Missing the Circus

John 14:1-14, 27-29

How many of you have ever been to the circus? Do any of you ever feel like your life is a circus?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a Circus is:

-        A public entertainment consisting typically of a variety of performances

-        May also be called a “Three ring circus” because of the simultaneous performances in three separate rings

Used in some other contexts, a Circus can be known as:

-        An open circular place where several streets intersect.

-        Chaotic activity

-        Noisy disorder

Lately I have felt like my life was a circus. Over the past several weeks I have wanted to add “Laura’s Life” under the definition of Circus… In fact, my life is so much of a circus that I can’t even make it to the circus.

True Story- When the circus came to Houston this summer; Crista and I decided to go!  Three weeks prior to the event, we purchased tickets. Long story short, the day of the show we got in the car pulled out the tickets and realized we had missed the show! We had both been so busy that weekend that neither of us double checked the time of the show and by the time we started heading to reliant- the show was already halfway over.

Although we were really upset that we had missed the show, we couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, we always say it is so hard to find time to catch up… since our afternoon has freed up, lets go somewhere quiet and talk!” It may have been God’s way of forcing two people with chaotic lives to just sit still and fellowship face to face- What a concept!

If I am honest, this is not the first time I have been so distracted that I’ve missed a show, meeting, or event; you would think I’d learn my lesson by now. But actually, the older I get, the guiltier I am about overloading my plate.

Since I am being honest, I want to confess that these past few weeks- my heart has become more anxious and it is starting to have a negative effect on important relationships in my life- including the most important one- My relationship with God!

The Lord is teaching me that I can’t hear Him when my mind is crowded with not only my own thoughts and concerns; but also, the opinions of others. If I am constantly rearranging my schedule to please others or adding unnecessary things to my “to do lists,” then my mind will always be distracted and I will not hear God when He calls!

Some of you are like me too- We’ve got to eliminate what I like to call “sideways distractions!” This message is not mean to condemn anyone for doing too much or being too busy- if that were the case I would be sitting in the audience- on the front row! We can never do too much for the Lord, but we can do too much for ourselves and even for others if those things are not uplifting. We all do things that are not bad, but they are sideways. Sideways distractions rob our attention and make us busy for the sake of being busy.  

Luke 8:14- The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.”

What this verse boils down to is this: the worries of life do not ever mature. Meaning they do not magically go away one day.

In my case a longing to be loved and accepted by everyone translates to: “I have to do X,Y,Z for that person or they might not want to be my friend. So I have to go to their party even though I have something every other night this week.” I have heard people say- “We can sleep when we die.” But God says- NO, REST! BE STILL! Y’all this is a commandment that even Jesus- who is God obeyed.

Psalm 37:7- “Be still in the presence of the LORD!”

The reason God commands this, is because he wants your full attention… and he doesn’t just want it once a week- He wants it every day.

If I told you tomorrow morning the queen of England- or your biggest idle (whoever that may be) wanted to meet with you at 4am… there would be no hesitation. You would make sure you were not only there, but that you looked your best- you might even shower twice!

But we struggle to get up and meet with God all the time- and not only does he meet us in our own home, but we can stay in our PJs!!

If we don’t make time for the Lord EVERYDAY, then weeds will cultivate in our life, and they will cultivate without much effort- Because they tend to grow automatically, don’t they? Weeds are a sign of neglect. If you see weeds in your yard it probably means you have neglected your yard. Weeds in your spiritual life are a signs that you’re neglecting time with God and those weeds WILL produce anxieties.

END OF INTRO-

So that was a really long introduction, but today we will be in John chapter 14. In this chapter, Jesus is speaking to his disciples and he says to them – “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

Troubled means: to agitate, disturb or trouble the mind with fears or doubts. Using this definition, there are times most of us could describe our life as “troubled.”

We are all stressed by different situations, some more severe than others. But for me, I know exactly where my troubled heart comes from- it comes when I fail to sit still and listen. However, this lesson could apply to a variety of situations. So if you cannot relate to what I am going through- don’t tune me out. I don’t want you to miss the comfort that Christ provides in this chapter.

In John 14, Jesus gives us 5 reasons to not be troubled. Let’s turn and read John 14:1-18

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

In this text, Jesus gives us 5 reasons to not be troubled but to TRUST:  

1.)  “Don’t be troubled, Trust me because….” My Father has many rooms in his house and each of you will have one

This world (aka: this circus) is not our home, it is temporary. Our eternal and permanent home is in Heaven.

Hebrews 13:14- For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our city in heaven, which is yet to come.

2 Cor. 5:1- For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Every person, whether they know it or not, builds earthly tents. You can see what tents you are building by simply looking at your calendar or credit card statement- each entry supports some tent in your life and many times these tents are not strong enough to stand through the storms of life.

Whatever we are chasing, wherever we are spending our time- if those things do not honor Christ- if they are “sideways” they WILL NOT last. However; God’s shelter is not a tent, He offers us a house that has an eternal foundation. His home cannot be knocked down, destroyed, or blown over.

In John 14, vs. 2 Jesus says: My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

God’s house is not only strong, but it is large- There is a place for you-He won’t run out of space!

So I ask: Why do we try so hard to build bigger tents here, in this world, when we are told those tents will be knocked down…. And not only that- but God’s house is so much greater! Whatever relationships, jobs, electronic gadgets, cars, houses, paychecks…. The list could continue- none of those things will even compare to what God has built for you.

The second reason Jesus gives us is:

2.) “Don’t be troubled, Trust me because….”  I myself am going to prepare a place for you  

Jesus wasn’t saying he had to go get our room ready- but rather he was saying he had to pave the way to our heavenly room. He is really saying-“As I go I become the way that you get there.” This means that our room, our place, has already been prepared- we don’t have to prove that we deserve it.

Hebrews 11:4- By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice. (The Message Version)

I love that verse! I read it this week and It just covered my anxieties with peace. God says “Laura-  Don’t you see… I want you to be like able! He didn’t try to prove himself not to me and not to anyone. He simply came to me in faith, knowing that He could never bring an offering good enough but also knowing that an offering is not what I want- I want your heart, I want your time, I want your FAITH. The sacrifice or offering has been paid through Christ- That is great that you are trying to be a good friend and show 10000000 people you care… but you can’t do that! In fact you never ever will be able to do that…. But what you can do is come to me, love me, seek me and when you are filled with the Peace I want to give you- you won’t have to try and prove that you love others because they will see me, and I love them FAR more than you can even imagine. So STOP just come sit in my lap. I promise I will give you all the love and attention you need.

Knowing that we don’t have to prove anything, we can have peace- even in the mist of chaos- knowing that Christ has paid for our eternal home.

Hebrews 9:28 Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

The third reason Jesus gives us is:

3.) “Don’t be troubled, Trust me because….” I myself will be your dwelling

Verse 3 says: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

This shifts the focus from a place to a person. Where Jesus is, there heaven is. Jesus says: “I am your room in my Father’s house.”

These things may seem like FAR AWAY COMFORTS. You may be thinking Well that is great that I have an eternal solution… but what do I do today?

What about the things causing turmoil in my soul today? –job, health, relationships, finances… If Jesus doesn’t want my heart troubled now, then I need some encouragement and comforts that do not seem so far away. I still need a temporary fix for my life in this world… or at least a sign that help is coming!

John 14:8- Philip says “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Phillip didn’t say- “Show us the father someday.” He claimed that if Jesus showed them the father now, then that would be enough, they would be satisfied and no longer troubled by worldly turmoil.
Is this how we feel? Do we think that physically seeing the Lord would make all our anxiety go away? Will that help us have a more eternal mindset? Are we troubled by what we cannot see?
The fourth thing Jesus claims is:

4. “Don’t be troubled, Trust me because….” The Father is with you now

In John 14, Jesus told the disciples multiple times that He and the father were one. If they knew Jesus and saw Jesus, then they knew the Father and had seen the Father. Jesus responded to Philip directly in John 12 verse 9-

John 14:9 “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

I believe Jesus is saying- Really… Is seeing enough? I am here, the Father and I are one- the Father is right here, and you have seen Him… are you sure that is enough?

Just like Philip, many of us think, “if only I could physically see him, physically touch him… then things would be different. I would be a lot more peaceful about my situation.”

Or maybe you think: "Jesus went away. He was there for the disciples, but now He is gone. How can I be expected to trust what I cannot see?”

This brings us to one last argument for why our hearts should not be troubled and why we should trust Jesus.

5. “Don’t be troubled, Trust me because….”  I will be with you always, not just at my return

John 14:16-18- And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—  the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Psalm 139: 7-12

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Wrapping this all together- I have to wonder if Jesus was really telling the disciples: “Slow down, take this moment in, look around- don’t you see what I have done and what I will continue to do?”

Maybe the disciples also struggled to keep God’s commandment to be still and rest. Jesus was physically there with them, if they had any fear or doubt all they had to do was go directly to Him and ask for help.

The good news for us is that now we have the Holy Spirit, who is not bound by time or location- He is with us everywhere we go, but the rule still applies- we have to take a step back, stop, and just be still before the Lord in order to hear from Him.

That may mean you have to stop doing something so you can start doing what God wants. If you’re burning the candle at both ends, you’re not as bright as you think you are and you will burn out quicly. You’ve got to decide what’s more important to you, it is your choice: time with the Lord, or sideways time.