Speaker 1: 0:04

If we've not had a chance to meet. My name is Dwight. I'm one of the pastors here at Westtown Church and we as a congregation are seeking to discover more and live more fully in the meaning that Jesus Christ brings to life, and we are very excited about Westtown Christian Academy and all of the children that are here. We think children are important because God thinks that children are important and he has created them wonderfully, and my wife Connie and I have raised four kids. We've been very blessed by it and appreciate the challenge and also the blessing that comes from parenting. And one thing that you know about kids if you hang around kids for any length of period of time, is that they like to ask questions, lots and lots of questions. And I remember when our children were still quite young all four had been born we upgraded to a bigger vehicle. We got a conversion van. I hated that thing, especially cleaning it, and one day I was cleaning the conversion van and I'm inside and I lift up the screen on one of the big bay windows in the conversion van to find the glass is scratched and I know who sits there. He's been featured in other sermon illustrations in the past. You know him pretty well and I call him down to the driveway and I said Nate, what's this? And I show him the window and he said well, dad, I had a question. And I said really, what was your question, nate? He said, well, I had this rock and I wanted to know what would happen if I rub the rock across the window. Now I wish I had an. I could tell you I had an angelic response to that exchange, because I did not.

Speaker 1: 1:59

But kids ask a lot of questions and life is full of questions, aren't they? From things that are curious to things that are serious, like questions that pertain to the meaning of life in and of itself, questions that ask that we could ask are you know? How can I know God? How can I know what truth is and how can I know the truth? What is life for? What am I here for, what is wrong with the world and what can make it right again? Those are some exceptionally important questions and all of us answer them, whether in a very knowing fashion or perhaps maybe in a in a less formal fashion. And of course, people answer those big questions differently and historically they can be divided, really, into two very broad camps.

Speaker 1: 2:56

One would be like the religious camp, for instance, that would believe that God exists and that he can be known and he's made himself known, and we know what right and wrong is, and that we're to live by the rules that we have In the New Testament. If you see Jesus interacting with people, the Pharisees would be in that religious group. If you will, then on the other end of the spectrum would be the non-religious group. These would be the type of people who would say that if God exists, he loves everybody, and truth is finding out what is important to you in life and living by it. There's not one absolute standard of truth that applies to everybody, but here's the thing that is common among both those groups Both of those groups rely upon themselves for finding meaning in life by the things that they do or they don't do, and both groups ultimately fall under the weight of those systems of belief.

Speaker 1: 4:04

They ultimately come to the realization like, for instance, the religious people who feel like you get to know God by being a good person that ultimately you don't know what's good enough and you don't know whether or not you've met that threshold. And on the other end of the spectrum are people who, if you will, who are trying to live life according to their own design and feel that satisfaction comes through experience or possessions, or job satisfaction and all those kinds of different things, that ultimately they find that those things do not completely satisfy and when they don't achieve them they try all the harder to obtain them and they ultimately become enslaved to them. Jesus Christ offers a third way, a different way, and, I'm sorry, those non-religious groups in the New Testament and I gave you one for the religious group would be the unbelieving Gentiles that Jesus often interacted with. Among that group, in the non-religious group, there was an article that appeared in the AP News Associated Press, not that long ago, in fact about three weeks ago that detailed the rise of the non-religious nuns in America. It's not the kind of nun that you're thinking of, it's not N-U-N but rather N-O-N-E. The people, when completing religious surveys and they're asked what their religious affiliation is, they check the box nun, and people estimate that the nuns comprise about 30% of the American population. Some are atheists, some are agnostic. Many of the people who indicate that they are nuns do not fall into either of those categories. They would consider themselves very spiritual but not religious and they don't particularly care, for instance, for organized religion.

Speaker 1: 6:03

So in all of those groups of people who are seeking meaning in life and trying to answer the big life questions, jesus stands as an alternative to both of them. And he answers the question how we can know God, how can we know truth and how can we know what life is for or what's wrong in the world and how we can make it better. And we find in the Gospel of John that Jesus is having a conversation with his followers, and he's telling them that he's getting ready to go to Jerusalem and die on the cross. And even though he's told them that he would rise again from the dead, they of course are devastated by that news, and they have attached certain meanings and hopes upon Jesus that Jesus didn't necessarily himself share or with them, and so they were quite distraught, and so Jesus speaks words of comfort and hope to them, and in the midst of that conversation he provides answers to some of life's most urgent questions for us.

Speaker 1: 7:09

So we read in John, chapter 14, verse one through six. Jesus says let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me and my father's house, or many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you that. I excuse me if it were not so, would 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 we'll take you to myself that where I am, you may be also, and you know the way to where I am 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 in the life, and no one comes to the father except through me. If he had known me, you would have known my father also. From now on, you do know him and you have seen him.

Speaker 1: 8:04

Now, in the course of the Gospel of John, jesus makes seven very significant, I am statements. He tells people that he is the bread of life, that he's the light of the world, that he is the door or the gate, that he's the good shepherd, that he is the resurrection in the life, and in the following chapter he will say that he is the vine. Here Jesus says that he is the way and the truth and the life, and it's sort of a summary, if you will, of all of those declarations that Jesus says about how we can find satisfaction and meaning and fulfillment in life. And I know that the statement that Jesus says about being the way and the truth and life and no one comes to the Father except through him sort of offends our modern sensibilities. We find that to be very exclusionary. That Jesus is saying that life is found only in him, for instance and yes, it is narrow, admittedly so, but narrow does not necessarily mean wrong and especially, as we'll see as we go on, that Jesus provides precisely what it is that we need as people to live life. So Jesus' statement here in John 14 exposes our threefold need as people.

Speaker 1: 9:26

When God created life, people had everything that they needed. They had a relationship with God, god told them the truth, they knew and believed that truth and they also possessed spiritual life. And then sin entered the world and all of those dynamics changed dramatically. They no longer had a relationship with God, but they were alienated from Him. They no longer believed in the truth but rather they believed in a lie and falsehood and they no longer possessed life in its fullness, but they experienced spiritual death and began to experience physical death itself. So they lost all of those privileges. They lost the privilege of a personal interaction with God. They lost the ability to know the truth when they believed in falsehood, and even of possessing of life.

Speaker 1: 10:23

And so Jesus comes and he says that where we once experienced alienation, he is now the way, reconciling us to God. That, while we experience ignorance, that he is the truth that will lead us to God and, instead of death, that he is the life who gives us a new life by His grace. So let's look at these statements that Jesus makes and how they help us to answer the vital questions of life. Jesus says, first of all, that he is the way reconciling us to God. Jesus said to his followers I am the way. Now, a way is a path. It's a way to get from one point to another point in a destination, and Jesus declares that he is the path from humanity's ruin and sin to the heavenly Father. And the way in which he is is that path relates to how sin has altered our relationship with God.

Speaker 1: 11:29

Sin creates pollution, if you will, that it makes us liable for penalty. The Lord has said in His word that the wages of sin is death. Now, I know that's certainly the bad news, but what Jesus is saying is that he has come to rescue us from that penalty, and the other aspect that sin produces, that alienates us from God, is that it creates a power that we're subjected to in sin. You know, the apostle Paul expressed it like this the things that I wanna do, I don't do, and the things that I don't wanna do, those are the things that I do. We all experience that sense of power that sin has over us, and Jesus has come to rescue us both from the penalty as well as the power of sin. And he does that, as we mentioned in this context, by telling his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem where he would die upon a cross and that he would rise again from the dead. And the purpose of that dying upon the cross was so that he could pay the penalty that we deserved for our sin.

Speaker 1: 12:41

Now I know people have a struggle at this point with the whole concept of Jesus being our substitute, and sometimes you will read people who will say things like you know what kind of monster is God as a father that he would give his own son to die for the sins of a rebellious people who don't even like God? And they will characterize God as, and some of those terms and in some of those ways. Now, there are a couple ways to look at that, and one is just the nature of who God is himself. He is a triune God Father, son and Holy Spirit. And so Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, when he answers the Father's call to bear the penalty for our sin, it is God taking upon himself the penalty for our own sin.

Speaker 1: 13:32

But we also have to remember that we live by the idea of substitution, somebody or something else giving its life for us all the time. You might wonder well, how's that the case? Well, think of the food you eat, whether it's a plant or whether it's an animal. Something gave its life an order that we might be nourished and have life. The very food that we eat speaks of the benefit and the blessing of substitution, if you will. Also our very bodies, if you've ever had like a, a sore on your arm and it welled up into a ball and it got punctured and pus came out. What is pus? Well, pus is just the collection of dead white blood cells that were used to fight the infection, to remove the poison from us and keep us alive. We see examples of this idea of substitution in nature all the time. Think of salmon that swim upstream and the whole spawning process. They die and their bodies decay so that others following them might be able to live.

Speaker 1: 14:48

And some of the greatest literature, some of the movies that we as a culture enjoy the most oftentimes represent those ideas of substitution. Think of Harry Potter giving his life for those people that he loves. Think of Aslan the lion and the lion witch in the wardrobe where he falls under the murder's knife of the winter witch so that his friends could live. Think even of Darth Vader giving up his life so that his son Luke can live and believe it, or not. Even James Bond In the last James Bond movie. There was an element of substitution there. Right, james Bond stays on the island, he leaves the doors to the missiles open so that the missiles can come, and well, this could be a long, complicated explanation, but they had to destroy the machinery so that the virus wouldn't go and spread and Bond wouldn't infect his lover and his daughter, and so he willingly gave up his life so that they could live.

Speaker 1: 15:58

We feel the power in those stories, and it is our pictures, if you will, of the way in which Jesus Christ has willingly given his life for us so that by believing in him, we can escape the penalty and the power of our sin. But Jesus is not only the one who is the life, reconciling us to God. Jesus Christ is also the truth, revealing the Father to us Again. In John 14.6, jesus said I am the truth. Now, what do we learn about God, the Father, through Jesus Christ?

Speaker 1: 16:37

Scripture says that Jesus is the exact representation of God's glory. He is, in essence, god, same in substance, equal in power and glory. So what do we learn? When Jesus Christ took upon human flesh and dwelt among us, and he represented the Father for us, but he also represents us to the Father in our nature. What do we learn about God from what Jesus has told us?

Speaker 1: 17:07

Well, one of the powerful things that we understand is that God is a personal God. He is somebody who makes himself known and can be known. He is somebody who, in himself, has perfect fellowship in the Father, son and the Holy Spirit. But he invites us, not because he needs us but because he delights in us, to join in that unity and that fellowship with him. Our God is a personal God, but in addition to that. Jesus helps us to understand that our God is pure. He is holy and righteous. Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount be perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect. And in the midst of those things, jesus also tells us how God is merciful to us, because we can't meet that standard of perfection. And so Jesus came to fulfill the law on our behalf so that we would receive his righteousness and the Father would accept us through him.

Speaker 1: 18:10

These are the wondrous things that Jesus makes known to us about the Father and how we know that, how we can know God and know the truth through him. But we also see that Jesus is the life. In other words, he gives us new life by his grace. Again, in John 14, verse six, he says I am the life. Now, of course, we're physically alive. That is a gift that we have been given. But as a result of sin entering the world, we are spiritually lifeless. Jesus Christ came to release us from the power of death. To all of those who believe in him that we would genuinely acknowledge that we have offended God and we can do nothing to wipe away that sin that we've committed. But we need Christ To such as those. Jesus Christ has come in order to give us life.

Speaker 1: 19:20

Now, part of this whole issue of life relates to what's wrong with the world and what can be done to make it right again. And in this conversation with his friends, jesus said that he was going away to the Father and that he was going to prepare a place for those that believe in him and that he will come back one day and he will take them to be with him, that they would be with him forever. He says in my Father's house there are many rooms and I'm going to prepare a place for you. And in the book of Revelation we have this picture, at the end of times, of the new heavenly city coming down out of heaven. And there are all of these glorious promises that are associated with that event, where the Lord says there will be no more mourning or crying or sickness or pain, because the old order of things has passed away. And God makes this declaration behold, I am making all things new, and that is the life that Jesus gives. He not only gives life to the individual sinner that they might know the Father, but Jesus Christ has included in his glorious work this promise that he is making all things new, that the creation will be restored completely and fully through the blessings of his grace. This is the life that Christ offers. This is how we see in our world that is racked with so many problems, the solution is in the Prince of Peace, jesus Christ himself.

Speaker 1: 20:59

The essence of what makes Christianity different from every other religious teaching or every other philosophy out there is this Every other religion says that if you want to know God, if you want to improve yourself, if you want to find consciousness, if you want to connect to the divine however you define that then you have to do something. You have to gather your strength, for instance, you have to keep the rules, you have to free your mind so that then you can fill your mind, and you have to be above average. Every other religion or human philosophy says if you want to make the world right, then you make yourself right and you summon all of your reason, all of your power, all of your abilities to become what they have taught you to become. Christianity says the exact opposite of that. Christianity is different from every other religion and philosophy that says that you have to do something to connect to God. Christianity declares that Jesus Christ has come and he has done what you are incapable of doing. He has provided you life, truth and the way. Every other religion says that the answers to life's big questions are here. You do these things. Christianity says. The answers to life's big questions is Jesus Christ himself, and we experience the life that he avails to us as we believe and we rest in him and we relate to him on the basis of the work that he has accomplished for us.

Speaker 1: 23:02

So many systems of thought appeal to the strong, appeal to those people who are successful, because they play directly into their belief that if you're strong and hardworking, you will prevail. God helps those who help themselves, we often hear. But Christianity is not just for the strong. Christianity is for everyone, and especially for people who admit, where it really counts, that we are far weaker than that we would care to admit that our desires are disordered, that we are terribly flawed and there is absolutely nothing that we can do of ourselves to remedy those problems. It is for those who realize they need a Savior and rest in Christ for their salvation.

Speaker 1: 23:53

You see, the answers to life's questions are not found in a system of religion or in a system of non religion. It's found in the person of Jesus. Jesus is not just a guide who came to give us a path to the Father. Jesus Christ is the way. Jesus Christ is not just a teacher of a particular doctrine. Jesus Christ says that he himself is truth. And Jesus is not merely a physician who has come to invigorate our old nature. He is life and in him we find new life. May we come to realize that life's big questions are answered in the person of Jesus, and may we enter into a relationship with him by faith, where we experience the fullness and the joy of the life that he provides. Let's pray together.