Thank you for listening to this message from
Lifehouse Church. I want to do one more thing.
I'm going to get you to pray one more time. You're
like, this church prays all the time. Absolutely.
All right, I want you to bow your heads. We're
going to pray over our ears and our minds as
we get ready to hear God's word. Father, we thank
you for this day. I thank you for each person
in the house. Lord, your word's already blessed.
Your word's already anointed. It is already amazing.
So, Lord, we just come asking you to anoint our
ears that we might hear, our minds that we might
receive, and, God, that it might change our hearts
all along the way. And we just give you praise,
and we give you glory and honor. In Jesus' name.
Everybody say it together. Amen. Amen. Well,
listen, they told me I have to preach fast today.
And do you know what that means when you say
that to a preacher? Absolutely nothing. It's
good to have you. It doesn't mean anything. We
don't even hear that, yeah. But if you haven't
been with us over the last several months, we've
been working our way through the book of John,
and it's been an exciting time. And today we're
diving headfirst into John chapter 11. You can
begin to turn there, but I want to get you caught
up just a little bit. And the gospel of John
is just that. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is the story of Jesus. It is God with us,
Emmanuel, and it tells some of the things that
take place. with Jesus. And as we approach chapter
11, Jesus' public ministry is now beginning to
spread all over the region, around Jerusalem,
all around that area. Jesus' fame is getting
known and well known because of him traveling
from place to place and town to town and region
to region. preaching, teaching, performing miracles,
healing, and they hear about him. And as you
read through the book of John, you'll find that
as you approach chapter 11, there are seven major
miracles that take place with Jesus. In John
chapter 2, Jesus turns the water into wine. In
John chapter 4, Jesus heals the royal officer's
son. In John chapter 5, Jesus walks to the east
side of Jerusalem. He heads to where the sheep
gate is, to a place that's called the Pool of
Bethesda. And there he walks amongst the crowd
who are waiting to be healed, picks out one man
and heals that man. In John chapter 6, he feeds
thousands with five loaves and a few fish. In
John chapter 6, 16, he walks on the water. And
in John chapter 9, he heals a man. who has been
blind from birth. Six miracles leading up to
chapter nine. And because of that, the word of
God says that many of the Jewish crowd and others
begin to believe on Jesus. They begin to believe
that he is the prophesied Messiah. They believe
and they begin to believe that he is the son
of God. And word spreads to the region that the
power of God is manifested in this man named
Jesus. People begin to seek him out. They begin
to come around because of the many infallible
proofs that Jesus performs. And Jesus, on the
final miracle, he shows up to a town called Bethany
about four days too late. And when he gets there,
Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, have
already buried their brother. Lazarus was friend
to Jesus, good friend. Lazarus gets sick, he
dies, and Jesus shows up four days later. Four
days later, the funeral has already taken place,
right? They've been mourning and crying for days.
The funeral food is now stale. It's in the fridge
and on the countertop, right? And Lazarus is
actually sealed up in a tomb. And Jesus, once
again, proves his power, proves that he is from
God, because he walks up to that tomb. He tells
him to move the stone, and he calls Lazarus back
from the dead. From the dead. And in fact, proving
that he has power over the elements. He has power
over the demonic. He has the power to heal. He
has the power to multiply anything that he speaks
about of his word. He has the power over the
future. He has the power to defy gravity. He
walks on water. And now he has power over death.
And because of these mighty works, the crowd.
Particularly the Jews believe that Jesus is sent
from God and that it's not just about performing
miracles, but they begin to see, the Jewish people
begin to see a bigger picture. They begin to
see a bigger potential that could happen. See,
they see a possible king to deliver them from
the fist of the Roman government. The Jewish
people at this time live underneath Roman rule.
The cruelty they've all experienced by the hand
of the Romans in that region. And they begin,
as they see Jesus, as they see the miracles and
they see his power, they begin to smell freedom
from Rome. They begin to see victory. They probably
envision riding with a conquering king who's
going to come down on Rome. They're stoked. They're
stirred. They know that even Rome can't stand
up against God's power. Can't do it. And now
Jesus' fame is at fever pitch outside of Jerusalem
in the region around, and news begins to stir.
It begins to swirl. And everybody in that region
begins to consider what this might mean for them.
What's this mean? How many know it's our default?
In life, to figure out whatever's in front of
us, it's our default to figure out, what is this
about? How is this going to affect me? What does
this have to do with me, right? Now, I know that
all sounds very selfish. So for Christians, we're
like, well, what's that have to do with my family?
Well, we really mean it's us, right? But that's
what happens in the region. Some of the Jews,
they have great hope that this king is going
to relieve them from the Rome's influence and
their grip and the torture, right? Some of the
other people that are in this scenario are the
Pharisees, and they are furious with Jesus. Jesus
has enormous influence over the people, and the
Pharisees, who are corrupt Jewish leaders, are
leading the people, and they can feel their influence
slipping away. They can feel that everything's
about to change. And all of Rome is in this as
well. They're keeping an eye on all that's taking
place with this subculture of the Jews under
their rule. They're ready to squash any uprising,
any problem, anything that takes place with these
captives. And even Jesus' disciples are aware
of the trouble. Say trouble. Come on, trouble
stirring around them. They know that there are
plots and plans to take Jesus out. They know
that Rome can converge at any moment and deliver
a crushing blow and stop everything that they've
worked for in the last three years. They know
that they're already in the crosshairs because
of their association with Jesus, and they can
smell trouble. Jesus' disciples, the 12 disciples,
they can smell it. They see it looming, right?
They're headed for trouble. Turn to somebody
beside you this morning. Tell them, we're going
to talk about trouble this morning. We're going
to talk trouble, right? John chapter 11, 45 says
this. Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and had seen these things, Jesus did, believed
in him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees
and told them the things that Jesus did. Then
the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered
a council and they said, what shall we do? For
this man works many signs. If we let him alone
like this, everyone will believe in him. And
the Romans will come and take away both our place.
and our nation. How many know there's always
somebody who scurries away and tells on you?
Raise your hand if you tell on people. Go ahead,
do it right now. Come on, this is Confessions
Good for the Soul. They're a group of people,
right? They see Jesus healing, they see Jesus
doing what they're doing, and they run off to
tell the Pharisees what's taking place. And the
Pharisees smell the threat, they see their influence,
their position, their status, all being challenged,
right? And they begin to demonize Jesus. That's
what we do when we want to get rid of someone.
We demonize them. We make it sound way worse
than it actually is with them so that we can
get everybody else on board with us, and that's
exactly what they do. They said the Romans are
going to come, and they're going to take away
both our place. They're going to take our whole
nation, right? I think the Pharisees were a bunch
of drama queens, actually, right? But that's
what they do. We got to get them. We got to get
them out of here. And there is trouble on the
horizon. They could feel it in the air. I don't
know if you've ever felt trouble in the air.
I have when I was a kid. I used to do things
I wasn't supposed to be doing. And I came into
the house. How many know? Mom and dad just know
sometimes. Yeah. And I could feel the trouble
in the air. I knew something was coming, right?
You could almost taste it. And that's what was
happening here. In John 11, 49, it says, In one
of them, Caiaphas, being the high priest that
year, said to them, You know nothing at all,
nor do you consider that it is expedient for
us that one man should die for the people, and
not that the whole nation should perish. Now
this he did not say on his own authority, but
being high priest that year, he prophesied Jesus
would die for the nation, and not for the nation
only, but also that he would gather together
in one the children of God who were scattered
abroad. Then from that day on, they plotted to
put him to death. There was trouble stirring.
Therefore, Jesus no longer walked among them
openly with the Jews, but went from there into
the country near the wilderness to a city called
Ephraim. And there remained with his disciples.
There's trouble stirring. They're hiding out
from Caiaphas. Jesus and the disciples get out
of town. They're going to Ephraim. They're hiding
out from Caiaphas. The high priest, they're hiding
out from the Pharisees. They're ducking Romans.
They're laying low. There's trouble stirring.
And the Passover, it says, 55 says, and the Passover
of the Jews was near. And many went from the
country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to
purify themselves. Then they sought Jesus. All
the people were still looking for Jesus. And
spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple.
What do you think is what they were saying? And
will he not come to the feast? Now both the chief
priests and the Pharisees had given a command
that if anyone knew where he was, they should
report it that they may seize him. As we read
this, as this is leading up, honestly, to the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ, there is trouble
stirring. With a capital T. They could feel it
in the air. The disciples knew what was happening.
And you might say, well, why did you take all
this time, right, to unfold all this? Because
I need you to understand something. If you follow
Jesus like your disciples did, you will have
trouble. No amens. I didn't think I'd get any.
And if you read ahead in this passage of Scripture,
you're going to find out this is just the beginning
of trouble. Aren't you glad you came today for
some encouragement? You thought I was going to
preach on joy, right? Trouble. What are you doing,
pastor? I'm telling you the truth. I'm telling
you the truth. If you follow Jesus, trouble is
coming. Life is complex. It is complicated. It's
a gauntlet. And if you add to all that fun, we
have an enemy called Satan who wants to take
us out. He wants to take us down. You were made
in the image of God. That's what the word of
God says. And Satan wants to take down anything
that has to do with God. And just like Jesus
did, you follow him. You're going to have trouble.
Say, woo -hoo. Oh, wow, you actually did it.
Thank you. Right? Jesus is a living example that
even life with Jesus is not a trouble -free life.
In fact, Following Jesus means that you will
have trouble in paradise. How many of you ever
heard that phrase before? You're going to have
trouble in paradise. You're going to have it.
Jesus had trouble around him while he was doing
the will of God. You're going to have trouble
around you if you're doing the will of God. It's
going to happen. Just because you're a Christian
does not exempt us from trouble. It really doesn't.
Just because you're serving the King of Kings
and the Lord of Lords, just because you put on
praise and worship music in your house 24 -7,
right, does not mean you're exempt from trouble.
Just because you got a Jesus bumper sticker on
your car does not exempt you from trouble. Just
because your kid goes to a Christian school,
amen, does not exempt you from trouble. It doesn't.
In fact, if you're following Jesus, you might
as well just buckle up because your trouble game
is probably actually going to rise just a bit.
If you follow Jesus, it's going to magnify some.
And, you know, you're probably thinking, well,
Pastor, are you trying to get people to come
to church or leave church? No, I just need to
tell you the truth this morning. Because Jesus
speaks something in John 16, 33 that is incredibly
important in the middle of this trouble. He says
this, That's the paradise part, by the way. In
the world, you will have tribulation. That's
the troubled part. That's another word for trouble.
But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
As we follow Jesus, we will have peace on the
inside. You will have paradise on the inside.
That's what Jesus provides you. It comes on the
inside. But you're going to have trouble on the
outside. Tribulation is going to be all around
you. It's going to take, man, if you don't believe
that, just turn on the news, right? Just pick
up your phone and flip on the news. Following
Jesus is going to be trouble in paradise. It's
going to be both sides. It's going to be. And
I can tell you from experience that following
Jesus will in fact, will give you the peace of
God on the inside of you. And how many know peace
equals paradise? Do you know that? Peace equals
paradise. It really does. Some of you young parents
in here confirm this, right? How many of you
young parents say peace is paradise? Oh, yeah.
Come on. How many of you that have young children,
you now take extended bathroom breaks in your
house? Right? You used to go to the bathroom,
and you were in and out in two minutes flat.
Bang, right? You go in, you do your business,
and you get on out of there. Now, come on. You
got young children. You just disappear into the
bathroom, right? Why? You're trying to get some
peace. You're trying to restore your sanity,
and you park in there. You're in there for 15
minutes. You're in there for 20 minutes. You're
praying the kids aren't bleeding out there, right?
You're just hanging out in there. You're in there
so long, your children think you flushed yourself.
You're downstream somewhere. That's why they
come beat on the door. Mom, dad, are you in there?
Come on, right? Others are getting ready to call
the paramedics. They're certain you just passed
out somewhere in the restroom. You're gone, right?
It's funny, Dixie and I, we have three grown
children, and two of them have children, and
two out of the three, they have two children
or more. And it's always funny, it's always humorous
to me, because when they have the first child,
right, when our children have the first child,
they're so intense about it, right? We've got
to boil the binky if it falls on the floor. We
must boil the binky. And they're very careful
about where you take the kid, and they're very
careful about who they hand the kid off to. Even
us, right, they're coaching us like we never
did. child before. You know, they're coaching.
But once they have two children, and then particularly
when they have three children, that all changes,
man. They're just looking for some peace. Like,
do you want your kids? You can have them for
a day. You want them for a week? Let's talk about
a month. They can just come over and hang out
with you for an entire month, right? Come on,
I just want some peace. Right? Peace is paradise.
And Jesus said, if you follow me, if you walk
in my way, you're going to have a peace that
passes all understanding. That's what the word
of God says. It's going to park in your heart.
It's going to come. And in the middle of all
the trouble and the tribulation that's going
on around on the outside of you, you're going
to have peace on the inside of you. It is trouble
in paradise. Amen? It's true. And I thank God.
Thank God Jesus didn't even stop in that scripture
with just those two things, right? He said, these
things I have spoken to you that in me you may
have peace on the inside. In the world, you will
have tribulation. They can put it back up on
the screen on the outside. But he said a third
thing. He said, be of good cheer. I've overcome
the world. Be of good cheer. I've overcome the
world. Don't miss this. Don't pass over this.
Don't undersell what Jesus says in this last
portion of scripture here. You can't. Because
if I do, I will miss what Jesus has for me to
get through any kind of trouble that you walk
through in life. You want to get through any
difficulty in your life, you got to understand
this last part along with the first part. You
got to understand that God's got a little bit
more for you, even than just a piece. Because
sometimes, Sometimes the peace of God on the
inside isn't quite enough. Sometimes you need
more. How many know sometimes you need more to
get through whatever you're doing, right? Sometimes
you need a little more chocolate during the day.
It's true. Some of you need a little more coffee,
right? One more coffee is going to get me through
the grind. I just need a little more energy to
get me to the finish line today. That's what
I need, right? And sometimes you're going to
need more in the middle of trouble. You're going
to need more than just a piece of God in your
heart. And I know the piece of God is there,
but you're going to need that little extra something.
When you're in the middle of the difficulty,
when you're in the long -term illness that's
going on in your life, when you're in the middle
of the financial burden that cannot seem to be
resolved in your life, right? When the emotional
toll from your job has you so stressed out, You
don't know what to do with yourself. When the
world is pressing in on every side, if we don't
have all that God has for us, we will get disillusioned
in the middle of the trouble. We'll begin to
decide we're going to quit on God in the middle
of the trouble, right? We'll get weak and we
get weary walking through the trouble because
we feel like we're not going to make it. We're
just not going to make it. We're going to lose.
We're going to lose everything. We're going to
lose, period. And Jesus knew that you would need
even a little more than just the paradise and
the peace in your heart to get through in the
day of trouble. And he says, be of good cheer.
I have overcome the world. Why is that such a
boost to get us through the trouble? Why does
that make all the difference in the world when
you're stepping through the difficulty and the
hardship to get out the other side? Because if
Jesus... overcame the trouble in the world, you
can overcome the trouble in the world. If you're
following him, if Jesus overcame the trouble,
we can overcome the trouble as well. He knew
that the peace of God wouldn't just be quite
enough, that you would need the reassurance at
the end of the day that you're going to make
it out the other side, right? He knew that in
ourselves, I don't know. I can come up against
trouble, and if it's just me wading through the
trouble, I have no idea if I'm going to get out
the other side. I can tell myself. I can hype
myself up. I can beat my chest. I can get a bunch
of attitude about the whole thing, but I got
no idea if I'm coming out the other side. I have
no reassurance of that. In my own strength, I've
learned the older I get, it's just simply not
true. I'm just simply not going to get there.
I need the reassurance that Jesus, because he
overcame the trouble, I can overcome the trouble.
Because I follow him, he empowers me to overcome
anything that's in front of me. Why do you think
when Jesus walked on the face of this earth,
he overcame death, hell, and the grave? He overcame
sickness. He overcame disease. He overcame the
elements. He overcame the law, right, the physical
laws that bind us, right? He came to overpower
anything that was trouble and tribulation. Jesus
was letting his disciples know and let us know
that he overcame, and because he did, we can.
He overthrew everything that Satan threw at him.
It's why he paid such a hefty price at the cross.
He died for our sin because we couldn't take
care of that trouble in our life. You don't have
enough in you to rid yourself of this sin. You
don't. Only he could. Let me put it this way.
How many of you love to be on a team that consistently
wins the championship? Raise your hand. Come
on, I don't even care if it's board games. How
many of you like to be on the winning team? I
love winning, okay? Absolutely, right? We want
to be on the team that continually and constantly
wins. We want to be part of that. We want that.
We want to win all the time. We want the championship
every time. We know that there might be some
games that we lose, right? There might be some
battles that we don't make it through and we
come out of short. But we want to know at the
end of the day, we're going to come out in the
championship round, right? We're going to make
it through because the leader of the team is
that good. Because the coach is that good. Well,
let me tell you something. If you're on Team
Jesus, the coach is that good. You're coming
out the other side. You're coming out on top.
And it's not because you got it all going on.
It's because he's got it all going on. It's because
he's amazing. He can't lose. Do you understand
that? The God that we serve cannot lose. And
if you're on his team, you can't lose either.
You might get beat up in some battles. You might
not win the day, but I'm telling you, you will
win the war. One day you will step into heaven
and you will be whole and right and full. Amen?
We win. We win. It's true. The peace of God inside
plus I cannot lose on team Jesus on the outside
equals I'm an overcomer. That's what the word
of God tells us. Praise team if you'd come. If
you'd come. Now, I know you may have came in
here today looking for a different message this
morning. You might have wanted me to tell you
that if you follow Jesus, it would be nothing
but roses and sunshine, right? If you follow
Jesus, all the stress is just going to melt away
on your life. You're going to have blessing that
will flow from the time you wake up in the morning.
The wind is going to be in your hair. You're
going to skip and frolic through the meadow,
right? Lushing green grass is going to be in
front of you, and your future is never going
to have a bump in the road. I can't tell you
that. As a matter of fact, what I'm going to
tell you this morning is, if you follow Jesus,
you're going to have trouble. Trouble is going
to unfold around you. But I can tell you this.
I will promise you this. If you follow Jesus
with everything that's inside of you, you will
have the peace of God flood your heart, and you
won't even know. The Word of God says it's a
peace that passes all understanding. It is so
powerful that it blows right past your mind,
and it just moves into your soul and emotion.
And you can't explain it. It's just there. Things
are unfolding around you. Things are falling
apart at every side. And you, for some weird
reason, have the peace of God that's lodged in
your heart. I can promise you that if you follow
from all your heart. And I can promise you a
second thing. You will win. You'll win. At the
end of the day, at the end of life, at the end,
you cannot lose. When you follow Jesus, it's
true. I'm going to ask you to stand this morning.
I'm going to read you just a couple of scriptures
to reiterate what I'm talking about because it's
all through God's word. And as the worship team
gets all set up, 1 John 5 says this, whoever
believes that Jesus Christ is born of God and
everyone who loves him who begot also loves him
who is begotten of him. By this we know that
we love the children of God, and we love God
and keep His commandments. For this is the love
of God, that we keep His commandments, and His
commandments are not burdensome. Now listen to
this. For whatever is born of God overcomes the
world. Did you hear that? Whatever is born of
God overcomes the world. And this is the victory
in that everyone overcomes the world. This is
the victory that has overcome the world, our
faith. Who is he who overcomes the world? Trouble,
right? But he who believes that Jesus is the
son of God. I'm going to read you one more, Romans
8, 31. What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who
did not spare his own son, but delivered him
up for us all. How shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall bring a
charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died
and furthermore is also risen. Who is even at
the right hand of God who also makes intercession
for us. Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, trouble, distress,
persecution, famine, nakedness. How many know
nakedness is a problem, right? Peril, sword.
For as it is written, for your sake we are killed
all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the
slaughter. Trouble, trouble, trouble. Yet in
all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us. For I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other created thing shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. You cannot lose with him. You can't
lose. I'm going to ask you to bow your heads
as you stand in this. I cannot promise you a
trouble -free life in Jesus or otherwise, honestly.
But I can promise you if you follow him, that
he will give you a peace. If you truly follow
him, he'll give you a peace that passes all understanding.
You won't even be able to explain it. I can promise
you at the end of the day, you'll come out on
top. You'll get through the other side of the
trouble and somehow he'll bring you through and
you'll come out on top. And if you're here and
you're a Christian, you've been following Jesus
in your mind. You've been suffering with thoughts
that have plagued you. In your body, you have
suffered with plagues that have attacked your
body. If your soul is a mess, right? You're emotionally
all over the place. I'm here to tell you today.
He can and will come in and give you peace. Paradise
in the middle of trouble. So I'm gonna pray for
you first and then I'm gonna talk with those
and just keep your heads bowed as we do this.
I'm gonna pray through and maybe for those who
don't know Jesus. Father, I come to you today.
God, you know who's in the house here, Lord.
You know, God, who's among us. And Lord, I pray
right now, God, that you would begin to move
among your people. God, I pray that you would
guide and direct. But Lord, I... God, I know
there are people in here, they're struggling
right now. God, they're in the middle of trouble.
There's trouble on every side of them. Lord,
it's in the front, in the back, on the sides,
maybe even above and below them. And Lord, right
now they're tormented in their mind. They might
be tormented in their body and their soul. And
Lord, they need the peace of God in their lives.
And Lord, they need to know they're going to
come out on top. They need that reassurance.
So God, I pray right now, settle it in their
heads. Settle it in their hearts that I am not
going down. That life is not going to take me
down. The trouble is not going to tear me to
pieces. Because I am in you. God, I pray that
the peace of God floods their spirit. God, I
pray Holy Spirit pours upon them and baptizes
them and fills them full of your peace. Your
peace, Lord. God, help them. in their heads and
in their hearts. And as every head is bowed and
every eye still stays closed, you might be in
the house and you have never experienced the
peace of God in your life. You didn't even know
you could be in relationship with a holy God
who has your best interest at heart. So much
so that he sent Jesus to die on a cross to take
the payment of your sin so that you could be
in relationship with God. That's why Jesus came.
That was the whole purpose. If you're here today,
and you've never been in relationship with him,
but you want to be. You want to know the peace
that I'm talking about. You want to know that
you can win in following Jesus. I'm going to
ask you to do something. If you truly commit
in your heart, and that's the key, you're going
to commit to follow him. Raise your hand right
now if you want to meet Jesus for the first time.
All we ask you to do is pray. I'm not going to
call you out. I'm not going to ask you to come
up to the front. I'm not going to ask you anything.
You can raise your hand up, put it right back
down. Good morning. Thank you. Father, we come.
God, you know every soul, every mind, and every
heart in this house. Lord, we recognize that
Jesus paid the price that we couldn't pay. We
could not fix that trouble in our lives. Sin
separated us from God from the very beginning.
And Lord, it was Jesus who came to bring us back
into relationship, reconcile us back to God so
that I might know the peace of God and so that
I might be on the winning team. I might know
what it is to win. Lord, I pray right now for
that person. Lord, all they got to do is confess
that in their own words in prayer. All they got
to do is believe in their heart and the word
of God says that you will be with them and they'll
be saved. So God, for every person in the house
this morning, God, I pray, Lord, the one that's
praying that prayer, let them feel the peace
of God flood into their spirit right now. Let
their heart be so full. They're not going to
be able to explain it, but Lord, they're going
to know. Lord, we just give you praise and glory
and honor in Jesus' name. And everybody say it
together. Amen. Amen. I almost did it quick.
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