23-0820p Transcript

Preacher: Jim Lokenbauer

(0:21) Good evening everybody. (0:24) Alright, this morning we started to explore Jesus' I AM statement, I am the way, the truth, and the life, found in John 14.

(0:34) Jesus had just told his disciples that he was going to his Father’s house to prepare a place for them. (0:43) And, by the way, also for us. (0:47) And a place that we could all live, and that he would come back and take us to be with him once life on earth here is over.

(0:57) And Jesus said to his disciples, in John 14.4, the ice cream man cruising through the building. (1:10) There’s a little ice cream truck sound going. (1:14) How are you? (1:19) Okay.

(1:22) I really like that fan. (1:26) I’m a hot box. (1:28) Anyhow, I will make do.

(1:31) So, let’s look at verse 4 together. (1:35) That’s where we left off. (1:40) Verse 4, Where I go, you know, and you know the way.

(1:46) With this two-part statement, Jesus brings to mind what he had just said days before. (1:53) In verse 2, he said that he was going to heaven to be with God and prepare places to live for the saints. (1:59) But how he gets there is implied.

(2:03) He doesn’t come right out and say. (2:05) He said it before and doesn’t need to say it here. (2:09) What is implied is, in the second part of the statement, is what he told them was going to happen to him very soon.

(2:19) This passage of scripture from Mark answers that. (2:23) In Mark 10, 32-34, it says, (2:28) They were on their way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going in front of them. (2:33) And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.

(2:38) He again took the twelve and began to tell them the things that were going to happen to him. (2:44) Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. (2:46) The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes.

(2:50) They will condemn him to death and will deliver him to the Gentiles. (2:55) They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. (3:01) And on the third day, he will rise again.

(3:08) So this was the third time that he had told his disciples the plan where he would die. (3:17) And he gave great detail this time. (3:21) So when I construct this scene in my mind’s eye, I can imagine Jesus, as he was saying this, as I said earlier today, (3:32) that he singled out two particular disciples.

(3:37) And if you recall from scripture, right after Jesus warned them what’s going to happen, (3:44) when they get to their destination, (3:47) immediately James and John come up to Jesus and they ask for a special favor. (3:55) And don’t forget, they’re cousins, first cousins. (4:00) And so, you know, they’re very familiar with Jesus.

(4:03) And John is the one whom Jesus loved. (4:08) And so they thought they had an in with Jesus here. (4:13) And this is also recorded for us in Mark, in Mark 10, 35-40.

(4:19) It says, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near him saying, (4:24) Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask. (4:28) He said to them, What do you want me to do for you? (4:31) They said to him, Grant to us that we may sit one on your right hand and one on your left hand in your glory. (4:38) But Jesus said to them, You don’t know what you’re asking.

(4:42) Are you able to drink from the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism that I’m going to be baptized with? (4:52) They said to him, We are able. (4:55) Jesus said to them, You indeed shall drink from the cup that I drink (5:00) and you shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. (5:05) But to sit on my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared.

(5:15) So Jesus' statement here in verse 4 was directed at all of his apostles. (5:22) But I have a feeling Jesus was looking at them when he said this. (5:26) Because he said, You know where I am going and you know how to get there.

(5:32) So it was reminding them of what Jesus just said here a day or so before. (5:42) So Jesus' statement was directed to all of them. (5:46) He was going to be the first to be baptized with persecution to the point of death.

(5:53) And then go on to glory in heaven. (5:57) And then they would follow in like manner. (6:01) And who was the first one to be martyred among the apostles? (6:07) Wasn’t it James? (6:09) The very one who probably approached being the older of the two? (6:14) James and John.

(6:17) A little irony there. (6:20) But Jesus is letting them know that after their trials that they would face, (6:26) there was a blessed place of rest in which they would go after their work was done on earth. (6:35) Verse 5, Thomas said to them, Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how do we know the way? (6:43) Thomas' question showed us that when we have a preconceived idea or a fixed notion in our head about a matter, (6:52) we can be so sure in our mind how something is supposed to be, (6:58) but when we are confronted with reality and presented true facts, (7:03) it may be hard to believe those facts.

(7:08) That is what Jesus was up against with his disciples. (7:12) They were convinced in their minds, probably because it was passed on to them in ignorance (7:20) due to misunderstanding the scriptures, that the Christ’s first coming would set up an earthly kingdom and rule (7:32) just like David did, Jesus being the ancestor of David. (7:38) And the Christ, they were expecting him to set up an earthly kingdom.

(7:49) Their enemy, Rome, would be vanquished and Jesus would rule in peace. (7:54) That is what they had etched in their mind. (7:59) And we know that is true, because even after he died and right before he ascended, (8:07) they asked the Lord at this time, are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel? (8:14) They were still hopeful that he would get rid of Rome and set up an earthly rule.

(8:21) And don’t people have this same mindset today? (8:25) The same ignorance in regard to Christ’s second coming? (8:32) People think that Jesus is going to reign for a thousand years here on earth in peace. (8:39) And some think that there is going to be this terrible three and a half year tribulation before the resurrection. (8:48) And they actually have the resurrection being a two part resurrection.

(8:53) And that is not what scripture teaches. (8:56) It is very simple what scripture teaches. (9:03) So these are sacred cows that these men are hanging on to.

(9:10) They haven’t figured it out. (9:13) Even though Jesus spells it out to them, they still have a preconceived notion in their head. (9:20) This is how it is going to be.

(9:22) And so Jesus doesn’t address that. (9:30) And so what he does in verse 6 is he spells out to them the way to heaven with his I am statement. (9:40) Verse 6, Jesus answered them, I am the way and the truth and the life.

(9:48) No one comes to the Father except through me. (9:52) The disciples were thinking carnally and in worldly terms, focused on this physical world and looking for a physical kingdom. (10:01) Jesus didn’t address that directly.

(10:03) And perhaps it could be that he was walking, especially at this time, sort of a tight rope as to how much information he could tell his disciples. (10:15) Because as we know in that upper room, Satan was with them. (10:21) The disciples couldn’t see him.

(10:23) Christ knew he was there. (10:25) Because when he gave Judas the morsel, he said, what you do, do quickly. (10:32) And it says Satan immediately entered Judas.

(10:37) You don’t think Jesus knew that’s exactly what happened? (10:43) And I think those orders were more towards Satan. (10:47) Let’s get this done with. (10:49) You want to challenge me this second time? (10:51) Bring it.

(10:52) I’m ready. (10:56) So Jesus didn’t address that. (10:58) So he focuses their mind on what’s more important for them.

(11:05) And that was how to get to their Heavenly Father. (11:09) He tells them that he has three unique things here in this statement. (11:15) I am the way, the truth, and the life.

(11:17) So let’s look at I am the way. (11:22) So what is the way, you may ask? (11:25) That Jesus is the only way we can get to Heaven. (11:30) Having come from there, he knows the way back to the Father.

(11:34) He gave us an example to follow and how to live our lives. (11:40) 1 Peter 2.21 says, for to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, (11:47) leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. (11:54) That’s the way.

(11:56) He’s the only access point, the only pathway, the only vehicle, so to speak, (12:02) in which we can get to Heaven. (12:04) There’s no other way, and Peter understood that. (12:08) And so in Acts 4.12, Peter says to his fellow Jews, (12:16) salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven (12:21) given to men by which we must be saved.

(12:25) So Peter knew this. (12:26) There’s one way to Heaven, and it’s through Jesus. (12:30) Without Christ, we’re lost.

(12:32) In John 6.68, again, Peter understood. (12:38) You know, Peter, he had great moments and he had bad moments, (12:41) but he was really Jesus' star pupil. (12:45) In John 6.68, after the hard teaching about the bread of life, (12:51) where a lot of disciples abandoned Jesus, (12:56) Jesus asked the question, you don’t want to leave too, do you? (12:59) To the twelve.

(13:01) And Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go? (13:05) You have the words of eternal life. (13:09) So the way. (13:11) The way was also what the early church was known by, (13:16) and it was more than just a set of religious beliefs, (13:21) or just a hip pseudonym for the church, the way.

(13:26) It was a way of life based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. (13:32) Seven times the church or its teachings were referred to as the way. (13:40) The first time it’s used in the book of Acts is when Paul comes on the scene, (13:46) and when he gets marching orders from the religious leaders (13:51) to start persecuting the church, (13:54) and in Acts 9.2 it says, (13:58) and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, (14:03) that if he found any who were of the way, whether men or women, (14:08) he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

(14:12) So Paul at this time, of course, was attacking the way, (14:16) and that’s what the church was known by that time. (14:21) So this blessed name was even spoken about from Old Testament times, (14:28) hundreds of years before by Isaiah. (14:32) And Isaiah made many prophecies concerning the church.

(14:37) And in Isaiah chapter 35, it’s a wonderful chapter on the way. (14:43) It’s about the church and those who are redeemed. (14:47) So the first century Christians, being familiar with Isaiah’s writings, (14:54) would use this moniker that Isaiah gave the church, (15:00) the way, well actually God did, through Holy Spirit, controlling Isaiah.

(15:06) So in Isaiah 35, 8 through 10, it says, (15:08) A highway will be there, a road, and it will be called the holy way. (15:15) The unclean shall not pass over it, but it will be for those who walk in the way. (15:22) Wicked fools will not go there, no lion will be there, (15:26) nor will any ravenous animal go upon it.

(15:29) They will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk there. (15:33) Then Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return and come with singing to Zion, (15:39) and everlasting joy will be on their heads. (15:42) They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

(15:50) What a wonderful, positive view and encouragement of the church being called the way here. (15:59) So Jesus also said, the truth, he is the truth. (16:07) So let’s look at the truth.

(16:09) True is opposite of false, first and foremost. (16:13) Truth is reality. (16:15) It is what is.

(16:18) It’s unbiased facts. (16:20) It’s veracity, honesty, purity, accuracy, and virtuousness. (16:27) All of these aspects of truth are in Jesus.

(16:32) He is not just the epitome of truth, the perfect example of truth. (16:38) He’s the truth. (16:41) Therefore, the Father, Son, and Spirit are all truth as well.

(16:48) Remember, God is one. (16:49) And if one is truth, they all are truth. (16:52) And we know this to be true because in John 14 and John 15, (16:57) the Spirit is mentioned as being the Spirit of truth.

(17:04) John writes, when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, (17:08) the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. (17:15) So we have Holy Spirit being truth, just as Jesus says, he is truth. (17:22) And the Father is the one who sent them both.

(17:25) So he, therefore, is truth. (17:30) What the Godhead says is truth, and their word is powerful and effective. (17:36) And it’s seen in Isaiah 5511, so is my word that goes out of my mouth, (17:43) it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, (17:49) and it will prosper in the things I send it to do.

(17:53) So by the Godhead being truth means that they can’t lie. (17:59) It’s not in their makeup. (18:01) Listen to Paul teaching Titus, writing to Titus, (18:05) and although the subject matter isn’t about our subject, (18:10) it mentions a point here that is pertinent to what we’re talking about, truth.

(18:20) So in Titus 1, verse 2, it says, (18:25) In hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began. (18:31) Did you catch that? (18:33) Paul said God can’t lie. (18:38) Again, it is mentioned in the Hebrew letter that God not only can’t lie, (18:43) it’s impossible for God to lie.

(18:47) Hebrews 6.18 says, (18:50) There are two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. (18:55) And the verse continues. (18:57) But that’s the point I want to make.

(18:59) God is truth. (19:01) He cannot lie. (19:03) What God says, what Jesus speaks, is truth.

(19:10) Jesus spoke things into existence. (19:14) In Isaiah 55.11, (19:18) The power of his word gets accomplished no matter what he says. (19:24) So can you imagine how wise God has to be (19:29) in holding his tongue (19:32) so that he doesn’t just loosely say something and it happens? (19:38) Can you imagine if we had that power? (19:41) With the lack of control we have with our tongues? (19:48) Just drive with me down the highway and watch a trucker cut me off.

(19:53) That guy would probably disappear because I don’t have control over my tongue. (19:59) So thank goodness I’m not God. (20:05) We’ll leave that important stuff to God.

(20:09) So immutable means unalterable, not changeable. (20:14) It’s impossible for God to lie. (20:16) And that is an unchangeable fact.

(20:19) And in John 17.17, a verse we’re all very familiar with, (20:24) Jesus says during his prayer in that upper room, (20:29) as it was drawing to a conclusion up there that night, (20:33) Jesus asks God, (20:36) Sanctify them by the truth. (20:38) Your word is truth. (20:44) So Jesus tells us that God’s word equals truth.

(20:49) So we as believers are not only sanctified by Jesus' blood, (20:54) by coming in contact with that blood when we are baptized into the manner of his death, (21:02) but we’re also sanctified by his word, by his truth. (21:09) And to be sanctified means to be set apart for a holy purpose. (21:14) When we shed our sins and they’re washed away by Jesus' blood, (21:21) we’re set aside and now we’re usable to God, (21:25) because we are holy.

(21:28) Have you ever thought of yourself as holy? (21:32) That’s what we are in God’s eyes, (21:35) because Jesus' blood is holy. (21:40) It’s sacred. (21:42) And it was given on the altar as an atonement.

(21:47) And it cleanses us. (21:52) So one of Yeshua’s monikers is the word. (21:57) And by his word, he spoke everything into existence.

(22:01) And I’ll be bringing you a lesson as one of the great I Am’s, (22:08) his name being the word, logos in Greek. (22:13) And just like in John 1, 1, it says, (22:15) In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. (22:23) He was with God in the beginning.

(22:26) Through him all things were made. (22:28) Without him nothing was made that’s been made. (22:32) In him was the light.

(22:34) And that’s the third thing we’ll be looking at. (22:37) And that light was the light of men. (22:40) So Jesus was called the word here.

(22:44) Since Jesus is the word and the truth, it stands to reason why he says that I am truth. (22:55) The word is truth. (22:57) When our words conform to our thoughts, that is called moral truth.

(23:04) We mean what we say, and we say what we mean. (23:08) What we think comes out of our mouth the way we mean to say it. (23:15) God’s thoughts and words are his moral truth.

(23:19) But those are perfect, right, pure, true. (23:26) And they can be our standard to live by, our moral compass, our law. (23:33) Because he gave them to us to live by.

(23:36) And so we can trust and obey them knowing that they’re perfect for us. (23:45) If we believe in him and try to follow his word, both his moral laws and the Holy Spirit, (23:51) will change us, transform us, by renewing our minds to be more like Jesus. (23:58) His command, found in 1 Peter 1, tells us to be holy because I am holy.

(24:06) That’s what God says to us. (24:08) So if we live by our own versions of moral truth, we end up with moral corruption and anarchy. (24:18) Because we are prone to sin and with no God in our lives guiding us, (24:23) we end up in self-destruction and being in a total state of chaos and deprivation (24:31) if everybody marches to the way they think is best, using their own moral laws.

(24:40) We’ll end up like the public schools when they took prayer out. (24:44) We were talking about that earlier. (24:46) And what a depraved state they’re in now because there’s no God taught there.

(24:55) We can change to be like him when we trust his word. (25:01) Listen to these various descriptive words from Proverbs 35. (25:10) I’ll bring them to you from the King James, the New King James, the NIV and the RSV.

(25:17) Every word of God is pure. (25:20) He is a shield to those who put their trust in him. (25:26) The NIV.

(25:27) Every word of God is flawless. (25:30) He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (25:34) In Proverbs 35 in the Revised Standard Version.

(25:39) Every word of God proves true. (25:42) He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (25:46) So God’s word is truth, and we can rest assured in it, take refuge in it, (25:58) and trust that the laws he gives us is for our benefit, not to make us miserable.

(26:07) In John 8, 31 and 32, Jesus says to the Jews, the Jews who had believed in him, (26:18) If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. (26:24) Then you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. (26:29) Free from what? (26:31) Free from sin.

(26:34) By knowing the truth, his word. (26:36) This verse sounds a lot like last week’s lesson, I am the good shepherd. (26:44) Jesus said if you remain in his fold, Jesus knows his sheep, and his sheep know him.

(26:54) So God’s word, our Bible, from beginning to end, is reliable and true. (27:00) It gives us an accurate history of God’s interacting with mankind from the beginning of time, (27:07) right up until the last sentence in Revelation. (27:16) The psalmist says in Psalm 119 verse 160, (27:21) All of your words are truth.

(27:24) Every one of your righteous ordinance are enduring forever. (27:30) So God’s word is truth, because he is truth. (27:34) And every word in scripture is trustworthy.

(27:38) So from Genesis 1, 1, in the beginning God created, (27:42) to the end of John’s Revelation, where John writes, (27:46) He who testifies to these things says, (27:49) Yes, I am coming quickly. (27:52) Amen. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

(27:54) You can rest assured that God created everything, and that he is coming quickly. (28:01) So Jesus is truth incarnate. (28:04) The very source of truth.

(28:06) Our Lord has given us his word, which is truth, to live by. (28:11) It is the wellspring of truth. (28:14) It is the living water that he told the Samaritan about in John chapter 4. (28:20) That gives life everlasting.

(28:24) And of course, he was speaking of his word, (28:28) and how we will be blessed with Holy Spirit. (28:32) And this is a nice segue into the last part of Jesus' I Am statements. (28:37) The life.

(28:38) I am the life. (28:40) I am the way, the truth, and the life. (28:44) Jesus alone is the source of both physical and spiritual life.

(28:49) Because he is the creator. (28:52) And he sustains and holds everything together in creation by his powerful word, (29:01) the Hebrew writer tells us. (29:04) And most important, his word is what is going to get us into heaven.

(29:19) When he says, Well done, good and faithful servant. (29:23) Welcome. (29:25) So he is the giver of eternal life.

(29:28) In Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, (29:32) he said in John 3.16 that Tom read, (29:36) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, (29:40) that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (29:45) And later, in verse 3.36, he told them again, (29:49) but added some new dimensions to it. (29:52) He said, He who trusts in the Son has eternal life.

(29:58) He who does not obey the Son shall not see life, (30:02) but the wrath of God remains on him. (30:05) So we have to trust what God says. (30:10) We have to believe in God.

(30:12) But we just can’t have this mental assent, Oh, I believe that. (30:16) We have to obey. (30:18) That’s what true faith is.

(30:20) It’s to have an obedient faith. (30:23) To do like what James says, the doer of the word. (30:28) That’s how you show that you really have faith.

(30:31) That you trust your God. (30:37) So trust, faith, and belief are all synonyms, (30:42) and they all come from the Greek word pistiu. (30:46) I personally like the word trust the best to describe this Greek word, (30:53) because we’re putting our trust in the one who says, I am truth.

(30:59) You’ve got to believe that. (31:01) We trust in the truth to grant us eternal life. (31:05) Jesus said, I am the life.

(31:08) And if you think about it, he’s the creator of all life. (31:12) In the beginning, when he created man, (31:16) in Genesis 2-7 it says, (31:18) Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, (31:23) and breathed into his nostrils the what? (31:27) The breath of life. (31:31) And man became a living soul.

(31:35) In John 5-26, for as the father has life in himself, (31:39) even so he gave life to the son to have life in himself. (31:46) John 1-4, in him was life, (31:49) and that life was the light of men. (31:54) In Ephesians 2-1 it says, (31:56) You were made alive when you were dead in your transgressions and sin.

(32:04) Jesus makes us alive. (32:07) We once were spiritual zombies. (32:09) The walking dead, so to speak, being outside of Christ.

(32:15) When we believe his word and do what he says, (32:20) we become alive through Christ’s word. (32:24) Obeying Christ’s commands. (32:33) Like the man that came down from heaven and gave life to the Israelites in the desert, (32:39) Jesus was the true bread from heaven that gave life.

(32:43) From previous lessons, (32:46) Jesus' I am statement, I am the bread of life, (32:50) and his words create faith in the hearer that leads to eternal life. (32:57) John 6-33, Jesus said, (33:00) For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. (33:07) John 11-25, another lesson that we’ve had on, (33:11) I am the resurrection and the life.

(33:13) Jesus said to Martha, (33:17) I am the resurrection and the life. (33:20) He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. (33:26) So if we die, we’re still alive.

(33:29) By Jesus' powerful word. (33:33) Jesus has the power to raise the dead, giving them life. (33:36) And one day he’s returning a second time (33:40) to call the faithful who heard his words (33:45) and received that life that he offers.

(33:50) He’s going to call us back to home where he’s made a home for us in heaven. (33:57) So Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. (34:00) The very three factors that we need for the human soul (34:04) to make it to eternity in heaven.

(34:07) So at this time, if you’d like to put Christ on, (34:12) if you want to obey the Savior and receive life, (34:17) now’s an opportunity. (34:18) You can come forward and we’ll make that happen for you.