Latest / The Last Supper Club / DON'T LET YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED | The Last Supper Club · John 14
Transcript
- speaker-0: This is the Last Supper Club! I'm very excited. I'm very excited. We are in John 14. Shouts goes out to Bible Society! Woo! We are going to be reading from the Everyday Faith Bible. We are in a book called John in chapter 14 where Jesus talks about going to prepare a place. He's gonna go prepare heaven for us and he says, Don't worry, my guy, there's loads of rooms. There's a room for you. And so I thought if I go home, what are some of the things that I want to eat when I get home? You know what I want to eat? Pasta and cheese. That's actually what I want to eat. So we've got a pulled beef bolognese. We've also got a creamy garlic mushroom linguini. That's whole wheat and Goodness, goodness, goodness. We have got a salad. just because my mum will probably watch and say, make sure you eat your creams. We have got an upside-down pineapple cake. Shout goes out to my auntie Cheryl and my uncle Moti. They love to come home to an upside-down pineapple cake. And then if you're going to someone's yard, bake them a crumble. The Adlies and yes, yes, yes. Well we're gonna be talking about Jesus saying I'm the way, the truth and the life. There's no one that comes to the Father except through me. That's a big claim, that's a big menu. So let's eat tonight. This is the last time a club. Let's tuck in. We are in John 14, and Jesus has gone to prepare for his disciples a place in heaven, which is why I've brought with me some tea bags to my own yard. Because no one makes a cup of tea like me, to be honest with you. I'm I'm great at making cups of tea. I love a cup of tea. And if anything is gonna be like a cup of tea in heaven, I'm all here for it. But we have just seen Jesus say, don't be troubled. And this has come off the back of the chapter where he said to Peter, You're gonna deny me, bro. You're gonna deny And Peter's like, No, I'm gonna die. You, Lord. And Peter's like, No, Lord, yeah, I haven't got it wrong. He's gonna say that someone is gonna deny him. And so the disciples are probably feeling quite troubled and thinking, What is Jesus saying? And then Jesus, on top of that, is saying, I'm gonna leave you behind. So look at verse 14 with me. Verse 1 says, From Jesus, do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. What an amazing comfort Jesus would give to his disciples. And looking at that word troubled, some of the context of it is like choppy water. You know, Jesus is talking to these fishermen or talking to these people in in language that they would know. So, my first question is whether, yeah, you believe in God, whether you take Jesus at his word, or maybe you don't. What makes your heart feel like choppy water? What makes your heart feel troubled? And where do you run to when you feel like that? So, what makes your heart feel troubled or choppy like water? And where do you run to when you feel like that? Open floor, open table. speaker-1: so for me, I would say, yeah, just being the eldest daughter of a single parent household, finance really, speaker-0: Right. speaker-1: yeah, had me choppy water. Cause it wasn't something like, I could run to my mom for, take care of the household. So it was like, okay, if I don't have it, where am going to get it from? I would say before I was a Christian, yeah, probably not the best decisions, credit cards or that. speaker-0: But yeah. speaker-1: Now I'm a Christian. Yes, the Lord. just holding on. I'm really believing, you know, if he dresses the lilies, if the sparrows are eating food, how much more for me? And that's just such a comfort. So yeah, that's me. speaker-2: All right, I'm jumping in. So, yeah, well, a recent example was I was preparing a talk that I was sharing about 10 days, two weeks ago, and everything was going well. But I'm kind of one of those guys who like hyper focuses. I need a deadline to get it done right. So I'm in the throes of getting it finished up and I lose. speaker-0: Lose speaker-3: Thank you. speaker-2: I lose my notes and I'm like. I am not in a good head space and I pick my wife up and she's like, you're in a foul mood. I went, yeah, you would be. I've just lost everything. And she was brilliant. She was an incredible wife. We prayed. I did not want to pray, but she prayed. And somehow, yeah, the notes kind of showed up when I got there and it was crazy. So that's one example where I went to for the cure. I basically just cried, but thankfully the Lord provided anyway. I think, yeah, think, you know, praying, right. But, but yeah, I think another super quick example would be when I feel overwhelmed, I love to go to wide open spaces and Wales, you know, thankfully it's blessed to that. And I remember this one time in a really tough day. And I just drove to this car park that overlooked the sea and It just felt like a moment where I felt like I could connect with my maker and yeah, just kind of feeling at peace with that. yeah, I think nature, the wide open space and right in my feelings as well. Those would be some sort of things for me. speaker-0: You know. speaker-1: Thank you. speaker-4: so for me it's when I feel like I've lost control of a situation. And probably the control is like probably an illusion. Do I do we ever have control? But yeah, when I feel like goodness, like I don't have control of the situation, that's when I start to freak out. And what I should do immediately is go to the word. But I know my favourite YouTubers, I know, you know, just kinda wanna numb it out and just kind of like not think. and so, you know, I don't wanna say it's always perfect and I run to the words. Sometimes I just want to not think about the situation. So I wanna watch my favorite shows and just, you know, block out what's happening. But you know how the Holy Spirit works. Like in the back of my mind, I I feel that tugging from God to say, Come to me, you know. and so what I do love is soaking in God's presence where it's like I don't even know what the answer to this situation is, but it's like I'm just gonna be still and just allow God to hold me in that situation. another thing that I'm really finding healthy is prayer walks. So I love being in nature as well. and just yeah, just vocalizing what I'm feeling to the Holy Spirit and not holding it in, but like, God, I feel frustrated or I feel anxious, like, you know, where are you? I know you're here, but you know, it doesn't feel like it, but just having that one-to-one actual personal exchange with him and I always feel his presence afterwards. So it's it's whenever I feel him then, you know, confirming that he's there, it makes me want to go to him first the next time instead of numbing it. Yeah. That's me. speaker-0: Yeah, beautiful. Thank you. speaker-5: I think it's similar. Like I think I whenever something unexpected happens that I didn't necessarily plan, I especially if it's something that I've like feel unprepared for or like I can't control, I that's when I usually feel troubled. Or it's just something like bad news or you know, like something looming in the distance that you're like, this is it's not going to be good. and I think I tend to turn to I journal. I often prayer journal, but it depends. Sometimes I'm like really angry. I'm just like writing. And then sometimes Yeah, exactly. But then also like I think, yeah, it's like just write like like why, you know, like to God, or or really putting it down, like this is what I'm worried about. Please, like, I trust you, like reminding myself of those promises. Then also music. And again, that also depends on my mood. Sometimes it's worship music, but sometimes it's just like the mood. I wanna like, I'm very Sometimes I gotta feel it all the way through. And yeah, it helps me process things because it's kind of like I've processed the whole emotion and then I'm ready to kind of deal with it logically. speaker-0: Yeah, yeah. You know, just no no it's it's Just jumping off what you said, it's funny when you look at John 14 because you've got a Thomas, you know, Thomas gets such a bad rap, doesn't he? Doubting Thomas, I just wanted answers, bro. He was like, I don't know where you're going, Jesus. Jesus, I'm gonna go prepare a place. He's like, Where? Where are you going? Galilee, Nazareth, going. So he's going, and then you've got Pete, Philip, sorry, that's like, just show us the Father, we'll be satisfied. And Jesus is like, I am in the Father, Father's in me. But isn't it funny that these two guys who have walked with Jesus, spoke with Jesus, ate with Spent so much time, have got real honest questions. And you were just saying, yeah, you go with all your anger, with all your might. And what does it say about God if you do believe in God, that He's able to hold all of those questions? And so I guess a question for the room, a question for the room is, yeah, what when you've had that moment, your heart is troubled, you've got questions, you've gone to the Lord, has he answered your Question in a way that you thought, whoa, I never, you know, never expected that to be the case. Or have you thought, wow, God of the universe? That he's busy spinning planets and doing and he's mindful of me and my question. Yeah, what does that say about God to you? And if you don't believe in God and you may want to believe in God, what what appeals to you in that way when you see two men go to Jesus? Like, I've got questions. And Jesus doesn't like push them away, he actually leans in and he answers those questions. So Yeah, open table, just a time in your life maybe where you've had full of questions. The Christian life is not all sorted, is it at all? and where has God met you in the in the fullness of all your questions? speaker-3: Right. Without giving too dark an example. obviously, you know, they were You ready? no, obviously, well that you know, as we're speaking today, yesterday, there was an attack on our community. And so when I woke up this morning, I thought, how do I how do I pray this through? What what am I gonna do? So I sat and I got a cup of coffee. And I sat, we have some sort of tatami mats, they're like mats you can sit. And I sat On these mats with my coffee. And I prayed and I said, God, I I I don't understand why you're letting this happen. I don't know what to pray for the person that did the attack. Like, I want to like, Lord, save them, be happy, you know. But then a part of me really wants them to suffer. And I don't know what to pray for the victims, the families, for my ministry. What should my ministry look like? How should it be affected by this? And as I was praying and as I was thinking through later in the day, not just then, I'd say I I wasn't answered at all. But I was reminded of Job. And I'm not comparing myself to Job in the slightest, but I was reminded of Job. And the fact that Job is actually never answered as to why this happens. And the only thing that he's given is clarity that God is still in control. And and we as the as the readers are never told. what's happening really. There's this sort of weird conversation between this adversary and God and nobody quite knows what's going on. But none of us are actually given a reason as to why these terrible things happened to Job. and and I suppose part of my journey in the last year, wrestling through Ecclesiastes, Jobs, various other things, has been realizing that maybe some of my unmet expectations are unmet because they're the wrong expectations. And it's okay to sit in discomfort and it's okay to sit in confusion and lack of knowledge and to to trust God in that. Although of course it's hard, but yeah, that's my tuppence. speaker-0: So yeah, please it's speaker-5: so what makes me, I guess I'm gonna say gives me choppy waters is thinking about the future because I wanna know what I'm doing in two thousand and fifty and two thousand and sixty. I just need to know okay. And God doesn't usually give details, even if you get a prophecy or word of knowledge, you have to wait, kinda like Sarah and Abraham. They got told they were having a son, but you they didn't know the date. And they probably thought I was in a few years and then time goes by and then it's like, wait, did I hear it? Or do you get what I mean? So I think something that yeah is uncomfortable is not knowing details because you have to just then it forces you, or not forces you, but it pushes you to then seek God more because that lack of knowledge, he knows everything. So then it you then lean onto the one who is in control, knows everything. So yeah, it helps me to also remember what God has done in the past because then I have to think that's the evidence of that he can do the same not the exact same thing but that he has the same heart in the past as in the future. But then after like a minute I'm like, yeah, but I still wanna know So I'm still working on it. speaker-0: Work in progress. Yeah. No, it's really good, really encouraging. Yeah. speaker-1: feel like these questions are like what I ask myself on the daily basis. Every day. Why, Lord? It's really interesting what you said, Gamma, because I don't think we can actually handle knowing. As much as we want to know, I don't think that we can actually handle knowing. Because if we knew all of the ups and the downs and the steps that it would take to get us to where we wanted to be and what we'd have to go through to become the kind of person to sustain whatever it is that we, that in the place that we want to be, we wouldn't take the first step. True. I know like some of the things I've been through in my life and if somebody, you know, had shown me that in advance, I would have just said, no, fast track to heaven, please. You know, and I think it's difficult because we live in a society right now where it's just, we want instant gratification all of the time. We want the answer and we want the answer now. And what I've been pondering on is actually the Israelites and how we always focus on how that 40 year journey could have taken like 11 days. And we're always like, they messed up. It could have just been 11 days. It could have been quick. It could have been instant. What if God actually was looking for that 40 year journey or 40, it was 40 years. Yeah. What if he was looking for that 40 year journey? what if I feel like the God that we love, the God that we serve is so interested in the journey. not in the destination of what it takes to get there. And by the time you've gone through that 40 year journey, you've had to go through a way that is so narrow that others would have turned back, others would have left because not all of them actually went into the promised land. It was the ones that came beneath them. And so I just think it's so interesting that we're always like, give me the answers, give it to me now. And I think God's more interested in who are we becoming as we go down that road, not about what happens in our lives. speaker-0: Yeah. Well, speaking about roads, yeah, I know it is it is a very I feel like I read your diary to ask the questions, and you read mine to ask my questions. look with me at John 14, verse 13. Let's pick it up at 13. where am I? Sorry, verse five. Thomas speaking. Thomas said to Jesus, Lord, we don't know where. where you are going, how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. that's a big, big, big claim that Jesus is saying, you know, I am the way. There is no other way to get to God, to get to the Father. I am the only way. But guess what? I'm also the truth. There's only one truth. I am the truth. I'm the fulfillment of all truth. Anything that's true points to this guy. Like I'm truth. And he also said, I'm also life, you know, everlasting life, but even life now. So Jesus is saying this. When people say, he never said to be God, yeah, he does. He does say to be God. And he's quite exclusive about it, actually. He says, No one can come to the Father except through me. and so I do love that in all of our answers about questions, he's quite. Clear, isn't it? Jesus is quite clear. and so I just, yeah, maybe just a couple of us, just spend time in when did Jesus just make that really clear for you? Maybe there were other ways you may have followed, or other things you were doing, or other things you found life in that actually compared to Jesus, it was so empty, it was so lost, it was so, it just didn't match up. So, where like Thomas, where you asking, show me, show me, and Jesus has come and said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. And now you know the father because you've come through him. yeah, any any stories of just like boom, it was right in my face and I couldn't deny it, Jesus has said, I'm the way, the truth and the life. speaker-2: think for me, there's a couple of different stories in the Bible of people's journey with Jesus. And I kind of think of Paul on the road to Damascus, right? And he has this incredible encounter and completely changes him, this kind of amazing, crazy encounter. And that could be some people's story, can't it? But I also think of the road to Emmaus with the disciples who were just trying to figure out what just happened and you know, Jesus just died, they're trying to figure out there's rumors of like a resurrection. They're like, what's going on? They're just really trying to clear themselves up. And then this person enters the journey and starts walking alongside them. And yeah, they kind of ramble this road and they basically kind of go through the script just at the end, they realize it was Jesus all along. And I think that's kind of a beautiful metaphor for sometimes journeys with Jesus can look like Wham, bam, know, Jesus is there, life changing. Other times it can be more subtle. And I think my journey was more of a sort of road to Emmaus moment, you know. I think there was, you know, drip feeding, journeying along the way. And I think it was in the troubled waters that I think I found Jesus to be real to me. And it was when my parents were divorcing. And I just found it incredibly overwhelming and difficult. I just remember kind of this having this kind of Psalm like cry, like, you know, God, where are you? Show up. I need you right now. And I just remember feeling this kind of incredible peace that didn't make any sense. So the Bible talks about, right, this peace, past is understanding. And I think that was one of the key moments for me was in the choppy waters, the troubled waters. It was there that I think Yeah, the way kind of revealed himself to me. speaker-0: Amen. That's beautiful. speaker-4: I would say for me, my time at university was like a testing times because, you know, it's a time where there's a lot of temptations, there's a lot of just different ways, different roads that are saying, come this way, this is you know how you fit in, this is what makes you cool. So, whether that's, you know, drinking and going out and partying and all of that and I really felt the tug and the pulls of all those kind of pressures of just this is the the student lifestyle, you know, you're young, just have fun and it's you know, but that path was taking me further away from the way, Jesus. but i you know I feel especially for for young people, there can be a lot of temptation like that where i in university settings, for example, it's really trying to fit in and just yeah, going in the wrong path. But, you know, I got to a point where I just felt like that wasn't filling me. You know, I wanted and and it's so important when parents, you know, bring their children up, even even though they might not follow it immediately. You know, that scripture in Proverbs where it says, train your child up in the way they should go and when they're older they won't depart from it. Although I I was being drawn by all these different ways, there was that deep knowing underneath that this is not the path. That God has for me. Like God is real because those values were instilled in me. And I just got to a point where I just cried out to God just, you know, at some point in my room. And, you know, in the Bible, there's a scripture that says, if you seek God with all of your heart, you will find you will find him. You'll find him. And so if you seek God with all of your heart, you know, he'll he'll find you. He's he's already there. But when you get to that point when you're really seeking from your heart, you realize that he was there. And it's not like, you know, the skies split open and angels were, you know, singing and dancing. It was just little things that he would do. Encounters where people would just stop me in the street and just remind me about a Bible verse or just subtle ways that he would speak through people. and it became just a walk and it's a daily thing. And then before you know it is ten years on and you've had little moments where he shows up in just supernatural ways and that's what confirmed to me that he's the way. That longevity of him showing up in little small moments and then builds rapport in my heart to know that wow he is the way. But it starts with that cry of a heart that's really saying, I'm seeking and when you seek him, you will find him. Amen. speaker-5: I think I there are kind of two ways that this happened. So really similarly, I think I like at the end of university. I was like I really starkly like I felt very distant from God. and then all of a sudden I that was quite like I feel like you really I was looking for a path, right? I think at the end of university, a lot of people are. And I think I realized like he is the only way I'm going to find a path forward. Like there is that guidance that is it surpasses so many other things and just trusting in him. but then equally in doing that, there have been moments where like you have to be faithful and you're faithful through these seasons where it's like, I I don't feel like I'm in the right place or I don't know why I feel like you want me to be here, but I don't really understand why. And then suddenly he does something. And it is like, wow, I'm so glad I went through that season because I'm so prepared. And that's one of those times I'm like, that is so God. And that's like knowing God and having tried to pursue him. Like there are all these like long seasons of kind of murkiness and like, you know, darkness sometimes, but equally, like you have the guiding light. And then there are moments you step into the sun. And that's like, that's what I think of. It's like like Paul, you know, like suddenly you're like, speaker-0: Yeah, it's obvious. Yeah. Yeah. Amen. Yeah. Praise God. It's so funny because you were just saying about you have to go through the season to get to the moment of saying, yeah, I I get it. And Philip is a really interesting guy. In we're in chapter fourteen, but just put your finger into John one. I'm just gonna jump us there for a second. you go to John one. I'll just read from four chapter fourteen, verse eight. Philip says to Jesus, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied, like apple crumble satisfied, like ambassador and Paul Bee satisfied. I want to be satisfied. But who is Philip? Look what Philip's gone and done in John chapter 1, verse 45. Philip found Nathaniel and said, This is Philip saying to Nathaniel, yeah, we have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote: Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth. Philip knows who Jesus is. Isn't it fascinating that he knows so much? He's gone to go and get his boy. He's like Nathaniel Kung and you know what Nathaniel will be saying. Can then you can go come from Galilee? Don't don't mind. Don't don't mind Nathaniel. Don't mind Nathaniel. But Philip knows, and I think for those in the room who think, once you become a Christian, you just know everything. You just, you know, you get it right all the time. You've got perfect faith, you get through. And for the Christians in the room, you know that's not true. You you can be an absolute Philip and be like telling your friend, and then the next minute you're like, Jesus, show me who you are. I'm not satisfied until you show me who you are. So to land the conversation, I would love to know. yeah, two things. Jesus says, when your heart is troubled and you've got choppy waters for a heart, verse one of chapter 14 says, Don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, also believe in me. Elsewhere in the Bible, it says that Jesus is the fullness of God. All of God is squeezed into Jesus. If you want to see God, you're looking at Jesus, you see Jesus, you see God. What do you believe about God because you've seen it or read about Jesus doing it in the Bible? What do you believe about God? Even if that thing that you believe comforts your choppy heart, water, you know, that that water of just all over the place, it's troubled. What has Jesus shown you that you're like, wow, if if Jesus is like that and he's God, that confirms God's like that. That's amazing. Like, you know, you see Jesus, you actually see God. So what things have you seen or read? We're in chapter 14. What things have you seen Jesus say or do, or even in your own life, that you're like, wow, that's amazing. Like that would calm my my choppy heart. speaker-3: I think the thing that always stands out to me in the life of Jesus is his compassion. He's got real compassion for people, for human beings, and a real Yeah, love for broken people, people that make bad choices even after they meet him. And I make bad choices even after meeting Jesus. and so, you know, yeah, maybe there's hope for someone like me. All right. Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah, amen. speaker-1: Yeah, for me it's his mercy. When Vimba was talking I was thinking, yes, university. But I guess my story was different in the sense of I wasn't seeking, but in his mercy he found. So I remember 18 year old Chinela in uni like, I'm gonna live my life. And then when I turned 25, that's when I'll come to him and that's so proud and arrogant. And yeah, who knew I was gonna live past that. But the Lord in his mercy started tugging me at 25 and I was baptized at 26. And it's like, yeah, when I think of that, I'm like, wow, like you could have took me, you could have really, anything could have happened. But yeah, cause he knows me and knows that I will clock onto that. Like, yeah, there was a pulling at 25 and I got myself into the church a month after my 26th birthday. And then I'm on the process of getting baptized and I get baptized on that day. Like speaker-0: Easter Sunday, right? speaker-1: that's only God. And that was so merciful of him because he did not have to do that. One for me, an image or just something that Jesus has done where, yeah, where I felt, okay, if Jesus has done this, then yeah, definitely God. It's when I learned that he took on suffering, like when he took on pain, I knew, I knew he died on the cross. But when I realized that he did it so that he could be human and feel exactly what we would feel, the pain, Broken heartedness, hunger, thirst. He didn't need to do that. He didn't need to empty himself. And when I read in, I think it's in Philippians where it says he empties himself, correct me if I'm wrong, I think it is. I was like, wow, like you actually emptied yourself. You didn't have to do that. Yeah, to do that, to have full understanding or to fully know and to be able to take that suffering and say, I felt everything that you have felt. I still love you. I've experienced this and I'm willing to do it all over again, times a million trillion. There's no number that can quantify the suffering that he bore for us, him taking on death for us. When I really, really, really, really deeped that, that's when I said, yeah, like for sure. Because. I love my sister, I love my mum, I love my niece and I be my sister, we'll show it, can't love you, like, I'm I'm trying, I'm trying not to die. I'm not doing it. And yeah, Jesus did that for the world. did that, well, he did it. He did it for me. He did it for, yeah. That is, can't grasp that. That is insane to me. Yeah. feel like God is just such like an on-time God. And like when we read the Bible, like a lot of people will say like, where are the miracles that were once in the Bible? Like, where are they happening now? And I feel like we experience them like every day through the testimonies, you know, that has happened in like our lives. And like, for me, like God has done the most incredible things. Like, you know, I went on a missions trip, it was like £4,000. He told me to I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to pay off my credit card. I didn't have the money. But then within three weeks, the whole thing was paid off and then some. You know, I became the first of my friends to become a homeowner, but I was once like £7,000 in debt and all of it was cleared. You know, I remember I wanted a car and I walked outside my friend's house and the exact car I wanted was right outside and the Lord was like, go buy that car and that car was paid off in full. I got this incredible job that I have right now. You know, it's just like the Lord is still doing those miracles in each of our lives. And I think, you know, even talking about the way and like needing to turn, wanting to have control and wanting to know what's ahead. If we all knew like what was ahead, then we wouldn't need Jesus because like we'd be like, we know it's going to work out. We know it's going to be fine. you know, I think we've all been guilty, not to speak for everyone, when things are really good. Suddenly we're like praying a little bit less, we're like reading our word a little bit less. And I think sometimes the hardship, the suffering, the difficulty is a reminder of how much we actually need the Lord. And He shows up every time. And when we look back at what He's done, we always say like, Lord, you did that at the right time. Because if it had been that other time, I wouldn't have been ready. And it's like, he always reminds us, look back at what I've done before to know that I'm gonna be for you in the beginning. And that's what the Bible is about. Because in the New Testament, you see them using the Old Testament to get them through the problems that they're facing then. So, he's a great guy. speaker-0: Yes. speaker-3: Yeah. speaker-5: what I would say that I believe about God is that He has good intentions and yeah the story in the Bible that like I go back to the most I think is Joseph's journey because just the way it all like the sequence of it happens and how God preserves Joseph, like his mental health. I'm thinking in that way 'cause of being a mental health nurse, but like that kind of experience can actually cause someone to be like depressed or s end his life if that makes sense. But I don't know what happened in the prison with Joseph and God, but he came out with such compassion at the end for his brothers. And also he he says, God used this for the saving of lives, but you meant this to to harm me. So I'm like, how did he get to that conclusion? Where and also God had good intentions for the ones who wanted to harm Joseph and Joseph and just Like he just his intentions are good. So even when situations feel like choppy waters, I have to remind myself, God is not trying to sabotage our lives. And that's what doubt tries to convince us that God is out to make us be in a bad situation, but that's just not how he does things. But Joseph could have thought that at in the prison, in the when he got set up and all these different situations. So something happened between him and God, I really believe that. made him not get so discouraged to the point of turning away from God and thinking, Why did you let this happen when he was framed and all these things. So yeah, God's intentions are good. Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-3: I remember a few years ago writing a sermon about the love of Jesus and it just striking me, you know, I was trying to teach young people about sacrificial love and so going into some of the medical stuff around what crucifixion is and what Jesus endured. And it's very easy to say he endured that on our behalf, but for me the image that sort of like broke through my apathy around the cross Was imagining Christ or seeing Christ on the cross, looking through a veil of blood and tears at the people who cause that and begging for their forgiveness. And that seems so unfathomable to me. It's such you know, we we s we spoke earlier about things seeming unfair, you know, and there's often times where I think, God, that seems really unfair. Why have you allowed that? Like I'm you know, I'm I'm I'm not okay with that God, as though I could say so. But and I'm always reminded of Jesus, the most unfair event in history, right? God himself being tortured by dust that he created. Yeah. And his his you know, his gut reaction, the the most natural thing that Jesus did when looking on the men who tortured him was to love them and ask for their forgiveness. And that's incredible. speaker-0: Amen. It's such a yeah, everything everyone has said has reminded me this week of my own answer to my own question of what do you love about what do you see of God because Jesus has done it? God just takes time. He just takes so much time with people. Jesus was never in a rush. He was never hurried. Even when he was late to Lazarus' funeral, he raised him to the to life anyway. So it wasn't even a funeral at the end of it. And I just love that Jesus bookends this chapter by saying, believe in me. And at the end, if you look with me, John 14, verse 25, Jesus is saying to his disciples, You're gonna be troubled even more, bros, because I'm going away. And they're like, What do you mean? Where are you going? And Jesus says, Don't worry, I have said these things to you while I'm still with you. But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid. What a beautiful promise from Jesus. That of all peace, we get his peace. His unwavering, walking on water, his healing people, his business. That peace that Jesus has, it is possible to have that, even with hearts that are choppy like water. and so I'm just gonna. Close us in prayer if that would be okay. And for those listening or watching or wherever you may be, we would love to pray for you too. You know, we don't know who's watching, but troubled hearts, choppy hearts, until Jesus comes. It it they won't end until he comes, isn't it? And so yeah, I'm just gonna pray if that's okay, and just pray these verses from John 14. yeah, John 14, verse 1: Don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. John 14, 25. Or 27, peace I live with you, my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Father God, we come before you in Jesus' name and say thank you so much for peace that exceeds all understanding, that guards our hearts and our minds as we continue to live in you, Jesus, as we continue to believe you as the way, the truth, and the life. You are wonderful, Lord Jesus. And even when our hearts are troubled, even when they're choppy like water. Because of life and because of whatever else is going on, it is possible to have peace. And it's possible to have your peace. And so give us your Holy Spirit. He is a person. We can invite him. We can talk to him. Thank you. That although you've gone ahead, you've given us a helper, an advocate, in them in the same likeness of you, Jesus. So thank you so much for your Holy Spirit. As we think about all that's been said tonight, let us remember that we've got peace in the midst of a crazy world and a crazy life. And it's peace that you've leaved with us. In Jesus' name I pray these things. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Welcome.