Title: Upgraded Faith (John 14:1-7)
Contents
Upgraded Faith (Rev. Ahn Byung-chang/Director of the Christian Korean Baptist Association)
John 14:1-7
People have to laugh. It is said that you must have a higher EQ than your IQ to be successful. Look at the disciples in the text. I was full of enthusiasm until just a moment ago, but when the Lord spoke of death on the cross, I became anxious. That is why the Lord says in verse 1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” It gives courage and at the same time calls for spiritual awakening. So how can you find peace?
First, peace comes when you upgrade your faith to the next level. The disciples were with the Lord for three and a half years, but they did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. I just thought of him as someone who would become a powerful prophet or king. But in verse 1, Jesus says that to believe in God is to believe in yourself. It means that Jesus is God.
Upgraded faith is believing in Jesus as God. It is a change from carnal faith to spiritual faith. We must move from the faith of To Have to the faith of To Do (action) and To Be (existence, identity). You must be able to see the heavenly world. We must also move from theoretical faith to practical faith. It doesn't end with what you know, you have to put it into practice.
Second, peace comes when you are sure of heaven (:2-3). In today's world, middle and high school girls help their friends and extort money. He murders his wife for insurance money, and a prestigious university student kills his parents. We do this because there is no customs office. If you know Heaven and Hell, you cannot lust and give up.
The disciples in the text are also worried about the fact that the Lord is dying because they do not have a right view of the afterlife. At this time, the Lord is going to prepare a place for them, and when it is ready, he will come back and take him. Saints should live like strangers. This world is like a nail bed, and when the time is right, we move on to the original answer. Don't be too attached to the world. C.S. Lewis said, “If you seek the sky, you will also get the earth, but if you seek the earth, you will not get anything.”
Third, when we focus on God, we feel at peace (:4-6). Thomas asks, “How do you know?” in verse 5, still asking for a visible solution. But the Lord says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He says, “The joy, peace, and blessings you seek are within me.”
Everyone, if you are expecting a certain solution now, focus on the Lord first. Then the Lord will fix it. When Israel sinned in the wilderness of Exodus, did God cause many people to be bitten by serpents and die? At that time, Moses prayed, and God made a bronze serpent and said that if he looked at it, he would give birth to it. It was very simple, but those who looked at the bronze serpent with faith were healed. This brass serpent symbolizes the crucified Lord.
In the book “Cry for your children,” written by Butler Oh In-suk, there is a story about a classroom stove that broke down in winter. The fixer was out of town, so I had no choice but to say, “Teacher, hold the stove and pray.” It was a difficult situation, but I had no choice but to pray. Oh, by the way, a person who had gone out of town unexpectedly came in at that time. He went to do business, but he said that he left the documents and came back. In the end, this guy fixed it. When we focus on the Lord, the Lord moves the situation and solves it. Let's not just sigh and look to the Lord who is the way and the truth.
If we want to enjoy peace in any situation, we need to upgrade our faith, hope for heaven, and focus on the Lord. I pray in the name of the Lord that you and I may find true peace through this attitude of faith.