the heart can be clothed in serenity even when hell is clashing at its very gates. Inner peace does not come from tranquil circumstances but from an untroubled heart that is trusting in Jesus. Are we spending more energy trying to avoid difficulties or letting them grow us as we lean on Christ and get to know Him better? When we put our focus and energy simply into trying to change our circumstances we will be headed for frustration and failure.  When Jesus told His disciples “Let not your heart be troubled” He was preparing them for the dark day of His crucifixion. He knew they could weather the storm only by trusting in Him in spite of the apparent triumph of evil. Through trust in God the Father and Jesus the Son, we can not only find peace but be sustained through our coming tests. We can focus on the trouble in the world and in our lives, or we can focus on the victory we have in Christ because His death was eclipsed by His resurrection. Jesus wanted His disciples to focus on Him not their circumstances because He didn’t want them to miss the resurrection. This wonderful fact gives new meaning to His words, believe in Me. Jesus was saying “I know you trust in God, & you also trust in me, now remember, when you can no longer see me, don’t stop trusting in me.” We all find it easier to trust in things that we can see & touch, we are prone to walk by sight. Thomas said, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands & put my finger where the nails were, & put my hand into His side, I will not believe it” (John 20:25). There is a little bit of Thomas in all of us. Jesus showed Thomas and he believed. “Then Jesus told him, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen & yet have believed” (John 20:29). When we go through the troubles and tribulations of this life we need to fix our eyes on what is eternal not the temporary. Jesus has promised, “I will be with you always. I will never leave you nor forsake you.” There are many uncertainties, opposition, and even doubt along the road of life and those who lived with Christ when He was on earth faced the same difficulties. His answers and assurances for the disciples are meant for us as well. Jesus is God’s solution to our troubles, the question is will we trust in His presence? 

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

After teaching us about the Almighty’s ability Paul tells us about His: 

• Abundance

The result of receiving God’s gift of grace is that the giver will always have all sufficiency to help in every good work. God has the ability to not only supply us so that we can serve but to do so abundantly. The result of His exuberant and extravagant outpouring of grace is not only to fill our reservoirs but to fill them to overflowing. God is able to enrich you so that you will have in every respect at all times, all kinds of sufficiency. So often we get stingy in our serving because we fear we will run dry, that we will give until it’s all gone. But God will give more than enough good gifts so that we can participate in every good work. It’s the story of the widow woman and her finite supply of food, when she lived by faith and not fear God kept filling up her flour and oil jars. 1 Kings 17:10-16: “10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.” God kept adding to her flour so that she could feed not only herself but others.  Success didn’t come from saving her flour but sharing it. Her resources were not dictated by the famine but divinely given by the Father. When we focus on the famine we will withhold our flour but when we focus on the Father we will not only be fed but we will be free to feed others. Many of us have resigned ourselves to just surviving when God has called us to a life of thriving. Instead of living by faith we are living in fear, holding back and hiding instead of living in hope and helping. Why don’t we see the great things God can do, because we are living life according to what we can do, relying on our resources instead of His riches. Are you living a limited life based on what you can do or the abundant life based on God’s ability? Instead of living the blessed life we have let fear back us into a corner, we have surrendered to a mediocre life instead of a meaningful one. Are you scraping the last leftovers from the bowl of self or taking a heaping helping from God’s bottomless bowl? Are you living on the backside of life or the blessed side? The idea is that Christians will be both content in their heart and competent in their helping as they step out to meet the challenges of caring for others. Through Jesus we have the adequacy and abundance to meet the demands of life. What Paul wants to make plain is that the good gifts of divine grace will always be proportioned according to our willingness to walk by faith. We will not want while we exercise cheerful faithful stewardship. Before our resources run dry they will be replenished by God’s divine grace, because of our generous giving. You can’t out give God. This replenishment gives the cheerful giver a complete competence, and contentment, as they live to please God in obedience to His promises. Not only is He able to abundantly supply but His abundance can cause us to:

• Abound 

God’s goal is not for us to get by but to abound in every good work. The reason every grace abounds is so that believers can abound in every good work. In reality we can only dispense what we have received, whether it be material, Acts 14:17: “but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” or spiritual, Romans 5:17: “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” As we let God’s abundance flow through our life and into the lives of others God keeps pouring into us, but when we selfishly stop serving God shuts of the spigot of blessing. He doesn’t just give so that we can be enriched but so that we can abound in enriching others through our good works. He pours into us so that we can pass on the blessing. He soaks us with grace so that we can serve not so that we can sit and be selfish. Today we have limited God’s gifts to physical prosperity, money and material things, but God cares more about character and conduct than coins. The reason God gives us His grace which results in good works is because good works develop our character and conduct. As the grace of God enriches us morally and spiritually we grow in Christian character and conduct. As we are filled with the fullness of Christ we are free to faithfully serve. In our character and conduct we are called to copy God in the grace of giving, and as we do the inexhaustible resources of God’s grace will fill us to overflowing, as 1 Corinthians 15:58 says: “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” God’s grace is always abundant; it always leads to increase not decrease, even when it involves parting with our precious possessions. Do you believe God is able? Will you allow the fountain of God’s grace not only to flow in you but to flow freely through you? God wants to touch the world through you, to bless you not only to be a grace bearer but a grace giver. Will you become a receptacle, a reservoir so that God can do what His grace so desires to do in you and through you?