In (John 14:1-12)

Father in heaven, as we open Your word, as we hear through

Your spirits illumination the truth, we pray that You would

overwhelm us and bury us in this wonderful word.

As we looked upon what the disciples were experiencing as

they were troubled, we see the way in which you responded to

them and the words that you spoke.

Father, these words are true words and we pray that we would

hear them and believe them 'cause each person that is here,

those worshipping with us online, causes Lord to believe

more and more deeply that you truly are who you say you are

and you will keep every promise that you've made.

This we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

We are in John 14. Go Romain standing please.

Sorry for the reading of the Word.

We're in John 14. This is at the beginning of the

farewell discourse, John's Gospels, the only one that

records many of the things in this section, which is very,

very powerful. Last Sunday I talked about the

trouble, the heartbreak that the disciples are experiencing.

This passage begins with Jesus saying, let not your hearts be

troubled, but they're very troubled because what's happened

in that room is that Jesus has said, I am going to depart.

He has spoken of one who was going to betray him who's

already left the room. He's also spoken saying to

Peter, you are going to deny me. We will not hear from Peter

again for quite some time. This is a powerful word that the

Lord gives as He seeks to bring hope and encouragement to the

disciples as they are deeply troubled.

I'll begin at verse one and read through verse 11.

Let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in

me and my father's house are many rooms.

If it were not so, what I have told you that I go to prepare a

place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will

come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you may

be also, and you know the way to where I'm going.

Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going.

How can we 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, you would

have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and

have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show

us the Father and it is enough for us.

Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long and you still

do not know me? Philip, whoever has seen me has

seen the Father. How can you say, show us the

Father? Do you not believe that I am in

the Father and the Father is in me?

The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own

authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his work.

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,

or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the

works that I do, and greater works than these will he do,

because I am going to the Father.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Please be seated. Because we know the end of the

story, it's often difficult for us to really appreciate what's

happening to those who did not know the end of the story.

The disciples had left everything to follow Jesus.

I want you to hear me. They have left everything to

follow Jesus, their homes, their families.

They have been following him for three years.

But now Jesus is beginning to say things, more focused things

that he's been saying all along. But when he speaks of one of

them betraying him, when he speaks of his departure, when he

tells the leader of the group, you are going to deny 3 times

that you even know me. These men are scattered in their

thoughts. They are frightened, they do not

understand what's happening. They are confused and hear Jesus

in his farewell discourse seeks to bring them hope and

encouragement that will move them through the next few days

and all the trauma that they're going to experience as well as

prepare them to lead the church. How does he do it?

Well, in the words that we've heard, and this is just the

beginning of the farewell discourse, we're going to be

here for the next 4 weeks, Jesus speaks of a place.

He speaks of the way, and then he begins to speak in a more

detailed way about the union that he has with the Father and

the union that we have with him. What we're going to hear about

that over the next few weeks is the essence of Christianity and

it's what so many people who claim Christ miss all the time.

So let's begin with the place. Go back to verse one.

Jesus says let not your hearts be troubled. believe in God,

believe also in me. Remember John tells us the

purpose of his gospel. The gospel according to John as

he wrote it, is that we would believe that Jesus is who he

says he is. Verse 2 he writes in my father's

house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have

told you that I'd go to prepare a place for you and if I go and

prepare a place for you, I will come again and we'll take you to

myself that where I am I you may be also.

This is one of those passages that is so often taken out of

context because we don't really understand what Jesus is saying.

Remember the state of the disciples, They are confused,

they're terrified, they're troubled.

Jesus says don't be troubled. And the first thing he says to

them is that I am going away, and I'm going away for a

purpose, and that purpose is to prepare a place for you.

He says in my Father's house are many rooms.

For many of us, we have been deceived into thinking that this

is really what heaven is ultimately about, that I'm going

to have my forever home. Well, you actually are.

But because of the way the King James Version translated verse

2, where it says in my father's house are many mansions, we

began to think that that's what it's really all about.

When I was around 5th grade, I had moved from wanting to be a

fireman to a pilot and then to an architect.

And the reason I wanted to be an architect, honestly, was because

of how small the house was. I grew up in five children.

I'm the middle child, 1 bathroom, single car garage,

barely 1000 square feet, and it was pink.

I lived in a little pink house. I began to design houses, kind

of the dream for what I might live in.

And some of my best work had a Moat.

It was really remarkable. I wanted to live somewhere much

larger, much grander. This is not what Jesus is

saying. I'm not saying it's going to be

all glorious, but what I'm telling you is that the word

mansion is the 17th century word that meant kind of a common

house. The way houses were built in the

way they would have understood it was a father would

essentially build a home, and then the sons would continue to

build houses that were next to it kind of on a compound.

Jesus is not in this moment when they're desperate for answers,

trying to help them by saying dream of a big house, dream of

luxury. What Jesus is saying is that I'm

going to prepare a place for you.

And what matters most is that that is where I am going to be.

My presence for eternity is everything.

Now here's why that matters. He is just told them that he's

leaving. They have been walking for three

years with the living God physically present, eating with

them, doing miracles in their presence, teaching them he is a

man that never sinned, never had a wrong thought or a wrong word.

The perfect man. They've walked intimately with

him, but now he says he's leaving.

The presence of their leader is soon to be gone.

And so he speaks of a house with many rooms.

But what he says that's most significant is in verse 3.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.

Think about this. Because of the fall in the

garden, where Adam and Eve were in perfect harmony with the

Lord, in perfect presence, that relationship was severed.

Jesus was then sent to the earth.

He is now blazing the way back to the Father, to a place where

there are many, many rooms for all of those who've trusted in

Christ. And the most significant thing

isn't that we will be doing our favorite hobby.

It's not that we will have our dream home.

It's that we will be living in the very real presence of Christ

for all eternity. He will come again Speaking of

His second coming and I will take you to myself that where I

am you may be also. Now listen to what he does next

verse 4 and you know the way to where I'm going.

Jesus makes this statement that is going to then lead to a

question that's understandable, that comes to us from Thomas.

Jesus will use this opportunity then to teach such deep

theological truth about who we are if we trusted in Christ.

So Jesus says, and you know the way to where I'm going.

Thomas says to him, Lord, verse 5, we do not know where you're

going. How can we know the way Thomas

is practical here. You have not told us really

where you're going. We don't know the way.

How could we know the way you say we know the way you speak

truth. We don't know the way.

Thomas wants a map. Thomas wants the directions and

Jesus is now going to give in the Gospel of John, his sixth I

am statement. Do you remember the first five?

I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world.

I am the door. I am the Good Shepherd.

I am the resurrection and the life, and then this one.

I am the way, the truth and the life. 15 John 15.

He will say his final one. I am the true vine.

My father is the vine dresser. Jesus.

In answering Thomas's question, Thomas, who wants a map, who's

very confused, Jesus says something that shocks him.

I am the way. The way is a person.

The way is not a plan, The way is a person.

When Jesus says I am the way and the truth and the life, he then

says something that we can never run away from.

Yet so many Christians are tempted to do this.

He says no one comes to the Father except through me.

If you're new to our church, it's very important for you to

know that we believe every word of this Bible is God's word.

When Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life, He is

not saying I am one way of many, I am the way.

We live in a pluralistic culture where what really rules is

whatever you believe to be true. Recently I encountered a man who

I think was a very devoted religious man to his religion.

He asked what I did. I told him and he said we are

the same. We have some differences, but we

are the same. I look forward if God will allow

it, for the opportunity to tell them lovingly we're not the

same. Because you don't see Jesus as

the way. You see Jesus as one of many

ways. And as long as you seek to be a

good person, then whatever path you're on will lead to eternity.

That is not what Christ is saying, and this inclusivity

causes people, because people respond to it with such passion

to be unattractive to Christianity, causing many who

would say I actually believe that, but I don't want to say it

out loud. We cannot cower away from the

truth of what Jesus is saying. He's not saying I'm one of many

ways. He's saying I am the way.

He's not saying you can get to the Father by being good.

He's not saying you can get to the father by following me as a

good example. He's not saying I am one who

brings the words of the father. He's saying I'm the way.

And because he's the way, he is also the truth and he is also

the life. It's an amazing statement that

you need to swim deeply in. If you find yourself in places

of work or recreation or in your classrooms in school and you're

tempted to quiet this verse or even deny this verse, you can't.

These words are true words. And if someone doesn't hear what

Christ has said and they see somebody that says they follow

him and him, tonight friends, we can't.

Jesus is the way, He is the truth.

He's the life. If you believe that, never stop

thanking Him for the grace that He gave you to believe it.

Imagine though for a moment as these disciples hear Jesus give

the 6th I AM statement. Leon Morris says we should not

overlook the faith involved as Jesus spoke these words on the

eve of the crucifixion. For the one who spoke these

words, who said I am the way, would shortly hang impotent on

the cross. The one who said I am the truth,

we'll be there because of the lies of evil people who were

about to celebrate a spectacular triumph.

And the one who said I am the life, within a matter of hours

is going to have his corpse placed in a tomb.

I am the way, I am the truth. I am the life.

Then Jesus moves into a common conversation about his

relationship with the Father and his relationship with us.

And this is where I want to spend the rest of the time this

morning and where we will be over the next few weeks speaking

about union with Christ. Philip says to Jesus in verse 8,

Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us.

Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long and you still

do not know me? Philip Belief was still the

biggest issue for them. They were struggling to truly

believe all that Christ had said.

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

Think about that statement. How can you say show us the

Father? Verse 10?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in

me? The words that I say to you, I

do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who

dwells in me does his works. Verse 11 Believe me that I am in

the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account

of the works themselves. This little word in 2 letters is

so significant to what John is teaching, what Jesus is saying,

what John is recording, that Jesus said.

During the rest of this farewell discourse, John is going to

highlight the significant statements Jesus has made about

what it means to have union with him.

He speaks of his relationship with the Father and that little

word in is there verse 10 again, do you not believe that I am in

the Father and the Father is in me?

What he's saying is I'm not just a teacher from the Father.

I'm not just a messenger. I'm not just an example.

He's saying I and the Father are one.

You don't have your Bible necessarily opened if you're

using the bulletin, but I want you to hear this language that's

coming over the next few weeks. Jesus is going to move from just

talking about Him being in the Father to Him being in us.

If you look with me at verse 16 and 17 says, and I will ask the

Father and He will give you another helper to be with you

forever. Verse 17, I know it's not in the

bulletin, so just listen. Even the spirit of truth in the

world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.

You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

In chapter 15, one through 11, Jesus is going to talk about the

vine in the branches and that we are in the vine.

Then in the High Priestly prayer in John 17, I want you to hear

what Jesus is saying. I'll be preaching on this in a

few weeks, he says in verse 20 of John 17 to the Father,

praying. I do not ask for these only.

That's the disciples around him, but also for those who will

believe in me through their word.

That's us, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in

me, and I in you, that they also may be in US.

What does that mean? It means that if you have

professed faith in Jesus Christ, you haven't just received a

worldview, you haven't just received some good teaching.

You have received the only one who's the way, the truth, and

the life. And if you've received him, he

lives inside you right now, not just his teachings, not just his

ideas. This is called union with

Christ. What is union with Christ?

And the simplest way for those who trusted Christ, union with

Christ means that you are in Christ and Christ is in you.

This is a big deal. Christianity is not just a

motivation message. It's not just a bunch of

principles for how to live a better life.

It is about this union in Christ with Christ that we have now and

forever. When I became a Christian June

of 1982, I received the Bible and the Topical Memory System.

Many of you have taken hold of the topical Memory system as we

made them available many months ago.

And if you remember the very two first verses you memorize, and

these are the 1st 2 verses I memorized in my life before John

316. It was Second Corinthians 517.

Here's what it says. Therefore, if anyone is what in

therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,

the oldest gone, the newest come.

I had no idea what that meant, that I was faithful to please my

father, spiritual father Tom Miller.

Then the next verse Galatians 220 Listen to this I have been

crucified with Christ and I no longer live the life I live by

faith. I live in the Son of God who

loved me and gave himself for me.

I had no idea what that meant. I memorized it word for word to

please my Bible study leader, my father in the faith, but he

would spend the rest of his earthly life almost every time

we had a conversation. Speaking of Galatians 220, he

said No matter what is written on my headstone, when I die, I

want this phrase. What a deal.

I want it to be larger than anything else except what

follows. Galatians 220.

I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live the life.

I live by faith in the stomach God.

I live by faith in Him, in Him. What a deal.

What a privilege to have a man who understood union with Christ

pouring into me. In 1990 New Year's Eve, my wife

and I met with him for our first premarital counseling.

He was going to do our wedding May 18th of 91, same week that

this church started. Very next day, Tom was killed in

a car wreck. Over the next week and a half,

there were three memorial services, one in Lexington, KY,

where he was the regional director of Young Life, one in

Oklahoma City, which is where he'd been for a long time, and

one in his hometown of St. Louis, MO.

I spoke at all three of those services and I spoke of

Galatians 220 of what a deal if you go to Saint Louis, which I

eventually made my way there four years later for seminary, I

found his grave and his wife made sure his wishes for help,

health in that cemetery, there's his name, Thomas Edward Miller.

What a deal, Galatians 220. The deal didn't start after he

died. The deal started the day the

Holy Spirit illuminated his heart and mind and he received

Jesus. When he received Jesus, he

didn't just receive ideas about Jesus, he received the very

person of Christ through his Spirit.

This is a big deal. If we have faith in Jesus, we

are united to Christ. And what that means is we are

united to him in all that he has done for us.

His life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension,

even his being seated in the heavenly places.

Nobody has said this better in my estimation.

Sinclair Ferguson, who said having the Spirit in US is the

equivalent, indeed the very mode of having the Incarnate,

obedient, crucified, resurrected and exalted Christ, indwelling

us so that we are united to Him as He is united to the Father,

union with Christ. It's not an idea just to be

understood, but a new reality to be lived.

What Jesus knew those men would need most was to understand

something of where he was going and that He promised to return

while they waited. To know that though He will die

on the cross, the intimacy that they had known with him is going

to become greater. That's why Jesus is going to say

it is better for you that I leave because you know the end

of the story. It's hard to comprehend that

they did not know the end of the story.

They didn't believe it. At least Jesus said it's better

for you that I go, because when I go, my Spirit, the Holy Spirit

is going to be in you. What's better than walking side

by side with the physical Jesus? What's better than that?

What can be better than that? Jesus living inside you.

If you're in Christ right now, He lives inside you if you're

not in Christ, that you have not trusted the one who is the way,

the truth, and the life. It's very possible today that

you've been brought to this place so you could hear that

truth and wrestle with it. We would love to help you do

that. If you're in Christ, though,

friend, this intimacy that the disciples had with him while

they walked up on the earth, that physical intimacy is not

greater than the intimacy you and I have in Christ right now.

Lord Jesus, as we close our service, we have so much to

celebrate. This mystical union that exists

with you is. It's truly beyond our

comprehension, but we understand enough to know that what you're

saying is true, that you, the living God, are living in us.

We pray, Father, that you would keep us.

Would you please keep our eyes fixed upon the promises that

Christ has made, the promise that He is going to return and

when he does, he's going to take us to Himself forever?

Oh Lord, we long for that day. We cry out for that second

coming. He gives us hope.

Thank you for your word. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.