← ArchiveSolid GroundSolid Ground – Handling Stress (John 13:36-14:4)DateAugust 7, 2022SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextJohn 13:36–14:4Passages in this sermonJohn 135:25John 147:20John 1210:13TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00"The New York Times" is a production of the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Education. "The New York Times" is a production of the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Education. "The New York Times" is a production of the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Education. "The New York Times" is a production of the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Education. "The New York Times" is a production of the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Education.0:25"The New York Times" is a production of the U.S. Department of Education. "The New York Times" is a production of the U.S. Department of Education. "The New York Times" is a production of the U.S. Department of Education. Okay, if you are new here or new-ish here, if you just consider yourself new,0:53welcome to Bethel, where we gather because of the gospel. That's why we worship together.1:21And if you've been here longer than a week, the gospel is simply this, Jesus in our place. We're not here because we're earning his grace. We're here because he has freely given to us what we could never earn. So our worship is a sign of our thanksgiving to a Savior who sent his only Son for our sake. So we start a new series today called Solid Ground. And this is a series based upon the survey that we conducted for Easter, right?1:46We asked, what are some things that you want the Bible to speak into? And we've done this for several years. Beginning in 2018, at Christmas, we asked the church, how can the Bible speak into your life, the things that cause you difficulty? And in 2018, out of all the things that you wanted this church to preach upon, stress was number two.2:10So I preached the best sermon I thought I've ever preached on stress in my life. So we conducted another survey this year for Easter. And this time, stress was number one. So we're going to try to redo the sermon series, apparently. Hopefully that's not a direct reflection of my preaching ability or your listening ability.2:37Now, what you might know is this. In 2020, someone conducted a poll, one poll, this is the name of the company. And they found that three-fourths of Americans felt like 2020 was the most stressful year of their life. So three-quarters of us say, I just feel, for whatever reason, stressed. Fifty-seven percent of people admitted to being more stressed in 2020 than they've ever been in their life.3:05Fifty-seven percent. So maybe it's not just me. Maybe it's all of us. And here are the things that have caused stress recently. Maybe you feel this is part of your life also. Money. Politics. What was that? Something called the COVID virus. And quarantining.3:35And quarantining. And some of you have lost family members who died to this virus. Some of you have watched people die alone. Which I think is one of the great tragedies of all of this. We've been isolated from each other. We're built for community. So I think that when we start with stress, we all need the word of God to speak into our lives. Because most of us are stressed at some point. Which brings up an important question before we dive into the scriptures today.4:02Is it sinful for a Christian to be stressed? I'm not asking. I'm going to give you the answer. Is it sinful for a Christian to be stressed? Because some of you are thinking, okay, the pastor's preaching on stress, which means he's speaking to me. And I'm already stressed, which creates more stress, which creates more sin. I'm in trouble. So there's this hamster wheel, if you speak, that creates more anxiety and more stress in your life.4:27And it's as simple as a death spiral of stress. The Bible's clear stress is not necessarily sinful. It can lead to anxious thoughts. And the Bible clearly says, be anxious in nothing. But in everything, present your request to God with thanksgiving. And then the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.4:54Stress is not necessarily sinful, but it is the product of living in a broken world. The greater question we need to ask today is, God, how can people of faith, how can people of covenant faith in Jesus Christ, how do we respond to stressful moments in our life? And we're going to look at one moment.5:23And that's in the book of John chapter 13, a moment in the life of Jesus and his disciples, a moment of deep pain and deep distress. So how did the disciples, how did Jesus act and interact with moments of stress? If you will, let's conduct a really quick poll, unscientific. If you would say at some point this week, if you have been stressed at all, at some point in this week, if you just raise your hand.5:49Okay, I see. Okay. Excellent. The rest of you are going to raise your hand next Sunday. I guarantee it. Because we live in a broken world and we deal with things that are difficult and you are not alone. So let's look at the book of John, verse 13, beginning in verse 36, and then we'll pray after we read the scriptures. How can God give us solid footing, solid ground?6:19Lord, Simon Peter said to Jesus, where are you going? And Jesus answered, talk about creating stress. Where I am going, you cannot follow me. But you will follow later. Now think about the stress. The disciples have followed Jesus everywhere. And Peter is saying, Jesus, where are you going? He says, you can't go with me. Stress level raised.6:49Lord, Peter asked, why? Why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. By the way, that's a great answer. And Jesus says, will you lay down your life for me? Truly, I tell you, a rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times. That's the context of what we're about to read in John 14, verse 1.7:20Jesus says to Peter, you're about to deny me. Don't let your heart be troubled. What? Jesus is speaking into the deepest worry of Peter's heart. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my father's house, there are many rooms. If not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again.7:48I will take you to myself so that where I am, you may be also. You know the way where I am going. And Thomas says, we don't know. And Jesus begins to reaffirm Thomas. Let's pray and ask God to put us on solid ground as we live lives of stress.8:12Father, we thank you that you sent your only son as the atoning sacrifice for sinful, rebellious people. Lord, we come to you today because Jesus took our place. And Father, we live in a broken world and we will all live in stress. We've raised our hands. We've admitted as much. Lord, meet us in our need.8:40Father, speak to our hearts. Help us trust you deeply. Help us, Lord. Even if we don't know the way, we know that you are the way. So, Father, put us on solid ground as we have already sung today. Lord, you are our salvation. We give you glory and honor. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So, today's message is simply called Handling Stress.9:10So, we've looked at the context already, right? We read in this passage that Peter asks. He says, Jesus, where are you going? Now, for the last two to three years, the disciples have followed Jesus every single place. And if you back up several chapters, you realize that what is spoken is in the midst of Jesus washing the disciples' feet.9:32It's on the heels of the betrayer leaving Christ to go make a deal with silver. It's in the midst of the Last Supper. It's in the midst of Jesus pouring out his heart to the disciples and saying, guys, I'm leaving you. That's the context for what Peter asked.10:01And we're reminded in this that even Jesus himself, he's headed to the cross. And in John 12, it says that he is troubled in his heart. It says that Jesus in John 13, 21, that he's troubled in his spirit. So, in fact, the words of comfort uttered here in John 14 are in a moment of deep stress by Jesus Christ.10:25So, if you're here and you say, well, I'm stressed to the max, you are not alone. Jesus himself went through difficult moments. So, let me remind you of this as we look at how God helps put us on the side of the ground. The presence of stress does not necessarily result from the lack of faith or disobedience.10:56Jesus is not troubled in heart because he lacks faith. He's troubled in heart because he lives in a broken world and he knows he is headed to the cross for you and for me. So, maybe your stress is not the product of sin. Maybe your distress is because you're living in a broken world. To make matters worse, and I believe it does, when Peter asks, where are you going?11:22Jesus affirms him and says, well, Peter, you can't go with me. Now, again, we're on a five stress level, and now we're at a ten. Because Peter says, I'll chop off a guy's ear for you, Jesus. I'll lay down my life for you. Peter says to Jesus, I've gone everywhere that you've gone.11:50I will lay down my life for my Messiah and my King. And Jesus says, you can't do that. In fact, Peter, you're going to deny me three times. And Peter almost rebuffs that, doesn't he? And he asks the question, why? Church stress is an ever-present reality of living in a broken, stressed world. If this was true for Jesus, is it not true for you and for me?12:20The answer is yes to that. If the disciples lived and had stressful moments, should that not be true of us? So it's important that we have a theological ground for stress before we ask God how we can live faithful lives in a broken, stressed world. So let me give you two ways that you should not handle stress, right? So these are man-centered approaches to stressing poorly.12:49The answer to stress is not to have feeble attempts to create stress-free environments. I call that bubble mentality. If I just make sure my house is 70 degrees, if I make sure there's no burdens, if I make sure the freezer is always stocked with ice cream, or whatever it is, whatever's your guilty pleasure.13:05If I can just manufacture, or work hard enough to have a perfect life, if I can just make sure that my son or daughter is on the right all-star team,13:23or they have the right teacher, and they make the right grades, and they get into the right school, and then they'll have the right life, then I will be stress-free. That life will never happen. That's a feeble, man-centered reaction to stress.13:51And I believe the desire to have a perfect life is actually an eternal desire that only God can fill. When you cry out and you say, God, I don't like my life. I don't like stress. I want my life to be perfect. You are longing for heaven, whether you know it or not. You are crying out and saying, God, I want things like you want things. God, remake my entire world.14:20You are longing for an eternity that only Jesus can make for you. So don't try to create a perfect life. Long for what only God can do in your life. Does that make sense? So if you try to create the perfect existence, it will not happen. Stop. That's my pastoral advice to you, right? Stop it. The bubble world does not exist. God did not create you and me to live in a bubble. And I would even say this, God did not create you to live in a Christian bubble, right?14:49If I just have little Christian friends and go to a little Christian church, and then my life will be cozy and Christian. Explain that to Jesus when you get to heaven. And see what true suffering, what the suffering servant did for you and for me. Do not have a feeble attempt to create stress-free environments. Actually, this is a longing that only Jesus can feel in heaven.15:18Feeble attempt, man-centered reaction to stress number two. And often you might have said this, or you have a well-meaning friend that has said that. They'll come to you in a difficult moment and just say, you know what? Well, let that roll off your back. Just let that roll off. Don't worry about that. Well, God did not design you to be a duck where you have preen oiled and the water just rolls off your back and you're happy in your little ponds with your little duck feet.15:44Like God didn't create us. And I think the danger is if we try to live a life where everything rolls off our back, we live a life of laziness or passivity. Because Jesus Christ flipped tables at the temple when he saw that his house was no longer a house of prayer, but a house of money changing.16:08Our Savior wept at Lazarus' tomb. Our Savior wept over Jerusalem and their lack of faith. Can you imagine you going up to Jesus at the temple when there's ungodliness and saying, Jesus, just let it roll off your back. He would say, I'm about to flip you and the table. Because we should be people that sin breaks our heart.16:38We should be people who care deeply about righteousness. So we can't live a life of extreme passivity as if nothing matters. So how then do we, with faith-filled lives, ask God to work into our lives when we are stressed? If you can't ignore stress and you can't create stress-free living, what is God's remedy for stress?17:05So let's look at verse 1 of chapter 14 again. Again, these are words spoken in a moment of stress that is unlike any other. So context matters. Context is king in the Bible. Jesus says to Peter, Jesus has just said to Peter, you're going to deny me.17:28Jesus has just said to the disciples, you can't go with me. And now Jesus says, let not your hearts be troubled. And I think our fleshly response to Jesus would be, what? Let not, we have reason to be troubled. Jesus, we can't go where you are.17:57Peter says, Jesus, you just said I'm going to deny you. Three times. Jesus, we are troubled. But do you hear what Jesus says? He says, let not your heart be troubled. This is the first faith response to stress. Let Jesus speak into your heart. Into your heart. On this night of all nights, when all times it would have been appropriate for the disciples to lend Jesus emotional support.18:26When it would have been appropriate for the disciples to encourage Jesus and offer him spiritual support. Jesus is the one who gives. Jesus is the one who comforts. And Jesus is the one who supports. He speaks right to the heart. The word cardia in the Greek, right, cardiologist, is the center of human existence.18:51It's not, it's not the physical muscle that pumps blood. It's partly that, but more so it is, it is the core of your existence. Jesus is saying to you, church, do not let your core, do not let your heart be troubled. Only Jesus can speak to the core of our existence, can he?19:20When your world is falling apart, only Jesus can speak to the division of joint and marrow. That's exactly what he does here. I think Jesus is asking his disciples and he's asking you, is your heart mine? Peter, do I have your heart? If so, don't let it be troubled. Thomas, you can't, you can't go with me, but do I have your heart? He's asking you today, I know your world's falling apart.19:50I know your mom's sick. I know your, I know your son is rebellious. I know the prodigal has run away. I know you have the diagnosis, but do I have your heart? Because if Jesus has your heart, everything changes. You know, Jesus didn't say, well, just, just calm your mind. Put on some essential oils. Flare up the diffuser. He doesn't even say, you know what, you go to church some more.20:19Come on, Peter. Read your Bible, dude. No, Jesus speaks to our core. And there are times in our life where we need Jesus to speak directly to our heart. What is God's remedy for stress? It is letting Jesus speak to our heart. There's an old hymn that says this, speak to my heart, Lord Jesus. Speak that my soul may hear. Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus.20:49Calm every doubt and fear. When you are stressed, let Christ speak to your heart. And I believe some of you today, someone listening online, you need to let Christ speak to your heart. You're trying to manufacture a stress-free life. And Jesus is saying, give me your heart and I will change your life. Jesus says, if I have your heart, remember that because I, I hold your core in the palm of my hand.21:16Your world might be outwardly wasting away, but inside I'm renewing you day by day. Let Jesus speak to your heart. But he continues, he says, don't let your heart be troubled. Believe. Some of your translations say trust in God. And trust also in, in me. Clearly the disciples were troubled. Not primarily because they were rushing headlong into difficulty.21:45Because I think Peter wanted that. Peter says, I, Jesus, if you want us to die, I'm your guy. I will lay down my life for you. No, they were troubled because they were confused. They were uncertain of the way. They were facing not necessarily difficulty, but they were threatened in their mind and their heart. And I found in my life, stress often comes our way when we are confused, uncertain, and threatened.22:14Anyone else find that to be true? Stress often comes when you, when you don't know the right way to go. And in that for us, Jesus says, trust in me. He spoke to the heart, the cardia. Now he speaks to conviction. He says, do you trust me? Right? Trust is a, is a reminder that there will be times in your life where your faith will be challenged.22:42There will be times in your life where you, where you lose a spouse or you see someone suffering. Or there will be times in our life that we experienced several years ago where someone you love is dying and you can't see them. And, and you cry out like Peter. You say, why, God? Why would, why would this happen? And when your faith is challenged, that's when Jesus says, do you trust me?23:11Do you trust me? Go back to the moment that you first gave your life to Jesus. If you by faith have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, whether you know it or not, when you took that step of faith, you were saying to God, God, I trust you with everything that I have. God, I might not know every step, but I believe that you do. And so I will trust you for my eternal destiny.23:39Jesus is reminding us today. Do you trust me? Don't raise your hand. But have you ever had a time in your life where your faith was challenged? Where your faith was challenged? I'm not asking where you doubted the existence of God, but where suffering was so great that you, that you with an authentic heart simply cried out to God. And you said, God, why? God, why would this happen?24:11You see, trust is not saying to God, God, I'm going to hold on tighter to you. Trust is saying to God, God, I believe that your grip will never let go of me. And that changes our lives. Because if we're honest, the more stressed we become, the more tight-fisted we want to grab onto God. And the reminder is, Jesus' grip never loosens on you. Jesus, church, Jesus never gets tired of holding you fast.24:40Jesus always holds us firm in his hand because we can trust him fully. Do you trust him today? God's remedy for stress is a deep, abiding trust in his son. Let Christ speak to your heart. Trust him fully. But there's one more thing that Jesus says about stress.25:08He talks about these rooms. He says, I'm going to build a house for you. The Latin word is mansions. Jesus was the master carpenter, by the way. I think we're going to get to heaven and say, wow, this is the best house I've ever laid eyes on. Some of you think that you're in your forever home. You haven't seen nothing yet. Zillow doesn't compare to the real estate that Christ is preparing for the saints in glory.25:35That's not even part of the sermon. That's just free of trouble. My mind thinks, what is the perfect carpenter building for us right now who know him by faith? So he says, I'm going there. I'm going to build. I'll come back for you. Don't worry. And then he says, you know the way where I'm going. And Thomas raises his hand and say, Jesus, I'm thankful that you believe in us, Jesus.26:00But in verse five, he says, we don't know where you're going. How can we get there? Here's the third way that we can handle stress. Even when you feel lost, you know the way if you know Jesus. Even when you feel lost, hey, your faith is more than a feeling. But there are times in your life, in my life, where we feel hopeless, where we feel lost.26:29Have you ever felt that way before? Have you ever felt that? I just don't know which way to turn. Now, I felt that way before. People, you asked me to pastor through a pandemic. I know this is going to surprise you. I didn't live through the Spanish flu. I didn't. I've never, I've never pastored through a pandemic.26:57And neither has anyone else that's alive. And we cry out, and you've never lived through a pandemic like this. And we say, God, we feel lost. I feel like the decisions that we make is the right decisions. And we find out tomorrow that we shouldn't quarantine 10 days, but eight days. And when we quarantine eight days, we have to quarantine 14 days. And, Lord, we just don't know. God, help us. If you ever feel lost like Thomas, Jesus says, you know the way.27:26And Jesus is not saying here to people who don't know him, you're lost spiritually. He's speaking to followers. He's saying, hey, Christian, there are going to be times in your life where you might still feel lost and hopeless. But don't give up because you know the way. Suddenly, Jesus gives us a gospel promise.27:54He says, if you ever feel lost, you know the way. You know the truth. And you know the life. He's saying this. Church, if you ever feel lost, your eternal destination is still secure. The Holy Spirit will not let you get lost. So when you feel lost, if you are walking in step with the Spirit, you are not lost. The Spirit's job is to lead you into the presence of God because Jesus will one day present you with great joy.28:25What a great promise that is. That there are days where I walk and I'm saying, God, I don't know where to go. And God says, Josh, you don't have to know because my Spirit is in you. You feel lost, but you're not lost because the Spirit will hold you until the day of your redemption. What a great promise that is.28:55Recently, Jennifer Stellar, a psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, offered suggestions to stress in our lives. Now, this is her secular opinion, not biblical. But listen to the insight of this professor. She said, we're all busy and stressed.29:24That's not the insight. I could tell you that. She says that even more, we're self-involved because of the pandemic. Social isolation may be a contributing factor to the tendency to ruminate more and more and even be more narcissistic. That's her words, not mine. Which relate to ego. But experiencing awe can quiet ego.29:52Researchers define awe as a mostly positive emotion you feel when you're in the presence of something so vast, you can't immediately understand it. For some of you, that's getting out of nature and just spending time in quiet. For some of you, that's a sunrise or a sunset. But being in awe of something and whether Dr. Stellar knows it or not, that is exactly God's remedy for stress in our life is to look to someone who is more awe-inspiring than you could ever see.30:17The answer to stress is to look to Jesus. Is that not what he says? Jesus says to the disciples and he says to you, let not your heart be troubled. Trust in God, but trust also in me.30:47When we look to Jesus Christ, when we look to Jesus Christ, when we are in the presence of someone who is so glorious, the awe of Jesus can quiet our ego and give us hope, even in the midst of the most stressful life. Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. Let Jesus speak to your heart today.31:18Trust in him more than you ever have. And even if you feel lost, trust that God knows the way for you. As I read this, I was thinking this week, I wonder if I get the chance. If we ever ask Jesus, Jesus, have you ever been stressed? What would the Son of Man say? Would he say, never been stressed?31:48You sinner? I'm like, whoa. I think Jesus would begin to say, you know, Josh, I remember praying in the garden for you. And it was so stressful. My sweat became like blood. I think Jesus would say, you know what? I remember that time that I was praying in the garden and one of my best friends came and betrayed me. For 30 pieces of silver.32:18I think Jesus would say, you know, church, I remember the time that I cried out on the cross to my heavenly father. And I said, my God, my God, why? Why have you forsaken me? Has Jesus ever been stressed? His response would be, Josh, I did suffer, but I did it for you.32:43I suffer that you might be brought into right relationship with your heavenly father again. Because sin breaks fellowship and breaks relationship. Your sin leads you on a self-destructive course to hell. In spite of God's love. And Jesus allowed himself to be stressed and he allowed himself to suffer and die on the cross.33:13That we could be made right again. That all of your sin could be forgiven. And that we could have abundant life. If you've never given your life to Jesus, why not today? The song that we sang earlier, the Lord is our salvation. And God always hears the prayer of the repentant heart. A prayer that you could say that sounds something like this.33:43And if you want to follow Christ today, you can pray this in your heart right where you sit. You can say, God, I know I'm a sinner. Forgive me. I believe Jesus lived a sinless life. I believe Jesus died on the cross. But I believe Jesus rose again. And God, I believe what you tell me. That whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.34:13So God, I call upon you today. I turn for myself and I turn to you. I will trust you and I will follow you. You know what God says to those prayers? God says, come into my presence through the blood of the Lamb. He says, your sins are forgiven. The stains are no more. And he speaks to our heart.34:43If you've given your life to Christ and you feel the weight of your stress today, would you let Jesus beat your heart today? Would you trust him because his grip is tighter than yours could ever be? And would you rest in the fact that even if you walked in here feeling lost, if you're watching him home and you feel lost, if Jesus is your Savior, one day you will make it home. The Holy Spirit assures and ushers your redemption.35:12The Holy Spirit assures and ushures your redemption. You can never be lost because Jesus has found you. We live in a stressful world. But Jesus speaks to our hearts. The last verse of that hymn that I mentioned earlier says this. Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus. It is no longer mine. Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus.35:41I would be wholly thine. Father, that is our prayer.Next in Solid Ground →Solid Ground – Heaven (Luke 16:19-27 and Revelation 6:9-11)More sermons on John →
