February 9, 2025
Morning Service

In chapter 13, Jesus had laid a heavy load upon His disciples telling them that He soon would be leaving them and before the night was over one of them would betray Him, Peter would deny Him, and all of them would be scattered.  Knowing this was a lot to process, Jesus comforted them pointing them (and us) to the foundation of our faith that never changes; the fact that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God and He controls what is in store for us in the future.

John 14:1-3 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  (2)  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  (3)  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

            Last week we dug deeper into each one of these verses focusing on the promises that we can hold onto in the times of troubles and the times of change.  Paraphrasing Jesus; “The future holds some very difficult things, but don’t be afraid remember who I am and believe in Me.  Trust Me.  Look above the storms and know that I am there for you no matter the circumstances.  I know the road I am calling you down is not the one you would choose right now, but take confidence that it the road that leads to home.  Jesus is promising that in the end we will win; there is victory for those who overcome.  He is preparing a place for us in heaven where we will dwell with Him forever.  Take comfort in knowing that during your difficult times.  The ability to do this does not come easily, we must learn to keep our eyes on Jesus, not our circumstances.  You are safe in His arms no matter what is happening along your journey of life.  Hold onto the hope that Jesus promises us here in these scriptures.  Memorize them and recite them as you feel worry and anxiety drowning you in the moment.  Be a doer of this, not just a hearer only.  You will experience the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. (Phil 4:7)

            The disciples failed to do this in this moment of time.  They continued seeking more information as their anxiety level continued to rise.  Jesus however, again tries to comfort them by encouraging them to look to Him.

 

 John 14:4-6 And where I go you know, and the way you know."  (5)  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  (6)  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

          For those of us who love clarity and things to be spelled out clearly for us to easily understand, Jesus does that right here.  He does not simply point us in the direction of the way to be reconciled to God, but He, with authority, tells us “I am the Way.”  Salvation does not come through a certain path or process, but through a Person, Jesus Christ.  We must confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that He is the Son of God and our Savior to enter into that redemptive relationship. He states that He is not one of the many ways to God, but that HE is the ONLY WAY; “no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  This does not go over well with our society which wants to a culture that has “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in all facets of life including religion.  They feel everyone should be free to choose their own path to God and it may be different than ours.  “Oh there are a really nice person, but they don’t follow Jesus, surely God will take them to heaven.”  Wrong, your works, lifestyle, degrees, genealogy, or even church membership do not reconcile you to God.  That happens only through a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus and through accepting His forgiveness for your sins are you reconciled with your Creator, which is a task none of us could do on our own. 

            Jesus then tells us plainly that “I am the Truth.”  He is not merely a teacher of truth; He is the Truth!  He is the reality of all of God’s promises to us.  He provides us with certainty in this time of confusion.  In today’s world truth has been very difficult to find.  Which news station is telling us the truth, not a lie they want us to believe?  Which science source is true telling us what we should do to be safe and healthy?  We must use the Spirit to discern those things, but what we do know is that the Bible tells us is Truth!  Stand on it, embrace it, and live by it.  Jesus is the source of all truth.

            Jesus’ statement that “I am the Life” shows that He is the source of all life and by joining our life to His we are granted life eternal.  As we began this gospel John revealed this to us:

 

Joh 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (2)  He was in the beginning with God.  (3)  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  (4)  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

 

            By believing and understanding this statement from Jesus, as He offers to us the Way to salvation, the Truth about salvation, and the reward of salvation which is Life eternal.  All of which are personified in Him.  We are luckily not required to fully understand this whole process, we are only required to believe it and act upon it.  Our Bible is our map to God and if we follow it we will find Him.  So when the waves of life knock you down, grab tightly to the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life and fully trust Him to lead you down the path He chooses.  His Way leads us to Truth and Life.  Jesus continues to explain what this relationship will look like.

 

Joh 14:7-14"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  (8)  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  (9)  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  (10)  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  (11)  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.  (12)  "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  (13)  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  (14)  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

            Jesus openly reveals to us here that He is the visible, tangible image of the invisible God.  He is the complete revelation of what God is like.  The search for God and truth ends when we find Jesus.  He asks us to believe that and that His Words are the Words of His Father as He is in the Father and the Father is in Him.  In believing we also enter into that holy relationship as we will see explained in the next two weeks.  Jesus calls us to believe either by His words or His works as they both point to His true identity (the Son of God).

            He then makes a very powerful statement that if we believe in Him we will do “greater works than these” and “whatever you ask in My Name, that I will do.”   At face value that certainly stirs our flesh to think of the new car that I am going to pray to be delivered to me tomorrow, but we know that is not the reality of this promise.  On the spiritual side though, God will grant to us our desire to walk closer to Him and become all that He created us to be.  Notice the request must come in “My Name” meaning we must pray and ask in accordance with His Will to be done.  We must pray for things that will glorify God, bless those around us, and be to our spiritual good.  Isaiah tells us this:

 

Isa 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD.  (9)  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

            We pray in all confidence in Jesus name and know that He hears us, but we must always yield our will to His; knowing His ways are higher than ours.  We pray trusting that He will do what is best for us.  Two examples of this is Paul asking God to remove a thorn in his flesh that he felt hindered him from his ministry.  God answered him saying “My grace is sufficient” meaning the pain he was experiencing had a purpose.  The biggest one of course is Jesus in the Garden as He asks His Father that “if there is any other way let this cup pass from Me.”  He did not stop there, but continued; “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done.”  So pray telling God how you would love things to go, BUT always yield yourself to what He has planned for you even if it is not what you would choose.

            Is this easy to do?  Certainly not!  We avoid pain and discomfort every way that we can, but life is full of changes.  We however, can trust that God is in control and what we may see as our life falling apart, may be God putting things back into their proper place.  Walk with Jesus following Him in full confidence that He is truly the Way, the Truth and the Life.  “Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God believe also in Me.”

 

Heavenly Father, we come to You this morning with a gratitude that You have loved us so much that You have presented to us a Way to receive forgiveness, reconciliation, and eternal life.  Help us to keep our eyes upon Jesus, our Savior, to keep us on the narrow path that leads to You.

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