I Am -- I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life -- John 14:1-15

Introduction
This past Christmas, my wife got me the coolest gift. It was one of those electronic GPS systems. In case you are wondering what it does, it gives you directions to any location based on your location and it does it via satellite. So this little box on my dash gets a signal from space and then tells me where I am going. Now, if I miss a turn or need to get around a traffic tie up, it will recalculate my route to get me to my destination. It is a cool toy.

Christianity is an exclusive faith.
Isn’t it funny that because of that fact we are called an intolerant religion?
Yet is Christianity that says just as you are and does not make a person conform before he comes to Christ.
Yet because Christianity is an exclusive faith, many people are intolerant towards us.
That of course makes them into hypocrites except in their own eyes because their self-righteous moral superiority makes it okay to down on others whom they perceive would look down on others.
You get the idea
What’s good for them is good for them but for anyone else, it is intolerance.

Describing the Biblical Text
This text describes events in the upper room where Jesus took his last supper.
We find Him washing the disciples’ feet in John 13 and praying for them (and us) in John 17.
But, between the cleaning of the feet and the calling on the Lord, there is a significant body of teaching called the upper room discourse.
We are in that upper room with Jesus in terms of our context today and He is teaching that he will be departing read dying and the disciples will have to be able to cope with Him being gone.

Narrate the Contextual application
He is telling them that knowing Him is the most important thing that they have.
Knowing Him is already pointing them down the right path, which they claim not to know.
Knowing Jesus is to know the way the truth and the life.
Knowing Jesus is to come to the Father.

Life Application (thesis)
We then must come to a very intolerant conclusion.
And, though it might be intolerant, it is by far the greatest demonstration of the Love and grace of God.
It maintains the dignity and the holiness of God while at the same time allowing for the sinner’s life to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
This is how Paul can write to the Roman church that there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
Consequently, we will develop this thesis this morning.
Jesus is God’s only means of salvation.

SO WHAT!! (Outline)
I want us to take a look at 3 roads this morning.
The first road is that Jesus is mindful of our eternity in heaven.
Now I want to begin by just saying how different my family was from Valerie’s family. That is part of the real miracle of marriage, that 2 families can come together and literally become one flesh. I remember when my mom was still alive and we used to go down to Charleston to see her every year for Thanksgiving. I would get home and then go to the fridge and fix a glass of tea and then go plop down on the couch in front to the TV. Valerie would look at me and ask how come you don’t visit. I would think she was crazy.
I did what I did at home. I was in my house where I lived before I moved away and got married. I worked at work and studied at school and plopped down on the couch and watched TV at home.
Mom got it and didn’t complain. She was glad I came home to plop on the couch and watch TV. She made a fresh jug of tea and by jug, I mean gallon milk jug. She would cook fried chicken at least once while I was there and we would go eat at Roberts BBQ in Goose Creek.

Jesus says that He is preparing a place for us.
Much has been made over the use of the word mansion and the fact that it is not used in newer translations.
The word for house is the word used in the statement in my father’s House but the word for mansions might literally be translated dwelling place or place to stay.
I am sure the KJ translators could not conceive in their minds anything more grand than a mansion.
So any place prepared for us by Christ himself could be nothing less.
I tend to agree with that reasoning but still desire to see the text translated accurately.
To be honest, I really don’t care if I am allotted a pup tent in the corner of the cellar, just to be in the Father’s house would be joy immeasurable.

In the father’s house are many places to dwell or stay. And they are all prepared by Jesus.
When Jesus left this earth after his resurrection from the dead, he was going to prepare a place.
Now what do we see?
This is a word that means region or area.
It is just mind boggling that Jesus would come and die for us and then even though he proclaimed it is finished, the work of redemption being done, he then went to prepare a place for us.
Don’t lose this visual in your minds.
He doesn’t just do the work of the cross and then take his life back and stop.
He prepares our dwelling with God.

And then he tells us that we know how to get there.
Think of it this way.
I am going to have a party and half of my Sunday school class has never been to my house. What do they do?
They ask for directions.
That is really what Thomas did. We don’t know where you are going; how do we know the way.
Jesus’ reply might seem surprising but it really isn’t.
Jesus said I am going to my house and you can come.
When Thomas asked His question, Jesus replied that He was the way.
I am going to my father in heaven and I am the way.
IOW believe on me and go to the Father.
How about this? I am going home and you can come see me.

Jesus also appended truth and life to His description of Himself as the way.
This tells us that he is not just the road, he understanding of the road and he is destination at the end.
He is the embodiment of truth and the author of life eternal, both of which are necessary to reach the dwelling place that He has prepared for us in heaven.
He is mindful of our eternity having prepared a place for us, having provided a way or path for us, having provided the truth for us to know how to get there, having provided life eternal through his resurrection conquering death for all eternity.

Our second road this morning is this.
Jesus uniquely identifies with God the Father.
The next conversation takes place with Philip.
He is like doubting Thomas before Thomas doubted.
Show us the Father and that would be sufficient Lord.
But the problem with that statement is the Christ is sufficient without seeing the Father.
He is of the same essence and the same nature as the Father.
Look at verse 8
[Read 8-11]
There are really 2 important things to see in these verses.
Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him.
We would see that as an equally reciprocating relationship.
What we also see here is that the work of the God the Father is being done through Jesus the Son.
In verse 11, there is a call to faith.
It is a call to believe in Jesus because He is in the Father but if that is too difficult, He offers a fallback position.
Believe because of the works.
It is all the same in that the unity of the father and son is exposed and demonstrated in the works that the Son did.

Jesus is mindful of our eternity; He uniquely identifies with the Father.
A relationship with Jesus involves both serving and receiving.
Here we have a passage where we are promised to o greater things or works than Jesus did. How can that be?
That can be as we are walking in faith and leading others to Him.
While he accomplished salvation on the cross for his people, we are the ones who actually get the blessing of seeing that realized in their lives.
We are the ones who actually get to preach the gospel; and lead people to Christ.
That is a tremendous work.

In this we also have a guide for and a means by which we can see prayer answered: Whatever you ask in my name.
Too many of us tend to use that as a formula or a tag on the end of a prayer to give is some kind of force or validity.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe in praying in Jesus name but it is more that an abra cadabra at the end of our prayer.
Praying in Jesus name means we are seeking to do the works of the Father that He did and it means that we won’t pray in Jesus’ name for things we know might be outside of His will.
Ladies you can’t start praying for God to send you a new husband just because the one you have doesn’t make enough money or isn’t Mr. handyman.
God doesn’t want us to willy nilly trade our spouses in for better models.
Make note of the fact that the statement occurs in the context of working for the father and in obeying Christ because we love Him.

There is probably none of here this morning that would claim not to love Jesus but how many of us really seek to obey Him in all things.
Keeping his commandments has to be the platform for our prayers.
Lord how can we serve you better?
How can we lead more people to you?
How can we grow in your grace and knowledge?

Are you following Jesus today?
Are you giving Him your all?
If you notice when I preach, I don’t say the word Christian anymore because of the baggage that the word has picked up.
I now say follower of Christ because that is what we are.
It means we live for Him to obey Him because we love Him.
Are you flowing Christ with your all today