Sunday's Message - It Begins with Trust

Here's the message I offered during the celebration service in the Presbyterian Church of Hopedale on Sunday, May 10.

John 14:1-14

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Also in me, trust.  In my father’s house, there are many rooms. If not, then I would have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you. And if I might go and might prepare a place for you, then I will come and will receive you to myself, so that where I myself am, you will also be. And where I’m going, you know the way.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going; how are we able to know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father, except through me. If you had known me, then my father, you also will know. And already now you know him, and you have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the father and it is enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “So long a time I am with you, and don’t you know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you trust that I am in the father and the father is in me? The words which I myself have spoken to you from myself I haven’t spoken. But the father who remains in me does his work. Trust me that I am in the father and the father is in me. But if not, then because of these works trust. Amen, amen, I say to you, the one who trusts in me, the works which I myself do, he will also do. And greater than these he will do, because I myself am going to the father. And whatever you might ask in my name, this I will do, so that the father might be glorified in the son. Whatever you might ask me in my name, I myself will do.”

It Begins with Trust

Now, I want to give you fair warning. In nearly every sermon I’ve preached over the last thirty-five years, I’ve always started in one of two ways. If I’m in the middle of series that’s all focused on a theme or an idea, I’ve generally started with a little review of the stuff we’ve already covered. That’s one way. And the other, well, if it’s sort of a “stand alone” message, I’ve generally used what I call a hook, you know, something funny or topical to kind of draw y’all into what I’m about to say. Now that’s generally what I’ve done, and I bet I could count on one hand that number times I haven’t.

But maybe it’s the virus talking or that fact that I haven’t done a proper sermon for a couple of months now, I don’t know. Anyway, I’m going to do something a little different this morning, because right up front I’m going let you in on exactly what I’m going to talk about. And I can tell you, it’s directly related to the passage we just read from John. You see, we’re going to look at the relationship between trust and knowledge, but in a way that may be a little different from what y’all may have thought in the past. You see, I think folks often assume that what we know leads to what we trust; therefore, the more we know, the more trust we have. Now I believe that’s usually what we think. But I’ll tell you, as you can see by the sermon title, I think it’s exactly the opposite. In other words, what we know or think we know is actually grounded in what or whom we trust. Now that’s going to be our focus. And to unpack this, we’re going to look at three examples that sort of support this idea and then we’ll spend a little time talking about why the focus of our trust changes what we know. Now that’s the plan.

And so let’s start by looking at three examples that I believe sort of proves my point. And you know, the first one is perfect for today, because it’s all about my mother. Now, y’all may not know this, but my mom passed away about a year and a half ago. And looking back I’ve got to tell you, I was really, and I mean really lucky in the mother department. Of course, I recognize that’s not the case for everybody, but it was for me, and I’ll tell you why. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t believe that mom loved me. And I’ve got to tell you, regardless of what I did, that never changed. For example, even when I said or did something that disappointed her, you know, like when I secretly used one of her liberty head silver dollars to buy ice cream on an afternoon I was being punished or when I said that Nicky’s mom made a much better apple pie than hers, even when I hurt her feelings, I still believed my mom cared about me. And even when I knew I was in big trouble like when I threw a rock through the windshield of the Reneses’s new car or when I came home in a police car because Blaine Adams and I were running around a house under construction, even when I’d done something really naughty, I still had faith that mom would be there for me, helping me face the consequences of my actions and frankly, stopping my dad from killing me on the spot. Like I said, I always trusted that mom loved me. And for that reason, I could come to her for advice and I could learn from her example as I was raising Maggie. I mean, even when she said things I didn’t want to hear, I knew she was the kind of person and parent I wanted to be. But that’s something I wouldn’t have known, if I didn’t trust her, if I didn’t believe in her. Now to me, that’s one example of how trust leads to knowledge.

And the second, I also think we see the same thing in our society now-a-days, particularly around this COVID-19 pandemic. I mean, all this stuff we assume we know is based on whom we trust, isn’t it? For example, if we choose to trust the President and his supporters we know that the virus started in a Chinese lab and that the effects have been exaggerated and that the very best thing we can do is to go back to the way it was and, of course, that the President has handled the crisis with skill and compassion and those who disagree are fakes and losers. If we trust what he’s saying, that’s what we know, right? But if we believe CNN and MSNBC and the other networks, if we trust them, the picture is completely different, because we know that the government knew about this way before it acted and that the delay has and is costing lives and that the country better be careful before everything just opens up, and of course, that the quality of the President’s leadership can be summed up by his suggestion that we start injecting  disinfectants and somehow shine light inside the body. If we believe what they’re saying, the stuff we assume we know is entirely different. But either way, this “knowledge” started with trust. That’s two.

And third, I think we’ve got of a great example of trust leading to knowledge right in the passage we read from John. I mean, just remember what happened. Jesus was talking to Thomas and Philip. And he started by saying, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Also in me, trust.” Two commands. And then he told them that he was going and that they already knew the way to get there. In other words, if they trusted in God, you know, if they believed in him, they would know. But evidently that wasn’t the case, at least not for Thomas, because he said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going; how are we able to know the way?” And even after Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father, except through me. If you have known me, then my father, you also would know. And already now you know him, and you have seen him,” I’m telling you, even after that Philip still didn’t get it, because he said, “Lord, show to us the father and it is enough for us.” In other words, I think he was telling Jesus to just let them see God the Father and then they’d know. And you sure don’t need any trust or belief or faith to do that. But as Jesus listened, man, he knew that just wasn’t right. Both Thomas and Philip were getting the order wrong, and I’ll tell you, that’s why he said, “How do you say, ‘Show to us the Father’? Don’t you trust that I am in the father and the father is in me? The words which I myself have spoken to you from myself I haven’t spoken. But the father who remain in me does his work. Trust me that I am in the father and the father is in me. But if not, then because of these works trust.” Now that’s what he said. And you know, I think it’s important that, in these fourteen verses, Jesus told his two disciples who really wanted to know, he told them to trust, to believe, to have faith (it’s the same word in the Greek), and he said it four times. You see, just like I saw with my mom and we can all see in our society, Jesus recognized that, as it relates to knowledge, it really begins with trust.

And you know, I think this is really important for us to recognize and accept, and I’ll tell you why. If we want a better understanding of God, it starts when we choose to have faith that the Father and the Son are one and that when we see the Son, we also see the Father. And if we want a stronger relationship with God, it comes when we choose to believe that the writer of the Gospel of John was right when he wrote, “...the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” I’m telling you, if we want a deeper knowledge of God, it begins when we choose to trust that Jesus knew what he was talking about when he said “...just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” You see, we can decide to trust, and this is something we can do every single day and twice on Sunday. And when we make that decision, our knowledge is going to be transformed.

And let me show you how that happens, and you tell me if this just doesn’t make sense. You see, when we make the decision to trust (and I’ll tell you, it’s always a decision), three things are going to happen. First, we’re going to start to listen. You see, if we don’t trust the source, we sure don’t want to hear what they have to say. As a matter of fact, we’re probably going to make an intentional decision to avoid and to ignore them as much as we can. That’s why some folks watch only Fox and others only MSNBC. But if we make the decision to believe that someone is telling us the truth even if it’s not always what we want hear, then we’re going seek out opportunities to hear it, aren’t we? And we’re going to look for as many chances as we can to be exposed to the truth. We’re going to watch videos and listen to recordings; man, we may even read a book or attend a study just so we can take in as much as we can. As a matter of fact, the minute we decide to believe, without even thinking about it, we’re going to apply these words that James wrote in his letter: My dear friends, you should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry. [James 1:19, CEV] I’m telling you, when we trust, first, we’ll start to listen.

And because we’re listening, second, we’re going to start to learn. Of course, there’s no way that can happen if we close our eyes and ears, because when we do that, we’re also closing our minds. But if our belief, our trust has motivated us to seek out opportunities to hear more, than I think it’s impossible not to learn something we didn’t know before. And as we learn, we’re going to grow. Now having said that, I recognize that, when you get right down to it, deep down, most of us really don’t want to grow. I know there are plenty of times I don’t. Man, have you ever lived with a teenager? Growth is messy. It makes us feel uncomfortable and uneasy. It might even be painful, especially when it causes us to rethink some of the stuff that we were taught and that our closest friends still think is true. You see, learning leads to growth. And growth can be dangerous. And maybe that’s the reason Jesus gave this warning to his disciples: God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago. [Matthew 5:11-12, CEV] You see, when we trust, after we start listening, we’re going to start learning. That’s the second thing that’s going to happen.

And finally, with all that listening and learning going on, the stuff we assume that we know is going to change. And I’ll tell you, that’s a good thing. In the fall, my daughter is starting college, and I pray that as she listens and learns, her knowledge will to expand and change. You see, she wants to be a Physician’s Assistant, and woe to anyone who comes to her for help, if her knowledge of medicine stays right where it is now. Hopefully, what she knows will be different. And you know, even though I don’t believe that truth itself changes, our understanding of it certainly does. It’s like Pilate’s encounter with Jesus right before the crucifixion. Now, remember in the passage we read a little while ago, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Now, just listen to the conversation between Pilate and Jesus: “Pilate then went back inside. He called Jesus over and asked, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are you asking this on your own or did someone tell you about me?’ ‘You know I’m not a Jew!’ Pilate said. ‘Your own people and the chief priests brought you to me. What have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom doesn’t belong to this world. If it did, my followers would have fought to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. No, my kingdom doesn’t belong to this world.’ ‘So you are a king,’ Pilate replied. ‘You are saying that I am a king,’ Jesus told him. ‘I was born into this world to tell about the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth knows my voice.’ Pilate asked Jesus, ‘What is truth?’” [John 18:33-38, CEV] Now I think this is really important. You see, Pilate asked the question because he didn’t know and to me, that’s amazing. I mean, even though the truth was standing right before him, Pilate wasn’t able to recognize it. He didn’t know, because he didn’t have faith. But that’s not us, is it? We can know, because we can decide to believe what Jesus taught. You see, when we trust, our knowledge changes.

And I’ll tell you, that’s why I think belief and faith always comes before knowledge. It’s something that was a part of my relationship with my mom and it’s something we can see all over the place in our divided society. And I’ll tell you, it was something that really created a lot of confusion for Thomas and Philip, because they wouldn’t be able to believe in Jesus until after the resurrection and he’d breathed on them the Holy Spirit. You see, our decision to trust in Christ enables us to know Christ. And for that reason, I believe it’s really important for us to make that decision over and over again, because when we do, we’ll start to listen, and we’ll start to learn, and we’ll start to know a truth we may have never recognized before. Why? In my opinion, that’s simple: it all begins with trust.