Jesus is…

We're in the midst of a series called Gorilla Letters or Gorilla Sermons.

And the idea behind it is that, you know, so much of our lives are spent in situations

where we have these nagging questions, we have these questions that we want to ask that

are on our hearts, but we're kind of afraid because they're like a gorilla in the room.

We're afraid that if we ask them, it'll stir up this gorilla and the gorilla will do terrible

things to us and the people in the room.

And so we're going to read a few letters today, letters that have come in anonymously by text

from people in our church.

And hopefully these will kind of stir up some gorilla questions that you may have in your

hearts as well.

So here's the first one.

Pastor, I have always struggled with telling my friends that Christianity is the only way.

There has to be something nicer I can say to them.

Help.

My friends tell me that the reason they are not Christian is that they see so many good

things in other religions.

And they think I'm wrong for being so narrow-minded.

How do you answer this?

Pastor, my struggle with our faith is the fact that Jesus had to die on the cross for our

problems.

Why couldn't God just have forgiven us without sacrificing his son?

Is what's wrong with us really that bad?

People are pardoned all the time in my country.

Tobin, my struggle has always been with knowing whether or not I am really a Christian.

I feel like sometimes my heart and actions have not really changed from that much from before

I had invited Jesus into my life.

How can I be sure that I'm a Christian and that I can live my life in peace?

Pastor Tobin, I know that this is going to sound bad, but one of my struggles with this

idea of Jesus being the only way to God is because of my grandmother.

My grandmother was an amazing person.

She was so loving, caring, giving, and compassionate.

And yet she would say that she was unsure if there was a God.

When she died, I just found it hard to believe that God would banish someone like her who lived

a life that would put most Christians, including myself, to shame.

How could God do this?

The scripture passages today come from the book of Exodus and the gospel of John.

In Exodus we read,

Now Moses was pastoring the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.

And he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked.

The Lord said,

I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt,

and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters.

For I am aware of their sufferings.

So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians,

and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land,

to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Then Moses said to God,

Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them,

The God of your fathers has sent me to you.

Now they may say to me,

What is his name?

What shall I say to them?

God said to Moses,

I am who I am.

And he said,

Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel,

I am has sent me to you.

Then in the Gospel of John we read,

Do not let your heart be troubled.

Believe in God.

Believe also in me.

In my father's house are many dwellings.

If it were not so, I would have told you.

For I go to prepare a place for you.

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.

And you know the way I am going.

Thomas said to him,

Lord, we do not know where you are going.

How do we know the way?

Jesus said to him,

I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father but through me.

If you had known me,

you would have known my Father also.

From now on you 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 so long with you and yet you have not come to know me, Philip?

He who 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 initiative,

but the Father abiding in me does his works.

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

Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.

This is the reading of God's word.

You heard the questions.

I don't know if you've ever gotten those questions before in your life.

I get them quite frequently as a pastor.

I think it's very interesting sometimes being a pastor,

especially when it comes to conversations

and people asking questions.

I go into the parties during the holidays

and I start talking to people

and it's almost the minute I walk into the room.

They're talking about football or sports or hunting

or something going on in Hong Kong

or politics or academics.

And all of a sudden, the conversation stops.

And they start talking about God.

I feel like maybe it's because they think just pastors,

that's all we can talk about is God, right?

Because you're a pastor,

well, you got to stop talking about sports.

Let's talk about God.

And it's interesting in that

because I can't talk about other things besides God.

I love sports.

I love medicine.

I love hunting.

I love, there's a lot of things I love.

I love Diet Coke and I love my wife

and all those things, you know,

I could talk about over and over and over again.

But some reason when I come in,

often the questions just go flat

and people ask questions about God.

And what I've seen as I've talked to people,

as I'd be careful of the speakers,

I'm going to shake his head,

is that everybody, well, let's put it this way.

Most people believe in God.

I mean, they believe in some kind of God.

I mean, God is constructed in their mind.

They have an idea of what God looks like for them.

But everybody believes in heaven.

I mean, everybody I talk to, they believe in heaven.

And it's amazing the conversations we have

when we start talking about sports,

especially when people are drunk.

You know, you go to the parties,

no, not a watermark party,

but other parties.

We're meeting our friends, right?

So not an office party.

We don't drink in the office.

But when people are just kind of,

they've had a couple beers

and they're kind of relaxed

and they're talking about heaven.

And they say things like,

well, the heaven's going to be a good place.

It's going to be a great place.

And all good people are going to be there.

Because of course,

because God is good and heaven is good.

And heaven's full of good people, right?

Good people go to heaven.

And so I just listen and talk.

And every once in a while,

I'll say something like,

well, what does it mean to be good?

And they're like,

well, you know.

You just know.

You know when you're good.

You're good.

Now I'm like,

but what does that really look like

to be good?

Oh, you just know.

You know when you're good

because everybody says you're good.

It's easy.

And then if the conversation is really going on

and people aren't too drunk,

I might ask the question like,

how good do you have to be?

How good do you have to be to get in heaven?

I had this conversation one time

with my students in China.

It was really good.

And I was not intentionally.

They came in.

We're talking about different things.

And after about six months,

I knew I was a follower of Christ.

And so we're talking about heaven.

And all of a sudden,

the student asked us,

well, who's going to be in heaven?

And the other guy goes,

well, good people are going to be in heaven.

And so the other person goes,

well, is Chairman Mao going to be in heaven?

Now, I didn't want to touch that

with like a 10-foot pole, right?

Because I wanted to keep teaching

and didn't want to get kicked out of where I was.

And I'm like, well, what do you guys think?

And people are talking and da-da-da-da.

And they go, well, yeah, I don't know.

He's done really a lot of bad things.

And they had this big discussion.

And finally, the guy goes,

he's going to be in heaven.

And I said, so why?

He goes, well, he's 51% good.

I mean, he did a lot of bad things,

but he's 51% good.

Which to me then asks a lot of other questions like,

how do I know when I'm 51%?

And do I get to 90% and then just goof off

until I get down to 60%

and then I start building my way back up?

But I didn't ask those questions

because I didn't want to freak them out.

But today, I want to look at a passage.

And we are, I appreciate your guys' time.

Sorry that we started late.

Next week, you know that we're going to be right here.

But we want to look at a passage that talks about this.

I think it is probably the,

one of the most conflicting passages in Scripture.

Now, I'm wondering if I should move down.

It's one of the most conflicting passages in Scripture.

This passage, Jesus says some incredibly intense things.

It's in your bulletin.

The story takes place in John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

They've just had the Last Supper

and Judas has gone to betray Christ,

to bring him up before the authorities.

So in about a day, he's going to be crucified.

And so as Judas leaves,

Jesus talks to the rest of his disciples

and he tells them about him leaving

and what it's going to look like.

He's going to the Father

and he's going to do all these things.

And they start to panic

because they thought that they were going to come to Jerusalem

to take charge, to be in control.

But all of a sudden, they hear that their leader

is going to leave them.

And they wonder, well, what are we going to do?

And they ask them these series of four questions.

They're very intense.

It begins in verse 5.

It's in your bulletin.

You can look at it.

Thomas basically says,

where are you going?

How will we know how to get to where you're going?

And Greek, he actually says,

how can we know the way to which you are going?

We don't know.

I thought about that question a lot

because I think that's a question that we ask today.

And people ask that in the parties.

Where are we going?

And how do we know which way we're going?

And I think if we look back in Scripture,

that question began in the Garden of Eden

because in the Garden of Eden,

we knew that Adam and Eve walked with God.

They had communion with God.

They saw truth flowing from God.

They saw truth as who God really is.

They knew the way because they were with him

and they had life.

We're told they have spiritual life.

But then in the Garden, something happened.

They made a choice.

They chose not to follow God.

They chose to do their own good.

They chose to do the thing

that seemed right in their own eyes.

They did the thing that when God wasn't looking,

that God isn't around

so I can just do whatever I want.

And when they did this, everything fell apart.

So their communion with God was broken.

They were alienated from God.

Instead of having a relationship with God,

they're alienated.

I don't think we understand

how intense that would have been.

Not only are they alienated with God,

but they're alienated with each other.

They start to fight and bicker and blame.

They're alienated with themselves.

They're alienated with creation.

They no longer see the truth.

The truth has been clouded in shadows

and mystery and deception,

much like our world today.

And so they walk in darkness

and they don't know the life

because it's told to them

that the day you eat it, you will die.

And they begin to die spiritually.

And I think that from that time on,

every one of us, every man,

every person in the human race

has asked the question,

how do I get back to the garden?

How do I find God?

How do I find purpose?

How do I find truth?

How do I find meaning?

And in John chapter 14,

John 14 · chapter mention

Jesus makes this statement

that is the most controversial statement

he's ever made.

I mean, if he had just kept his mouth shut

on this one statement,

he would have been loved by everybody

throughout the history of the world.

But he doesn't

because he wants people to know who he is.

He wants to know where they're going,

where they're going from

and where they're going to.

And so in that,

after Thomas asked that question,

well, how do we know?

Jesus says,

I am the way.

I am the truth.

I am the life.

And in the middle of those words,

that incredibly intense

and controversial statement

he makes,

it changes everything.

everything.

It changes all of history.

It changes all of religion.

It changes all of faith.

When he says that,

his disciples are shocked.

He says some really intense things.

The first thing he says is,

I am.

Then the minute they heard that,

they would have said,

he's saying that he's God.

And if Jesus is God,

then it makes Christianity

different than any other religion ever.

The minute they heard I am,

they would have thought of Egypt,

bondage,

the burning bush,

Moses.

They would have gone,

he's God.

You're right,

but he's saying,

amen.

John 8,

when he,

later later,

you know,

before this,

he's in there

and he's teaching.

He just saves this woman

from adultery

and he says,

you're free.

I don't,

I no longer,

I no longer count your sins against you.

Go and sin no more.

And then he says this word,

he says,

I am the light of the world.

If you follow me,

you will never walk

in darkness.

Ever.

And the scripture says

that when the Pharisees heard that,

they knew exactly

what he was saying

and they said,

stop.

You cannot say that

because you're testifying

to yourself

and you're not God.

And he goes,

even if I stop,

it's still true.

I am who I am

because I know

where I came from

and I know

where I'm going.

And Jesus says

to us clearly

throughout history

and throughout time

and throughout his word

that he is,

I am,

that he is God.

And if he's God,

then it changes everything.

Then Christianity

isn't like

all the other religions.

But Christianity

isn't like

all the other faiths

because Jesus

is

God.

He's come

to bring us

back

to the Father.

The question

you have to ask yourself

today

in these few moments

is who do you say

Jesus is?

Is he just a good guy?

Is he a moral teacher?

Is he kind of cool?

The people you walk

throughout the rest

of this week with

will have different thoughts

and different ideas

of who Jesus is.

But Jesus doesn't want us

to miss the very fact

that he says,

I am God.

He doesn't want us

to say he's a good teacher.

He doesn't want us

to say he's cool.

He doesn't want us

to say he's moral

and right

and he's pointing us

to the right way.

He wants to say

he is the way.

The question is

who do we say he is?

He says,

I am the way.

The minute he said that

they would have

just thought of this pathway

from one place

to the next.

The words are very specific.

He's the way

from separation

and alienation

from God.

He's the way

from our sin.

He's the way

from darkness.

He's the way

from bondage.

He's the way

from guilt.

He's the way

from shame.

He is the way.

There's no other way.

And if he's God

and he is the way,

it makes Christianity

so much different

than everything else.

it makes it totally

different.

Because he says

he doesn't need

anything else.

You just need

to follow me

and I'm going

to take you there.

I don't know

if you talk to people

about the way

that they are traveling

but I do a lot.

Probably the worst

conversation I ever had

was in 1997

after Christine

and I got married.

We went back

to Montana

to visit my family

and we saw

two different groups

of people

in two different ways.

We saw Mildred

Mucho Montana

who's my grandmother

the first person

to come to faith

in the Miller clan

that I know of.

And she was

about 80 years old.

And we didn't know

if we would ever

see her again

and so we talked

to her about faith

and she loved the Lord.

She loved God.

She believed in Christ.

Her life was totally

dedicated to Him

and the only thing

she says

I can't wait

until God takes me

because I want

to go back to heaven.

And we're like

well you're pretty strong.

You're going to be around

for a little while longer.

And she goes

no I want to go.

I want to go.

I want to be with God.

He's it.

And then we left

Mildred

Montana

Mucho Miller

and went to my

other relatives

and we started

talking to them

because we didn't

realize and didn't

know if we'd ever

see them again.

And we started

sharing about

Jesus as God

and that He is the way

and they laughed

at me.

And they said

you can't believe that.

Come on.

Are you telling me

that it's only

through Jesus'

blood and sacrifice?

Are you telling me

that somebody

had to die for me?

Are you telling me

that I'm that bad

that I needed

somebody to die

for me?

No.

I'm a little bad

but I'm not that bad.

But see if Jesus

is God

and that He is

the way

it changes

everything

doesn't it?

We left there

and Christina

looked at me

and she said

well what

what do we do

now?

And I said

we just

we just pray

for them.

And that I hope

that sometime

before they

depart here

they understand

who Jesus is.

So He says

I am God

I am

I am the way

I am the path

through my blood

through my sacrifice

only through me

it's not me

plus something else

it's just me

that's how you get

back to the garden

that's how you get

back to the paradise

because history

begins in a garden

it's going to end

in a garden

we're all

whether you know it

or not

we're all trying

to get back

to the garden.

We're trying

to get back

to love

trying to get back

to truth

trying to get back

to peace

trying to get back

to God.

So I

am the way

I am the truth

the minute He shared

that every Jew's ears

would have perked up

because the philosophers

in that time

they didn't believe

in truth.

The philosophers

in Jesus' time

said there was no such

thing as absolute truth

but when Jesus said

that the Jewish people

who heard Him

would have understood

immediately

what He said

they would have said

He's saying

that He's God

because in that day

truth

equaled God

and when He said

I am the truth

He's saying

I am God

and so when

everybody heard that

they would have thought

He's God

we don't need

to ask the question

anymore

what God is like

we just need

to look at Jesus

because if He

and the Father

are one

then I just need

to look at Him

and if I look at Him

long enough

and I fall in love

with Him

I'm going to know

what God is like

I'm going to know

He's gentle

that He's kind

that He's personal

that He loves us

He wants a relationship

for us

He's full of compassion

He's just

He's merciful

all I need to do

to find the truth

all I need to do

to understand the truth

is to look at Jesus

and if I look at Jesus

we're told that

all of God's truth

flows from Him

and we know God

the question for us today

would be

what truth

are you following

because all of us

in here

are following

some kind of truth

some of us

might say

my truth

is my job

my academics

some of us

might say

my truth

is my bank account

my God

truth

God

same

some of us

might say

my truth

is my education

some of us

might say

my truth

is my relationships

and how I'm going

down this path

all of us

are following

some truth

the question is

what is the truth

that you're following

today

the next question

I want to ask you

is

what do you do

when that truth

fails you

what do you do

when your relationship

breaks up

what do you do

when you get fired

unexpectedly

what do you do

when you try your best

and do everything

you can

to get into

that perfect school

or program

or job

and you don't

and you've done

everything

that was required

of you

and you don't

get in

what do you do

when your

truth fails you

what do you do

we had a friend

that several

of the staff

members

were trying

to befriend

these last

two years

and we've met

him in different

things

and two weeks

ago

his truth

failed him

and the next

day

we got this

email

note

that said

I'm so sorry

and he took

his life

the truth

that he was

holding on to

the truth

the God

the thing

that was going

to bring him

satisfaction

and ultimate

reality

bring him

back to the

father

failed him

and Jesus

is saying

I am that

truth

and I will

never fail

you

I came

from heaven

I put on

an earth

suit

I lived

as a man

I suffered

I lived a

perfectly

sinless life

I sacrificed

on the cross

for you

and you

and you

especially me

I really need it

no matter where

you're at

when he says

I am the truth

what he's saying

is I am with you

and I'll comfort

you

and I'll take

care of you

and you can

trust me

because I want

to take you

back to the

garden

I want

to take you

all the way

home

what is the

truth you're

clinging to

today

is it

relationship

in Jesus

Christ

is he

your only

truth

is he

your God

that you

hold on

to

I think it's

easy for me

sometimes to

forget that

truth

and add

something

to my

truth

maybe that's

just me

so he says

I am the

way

I am

the way

the truth

and the

life

finally he

says I

am the

life

I am

this

spiritual

life

I am

the

physical

life

I am

what

you were

meant

to

have

if you

hadn't

made

those

poor

choices

from the

very

beginning

I am

here

I am

here to

take you

down that

path

I am

here to

give you

rich

and deep

and fulfilling

life

not just in

heaven but

here on

earth

the question

is do we

want that

life

or are we

looking for

another type

of life

you

know if

Jesus is

God

it

changes

everything

he

doesn't

want you

to worship

him as a

good teacher

or a

good man

he doesn't

want you to

worship him

half heartedly

he doesn't

want you just

to give part

of your

life to

him

because if

he is

God

he's

worthy

of

everything

everything

Jesus

said I

am

the way

the truth

and the

life

and the

question is

what do we

do with that

today

you know as

I've studied

and looked

and talked

to friends

who have

different

struggles

and who

I've had

struggles

and gone

on journeys

with I

really believe

that Christianity

is the most

just and

fair faith

and religion

in a world

that is

terribly unjust

and terribly

unfair

let me think

about it for a

second

in Christianity

everybody's

welcome

everybody's

welcome

you know

a while

back

we had a

heart attack

and we

decided as a

family you know

maybe our

kids are

running around

we don't

have a place

for them to

run

we don't

have a place

for them

to work

out

we don't

have a place

for them

to do

anything

we need

to get

in the

club

well I

didn't know

what it

meant to

get into

a club

and so we

started looking

at all

these clubs

and we

realized

man

there's

a lot

of

requirements

to get

into

clubs

I mean

there's

a lot

of

requirements

and there's

a lot

of

money

it's

kind of

like

some

of

the

schools

we're

trying

to get

into

right

and you're

getting

your kids

into

some of

you are

signing up

before your

kids are

even born

I mean

there's

a lot

of

requirements

to get

into

those

schools

and clubs

and so

finally

he said

well there

has to

be a

back

door

and so

we did

some

research

where our

friends

were going

and said

okay

this is what

we're going

to do

because we

need it

we need

to exercise

I justified

it in my

mind

we're going

to exercise

it's a great

place to meet

new people

who aren't

in church

our kids

can run

crazy

we can do

all these

things

and so

we went

to the

cricket club

and I'm

going to

go to

the cricket

club

and I'm

going to

get a

sports

membership

and so

I started

talking to

my friends

who were

cricketers

there and

I kind

of offended

them

because I

said well

how hard

can cricket

be

I mean

just

I've played

baseball

for 20

years

I have

great

eye

hand

coordination

and they

were really

offended

so they

realized

the cricket

team

didn't need

anybody

but what

needed

people

was the

lawn

ball

team

so I'm

just

sacrificing

for my

family

because I'm

going to be

out there

in that

big old

white floppy

hat

with the

white

clothes

on

and I

go okay

so I

spent two

days

learning

lawn

ball

two

days

I do

research

on the

internet

I do

everything

I can

do

and so

we go

on our

date night

Thursday

night

we go

to try

outs

we come

in

we walk

into the

tryouts

and I'm

ready

I've done

everything

that's

required

of me

I'm

ready to

go

I'm

ready to

do it

and the

guy

looked at

me

and he

goes

we don't

need you

because we

have enough

members who

are going

to play

lawn ball

usually members

don't like

to play

lawn ball

because it's

not manly

playing

lawn ball

but they

had enough

unmanly

men

I guess

I don't

know

that semester

who wanted

to play

lawn ball

so I

did all

the

paperwork

I'd

done

everything

but when

I got

to the

club

I wasn't

allowed

in

you know

Jesus

Christ

in

Christianity

says that

everyone

is welcome

everyone

the second

thing I've

learned about

Christianity

is everyone

gets in

the same

way

I mean

there's not

like a

back door

there's not

like you

know a

secret way

into the

misty

mountain

you know

away from

the dragons

and all

those things

I just

watched

the

hobbit

so I'm

trying to

be

culturally

relevant

here

right

but there's

not a

secret

back way

everybody

gets in

the same

way

everybody

gets in

the same

way

and the

third thing

that's amazing

is and this

is so it's

so it's not

so exclusive

as people

tell you but I

think it's the

most inclusive

because everybody's

welcome

everybody gets

in the same

way and

everybody the

same requirement

is done of

everybody I

mean everybody

has to fulfill

the same

requirement to

get into the

club and the

requirement is

this for God

so loved the

world that he

gave his only

begotten son that

whoever believes in

him whoever

trusts him not

whoever does not

whoever doesn't

do not whoever

performs not

whoever's really

really good

you know I

always had trouble

when people said

good people went

to heaven because

I just like

what about me

I'm not good

I mean I know

that if only good

people go to

heaven does that

mean what about

the dumb and ugly

and stupid and

mean people

what happens to

the rest of us

Jesus came to

put forgiven

people in

heaven

not good

people

if only good

people get to

heaven then all

of us in here are

in big trouble

but he came to

bring forgiven

people there

so it's open to

everyone

the requirements

are the same

the thing that

you have to do

is the same

and the thing

is this

whoever believes

in me

whoever puts

their faith

and trust

in me

will have

eternal life

that's the

gospel message

it's not about

doing

it's not about

not doing

it's not about

being

but it's about

faith

in Jesus

who says

I am

he's God

he's the way

to take us

back

he's the truth

he's the life

that's what

Christianity is

I know I've

flown through

this message

but I hope

you hear my

heart here

when Jesus

says these

words

he changes

everything

human history

is changed

when he says

these things

and when he

does it on

the cross

so Christianity

is not just

another faith

Christianity

is just not

just another way

to God

but if Jesus

is God

then Christianity

is the only

way

to God

and if

Christianity

is the only

way

to God

the question

is what do we

do with that

message

what do we do

with that

message

I struggle

with that

sometimes

it is amazing

God's grace

and goodness

as he continues

to teach us

and grow us

in his faith

let's say

this chair

is Jesus

it's Christianity

some of us

are like this

and we say

I think

Jesus is pretty

cool

I think

he's pretty

radical

he's really

into social

justice

and I really

like those

things

I admire

him a lot

and the question

I have

for you

is are you

putting faith

and trust

in him

just by

standing here

and looking

at the

chair

some of us

sit on

it kind

of like

this

I like

Christianity

Jesus is

pretty cool

but let me

tell you

about myself

let me tell you

about the

things I did

yesterday

let me tell you

about the

good things

I did

let me tell you

what I'm doing

in my business

how I'm helping

people

let me tell you

about all

these things

I've done

let me tell you

about my

classroom

how I'm

nice to

everybody

let me tell you

about my

teachers

my family

how good

I am

to my

wife

let me tell you

about that

am I

am I trusting

in Jesus

I mean if a chair

gets knocked out

does it affect me

this is a class

is it

this is a sermon

you can say yes

or no

does it affect me

no

no it doesn't

just a little

but it doesn't

because my feet

are here

I'm holding on

to something else

I'm depending

on something else

besides Christ

and by church

but the passage

today says

that Jesus

is God

he is the way

he's the truth

and the life

and as Christians

we come to

Christianity

like this

we put all

of our weight

on Christians

Christianity

we put all

of our

trust

in Christ

we put all

of who we are

in the gospel

and what it means

in our life

we say

we say

that if

Christianity

is disproved

if all of a sudden

they find

the body

of Christ

or something

like that

happens

my life

is going to

be in terrible

terrible trouble

because I don't

have a plan

to

I don't

have a plan

B

because as a

follower of God

I've chosen

to rely

in Jesus

in the message

of the gospel

so the question

for us today

is

which person

are we

don't say

I'm sitting

like this

well I became

a Christian

I prayed

the prayer

I got

baptized

but you know

there's other

things I need

to keep doing

in my life

just to make

sure I got

all my bases

covered

and the Bible

says that

when those

type of people

get to heaven

they're

and I say

this and I

want to cry

he says

when we get

to heaven

if you're

like that

he's going

to say

depart from

me

for I

never do

you

you just

had this

idea of

what it

was like

to follow

me

but you

didn't

give your

life

to me

you gave

your life

to your

work

or to

your

family

or to

your

finances

or

whatever

those

are good

things

but they're

not

truth

only

Jesus

is

true

to

follow

Christ

means

to put

all of

our

faith

and

trust

in

God

in

his

word

who

he

is

all

out

I

don't

know

if

you're

in

here

and

you've

never

done

that

maybe

you're

thinking

well

that's

something

I've

never

heard

before

saw

illustrated

that

way

I

wonder

how

I

really

am

with

because

this

is

the

question

I

want

you

to

ask

this

week

are

we

living

like

this

Jesus

pretty

cool

are

we

living

like

this

this

is

pretty

cool

but

I

doing

all

these

things

I

got

my

my

my

my

my

you know

beds

covered

just in

case

something

happens

and

they

find

something

are

we

living

like

this

Jesus

is

God

and

if

he's

God

he's

worthy

of

all

of

me

everything

does that

make sense

so when

Jesus

says

I

am

the

way

and the

truth

and the

life

he

changes

everything

he

upsets

half the

world

he

freaks

you

out

he

freaks

me

out

he

freaks

my

friends

out

the

question

is

as I

examine

all

these

faiths

is it

true

and if

it's

true

then I

need to

give

all of

myself

to it

if

it's

not

true

if

you're

here

and you

think

well

I'm

not

sure

please

keep

studying

please

keep

asking

questions

please

keep

going

to

community

groups

please

keep

doing

all

these

things

because

we

want

you

to

be

sure

we

want

you

to

understand

who

Jesus