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"I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE" |
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If there is anything that we should want out of life, it is to be wise. Obviously, the first step to a successful life is to first figure out the purpose. What is the most important thing I can accomplish with my life? And then, the next question is this: what is the best way to accomplish this goal? What is best goal for my life? What is the best way to accomplish this goal? Every person alive has a need to answer these two questions. Those who don’t answer them live lives of inconsequence and die dissatisfied, wondering what it was all for. Those who find the answers to these questions, and live it, they alone find true happiness. Life or death – it all hangs on wisdom. Please open your Bibles to John 14:6. This morning we are going to see how we satisfy our need for wisdom in Jesus alone. For a little context, we need to be reminded that Jesus has just finished telling the disciples that he would be going away (referring to his death). He told them they could not go with him, but that later he’d come back and take them to be with him. He told them that he is preparing a place for them, a place at his Father’s house. Not understanding what Jesus is talking about, Thomas asks in verse 5: "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) It is important for us to realize that Jesus answers both of Thomas’s questions: where he is going and how to get there. Wisdom is going the best place to go and taking the best route to get there. Where is the best place to go? No one comes to the Father except through me. The best place to go is to the Father. There is only one way to be satisfied in this life and in the life to come: be with the Father. He made you for a love relationship with Him, and you will never find fulfillment until you find it in Him. Let me take a moment now to ask the all-important question: What is the goal of your life? What are you living for? Is it to know the Father? There is no way to overstate the importance of this question. Have you made knowing God the passion of your life? If you haven’t, make a decision now: say to God – right now – that your purpose in life is to know Him. Wisdom is knowing where to go and how to get there. Jesus makes clear the first answer: where to go? To the Father. Next question: how to get there? Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” As we look closely at this verse, we are going to see three ways to get there: we will see three things that we can do to find our need for wisdom satisfied in Jesus. The first thing we need to do is this: Walk the way. What does Jesus mean when he says, “I am the way?” John 14:6 is a pretty well known verse. Most of us, if we were asked by someone, “How do I get to heaven?” – many of us would answer that John 14:6 says that Jesus is the way to heaven. We’d be right. But there is more. The Greek word for ‘way’ carries with it the idea of ‘a course of behavior’ or ‘a way of life.’ Being saved is not like a monopoly transaction where we turn in a get-out-of-jail-free card and carry on with our turn. God has for us a way – a course of behavior – a way of life – that satisfies. The first thing about finding our need for wisdom satisfied in Jesus is recognizing that he is The Way, and choosing to Walk the Way. You may be tempted to think that being a Christian is just about making a transaction with God so that you can go to heaven when you die. Don’t believe this lie! Being a Christian is walking the way – it is making a decision to daily live with Christ on the throne – it is a way of life. Have you decided to walk the way? God loves you, and he has an amazing plan for your life! Though you have sinned against God, he loves you so much that Jesus died on the cross to take the penalty of your sin upon himself. And he rose from the dead, promising you resurrection life when you believe in him. Turn your life over to Him, and you will experience the abundant life for which he created you! Make a decision to walk the way. And the second thing that we need to do is this: Trust the truth. Jesus says, “I am the truth.” Here is a good definition of truth: “That which is in complete accordance with reality.” What is real? What is ultimately real? Jesus! What does it mean to “trust the truth?” Jesus is the truth. Trusting truth simply means living according to the reality that Jesus presents. Here is a great question: How do we grow as Christians? Answer: by continuing to grow in the reality of Jesus. Are you trusting that Jesus embodies truth? It is so easy for us to give ourselves to lies. We so easily believe the lies that happiness is found in this world - in money; or relationships; or in climbing the corporate ladder; or in climbing the social ladder... We are constantly tempted to live for these lies, but in the end, we will find that this is just what they are – lies. They do not give the happiness that they promise. There is only one truth, and that is Jesus. There is only one who always keeps his promises. There is only one who is always love. There is only one who satisfies. His name is Jesus. What can we do to live out a life of trusting in truth? I think of Romans 12:2; we read: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." One of the best ways we can live according to the reality that only Jesus satisfies is to saturate ourselves with God’s Word. When we devote ourselves to God’s word, we enter into the process of allowing God to renew our minds, helping us to think according to the reality of God’s truth and not according to the lies of this world. Do you ever wish to yourself that you would think more like God thinks? Isn’t that our aim? To love the things that God loves? To hate what God hates? To weep when God weeps? And to DO what God does? How do we do this? Devote yourself to God’s Word! "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." One of the things that some of our high school and college students are doing and training others to do is the One Thing study. It is simply this: 1) read a passage 2) underline ONE THING: a verse or phrase that is meaningful to you. 3) pray about that ONE THING. We then continue to encourage one another by discussing with each other how our One Thing studies are going. And now for the third thing that we need to do: Live the life. Jesus says, “I am the Life.” When Jesus calls himself “The Life,” he no doubt has in mind the truth that He is the Abundant Life. Remember John 10:10? “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” Why did Jesus come? To give us the abundant life. He IS the abundant life. So what does it mean that Jesus is “the Life?” It means that in Jesus and only in Jesus can we experience true pleasure. So how can we experience this true pleasure in Jesus? I would suggest that one of the main reasons why God keeps us alive on this planet after we become Christians is to share our faith. There is an immense amount of pleasure to be had in sharing our faith! Jesus’ words are clear: Go into all the world and make disciples… Surely he doesn’t need us to do this. He chooses to allow us to be part of His work for our sake, not his. He commands us to share our faith not because he needs us to, but because we need us to! We need to experience the joy of being a part of God working in other people’s lives! God has recently been working among our young adults, giving us the pleasure of sharing our faith on campus at Merced College. I’d like to invite up Heidi Kessener to share a bit of her experiences: (INTERVIEW OF HEIDI) Questions for Heidi: 1) Heidi, tell us briefly what you have been doing at the college. 2) Why did you decide to go the first time? 3) Tell us about one or two of the people you have talked to. 4) As a closing thought: what has God showed you through this experience? Thank you Heidi! As we obey the great commission and share our faith, we experience the pleasure of doing what God made us to do: loving other people in his name. By the way - the invitation is open – would you like to join us in doing table evangelism at Merced College sometime? You may also be thinking of other ways that you could share His love with others. Whatever the case, I would encourage you, step out of your comfort zone and do it! DL Moody, the Chicago shoe-salesman-turned-preacher of the mid-1800s, tells a story of when he was preaching on a soap box in downtown Chicago. A man came up to him and said of his preaching, “Mr. Moody! I don’t like how you do that.” To which Moody replied, “Well, how do you do it?” The man said, “I don’t.” And Moody replied, “Well, I like the way I do it better than the way you don’t.” It may not be easy to share your faith. And you may keep wondering if there is a better way. But the best way to find a better way is to start trying some way! Pray for and look for opportunities to share your faith, for this is a big part of the abundant life that Jesus offers us. Wisdom. Choosing the best way to achieve the best goal. The best goal? To be with the Father. The best way to get there? Jesus. He is the way, and the truth, and the life. He is the all-satisfying I AM. Walk the Way. Trust the Truth. Live the Life. Let’s pray. |