06-05-2022, John
14:5-14 ESV
Jesus is
Speaking:
14:1 “’Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God; believe also in Me.
2 In My Father's house are
many rooms.
If it were not so, would I
have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am
you may be also.
4 And you know the way to
where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know
where You are going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, and
the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
7 If you had known Me, you
would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the
Father, and it is enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have
I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen
Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father
is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not
speak on My Own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does His works.
11 Believe Me that I am in
the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works
themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say
to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater
works than these will He do, because I am going to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in My
Name, this I will do, that the Father may be Glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask Me anything in My
Name, I will do it.”’
Amen
4 “Jesus Said:
‘And you know the way to where I am going.’
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know
where You are going.
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the
Father, and it is enough for us.”
QUESTION: Do WE KNOW the Way?
Today - Let’ Us Try to Uncover
·
The Full Meaning of
Jesus’ Words.
We
Know the Way?”
This Morning, - We are Reading From the 4th
Gospel,
· The Book of John, And in This Book,
o Have You Ever Noticed
o That Many of Jesus’ Words for Today,
§ They Refer to Things which are
§ VISUAL and PHYSICAL.
Although We Hear -
o Physical Words
§ Which Are Tangible
· AND REAL To Life For Us Here!
But Christ is Actually Speaking
· Through These Words
o And He Is CHANGING THEM To Become
§ The ‘UNSEEN’!
· And The ‘SPIRITUAL’ Realities!
Jesus’ Words are to be Understood
· BY - Identifying Himself
o As Being the ONLY WAY
§ For Us to KNOW the Father!
In Doing This, We The Believers
· WE ARE COMING TO THE FATHER,
o BY Entering Into a Trusting Relationship
§ With the FATHER
· Through - JESUS
CHRIST!
YOU SEE –
Rather than Choosing
· the PHYSICAL WAY of Traveling
o Up A Road – To Heaven!
We Are Choosing The SPIRITUAL WAY
SO, We CAN
TRULY Know
the Way To The Father?
Two weeks ago,
· We Talked About
o JESUS - Sending the Counselor,
o Which Is The Holy Spirit –
§ And He Is to-be - At Home WITHIN US.
We know this Because Jesus Said
:
John 14:2 In My Father's house
are Many Rooms.
If it were not so,
would I have told you that I go to prepare a
place for you?
And in:
John 14:23 If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and
my Father will love him, and we will come to
him and make our home with him.
But I Ask YOU
Does This All Make Sense to You?
Did You KNOW That The WORDS
(ROOMS) Which is In 14:2
And (HOME) Which Is In 14:23,
Both of these Words,
o Are Translations
§ Of The SAME GREEK
WORD!
So, IF we Look at the Promises in:
John 14:16 – “And I will ask the Father, and He will give
you another Helper (the HOLY SPIRIT),
to be with you forever.”
And John 14:18 - “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come
to you.”
And John 14:23 – “Jesus answered him, “If anyone Loves Me, he will
keep My Word, and My Father will Love Him, and We will come to Him and make our
home with him.”
And Once Again In the Promises from:
John 14:1-4 - “Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God; Believe also in Me.
In my Father's House are many rooms.
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 will take you to Myself,
that where I am you may be also.
And you know the way to where I am going.”
Within The Words of Jesus,
·
Does It Not Causes Us to SAFELY ASSUME
o That These Passages
o ALL REFER
§ To The SAME REALITY ?!
INTIMACY With JESUS
AND With THE FATHER
THROUGH THE ABIDING PRESENCE
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
AND IF THIS IS SO,
Then the place which Jesus
speaks of “When We Are Preparing”(14:1-4)
·
Is Reached Whenever
o A Person Comes to Know God
§
Through The Saving Works
·
Of Jesus Christ!
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE
TO YOU?
YOU SEE -
§ NOT ONLY
o Is Jesus Christ the ONLY WAY
But IT ALSO THROUGH
Having A TRUE
& FAITHFUL RELATIONSHIP
With CHRIST, Together
-
That Is the ONLY
WAY!
There is Room for
ALL - In This ‘HOUSE’!
Now – Follow me in this.
According to this Understanding,
· The Promise of Jesus found in 14:2-3
In my Father's House are many rooms.
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 will take you to Myself,
That where I am you may be also.
These Words are
Important,
·
Not Only to the
Disciples,
o
But Also, For Us Here Today.
When Jesus Died, Jesus Left His
Disciples – Temporarily Alone.
But – In a Short Period
of Time,
Jesus Return to Them
Through the Presence Of the HOLY SPIRIT!
So, Basically, IT IS
TRUE That The SPIRIT
·
HE Represents
o The FATHER AND SON,
o And So - The SPIRIT, So Wonderfully
§ Becomes THEIR Mediator
Within The Presence of
the Believer.
Listen to Jesus’ Words
Once Again,
·
As He Expresses the
Result Within This
o Mental Imagery of
§ Traveling in 2
Directions.
(14.2) Believers Would Travel
To Live in the
Father’s House.
(14:23) and the Father and Son Would
Travel
To Make Their Home in the Believers.
But For Thomas and Philip,
And Maybe Even More of
the disciples,
§ They Could Not
Make Sense
of What They Had Heard.
“Lord, we do not know
Where you are going.
How can we know the
way?” (14:5)
Of Course, This Becomes a Little
Clearer
When Jesus Said:
I am the Way - and the Truth - and
the Life (14:6a)
BUT The Important
Question Is –
Do You Understand This?
You SEE:
·
The Destination - Which Jesus Is
Referring To
o Is The FATHER,
§ Or Even Better Yet;
·
It Is Within A RELATIONSHIP
o With The FATHER.
The World Is Tell You
§
That The Father Is
Cruel
o
Because Other
Religions
§
Do Not Believe
§
In Jesus as He Is
being God’s Son.
How Can Your God Be So
Cruel?!!?
You Know That They Are
GOOD People!
So, Tell Me, Why Does Your Way
§ Say They You HAVE TO
o BELIEVE in Jesus is
God’s Son?
SO – DO YOU
KNOW
THE ANSWER?
God Has Given Us ONE
Way, John 3:16-17
“For God so loved the
world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to
condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”
This Pathway Which
§ The Father Has Offered
to Us
·
Is Within a Relationship
o
Which Is Available
o
ONLY Through
§
JESUS Himself
So – Exactly,
What Does This ALL Mean
for Us Here Today?
1ST: THE WAY IS JESUS –
THE PERSON!
We Are Talking About -
JESUS HIMSELF.
· Not Just His Principles
‘Not How to BE A Good
Person’
· Nor Just the Truths
that He Taught.
‘Not How the World
Began
And How Life Works’
BUT RATHER
It is Within
- Christ Himself!
YOU SEE:
Jesus Allows – For No - Separation Between
·
Himself and His Words,
And HE EXPECTS “LOYALTY”
§ To His Teachings
o Which Flows Within and
Out of
§ Our Loyalty to Him
§ And His Loyalty Within
Us.
In Fact, it is Even
Deeper Than That.
YOU SEE - The Authority of
Jesus’ Teaching
·
EVOLVES FROM His Personal Beginning
·
And His Status as
o
Being The Father’s
Son.
2ND: THE WAY IS JESUS – ALONE!
AND I Believe This Is the One
·
Which Is Not Only
o
CHALLENGED Within
§
Our World Today
·
As Also, It Is the One
o
Which Is BEING LOST
§
‘in Our Today!’
BUT IT IS TRUE
JUST AS THERE IS ONLY
ONE SON OF GOD,
There Is ALSO - ABSOLUTELY
‘NO OTHER WAY!’
To The FATHER
Other Than This ONE
WAY,
Which The FATHER HIMSELF
Has Provided FOR US!!!
Any Other Way - BESIDES
·
Approaching The FATHER
o Through GOD’s SON,
§ For Our Redemption
·
Is TOTALLY POINTLESS
·
And A LIE!
3RD: THE WAY IS THROUGH
JESUS
WHO - IS THE TRUTH!
JESUS Is in TOTAL CONTRAST
·
Not Only with the UN-TRUTH,
·
But With the INCOMPLETE As Well.
· Through Jesus Christ
o You Are Totally Assured
o In “The Fullness of HIS
Grace” (John 1:16-17)
Surpasses The Old
Testament
‘Parole From Your Sins!’
OT Grace Was Not A
Forgiveness
But Rather, it was A Cover of Your Sins
Which Was Obtained Through
Your Sacrificial Offerings
for Your Sins.
And Jesus’ Grace
Is Also Not A “PARTIAL”
Or ‘Incomplete
Expression’
Of Grace!
So, Jesus Christ’s
Grace
Rules Out ANY NEED
For ‘FULLER FORGIVENESS’.
In Other Words:
·
When You Come to The FATHER -
o Through A Relationship
With
Jesus Christ,
§ You Are Assured
·
Of ‘100% of HIS Grace’
And You Will Be Lacking
in Nothing!
DO YOU BELIEVE IN
THIS?
LACKING – IN – NOTHING – AT - ALL!
4TH: The Way is LIFE It
Self!
JESUS Has Been
Authorized
·
By His FATHER (5:25-27)
o To Rule Over
o And Overturn the PHYSICAL
As Well As Rule Over The
Spiritual Death
·
Which Is Threatening ALL Humankind
o With Total Destruction.
YOU KNOW
IN All of Jesus’
Teachings Concerning Himself,
Jesus Explains That the
Basis of His Role,
AS BEING The Reason WHY He Was Here
IS THAT HE Is “BEING - The Way”
‘TO’ and ‘FOR’ The FATHER!
THIS Is JESUS’ Unique Relationship
With The FATHER.
It Is So Important
For Us to KNOW This!
For Us to UNDERSTAND This!
And For Us to LIVE This!
I Mean,
We Really NEED TO GET
THIS!
Jesus and God - His
Father
·
TOGETHER Are Mutually,
·
Are Permanently
o Present Within One
Another.
(Get This - They Are
Within Each Other’s Soul and Mind)
This Is What Jesus
·
Is Explaining to Philip:
John 14:10a Do you not believe
That I am in the Father
And the Father is in Me?
And Jesus Is Totally Obedient
·
And HE Perfectly
Expressing
o
All That He Is Seeing
§ And Hears from The Father
John 14:10b “The Words that I say to you
I do not speak on My Own authority,
but the Father who dwells in Me does His works.”
John 14:9 “Anyone Who Has
Seen Me Has Seen the Father”
John 14:7a “If You Really Knew Me,
You Would Know My Father as Well.”
Within Just These Few
Lines,
·
We Hear How the Person of JESUS
o Forms The Necessary Foundation
o Within HIS Ability to Offer
§ Salvation to The
World.
All What JESUS Is
Saying
·
And All What HE Is Promising
o Flows Out of WHO HE IS
§ Within HIS Relation to the FATHER.
Do We All REALLY - Get
This?
I Know I Am Repeating
Myself Here
BUT It Is SO IMPORTANT
BECAUSE - The WORLD Is
Telling Everyone
That There Are
Many Upon Many OTHER
WAYS
To Get to Heaven!
AND – The World Is
Screaming
This Question to The
Christians:
‘IF It Is ONLY - THRU
JESUS,
Then - How Can GOD Be So Cruel?’
SO - What Happens to
Those
Whose Faiths - ARE NOT –
WITHIN AND THRU JESUS?
What About Your Friends?
What About Your Orthodox Jew Friends?
What About Your Muslim Friends?
What About Your Hindu Friends!
What About Your Buddhist Friends?
And What About Your Non-Believer Friends!
What About Your GOOD Friends?
What HAPPENS TO THEM?
WE NEED TO
UNDERSTAND THIS!
For Us To “Travel to
The Father”
o We Must Come by the “Way
of Jesus”
§ And It Requires Our Faith
in Jesus
§
As BEING The ONE In
Whom
·
The Father Resides
With-in.
Such Faith, Comes to
Us
in Two Ways.
1)
By Us HEARING - HIS
WORDS.
(John 1:41) Andrew
Tell Simon Peter About Jesus Christ.
2)
Or Through Seeing
JESUS’ Miracles.
(John 2:11) Such as Jesus
Changing the Water into Wine.
Jesus Would Naturally
Prefer
·
The First Over the Second
o Because He Said:
(John 14:11a) “Believe Me When I Say
That I Am in The Father
and The Father Is in Me.”
But Jesus Knows of Our
Disbelief
·
Because He Offers Us His
Miracles
o As A Secondary Avenue
§ For Our Journey to
Genuine Faith.
(John 14:11b) “At Least Believe on The Evidence of
The Miracles Themselves.”
OK, I Believe, we are
All Following Along
So, Here Is a Question for
You:
From This World,
Did That Bring an End
To Jesus’ Miraculous
Works?
We Will Find that
Answer – Next Week
As We Will Continue to
Dig Deeper
Within God’s Words.
Last Week, We Ended with a QUESTION:
With The Departure of
Jesus
From This World,
Did That Bring an End
To Jesus’ Miraculous
Works?
And I Hope That Your
Answer is a - NO!
Jesus Tells us:
(John 14:12) “Anyone who has faith in Me,
Will do what I have been doing.
He will do even greater things than these,
because I am going to the Father.”
And Here Are 5 Points
Which We Need to Take
Note Of:
1st) Since these Works
will Continue,
Those Works Which
Jesus had been doing,
They MUST DEMONSTRATE
THE SAME CHARACTER
Which Was Within
Jesus’ Work.
In other words,
Any And ALL Miracles
Must Be Done Within
Humble Obedience
To the Father.
2nd: These works (Miracles)
·
Must Flow Out - Of,
·
Come From, And Being Delivered
Out of CONTINUED FAITH
WITHIN JESUS CHRIST,
And Not Out of a Power
Which Is Placed Under
Or Coming From
Our Human Control.
3rd: These Works Must Be
Done
IN And THROUGH PRAYER
And Will Therefore,
They Must Be Called to
Answer
All Of the Conditions
Required
For Effective Prayer.
(Example: Forgiveness,
and Obedience)
4th: These Works,
Which Are Truly - Amazing,
Will Be Done by JESUS HIMSELF
Through Answering
The Prayers of His Followers.
As Instructed By
Jesus: (John 14:14b) “I Will Do It.”
5th: These Works,
These Miracles
Of Jesus
Will
(John 14:13) “Bring Glory to the
Father.”
YOU SEE –
Here Is The THING:
That We Need to Remember:
ANY WORK -
Which Does Not
Bring Glory to The Father -
WE - Cannot Claim That
Jesus Is the Author Of
And therefore,
It Does Not Rise from
True Faith in Him.
I Believe That Makes
Sense
But Tell Me;
How Should We Process,
How Should We Understand
JESUS’ STATEMENT,
That These Works Are to
Be Greater
·
Then Those Which Were
Performed
o
By Jesus
§
During His Earthly
Ministry?
Is It Not Difficult To
Even Begin
·
To Imagine - MIRACLES
o
Which Are More
Impressive
o Then Turning Water into
Wine. (John 2:1-11)
What About Giving
Sight
To One Who Was Born
Blind? (John 9:1-34)
And What About the Raising
Someone
From The Dead,
Who Had Been Dead,
And Buried for Four
Days? (John 11:1-44)
By Just Looking At 3
Miracles of the Thousand,
·
It Isn’t Hard to Discount
Jesus’ Words
o When He Said:
‘Greater Miracles Will
Be Done
In The Future After He
Leaves.’
I HAVE TO SAY
Jesus’ Statement - Creates Many
Questions.
·
In Mark's Gospel, Chapter 16,
After Jesus Gave the Great
Commission Speech
To His Disciples –
He Said:
"And These Signs
Shall Follow Them That Believe,
In My Name They Shall
Cast Out Devils!
They Shall Speak with
New Tongues!
If They Drink Any
Deadly Thing It Shall Not Harm Them!
They Shall Lay Hands on
The Sick and They Shall Recover!"
WOW
So, My Question Then Becomes:
Where Are These Signs?
First, We Need to Recognize
·
That Jesus Was
Speaking
o To The Inner Circle
Group
§ Which He Had Called
·
Them to Be His
Apostles
In The New Testament
Days,
·
One Of the Signs
·
Which They Believed
That Made
o You An Apostleship Was
o Your Ability To ‘Work
§ Or Create Miracles’.
Right or Wrong,
That Was their
Thinking Back Then.
You Were an Apostle IF
You Could DO….
If You Think That Going
Through Our Pandemic
·
Was Difficult and Tough
And of How Things Are
Now Different
Then How They Were
Before.
Just Think OF the
Before and After
The Years of Jesus’
Ministry!
Most of What They
Thought
That Used to Be Right and
Holy
Is Now Worthless and
Evil!
And Then We Have Paul
Within Him Defending
His Apostleship
To The Corinthian
Church (2 Corinthians 12:12)
“The Signs of a True
Apostle
Were Performed Among
You with Utmost Patience,
With Signs and Wonders
and Mighty Works.”
You Know,
We Need to Recognize
That
Not All Disciples/Apostles
Preformed Miracles.
And In–Fact,
Even Some Miracles
Were Performed by Non-Apostles.
Stephen Is Just One
Example of This.
He was Not an Apostle,
He Was Just a Believer
But He Performed a Miracle.
And - Not All of The
Believers
·
Have Worked Miracles.
However, We Also Need to
Remember
That Not Everyone Is
Expected to.
In Following The Works
Of The Apostles,
·
Through The Book Of Acts,
·
We Indeed Find That
They Did Do
o The Types of Works
§ Which Jesus Had Done.
1. The Lame Were Healed
and they can Walk!
2. The Blind Were Given
Their
Sight Back and they
Can See!
3. And The Dead Were
Raised Back to Life!
So, It Is True,
After Jesus Had Left
To Sit at the
Right-Hand of the Father,
There Were Some of the
Apostles
And Some Non-Apostles
Who Did Do The Same
Type of Miracles
Which Jesus Christ Had
Done,
But - Are Those ‘Days of
Miracles’
All Gone?
Did Miracles Truly and
Really End
·
After the Death of That
First Generation
o After Jesus Had Left?
I Cannot Find Anything
Anywhere Within the
Holy Scripture
That Would Indicate
That After the Death of
John
With Him Being the Last
Apostle Alive,
There Is Nothing Which
Says,
That The Miraculous
Works Of Jesus
Would Be Gone And Ended!
However – History Does
Seem to Have Recorded
·
Different Periods of Time
o When Miracles Were More
Evident
o Within Certain
Segments of The Church.
And There Have Been
Scattered Reports
Of Confirmed Miracles Within
the Church Even Today.
However – We Need to Be
Cautious!
Most Of What You Hear
About
They Involve the
‘So Called Miracle
Ministries of Today’
Leave You with Much to
Be Desired!
And Many of Those
Within Our Today,
·
Within Their - ACTIONS
o Has Brought TOTAL Disgrace
To
§ The True Works of God.
The Fact That We Do
Not See Any Evidence
·
Of True Miracles Today,
o That Doesn’t Necessarily
Mean
§ That The Days of Miracles
Are Over.
I Would Rather Fault
Man Than God.
A. The Prophet Isaiah
Said, "The Hand Of The Lord Is Not Short, That He Cannot Save, Neither Is
His Ear Heavy, That He Cannot Hear, But Your Sins Have Separated You From Your
God.
B. The People Were
Ready To Blame God For That Lack Of The Demonstration Of God's Work In Their
Midst.
2. Throughout The
Bible God Did Manifest His Power To Man By The Working Of Miracles.
A. He Declared That He
Was The Lord, And He Changed Not.
B. Jesus Christ Is The
Same, Yesterday, Today And Forever.
3. We Have Seen Too
Many Miracles In Answer To Believing Prayer To Be So Foolish As To Deny The
Power Of God To Work Miracles Today.
4. In The Same Token, I
Must Confess That I Do Not See Anyone Doing The Works Of Christ In A Truly
Consistent Manner Today, Much Less, Greater Works.
A. Is It Our
Materialistic Society With Its Prevailing Humanistic Thought That Keeps Us From
Seeing This Special Work Of God?
B. Is It Possibly That
There Is No One That God Could Truly Entrust These Gifts To? That He Knows The
Pride Of Our Hearts, And That We Would Prostitute These Gifts To Our Own Gain? Look
At How Many Of The Servants Of God That He Began To Use Who In Turn Used Those
Gifts To Enrich Themselves.
5. We Are Told That
The Greater Works Would Be Wrought Because He Was Going To The Father. What Is
The Relationship With The Greater Works And His Going To The Father?
A. We Know That He Is
Today At The Right Hand Of The Father Making Intercession For Us.
B. In A Moment He Will
Be Telling Them That He Will Pray To The Father For Them That He Would Send
Them Another Comforter, Even The Spirit Of Truth Whom The World Could Not
Receive.
C. Peter Used The
Descent Of The Spirit As Proof That Jesus Had Ascended To The Father.
D. It Was Through The
Power Of The Holy Spirit That The Apostles Worked The Miracles Among The People.
II. "AND
WHATSOEVER YOU SHALL ASK IN MY NAME, THAT WILL I DO THAT THE FATHER MIGHT BE
GLORIFIED IN THE SON, IF YOU ASK ANYTHING IN MY NAME, I WILL DO IT."
A. This Is A Very
Broad Promise Indeed, One That Many Of The "Name It And Claim It" False
Prophets Have Used Many Times.
1. Again, Who Is Jesus
Making This Promise To? His Disciples, Whom He Had Called To Be Apostles.
2. What Were The
Requirements Of Discipleship?
A. If Any Any Man
Would Come After Me, Let Him Deny Himself, Take Up His Cross, And Follow Me.
B. These Words Should
Be Written In Red Across This Great Promise. The Promise Was Made To Those Who
Had Denied Themselves, To Take Up Their Crosses That They Might Follow Him.
C. It Would
Necessarily Follow That You Would Not Be Asking Anything For Yourself, To
Consume On Your Own Self, For You Had Denied Self.
D. James Said That You
Ask And Receive Not Because You Ask Amiss, That You Might Consume It On Your
Own Lusts.
B. We See In The Book
Of Acts How In The Name Of Jesus The Same Works Of Christ Were Wrought.
1. In Acts 4 When
Peter Was Going Into The Temple To Pray And Was Accosted By The Lame Man, He
Said To Him, Such As I Have Give I Unto You, In The Name Of Jesus Christ Of
Nazareth, Rise Up And Walk.
2. Peter Said To Aeneas,
"Jesus Christ Maketh Thee Whole."
3. In Acts 16, Paul
Said To The Evil Spirit, "I Command You In The Name Of Jesus Christ To
Come Out Of Her."
C. All Of The Answered
Prayers Were To Be To The Glory Of The Father. "That The Father Might Be
Glorified In The Son."
1. As We See The
Answers To Prayer, We Are Not To Glory In The One Who Prayed For Us, But Glory
In God Who Answered The Prayer.
2. Let Your Light So
Shine Before Men, That When They See Your Good Works They Glorify Your Father
Which Is In Heaven.
