“Believe and Go!”

Scripture: John 14:1-14

Our text for today is closely tied to Jesus’ last Passover Seder. Seder is Israel’s ritualized memorial meal of their flight from Egypt. The Exodus was a rescue mission, enabled by God, enacted by God, with the express purpose of leading his Chosen People into the freedom of a new land.
And now, this conversation that the Lord is having with his followers is held only a few hours away from his arrest, trial, condemnation, and crucifixion, and he is spending these last few hours preparing them for the ultimate rescue mission – freedom for the captives of sin - and not just for a singular people, but for every person on the face of the earth, both then and now.
And just as God, using Moses as his representative, would guide Israel to the land he had promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jesus is now preparing his disciples to be his representatives in the “rescue” of earth.

In the previous few verses, Judas has left to do what he had to do (John 13:26-28), and Peter has been told that his faith is going to fail him one more time (John 13:37-38). Both of these events left the disciples with a great deal of consternation, but the Lord continues in the preparation of his chosen for all that they will be called to do in his name.

Read John 14:1-5

“I’m going to go on ahead to make preparations for your arrival, so get busy. I’ll be back, but wait for my arrival.”

His followers had never actually been left on their own before. Oh, Jesus had sent them out in ministry for a few days at a time, and there were a few times when he had sent them on ahead to prepare the people for the Lord’s arrival, but never had he left them to feel so alone and confused. They would see him periodically during the next month and a half, but everything would be different for them in those days. They needed his assurance and confidence, so that is what he would give.

He begins this preparation with the words “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Don’t let the world get you down – you’ll understand it all soon enough! He was encouraging them to remain firm in the faith, even when he wasn’t physically with them anymore.
And then he tells them “Trust me” – don’t doubt, don’t hesitate, don’t try to make your own way, don’t ever think that this is the end, because now the ministry is going to be on your shoulders! Remember all that I have taught you, remember all that you have seen, remember all that I told you to do, and if you do, you will be amazed!

Have you ever felt that the Lord was calling you to go and do something, but you didn’t have a clue as to what it meant, let alone know what to do about it? I think I’ve told you before about that time years ago, when I was invited to join a prison ministry team known as Kairos. It wasn’t something that I had ever considered, and quite honestly, it was never something that I wanted to do! But I told Ed that I would pray about it, and would let him know in 2 weeks what the Lord told me to do. Well, I did pray, but my prayers sounded more like “Lord, how do I get out of this.” than they did “Lord, is this what you want?”
About a week and a half later, I was on my way to work after participating in my weekly morning prayer group. We had been discussing “discipleship”, and as I drove down the highway, I suddenly felt that Jesus was telling me “If you want to be my disciple, then you have to be where I am.” I knew exactly what he was telling me, and grudgingly, I responded, “OK, if you are sure.”
I would serve on Kairos teams for 10 years, and from the very first day, I was blessed beyond anything I had ever known. When we trust that the Lord knows what he is doing in our lives, he will allow us to experience him at work in ways that will blow our minds!

The Disciples would have to wait a few more weeks until they had that kind of feeling, but it would come when they trusted their Lord without hesitation, and went where he called them, and did what he asked of them. They would go to the Jews, they would go to the gentiles, they would go north, south, east and west, they would bring healing to broken bodies and broken lives, and they would share the good news of Jesus Christ with all who would listen. And the early Church, “The Way” would grow by leaps and bounds, in spite of what the world would do to oppose them.

Read John 14:6–10

What did Jesus mean when he uttered this “I Am” saying?
First, “I Am” was the name that God told to Abraham when he asked who he should tell Israel had sent him. I AM would say that Jesus is God Incarnate.
Next, “the Way” – sometimes we may think that he is telling us that faith in him is the “way” to heaven, but it is far more than that. Jesus is the “Way” to a relationship with the Father. Our expectation of “travel to heaven” holds no significance unless we first have a relationship with Lord Jesus, who in turn, becomes the relationship that we can have with the Heavenly Father.
Then, “the Truth” – faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior goes far beyond these simple words. When we accept Jesus into our life, we also acknowledge him as God in the flesh, as perfection, that his words are never to be doubted or disputed, that he is omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (existing in all places throughout time), and omnipotent (all powerful and able to all things, without exception). Jesus is, without question, exactly who he said he is.
And last, he is “the Life”. Not only does he represent the life that Almighty God is, he is the eternal life that each one of us so desperately needs. The “new birth” that Jesus proclaimed to Nicodemus (John 3:1-21) is this very life.

And Philip still doesn’t quite get it – that the words he has spoken, and the miracles he has done, and the life he has led, and the relationship he has offered – that all of these things have come through him, and are of and from the Father. Israel, as well as the rest of the world, have always struggled with just who Jesus is. “When you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” It isn’t that there is a physical, or even spiritual, resemblance between the two, not that their appearance and abilities are similar, or even identical for that matter – but they are one.
In his sermon “On the Trinity”, John Wesley used two interesting terms – first that the Lord is our “Three-One” God, and later as the “Three and One”. We see the Trinity as three distinct aspects of God, and yet, there is no difference between them – they are one and the same.
You’re thinking that this doesn’t actually fit with all that we know about spacial relationships, and you are right – from an earthly viewpoint, the Trinity doesn’t make a bit of sense, but then, who are we to demand that God make sense in our limited view of eternity and creation? Wesley would tell us to “Just believe!”

Read John 14:11-14

Over and over, throughout the gospels, Jesus calls us to believe. But all too often, we allow our “hearts [to] be troubled”, and our “Trust in” him to become weak, at best. The Lord has never told us to understand it all – but there are many times he has told us to have faith, that his words are dependable and true. And he calls his followers to believe that all that he has done and all that he has known is not his, but comes through him from the Father.

And why does he reveal this to us? Simply, that by trust and faith in him, that same power, that same truth, that same gospel hope can also work mightily in each of our lives. And whether we are comfortable with verses 12 to 14 or not, they are a promise to all believers. Have you ever thought about it? That by faith and trust in Christ, we will (not can!) do all that he has ever done, and that we will (not can!) do even greater things. Just believe!

Believe! Believe in Jesus Christ and all that he is and gives.
Believe! Believe in Jesus Christ, that no matter what we ask through complete faith and trust in him, will become ours! Regardless!
Believe! Just believe! Don’t try to figure out how it happens, don’t question why he would choose to work in this world through you and me.

Just Believe - that Jesus is who he is, that he is one in the Father, that there is nothing that he will withhold from you. Just go wherever he leads, to do whatever he needs. And never look back, and never look down. Just believe, and go with him, wherever that may be!