Do You Know The Way? || John 14:1-14

Kia ora, and welcome to the St. Francis Church

Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined

us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would

encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your

faith, and equipped for everyday life with Jesus.

As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow

Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For

more info about who we are and what God is doing

among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and

peace. Good morning, everyone. Is it working

okay, Dave? It is now? Okay. I'll try and do

the same. Saturday, I'm just trying to place

it. That was only yesterday. Working in the op

shop, a couple came in and they looked around

and then they came up to the counter and they

were asking for directions because they were

going down Moransville Road and found that they

couldn't go any further and they wanted to get

to Moransville, but with the new donut being

built down there or whatever it is down there,

they couldn't get... get through. So they came

up to the church and asked, how do we get there?

So they said, can you show your phone? He said,

battery's flat. So he went, had to do old school

way, get out a bit of pen and a bit of paper

and draw the directions for them to head them

back in the same right direction. So that leads

me into today. That little story that happened

yesterday. So I want you to picture Your GPS,

as you're travelling, as you put it into the

map situation to head you somewhere, and you

hear those words, recalculating route. What's

the feeling that goes on inside you? Yeah. Most

of us know that feeling, don't we? Not just on

the road, but we also know it in life. Whether

you're a young adult wondering which direction

to take, or someone in the middle of life asking,

is this where I thought I'd be? Or someone who's

lived long enough to know the road can twist

without warning. The question of direction is

never far away. And it was on the night before

his crucifixion, Jesus gathered with his friends

in an upper room. In that room there was confusion,

grief, fear. And into that atmosphere, one that

feels very familiar, he spoke some of the most

anchoring words in all of scripture. Do not let

your hearts be troubled. He does not dismiss

their anxiety. Rather, he meets them in it. Two

disciples asked the questions that often we ask

going through life. First one from Thomas. How

can we know the way? And Philip says, show us

the Father and that will be enough. And Jesus

answers both of them. Augustine of Hippo in the

letters of Confessions said this, and I've shared

this with you before, but it sits very well in

this reading. You have made us for yourself,

O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests

in you. Think of it in our daily life when we're

trying to work things out, we get restless, confusion

and things like that, and then we, at some point,

often later than earlier, we pause and we give

this situation to Christ. And then we find ourselves

rested. Our thoughts as well as in our heart.

We know we're giving it to the one who can change

things for us. Now, Augustine wrote that back

in the 4th century, but he could have written

it this morning for us. The destination Jesus

announces is not a place, but a person, not a

stranger, but a father. And through all of this,

there's a central question, this message this

morning, that when life feels uncertain and the

road ahead is unclear, just like those couple

yesterday, how do we know we are headed in the

right direction? And who can we truly trust to

show us the way? We hear Jesus say in this passage

this morning, I am the way. And with him as the

way, you don't need a map, you need a person.

Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where

you're going, sir. How can we know the way? And

Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and

the life. We live in an age of huge information.

More knowledge at our fingertips than any library

in history. We can roam with this, can't you?

And call anything up. And yet we have a generation

more lost and more anxious than perhaps any before.

Why? Because I believe that we have confused

having information with knowing the way. Thomas

put his finger on it. We don't know where you

are going, so how can we know the way? Thomas

is refreshingly honest with this question. And

the question so many in this room could be silently

carrying as well. Jesus does not say, well, here

is a map, here is a bit of paper, and I'll draw

it out for you like I did yesterday to that couple.

He says, I am the way. Not a way, but the way.

It's a claim that no philosopher or no self -help

author, no religion has ever made, that a person

and not a principle is a path to God. He is also

the truth. Not just truthful, but the very embodiment

of reality itself. And the life, the source and

destination of everything alive. We should go

back to Genesis when everything was created.

So he is the source of the destination of everything

alive. C .S. Lewis of mere Christianity wrote

this, I am trying here to prevent anyone saying

the really foolish thing that people often say

about him. I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great

moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to

be God. That is the one thing we must not say.

Many debates go on with that one. Here's also

the truth, not just the truthful teacher, but

the very embodiment of ultimate reality. And

I say that because in a world where truth has

become subjective and, well, it's my truth, so

you cannot question it, and your truth are accepted

as currency. Jesus stands as an objective anchor.

He stands here because he is the life. the source,

the sustainer, and the destination of all that

is alive. We hear this in 1 Timothy 2, verse

1 Timothy 2:5

5. For there is one God and one mediator between

God and humankind, the man, Christ Jesus. For

the young ones, the adults in this room today,

You do not need, I believe, a five -year plan

first. You need to walk with the one who is the

way. And the path becomes clearer as you go.

And for those who have tried other routes, ambition,

approval, accumulation, and found yourself recalculating,

Jesus does not say to you, I told you so. He

says, come to me. And for those who have walked

with him for decades, your faithfulness is a

sermon the rest of us need to see. So together,

we have a fuller story of who Jesus is in our

lives right now. And for older members who have

walked with Jesus, you are the living testimony

that this way holds. It is not just for a time,

but it holds forever. In Galatians 3, Chapter

3, verse 26 and 28. So in Christ Jesus you are

all children of God through faith. There is neither

Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor

is there male and female, for you are all one

in Christ Jesus. The way is not a direction.

The way has a name. It's Jesus. And then we hear

Jesus say to them, you know where I am going.

And when we know where he is going, the destination

changes everything for us. In our reading today,

you heard Jesus say, do not let your hearts be

troubled. My Father's house has many rooms. I'm

going there to prepare a place for you. When

you know where you're heading somewhere good,

somewhere you were loved and expected, do you

find that the journey feels completely different?

Think of heading home after a long trip. The

fatigue of that does not vanish, but something

inside you is settled because you know you're

returning home. Now imagine suspecting the door

will be locked when you arrive. What does that

make you feel like? Welcome? No. That is a spiritual

condition of many people today. They are on the

road with no settled sense of where it ends.

It's like you just drop off the edge of a flat

earth for many people. Jesus says something that

we can easily repast in this passage. You know

the way to the place where I am going. Now the

disciples protest that they do not know. But

Jesus says they do because they know him. The

destination is the Father's house. That's the

journey that we're going to. The Greek word mania

means permanent dwelling places. It's not a transit

lounge like when you're transferring from airport

to airport. It's home. And that makes the journey

back all the better. But here is where the impossibly

good news breaks open. What is the house of the

Father? God does not live in a building. The

Father's house is his own life. The infinite,

overflowing life that Father, Son and Holy Spirit

actually share together. The early theologians

called it Heraklesis or the divine dance. Three

persons that were so completely given over to

one another in love that they share one life,

one being, and one joy. And it was the love between

the Father and the Son, that bond, that gift,

they make of themselves to each other, is what

we call the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the very

love of God in person, flowing between Father

and Son from all eternity. That's what's here

now. Athanasius of Alexandria on the Incarnation

wrote this. The Son of God became the Son of

Man so that the sons of men might become the

sons of God. They're wanting us to dwell together.

There is room. There is infinite room with the

expanse of God's own life. You are not being

allowed to visit a divine property. You are being

invited into the very life God has always lived.

The preparation was a cross and the resurrection.

The tearing of the veil, the opening of the way

into the holiest place, which is God himself.

In 2 Peter chapter 1. It says, through these,

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

that he has given us his very great and precious

promises, so that through them you may participate

in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption

in the world caused by evil desires. For those

who grieve, some of you haven't been there yet

with a close family member or partner. But for

those who grieve, the Father's house has many

rooms. The life your loved one has entered in

Christ is not a diminished existence. It is the

fullest life there is. For those who have never

felt truly at home, whose belonging has always

felt provisional, I want you to hear this. There

is a place within the very life of God where

the same love the Father has always had for the

Son. is now turned towards you. Think of that.

That love for his son is now turned towards you.

Always has been. And for those of you who are,

if we're honest, closer to that destination than

the rest of us, just purely because of age, this

is not a consolation prize. It is the main event.

And here's the staggering thing. This is not

only future, even though we read it in that way.

Jesus says just a few verses later that the Father

and He will make their home, their mani, their

presence, the same word, with us now. Now, right

now. The Holy Spirit is given today. as a first

installment of that divine life. You do not have

to wait until you die to begin living within

the life of God. Because if you did, you wouldn't

be here. You'd be out doing something else. You

can have it now. In Romans 8, verse 15, we hear

Romans 8:15

this, that the spirit you receive does not make

you slaves so that you live in fear again. Rather,

the spirit... you received, brought about your

adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, Abba,

Father. N .T. Wright, from Simply Christian book

he had, put this down. That you are not a human

being having a spiritual existence. You are a

spiritual being having a human experience. But

more than that, you are a child of God made to

share in the very life of the Trinity. You're

not wandering. You are actually heading somewhere.

And the someone who prepared it is the same someone

who walked out of a tomb to prove that he has

the keys. That's your proof. And Jesus says this.

If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.

In a kind of way, the God you see is the God

there is. We hear from Philip as he says, Lord,

show us the Father and there will be enough for

us. Jesus answered, don't you know me, Philip?

Even after I have been among you such a long

time, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

Philip's request is deeply human. And there's

a Philip inside most of us. Give us proof. Even

if we believe we're still asking, give us proof.

Let the clouds part. But there's something else

in his question. It's a worry that the Father

might be different from Jesus. One that's less

approachable. More severe. That Jesus is the

kind side of God, but the Father is actually

keeping score in a book. That worry has not gone

away in 2 ,000 years. And Jesus' answer to that

is one of the most theologically explosive statements

in Scripture. Anyone who has seen me has seen

the Father. Not a picture of. Not a selfie. Not

a representative of. You've seen. The same. Jesus,

he is making an absolute claim about the character

of God. What you see in me is what the Father

is like. He's re -centering, re -calibrating

all the thoughts that have gone before what God

is like into who he is. And that's what the Father

is like. The sun is the radiance of God's glory

and the exact representation of his being, sustaining

all things by his powerful word. Another quote

from Brennan Manning. He says, too many Christians

live as if God is chronically disappointed in

them. That is not the God of the Bible. That

is a God that they have constructed. Maybe some

of these things are touching nerves in us this

morning. But Manon was right. So look at Jesus

carefully. When he wept at Lazarus' tomb, that

is what God looks like when he sees grief. When

he stopped for the blind beggar that everyone

else ignored, that is what God looks like when

the world walks past the overlooked. Someone

was sleeping in our porch way this morning. He

must know my voice now. But I said, time to get

up. Church is starting soon. And he said, I'll

pray to Jesus. And I'm thinking, is he making

fun or is he saying it outright? But just went

over and say hello to him as well. See, we can

just walk past and be overlooked and carry on.

So when Jesus sat at table with sinners while

the religious establishment was horrified, that

is what God looks like in the presence of people's

shame. When he said from the cross, Father, forgive

them, that is what God looks like in the face

of our worst. You see, the Father sent Jesus

precisely so we would know exactly what he is

like. The incarnation is God's answer to Philip's

question. So if you've carried a distorted image

of God, built on a, say, a harsh authority figure

or a painful religious experience, I want you

now to look at Jesus. That is your corrective.

Do not imagine a God behind Jesus who is less

compassionate. or less welcoming than the one

you met in the Gospels. Quote from Brennan Manning,

from his boy Abba's Child. Define yourself radically

as one beloved by God. This is a true self. Every

other identity is illusion. As a beloved by God.

If you have something else, that's an illusion.

And that's supported by the gospel passage from

1 John. See what great love the Father has lavished

on us, that we should be called children of God,

and that is what we are. Now for those here that

struggle to pray, remember the Jesus who made

time for the woman at the well, who called the

children to come. who cooked breakfast on the

beach for his discouraged disciples. That is

a God that you're talking to. And if there's

sceptics in the room, or you know of sceptics,

you say, I welcome you. If you want to know what

God is like, the most honest thing that we can

actually do is look carefully at Jesus of Nazareth.

Start with the gospel, start with him. If you're

ever in a debate or a discussion about God being

so angry and that, point them to the Gospels.

Point them to Jesus. Let that be their corrective.

Let that enable you to share the love of the

Father through the Son. Now we began with a GPS

recalculating. Life does that to us. Plans fall

through, certainties dissolve, and the road twists.

But look at what Jesus has given us. Spoken on

the worst night of his earthly life. To a room

that was full of frightened people just like

us, a way that is a person and not a program.

A destination that is not a location but an invitation

into the very life of God. The infinite and love

-filled triune life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

And that's with infinite room for you. And a

face. The face of the Father himself. So we never

need to be afraid of who God really is. And Thomas

asks us, how can we know the way? And Jesus answered,

you already do. You know me. And Philip asked,

Show us the Father. And Jesus answered, You've

already seen him. You've been looking at him

all along. And to all who have wondered where

they truly belong, the destination is not a room

in a divine hotel. It is the love of the Father

has always had for the Son. And that love, carried

in the person of the Holy Spirit has already

been poured into your heart. Because the Spirit

dwells in us. From John 17, where Jesus is talking,

that all of them may be one. Father, just as

you are in me and I am in you, may they also

be in us. I have given them the glory that you

gave me. that they may be one as we are one,

I in them and you in me. Hear the thread that's

made, that we're part of, that's been woven into

the life of the Trinity. C .S. Lewis wrote in

his book, The Weight of Glory, that it's a serious

thing to live in a society of possible gods and

goddesses, to remember that the dullest, most...

uninteresting person you can talk to may one

day be a creature which if you saw it now you

would be strongly tempted to worship. What is

Lewis saying here? That next to the sacraments

Lewis asserts that your neighbour is the holiest

object presented to your senses. Therefore how

you and I treat others as a matter of profound

spiritual importance. If we truly believe that

God dwells in us, in all humanity, that's how

we should be looking at other people. With these

sorts of eyes. Now, on this journey, you are

not merely heading toward God. In Christ, You

have already been drawn into the life God has

always lived. The Father's house is open. The

dance has already begun. And if you're a bit

like me, I'm out of rhythm, but I'm still going.

The Spirit in you is the first movement of a

song that will never end. The question this morning

for us is not whether you are good enough for

such an invitation to be sent to you. None of

us are. The question is simply this, will you

receive it when it comes? Oh, it's with you already.

Not as a matter of religion, but as a matter

of relationship. Are you walking with the one

who is the way? Are you living as someone who

belongs to the Father's house, not one day, but

today? Are you listening to the Father's voice?

Are you letting the Spirit who lives in you,

teach you what it means to be loved the way the

Father loves the Son. And if you're feeling that

that relationship is not yours, the door is open.

The way has been made. And the same Jesus who

said, do not let your hearts be troubled, is

saying it still to you right now. Come, be with

us. As I dwell in you. So with all of that said,

I want to bring us to a place where we just pause.

To sit with a posture that is open to receive.

Now that can be physically moving yourself or

just internally, but maybe you could just lay

your hands open on your lap or hold them up to

receive. Slow your breathing. Be aware of it.

Let's do that for a short time. Let us receive

from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Father, we thank you that you did not remain

hidden and that you opened your life to us and

when you called it home, we thank you that the

way is a person and it's not performance, that

the destination is not merely a place but it

is actually participation in the love you and

the Son have shared from all eternity. Our Holy

Spirit, make that real to us, not one day but

today. And wherever we are on the road, sure

-footed or a little bit lost, draw us deeper

into the life you have always lived and now invite

us to share with you. For we trust the way, your

son Jesus. Amen.