WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.900 Good morning, everyone. It's great to see you. Those of you who are here and those of us joining 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:13.040 on the live stream, it is a joy to gather this morning. We are continuing in our series in the 00:00:13.040 --> 00:00:21.500 book of John. We're looking at the section usually called the Farewell Discourse. If you remember, 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:26.699 the book of John is split into two parts, and the second half is basically one week, 00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:34.060 the last week of Jesus' life. And what we are looking at this morning is one of the messages 00:00:34.060 --> 00:00:43.039 that Jesus gave to his disciples as he was preparing them for his departure. So that's 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:49.219 where we are at. If you have a Bible with you on your phone or in your hand, you can look there, 00:00:49.219 --> 00:00:58.200 and we'll read the text in a minute. But just to remember, as we set the scene for our text this 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:03.920 morning, I want you to think about, put yourself in the shoes of the disciples. Jesus' disciples 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:11.099 had been called by him from the very beginning. Come, follow me, he said at the beginning of John 00:01:11.099 --> 00:01:19.699 in the gospel. And they followed him. They left their nets, they left their homes, they left their 00:01:19.699 --> 00:01:25.579 livelihoods, and they had faithfully hitched their wagons to him, and they were headed with him to 00:01:25.579 --> 00:01:30.979 wherever he was going. They had stayed with him through the end of chapter 6, where his teaching 00:01:30.979 --> 00:01:39.679 was so offensive to many people that they turned away. He turned to them and said, what about you? Are you 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:45.920 going to go too? And they said, where else can we go? You alone have the words of life, of eternal life. 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:51.760 They stayed through chapter 8, where Jesus' teaching and his challenging of the religious leadership that 00:01:51.760 --> 00:02:00.100 was trusting in their ethnic identity caused them to want to kill him. They had followed him in chapter 00:02:00.100 --> 00:02:06.120 11 to Bethany. Do you remember what they said? You can't go there, they're trying to kill you. And then 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:11.300 when Jesus showed that he was going to go anyways, they said, well, let's go, at least we can die with him 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:19.939 together. They had been faithful with him. And then in chapter 13, as Pastor Greg preached to us last week, 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:28.099 he revealed that he knew that one of them would betray him, and one of them would deny him, that Judas would 00:02:28.099 --> 00:02:35.960 turn him over to the authorities, and that Peter would turn his back. Peter, the stalwart rock one, the one who 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:43.460 wouldn't fail. And in the midst of that, he also told them that he would be leaving, and that they could 00:02:43.460 --> 00:02:55.420 not come where he was going. Can you imagine the questions that rose in their minds? Where is this going? 00:02:56.120 --> 00:03:04.379 Where is he going that I can't come? I've committed my whole life to this. Did I choose rightly? What if it 00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:11.919 fails? What am I going to end up in? What about me? If Peter's going to fail, what about me? 00:03:12.819 --> 00:03:17.819 What if I fail too? Where is this all going? 00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:27.060 Friends, as we gather this morning, I wonder if your hearts ever ask those similar questions. 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:34.460 We don't have the similar circumstance that the disciples had, but certainly we face the up and 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:39.659 downs of life, and we're seeking for something to make sense of it, for something to give it purpose, 00:03:39.659 --> 00:03:45.420 for a destination to be worth spending our life pursuing. We look for it often in work, 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:48.960 in friendships, in marriage, in schooling. 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:57.920 But there are often moments, are there not, when we face these times of agitation in our heart, of uncertainty, 00:03:58.080 --> 00:03:58.879 of confusion. 00:04:01.340 --> 00:04:04.600 Our hearts are troubled in these moments, are they not? 00:04:06.700 --> 00:04:11.659 And friends, the Bible teaches us that all of those troubles that we feel in our everyday lives, 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:15.280 in the ups and downs of the challenges and difficulties of life, 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:22.019 flow from a deeper underlying question that we all carry in our hearts. 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:27.879 It is the question that the disciples were asking, and it is a question that our hearts are bent to ask as well, 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:34.060 which is, will I end up with God at the end? And what if I don't? 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:39.240 Is that my home? Is that my destination? 00:04:39.899 --> 00:04:42.000 Am I going to be able to get there or not? 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:50.319 We don't often consciously ask that question because it's terrifying for it to be a question and not an answer, isn't it? 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:55.180 But it's the question that the Bible posits for us today. 00:04:55.339 --> 00:04:57.759 It is the right question for us to be asking. 00:04:58.459 --> 00:05:00.980 And as we look at our passage this morning, 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:06.319 and as we think about the answer that this passage gives to that essential question, 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:10.379 it will give hope and help to our troubled hearts, 00:05:10.659 --> 00:05:16.379 not only in this deepest question, but in all of the others as well. 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:21.860 So this brings us to John 14, verses 1 through 7. 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:23.920 So let's read this together and let's pray then. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:27.959 John 14, verse 1. 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:57.039 Thomas said to him, 00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:20.360 Let's pray together. 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:22.759 Lord, we thank you for this word. 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:26.540 We pray this morning that by your spirit and through my words, 00:06:26.699 --> 00:06:30.020 you would, Lord, press home this truth to our hearts. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:33.020 Lord, that we might know you, 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:37.100 that we might have hope in the way that you have provided. 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:43.439 Lord, I pray that this would be comfort for our troubled hearts and help. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:50.660 Lord, we ask for your spirit to be among us this morning as we look into your word. 00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:52.279 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:53.519 Amen. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:53.699 Amen. 00:06:53.699 --> 00:07:09.599 Jesus speaks to his disciples and to us with a clear hope for our troubled hearts. 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:12.779 He says that there is a destination that gives hope, 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:17.519 and he makes a declaration that also gives us hope. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:19.639 So we're going to look at those two things in order, 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:24.579 the destination and then the declaration that Jesus gives in this passage. 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:29.699 So the destination that gives hope to our troubled hearts is in verses 1 through 5. 00:07:29.939 --> 00:07:31.339 And what he says is, 00:07:31.919 --> 00:07:34.959 There is a Father's house that is waiting for you. 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:38.659 There is a Father's house that has many rooms, many mansions. 00:07:38.660 --> 00:07:42.700 And some of you are old enough to remember some of the songs in the 70s that talked about 00:07:42.700 --> 00:07:46.939 the mansions that we're going to get as Christians and how big they're going to be 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:51.400 and whether they get four or five, you know, garage doors and all this stuff. 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:53.560 Mansions is a poor translation. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:56.080 It means a place to live. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:57.300 It means a dwelling place. 00:07:57.379 --> 00:08:01.280 It could be just as easily translated an apartment or a flat in a building. 00:08:01.440 --> 00:08:05.620 But it means you have a place to belong and that is your own, 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:13.319 that is a part of this house, this building, this edifice that God the Father owns. 00:08:14.819 --> 00:08:17.399 It is not something that does not exist yet. 00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:18.360 Jesus says, 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:21.579 There's a house already and I'm going to it, 00:08:21.980 --> 00:08:28.300 preparing a way for you to go so that you can get there. 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:33.019 Now, we ought not think that it's like in China where when you buy an apartment building, 00:08:33.180 --> 00:08:34.799 it's unfinished. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:39.359 You just get concrete walls often and then you move in and you refit it out 00:08:39.359 --> 00:08:44.259 and you do all that you put in the heating and the plumbing and the walls and everything yourself. 00:08:44.339 --> 00:08:45.199 It's not like that. 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:46.399 Jesus isn't saying, 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:48.120 I have to go and tidy up either. 00:08:48.339 --> 00:08:51.019 He's saying that these things already exist. 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:56.240 What he is preparing is not the destination because God has already designed that. 00:08:56.339 --> 00:08:59.079 He is preparing the way for us. 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:06.600 He is going ahead of us so that there is a way from here to there that we will be able to find. 00:09:06.920 --> 00:09:13.560 The way is not ready yet because he has not gone to the cross and gone to his death, 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:15.860 nor has he risen from the dead yet. 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:19.440 And he is referring to those actions when he says, 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:21.000 I am going to prepare a place. 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:28.539 It is going in preparation for this place that I will be able to take you to after those events are done. 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:31.419 This is why he tells them in chapter 13, 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:34.120 where I am going now, 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:37.959 you cannot come because they can't go to the cross with him. 00:09:38.199 --> 00:09:42.019 They can't do that work of adonement that he's going to do there. 00:09:42.579 --> 00:09:43.779 Only he can do it. 00:09:43.819 --> 00:09:44.679 But as he does that, 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:47.439 then he is preparing a way for them to come with him. 00:09:47.699 --> 00:09:49.219 And this is the great promise. 00:09:49.439 --> 00:09:50.019 He says, 00:09:50.139 --> 00:09:50.679 I'm telling you, 00:09:50.719 --> 00:09:52.919 I'm going to a place where you can't come right now, 00:09:52.959 --> 00:09:57.679 but I'm going to prepare a place so that you will know that there is a place for you. 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:00.739 And when I come back, 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:02.039 once I have gone, 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:03.399 I will come back. 00:10:04.199 --> 00:10:05.620 And when I come back, 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:07.639 I will take you with me. 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:09.799 And where I am, 00:10:09.959 --> 00:10:11.620 you will be with me also. 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:14.959 And this is the great promise. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:16.279 Jesus is looking ahead. 00:10:16.599 --> 00:10:18.059 He knows he's going to die, 00:10:18.439 --> 00:10:19.039 rise again, 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:20.199 be ascended to the Father, 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:21.979 but that one day he will come back. 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:23.559 And as the Bible promises, 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:27.079 believers who are still alive on earth will meet with him. 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:33.340 He will raise the dead and we will all be gathered to him in this house. 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:36.500 And the Bible nuances it. 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:40.740 It's not that we're translated out of earth to some other thing, 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:42.840 but he's going to bring heaven down to earth 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:47.200 and God will create his dwelling place among people with us 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:48.360 and his house will be here. 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:53.379 And the most important thing about that house is that we will be with Jesus. 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:58.860 And so to the troubled hearts of the disciples, 00:10:59.139 --> 00:11:00.039 where they're thinking, 00:11:00.259 --> 00:11:00.919 wait a minute, 00:11:01.179 --> 00:11:03.059 did I hitch myself to the wrong wagon? 00:11:03.059 --> 00:11:06.720 Because it sounds like he's going and I'm going to be left behind. 00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:08.240 Jesus says, 00:11:08.340 --> 00:11:08.500 no, 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:08.679 no, 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:08.919 no, 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:09.720 I am going, 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:13.600 but you will not be left behind because I have made a promise. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:14.799 I will come back 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:17.139 and I will take you with me. 00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:19.139 I will not abandon you. 00:11:19.220 --> 00:11:20.539 I will not forsake you. 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:24.340 But I am the one in whom, 00:11:25.059 --> 00:11:26.559 when you put your trust in me, 00:11:26.939 --> 00:11:29.779 it is safe for me to take you. 00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:33.019 You will end up in my father's house. 00:11:34.580 --> 00:11:35.340 And he says, 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:36.220 and you know this, 00:11:36.279 --> 00:11:37.340 I've been teaching you this, 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:38.419 I've been telling you this, 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:40.620 this is what this has all been about. 00:11:40.819 --> 00:11:42.019 You know where we're going. 00:11:42.019 --> 00:11:45.220 And Thomas says, 00:11:46.179 --> 00:11:46.620 uh, 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:47.639 actually, 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:48.519 Jesus, 00:11:49.579 --> 00:11:50.539 I don't, 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:51.579 I don't know. 00:11:52.199 --> 00:11:52.639 How do we, 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:53.419 how do we know? 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:54.960 How do we know the way there? 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:57.939 Because we're not even sure about the destination. 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:05.759 Isn't it beautiful the way the Bible helps put these things in us to make us not feel stupid? 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:06.799 We're like, 00:12:07.939 --> 00:12:08.220 well, 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:10.860 sometimes we don't know what God is doing. 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:13.560 Sometimes we lose sight of where he is taking us. 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:15.000 And honestly, 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:21.960 sometimes we can even be in church for a long time and not know the answer to the question, 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.240 do we know the way to God? 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:27.440 Often, 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:30.080 if you ask people on the street, 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:31.840 and even in our church at times, 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:33.980 do you know the way to God? 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:34.180 Well, 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:36.000 I think it means being a good person, 00:12:36.180 --> 00:12:37.840 faithful to our personal ethics, 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:38.740 serving the poor, 00:12:38.920 --> 00:12:39.860 protecting the environment, 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:41.220 protecting life, 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:42.180 live without lying, 00:12:42.300 --> 00:12:42.519 cheating, 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:43.120 or stealing, 00:12:43.700 --> 00:12:44.840 be a person of integrity, 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:45.899 find your own way, 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:46.740 be true to yourself. 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:47.240 That's, 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:47.960 that's a, 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:48.680 that's a way, 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:49.080 isn't it? 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:50.680 Isn't that what God wants from us? 00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:55.159 Others of us find the church community to be a great place. 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:55.800 And so we find, 00:12:56.019 --> 00:12:56.120 well, 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:57.080 being busy at church, 00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:00.420 I'm faithful in doing the actions that I'm supposed to do. 00:13:00.580 --> 00:13:01.860 In some church traditions, 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:02.100 it's, 00:13:02.300 --> 00:13:05.480 I'm faithful in doing the personal spiritual practices, 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:06.300 the sacraments, 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:07.160 and the rituals. 00:13:08.060 --> 00:13:10.259 I'm following through on personal piety. 00:13:13.060 --> 00:13:14.060 For some of us, 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:14.560 it may be, 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:16.820 I'm committed to the truth of this church. 00:13:16.920 --> 00:13:18.259 I've got my theology right. 00:13:18.300 --> 00:13:18.879 I've got my, 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:20.360 my ducks in a row. 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:24.740 I've got my points and my sub points and my sub sub points all right and lined up. 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:27.300 My understanding is right. 00:13:27.340 --> 00:13:29.120 And I have all the answers to the questions. 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:33.060 And it's easy to think if we have these things in place, 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:34.580 then we know the way to God. 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:38.940 But Jesus in this passage, 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:41.899 as he responds to Thomas, 00:13:42.060 --> 00:13:44.519 gives an answer that is shocking. 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:46.920 If those are the things that we are trusting in, 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:48.940 if those are the things that we think, 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:51.460 show us the way to God, 00:13:51.880 --> 00:13:53.440 all of them are good things. 00:13:53.560 --> 00:13:55.820 All of them are a part of God's kingdom in, 00:13:55.900 --> 00:13:56.160 in, 00:13:56.340 --> 00:13:59.140 in many ways when they're done in a God-centered way. 00:13:59.260 --> 00:14:04.320 There is nothing wrong with any of those things that I talked about when it is done for the glory of God, 00:14:04.420 --> 00:14:07.640 but they are none of them the way. 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:11.240 Jesus says, 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:12.440 it is not our actions, 00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:12.920 our thoughts, 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:16.200 or our character that are the way to God, 00:14:17.040 --> 00:14:18.480 but it is a person. 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:20.280 It is him. 00:14:22.260 --> 00:14:23.560 This is the declaration. 00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:25.880 This is what this passage is leading up to. 00:14:26.160 --> 00:14:27.080 Verse 6. 00:14:27.140 --> 00:14:31.480 Let's look at it and read it again so we don't lose sight of what he says. 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:33.420 This well-known verse. 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:35.000 Jesus said to him, 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:40.159 I am the way and the truth and the life. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:46.940 No one comes to the Father except through me. 00:14:46.940 --> 00:14:54.580 It's not Jesus teaching. 00:14:54.900 --> 00:14:57.220 It's not his example or its direction. 00:14:57.540 --> 00:14:58.940 Did you notice what he didn't say? 00:14:59.120 --> 00:14:59.840 He didn't say, 00:15:00.020 --> 00:15:01.240 I have shown you the way, 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:02.740 I have given you the truth, 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:04.380 I have brought you the light. 00:15:04.760 --> 00:15:07.100 He didn't say those things in, 00:15:07.160 --> 00:15:07.380 in, 00:15:07.520 --> 00:15:10.320 in a way where he can somehow offload those things to you, 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:12.220 and then it's up to you what you do with it. 00:15:13.400 --> 00:15:14.120 He's saying, 00:15:14.780 --> 00:15:17.520 I am the way, 00:15:17.760 --> 00:15:18.240 the truth, 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:18.960 and the life. 00:15:19.040 --> 00:15:19.560 In the Greek, 00:15:19.660 --> 00:15:21.040 it's even emphasized. 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:22.080 Ego, 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:22.660 a me. 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:23.940 It is me, 00:15:24.160 --> 00:15:25.100 my person, 00:15:25.540 --> 00:15:26.140 myself, 00:15:26.540 --> 00:15:28.020 that is the way 00:15:28.020 --> 00:15:30.100 for you to know God. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:31.440 And friends, 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:33.320 let's just take a moment and review 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:35.460 what have we learned about this Jesus 00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:37.379 in the first 13 chapters. 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:39.920 Believe me, 00:15:39.980 --> 00:15:40.680 we'll do this quickly. 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:41.840 But, 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:43.100 because there's a lot. 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:44.440 It's a beautiful gospel, 00:15:44.580 --> 00:15:45.440 and so there's a lot there. 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:46.399 What have we seen? 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:49.220 Jesus has come to be light in our darkness. 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:51.080 I am the light of the world, 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:52.399 he says in 812. 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:55.279 Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, 00:15:55.740 --> 00:15:57.480 but will have the light of life. 00:15:58.740 --> 00:15:59.820 He says then, 00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:00.340 as well, 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:00.780 he says, 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:04.920 I am life to you in your death. 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:08.040 In 1125, 00:16:08.300 --> 00:16:08.600 he says, 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:11.020 I am the resurrection and the life. 00:16:11.020 --> 00:16:12.340 Whoever believes in me, 00:16:12.400 --> 00:16:13.060 though he die, 00:16:13.140 --> 00:16:14.760 yet shall he live. 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:17.460 Jesus says, 00:16:17.540 --> 00:16:19.520 I am the truth that brings freedom. 00:16:19.820 --> 00:16:21.160 In verse 8, 00:16:21.280 --> 00:16:22.180 starting in 31, 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:22.620 he says, 00:16:22.680 --> 00:16:23.960 If you abide in my word, 00:16:24.040 --> 00:16:25.280 you are truly my disciples, 00:16:25.420 --> 00:16:26.460 and you will know the truth, 00:16:26.520 --> 00:16:27.920 and the truth will set you free. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:29.560 Jesus answered them, 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:30.219 Truly, 00:16:30.359 --> 00:16:30.519 truly, 00:16:30.599 --> 00:16:31.119 I say to you, 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:33.739 everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin, 00:16:33.819 --> 00:16:36.399 but if the Son sets you free, 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:39.119 you are free indeed. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:43.279 And finally, 00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:46.039 Jesus is the atonement for our sin. 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:48.179 If you weren't in Sunday school, 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:49.779 you should go back and watch it this morning, 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:52.000 because Tim taught on Leviticus, 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:53.159 and the day of atonement, 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:56.860 and the way that death was a necessary punishment for sin, 00:16:56.919 --> 00:17:01.620 and how the Old Testament sacrifice prefigured what Jesus would do 00:17:01.620 --> 00:17:03.740 by showing the sacrifice of animals, 00:17:03.740 --> 00:17:09.359 that death was the right and proper punishment for sin against the Holy God, 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:12.940 preparing us to see what Jesus would do. 00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:14.920 And so when John in verse 1, 00:17:15.339 --> 00:17:16.019 in chapter 1, 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:16.660 verse 29, 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:17.079 says, 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:18.900 Behold the Lamb of God, 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:21.980 who takes away the sin of the world. 00:17:21.980 --> 00:17:25.860 When Jesus himself, 00:17:26.099 --> 00:17:27.299 just two chapters before, 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:28.079 in chapter 12, 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:28.700 verse 32, 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:29.000 says, 00:17:29.360 --> 00:17:29.660 And I, 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:32.079 when I am lifted up from the earth, 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:34.160 I will draw all people to myself. 00:17:34.380 --> 00:17:38.420 And he said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:42.180 Friends, 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:43.460 if you've been coming to Trinity, 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:44.819 and you haven't heard this yet, 00:17:44.940 --> 00:17:45.779 hear it this morning. 00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:48.879 This is what Jesus has come to do. 00:17:49.259 --> 00:17:49.519 He, 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:50.859 the very person of God, 00:17:50.899 --> 00:17:54.039 has come to earth in human form to rescue us. 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:56.500 To rescue us from our rejection, 00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:58.759 in our sinful rebellion. 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.059 We want to have life apart from him, 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.660 without having to reckon to him, 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:05.819 or answer to him. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:07.720 And in this state, 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:09.619 we find ourselves lost, 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:11.980 troubled in heart. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:15.299 And we find ourselves separate from God, 00:18:15.299 --> 00:18:17.599 under his anger for our, 00:18:17.819 --> 00:18:19.720 for our rejection of him, 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:21.200 and alone. 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:23.019 And wondering, 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:25.059 how can we find our way back to God? 00:18:25.339 --> 00:18:26.039 To us, 00:18:26.399 --> 00:18:27.419 Jesus has come, 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:28.740 in this situation, 00:18:28.899 --> 00:18:29.200 and said, 00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:30.720 I am the way and the truth. 00:18:31.139 --> 00:18:32.419 No one comes to the Father, 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:34.539 but through me. 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:38.960 But, 00:18:39.159 --> 00:18:41.180 I know some of you are thinking, 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:44.019 but you have got to be kidding me. 00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:46.400 This is not good news. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:48.680 Many of us would hear, 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.059 a claim of exclusivity like this, 00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:52.559 in our modern world, 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:53.099 and say, 00:18:53.339 --> 00:18:55.379 this is the worst of all things. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.480 This is what leads to oppression, 00:18:57.779 --> 00:18:58.339 violence. 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:00.400 It is anti-intellectual. 00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:02.240 It is divisive and destructive. 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:07.940 There is a whole lot of conversation, 00:19:07.940 --> 00:19:09.099 that we could have about this, 00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:10.740 but I want to take a particular angle, 00:19:10.940 --> 00:19:11.680 this morning on it. 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:13.420 And that is this. 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:15.720 I think many of us respond that way, 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:16.680 because many of us, 00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:18.000 have experienced religion, 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.279 as a form of tribalism. 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:21.480 I am in, 00:19:21.620 --> 00:19:22.160 I am out, 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:23.539 I am better or worse, 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:25.000 depending on the tribe, 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:26.259 or the group that I, 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:27.500 belong to. 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:27.720 Now, 00:19:27.819 --> 00:19:30.779 we know this is a human impulse, 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:32.480 that we have all the time. 00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:33.859 We build ourselves up, 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:34.980 by attacking others, 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:36.259 and differentiating ourselves, 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:36.839 by others. 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:37.680 This is a human, 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:39.259 this is why we have, 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:40.119 the Hatfields, 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:41.759 and the McCoys. 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:42.839 This is why we have, 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:43.579 the Capulets, 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:43.960 and the, 00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:44.359 oh, 00:19:44.420 --> 00:19:45.220 I forgot that one. 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:46.140 And, 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:47.119 this is why we have, 00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:48.220 the Sharks and the Jets, 00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:49.640 in West Side Story, 00:19:49.740 --> 00:19:49.980 right? 00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:51.420 This is also, 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:52.220 why we have, 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:53.099 Northern Ireland, 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:54.299 and Ireland separate. 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:55.680 This is why we have, 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:56.919 Pakistan and Bangladesh, 00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:58.259 separate from India. 00:19:58.419 --> 00:19:59.859 Because religious people, 00:20:00.019 --> 00:20:01.500 have struggled to get along, 00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:02.319 with one another. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:04.079 And in this tribalism, 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:04.720 there has been, 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:06.099 great atrocities. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:07.019 And the church, 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:08.480 has not been unstained, 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:10.039 by this spirit, 00:20:10.159 --> 00:20:10.940 at times. 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:13.720 And we need to own that, 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:14.980 and we need to see it. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:18.519 And I think that, 00:20:18.639 --> 00:20:19.639 in response to this, 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:21.159 we retreat, 00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:22.319 to say, 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:23.559 aren't all religions, 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:25.879 different ways, 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:27.099 to the same God? 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:28.399 Aren't we like, 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:29.399 the blind men, 00:20:29.619 --> 00:20:30.500 and the elephant? 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:32.619 The one who touches the leg, 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:34.039 thinks the elephant is a tree. 00:20:34.179 --> 00:20:34.879 The one who touches, 00:20:35.159 --> 00:20:36.019 the trunk, 00:20:36.159 --> 00:20:37.659 thinks the elephant is a snake. 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:38.779 The one touching, 00:20:39.019 --> 00:20:39.779 the tusk, 00:20:39.859 --> 00:20:40.839 thinks it's a spear. 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:42.940 The one touching the side, 00:20:43.099 --> 00:20:44.099 thinks it's a wall. 00:20:45.099 --> 00:20:46.179 And we retreat to that, 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:47.639 because that makes sense, 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:48.579 and it makes us think, 00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:49.119 well, 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:50.099 we're not going to fall, 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:51.099 into that tribalism, 00:20:51.159 --> 00:20:52.279 because aren't we all one? 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:55.399 Friends, 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:56.419 let me just say this. 00:20:56.980 --> 00:20:58.399 This fallacious image, 00:20:58.500 --> 00:20:59.379 only works, 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:00.720 if we would, 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:01.679 have the arrogance, 00:21:01.679 --> 00:21:02.259 to claim, 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.319 that we alone, 00:21:03.419 --> 00:21:04.539 can see the whole elephant, 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:05.759 and no one else can. 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:07.779 The only way, 00:21:07.879 --> 00:21:08.779 to deal with the way, 00:21:08.879 --> 00:21:09.679 that the elephant, 00:21:09.940 --> 00:21:10.440 is experienced, 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:11.299 in human life, 00:21:11.419 --> 00:21:12.519 is to experience, 00:21:12.639 --> 00:21:13.720 each religion, 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:15.259 to explore each one, 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:16.059 and to count, 00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:16.919 to look at it, 00:21:16.919 --> 00:21:17.940 on its own merits, 00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:19.460 and to decide for yourself, 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:21.200 with intellectual honesty, 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:22.600 whether there is one, 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:23.380 that is compelling, 00:21:23.380 --> 00:21:25.000 above any other. 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:29.299 And if it is, 00:21:29.600 --> 00:21:30.580 then we need to look, 00:21:30.600 --> 00:21:31.740 at the character of it. 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:35.120 This brings us back, 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:35.980 to Jesus. 00:21:38.819 --> 00:21:39.920 What do you think, 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:40.400 of Jesus? 00:21:44.940 --> 00:21:45.500 Because, 00:21:45.840 --> 00:21:46.900 the exclusivity, 00:21:46.900 --> 00:21:47.600 of Christianity, 00:21:47.600 --> 00:21:48.640 has not been, 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:50.160 a 2,000 year project, 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:51.400 for tribal, 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:52.440 building up, 00:21:52.580 --> 00:21:53.300 and the exclusion, 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:53.900 of others. 00:21:55.300 --> 00:21:56.560 According to the Bible, 00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:58.020 the exclusivity, 00:21:58.020 --> 00:21:58.980 of Christianity, 00:21:59.300 --> 00:21:59.860 is based on, 00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:00.480 the uniqueness, 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:01.300 of Christ. 00:22:02.620 --> 00:22:03.800 If Christ, 00:22:04.360 --> 00:22:05.380 really is, 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:06.680 who he says he is. 00:22:11.840 --> 00:22:13.020 If he really is, 00:22:13.060 --> 00:22:13.460 the way, 00:22:13.620 --> 00:22:13.980 the truth, 00:22:14.020 --> 00:22:14.620 and the life. 00:22:15.540 --> 00:22:16.920 How could this be true? 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:18.180 Well, 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:18.620 think through, 00:22:18.620 --> 00:22:19.840 these logical points. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.560 If we were created, 00:22:21.560 --> 00:22:22.320 to know God, 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:23.320 and live in relationship, 00:22:23.320 --> 00:22:23.840 with him. 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:25.420 If we really are sinful, 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:26.340 as it appears, 00:22:26.820 --> 00:22:27.539 when we honestly, 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:28.539 evaluate our lives. 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:29.880 If we really are, 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:31.380 as lost as it seems, 00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:32.519 and we experience, 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:33.720 the troubles, 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:34.860 of our hearts, 00:22:34.900 --> 00:22:35.580 and the fog, 00:22:35.660 --> 00:22:36.300 that we live in. 00:22:36.600 --> 00:22:38.140 If Jesus really is, 00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:38.660 God, 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:39.580 in the flesh. 00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:41.140 If Jesus really did, 00:22:41.140 --> 00:22:42.380 take on human form, 00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:43.620 so he could represent us. 00:22:43.620 --> 00:22:44.980 If Jesus really did, 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:46.160 die on a cross, 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:47.360 after living, 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:48.460 a perfect life. 00:22:49.100 --> 00:22:51.000 If Jesus really did, 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:53.080 die in our place. 00:22:53.620 --> 00:22:55.019 Then he alone, 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:56.440 of all religions, 00:22:56.600 --> 00:22:57.140 in the world, 00:22:57.220 --> 00:22:58.500 is claiming something, 00:22:59.060 --> 00:22:59.759 unique. 00:23:00.120 --> 00:23:01.540 That he has addressed, 00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:02.580 the problem of sin, 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:03.540 and how a sinful, 00:23:03.860 --> 00:23:05.240 humanity could be, 00:23:05.560 --> 00:23:06.660 find its way back, 00:23:06.740 --> 00:23:07.980 to a holy God. 00:23:07.980 --> 00:23:08.099 God. 00:23:13.099 --> 00:23:14.019 By being God, 00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:14.940 coming to us, 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:16.220 and doing what we couldn't do, 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:16.940 for ourselves. 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:18.559 This is the uniqueness, 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:19.579 of the gospel. 00:23:19.940 --> 00:23:20.960 This is the good news, 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:22.000 and this is what the church, 00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:23.200 has always proclaimed. 00:23:23.620 --> 00:23:25.039 This is why in Acts 4, 00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:26.660 the disciples proclaim, 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:27.599 there is salvation, 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:28.759 in no one else. 00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:30.720 There is no other name, 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:31.960 because no one else, 00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:33.259 has done what Jesus did. 00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:34.420 It's not his teaching, 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:36.140 it's not his moral example, 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:37.380 it's not the institution, 00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:38.120 that he founded. 00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:39.500 It is his person, 00:23:39.600 --> 00:23:40.440 and his work, 00:23:40.620 --> 00:23:41.580 of the cross, 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:42.420 and the resurrection, 00:23:42.779 --> 00:23:44.100 that makes Christianity, 00:23:44.100 --> 00:23:44.960 unique, 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:46.720 and makes it exclusive. 00:23:48.840 --> 00:23:49.900 And if you are here, 00:23:50.100 --> 00:23:50.500 this morning, 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:51.400 and you are wrestling, 00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:52.360 with this question, 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:54.539 I implore you, 00:23:54.820 --> 00:23:56.300 look at who Jesus is. 00:23:56.779 --> 00:23:58.779 Because if that tribal spirit, 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:00.259 where Jesus is spirit, 00:24:00.840 --> 00:24:03.400 all the way through the Bible, 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:05.720 and then we sort of embrace that, 00:24:05.780 --> 00:24:07.019 and take it on for ourselves, 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:07.519 well, 00:24:08.080 --> 00:24:10.380 then you have every right, 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:11.140 to say no. 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:14.060 But that's not the Jesus. 00:24:14.360 --> 00:24:14.900 Jesus said, 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:16.640 I have come for all men. 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:17.259 And in fact, 00:24:17.320 --> 00:24:19.160 he came especially for those, 00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:20.600 who are the outcast, 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:21.440 the marginalized, 00:24:21.820 --> 00:24:23.620 the ones on the edge of society. 00:24:23.820 --> 00:24:25.620 He came and welcomed them, 00:24:25.840 --> 00:24:26.660 mostly, 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.220 as he embraced all people, 00:24:29.280 --> 00:24:29.620 and he said, 00:24:29.860 --> 00:24:31.300 all who believe in me, 00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:33.399 can come. 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:35.220 I am the way, 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:36.099 and the truth, 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:36.940 and the life. 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:40.500 No one comes to the Father, 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:42.440 except through me. 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:45.940 And Jesus says this, 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:47.759 to comfort his disciples, 00:24:48.159 --> 00:24:49.379 who were terrified, 00:24:49.639 --> 00:24:51.039 that they had hitched their wagon, 00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:52.639 to the wrong story, 00:24:52.879 --> 00:24:54.279 to the wrong person, 00:24:54.279 --> 00:24:56.899 and that they were going to be left alone. 00:24:56.900 --> 00:24:59.700 Jesus said to them, 00:24:59.800 --> 00:25:00.940 I will not abandon you. 00:25:01.140 --> 00:25:01.900 I promise. 00:25:02.280 --> 00:25:03.440 I will come back. 00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:04.600 In the end, 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:06.280 you will be with me forever. 00:25:07.060 --> 00:25:08.480 I have shown you the way, 00:25:08.580 --> 00:25:10.240 because I am the way. 00:25:10.800 --> 00:25:12.340 You don't need to figure it out. 00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:14.280 You don't have to do it all right. 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:16.400 All you need to do, 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:18.680 is believe. 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:20.720 For this is where he began, 00:25:21.040 --> 00:25:21.820 in verse 14, 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:23.740 in verse 1 of chapter 14, 00:25:23.840 --> 00:25:24.019 right? 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:26.200 Let not your hearts be troubled. 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:27.180 Believe in God. 00:25:27.879 --> 00:25:29.940 Believe also in me. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:31.379 Friends, 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:33.119 this is the amazing good news, 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:35.220 of the gospel of Jesus Christ, 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:37.019 is that we don't have to earn it. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:38.539 We don't have to work to do it. 00:25:38.619 --> 00:25:39.519 All we have to do, 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:41.079 is to humble ourselves enough, 00:25:41.639 --> 00:25:43.240 to admit our need, 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:44.759 to see Jesus, 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:46.920 and his work on the cross, 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:48.240 is sufficient, 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:51.539 and gloriously good for us. 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:54.379 And then to receive that, 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:55.559 in trusting faith. 00:25:58.059 --> 00:25:59.859 Putting our whole selves in that, 00:25:59.980 --> 00:26:00.399 and saying, 00:26:00.899 --> 00:26:01.759 that's the only way. 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:02.720 It's the only way, 00:26:02.779 --> 00:26:03.759 I can get back to God. 00:26:03.819 --> 00:26:04.639 It's the only way, 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:05.460 I can be forgiven. 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:06.599 It's the only way, 00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:08.940 that my troubled hearts, 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:10.420 can be comforted. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:14.440 Friends, 00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:16.259 this is good news. 00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:17.879 This is not easy news, 00:26:17.879 --> 00:26:18.920 in our culture today. 00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:20.759 There are many who will disagree, 00:26:21.140 --> 00:26:21.759 and there are many, 00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:22.880 who will struggle with it. 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:26.019 But I do believe strongly, 00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:28.120 that the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:28.820 is the key. 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:30.259 To look at him, 00:26:30.300 --> 00:26:31.759 as he presents himself, 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:33.560 in the words of scripture. 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:35.779 This is where we know. 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:38.440 And this is where we can stand, 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.380 to believe in that. 00:26:41.140 --> 00:26:42.660 So if you're here this morning, 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:43.539 and you've wondered, 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:45.560 could Jesus be the only way? 00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:47.180 I invite you, 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.420 come look and see. 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:49.880 If you've struggled, 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:50.980 even as a Christian, 00:26:51.080 --> 00:26:51.440 to say, 00:26:51.820 --> 00:26:52.039 yeah, 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:53.259 I believe in Jesus, 00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:54.180 but I don't know, 00:26:54.259 --> 00:26:55.240 like all these other people. 00:26:55.560 --> 00:26:56.779 It's not that we're thinking, 00:26:56.940 --> 00:26:57.039 oh, 00:26:57.100 --> 00:26:57.980 those people are worse, 00:26:58.080 --> 00:26:58.800 than anyone else, 00:26:58.820 --> 00:26:59.420 or we're going to exclude. 00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:00.759 It's that we're saying, 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:01.600 no, 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:03.400 Jesus and his uniqueness, 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:04.900 is the only way. 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:06.480 And so, 00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:07.440 we invite him. 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:10.259 Jesus told these things, 00:27:10.340 --> 00:27:10.980 to his disciples, 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:12.560 not only to comfort his heart, 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:13.800 their hearts in the moment, 00:27:13.940 --> 00:27:15.400 but also to prepare them, 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:16.100 for the mission, 00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:18.759 that he was going to leave them with. 00:27:19.019 --> 00:27:19.959 As he went away, 00:27:20.019 --> 00:27:20.919 he was going to leave them, 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:21.480 with the mission, 00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:22.339 of being witnesses, 00:27:22.939 --> 00:27:23.500 to him, 00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:24.539 and telling others, 00:27:24.619 --> 00:27:25.659 about who he was. 00:27:26.779 --> 00:27:27.599 And I want us, 00:27:27.659 --> 00:27:28.439 to have the confidence, 00:27:28.659 --> 00:27:29.119 this morning, 00:27:29.199 --> 00:27:29.919 to do that, 00:27:30.659 --> 00:27:32.079 even in our culture today. 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:34.299 So with this, 00:27:34.659 --> 00:27:35.019 friends, 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:37.240 let's pray together. 00:27:37.240 --> 00:27:44.099 Lord Jesus, 00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:45.740 as we come to this text, 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:47.039 Lord, 00:27:47.099 --> 00:27:47.640 and we are, 00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:49.640 struck by the words, 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:50.579 I am the way, 00:27:50.680 --> 00:27:51.140 and the truth, 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:51.720 and the life, 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:53.240 no one comes to the Father, 00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:54.279 except through me. 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:55.880 Lord, 00:27:55.940 --> 00:27:56.720 we thank you, 00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:57.319 Lord, 00:27:57.400 --> 00:27:58.160 for the comfort, 00:27:58.440 --> 00:27:58.759 that this, 00:27:58.940 --> 00:28:00.880 these words actually are to us. 00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:01.880 Lord, 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:02.859 that there is a way, 00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:03.980 and that this way, 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:04.700 is knowable, 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:05.400 and that you, 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:06.620 this way has come, 00:28:06.619 --> 00:28:07.639 not because we have, 00:28:07.879 --> 00:28:08.479 created it, 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:09.579 or discerned it, 00:28:09.659 --> 00:28:09.759 or, 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:10.539 or, 00:28:10.539 --> 00:28:12.259 thought it up, 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:13.879 but because Jesus has come. 00:28:14.739 --> 00:28:16.079 The word become flesh, 00:28:17.139 --> 00:28:18.419 dwelling among us, 00:28:18.479 --> 00:28:19.679 so that we might know, 00:28:19.739 --> 00:28:20.479 and be saved. 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:22.000 Oh, 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:22.639 Lord Jesus, 00:28:23.399 --> 00:28:24.599 I pray this morning, 00:28:24.699 --> 00:28:25.399 you would strengthen, 00:28:25.399 --> 00:28:26.500 our troubled hearts, 00:28:26.779 --> 00:28:28.279 you would increase, 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:29.179 our confidence, 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:30.259 Lord, 00:28:30.379 --> 00:28:31.659 build our faith. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:31.959 Lord, 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:32.819 I pray for any, 00:28:32.919 --> 00:28:33.459 this morning, 00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:34.379 who are questioning, 00:28:35.159 --> 00:28:36.099 whether these things, 00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:37.039 are actually true, 00:28:37.419 --> 00:28:37.639 Lord, 00:28:37.679 --> 00:28:38.699 that you would, 00:28:38.779 --> 00:28:39.959 open their eyes, 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:41.000 to see Jesus, 00:28:41.139 --> 00:28:42.279 and all of his uniqueness, 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:44.639 and Lord, 00:28:44.719 --> 00:28:45.799 that you would give them faith. 00:28:48.339 --> 00:28:48.799 Lord, 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:49.500 we thank you, 00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:50.980 for this word, 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:52.199 in Jesus name, 00:28:52.939 --> 00:28:53.159 Amen. 00:28:58.159 --> 00:28:59.500 We're going to end our service, 00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:00.119 this morning, 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:02.899 by observing the Lord's Supper. 00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:04.519 if you're at home, 00:29:04.840 --> 00:29:05.340 in the, 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:06.380 on the live stream, 00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:07.380 and haven't gathered, 00:29:07.380 --> 00:29:08.140 your elements yet, 00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:09.100 this would be a good time, 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:09.740 to do this. 00:29:10.180 --> 00:29:10.960 If you're here, 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:11.600 in the sanctuary, 00:29:11.600 --> 00:29:12.980 and you have not, 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:14.580 gotten one of, 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:15.700 these little things, 00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:16.560 or brought your own, 00:29:17.040 --> 00:29:17.920 you can, 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:19.400 the ushers, 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:20.540 Mike's in the back, 00:29:20.580 --> 00:29:21.040 and he can, 00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:22.519 give you one of those. 00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:24.420 Communion celebrates, 00:29:24.420 --> 00:29:25.460 the life and death, 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:26.759 and resurrection of Jesus, 00:29:27.340 --> 00:29:28.280 reminding us, 00:29:28.279 --> 00:29:30.359 of what he has done for us, 00:29:30.379 --> 00:29:31.460 so that we might live, 00:29:31.940 --> 00:29:33.420 in relationship to him. 00:29:33.660 --> 00:29:35.160 The elements that we take, 00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:35.759 the bread, 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:36.299 and the, 00:29:36.399 --> 00:29:37.319 and the juice, 00:29:37.420 --> 00:29:38.240 or the wafer, 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:39.980 or whatever these things are, 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:41.399 they represent, 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:42.460 the body, 00:29:43.660 --> 00:29:44.779 and the blood of Jesus. 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:46.799 His physical death, 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:49.519 bearing our sin, 00:29:49.879 --> 00:29:50.779 on his body, 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:52.720 so that we would not have to. 00:29:53.379 --> 00:29:54.599 And if you've placed your faith, 00:29:54.660 --> 00:29:55.119 in Jesus, 00:29:55.539 --> 00:29:56.440 and trusted in him, 00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:57.900 for the forgiveness of your sins, 00:29:57.960 --> 00:29:59.240 and for your eternal salvation, 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:00.500 then come, 00:30:00.620 --> 00:30:01.120 and eat, 00:30:01.220 --> 00:30:01.600 and drink. 00:30:03.100 --> 00:30:03.960 And if you have not, 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:05.180 Jesus invites you, 00:30:05.340 --> 00:30:06.259 believe in God, 00:30:06.380 --> 00:30:07.960 believe also in me. 00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:09.120 Trust in the work, 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:10.180 that I have done for you. 00:30:10.320 --> 00:30:12.019 Come into a relationship with me, 00:30:12.539 --> 00:30:13.080 that I, 00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:14.920 and know that I am the way, 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:17.160 that your heart is longing for. 00:30:19.600 --> 00:30:20.420 Let me pray, 00:30:20.759 --> 00:30:21.960 and then we're going to sing, 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:24.100 and then we're going to take the elements together. 00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:25.539 Let's pray together. 00:30:25.539 --> 00:30:26.339 Lord, 00:30:26.420 --> 00:30:27.500 as we come to your table, 00:30:27.639 --> 00:30:29.059 we are reminded that, 00:30:29.639 --> 00:30:29.779 Lord, 00:30:29.859 --> 00:30:32.240 this table shows us the depth of our sin, 00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:33.559 that sin, 00:30:34.299 --> 00:30:35.779 the wages of sin is death, 00:30:36.779 --> 00:30:37.480 and Lord, 00:30:37.539 --> 00:30:39.799 that our sin against you deserves death. 00:30:41.099 --> 00:30:41.680 But Lord, 00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:44.420 it also reminds us of your great love, 00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:45.779 and your grace to us, 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:46.940 that you, 00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:47.220 Lord, 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:48.079 have come, 00:30:48.139 --> 00:30:50.359 and taken death upon yourself, 00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:51.339 for us, 00:30:51.399 --> 00:30:52.639 so that we might not die, 00:30:52.700 --> 00:30:53.599 but we might live. 00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:55.279 So that by faith in you, 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:56.699 we might be joined with you, 00:30:56.819 --> 00:30:58.359 not only in this life now, 00:30:58.419 --> 00:30:59.000 but forever. 00:31:00.139 --> 00:31:01.819 And that in this troubled life, 00:31:01.859 --> 00:31:02.740 that we live now, 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:04.159 and in the eternity, 00:31:04.159 --> 00:31:05.199 that awaits us, 00:31:05.299 --> 00:31:05.539 Lord, 00:31:05.659 --> 00:31:06.699 the great news, 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:08.240 is that we will be with you. 00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:10.279 Lord, 00:31:10.339 --> 00:31:12.039 may we celebrate this table, 00:31:12.259 --> 00:31:13.480 with sobriety, 00:31:13.619 --> 00:31:14.419 and soberness, 00:31:14.459 --> 00:31:15.599 because of our sin, 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:17.139 but also, 00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:17.439 Lord, 00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:18.759 with gratefulness, 00:31:18.980 --> 00:31:21.500 for your grace to us, 00:31:21.859 --> 00:31:23.619 and the salvation that we have in you. 00:31:24.839 --> 00:31:25.199 Lord, 00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:26.779 we pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:27.619 Amen.