Thank you to our worship team. What a great new
song. There were two lines in that song that
really resonated with me. The first is the line
that was, teach me to abide. And the implication
of that is that it's not natural. It's not something
that you know how to do apart from being taught.
And I think that speaks to the humanity of us
all. Amen. Like, you just need... The things,
you know, it's like where Paul says, like, the
things I want to do, I don't do. The things I
don't want to do, I do. Like, oh, wretched man
that I am. And like, hey, we want to abide, but
it's not something that comes natural for us.
And I think, man, yeah. And the other line in
that is this declaration that I depend on you,
God. And I've said it before. I think one of
the most valuable things that you experience
when you travel internationally, especially in...
very impoverished areas is they don't have all
of the luxuries, if you will, that we depend
on to just get us through life. And so there's
this deep dependence upon the Spirit of God in
ways that are just... It almost feels artificial
because you're like, how is it that you're so
dependent on the Spirit of God? And it's like,
oh, because you don't have money to bail you
out, and you don't have a car to bail you out,
and you don't have whatever it is to bail you
out and to get you through things. And I'm just,
yeah, I think of that every time, you know, that
I hear that song. It's just this declaration
of dependence upon God. It's harder for us as
Americans. You need to know that. because we
just have the stuff, don't we? And we just depend
on ourselves in so many capacities. Well, that
has nothing to do with the sermon, so we're off
to a good start, of course, digressing already.
Really quick, though, before the message, one
more reminder, maybe another one after this.
Baptism Sunday is coming two weeks from today.
If you can believe it, it'll be March 1st, two
weeks from today. We celebrated the man -made
holiday called Valentine's and overspent our
money on that, and here we are moving towards
March. Baptism Sunday, we have a number of baptisms
already lined up and I've met with almost all
these people a few more meetings ago and my goodness,
the stories that you're gonna get to hear and
be a part of are really, really special. So if
that's of interest to you, I know there's some
of you, it happens this way every time, like
you're just, you're scared, you're wrestling
with it, it's been something that you've been
thinking about and I just wanna tell you, like
it's a moment of celebration that if God is calling
you or poking your heart, you need to respond.
Even if it's just to explore it, just to have
a conversation with me or someone else on our
team and just say, hey, I'm thinking about this
or my child is thinking about this and I would
love to express or talk more about that. We're
here for that. March 1st, two weeks from today,
it's going to be, I think it's two weeks from
today. Is that right? Yeah. It's going to be
tremendous. So I want to just put that out there.
There's a form on our website that you can go
and just complete. It comes directly to me or
you can just come talk with us after service
too. We'd love to connect with you in that way.
Okay. Into our series, last Sunday we kicked
off a new series entitled Before I Go. It's going
to end up being a seven -week series with Baptism
Sunday kind of sandwiched in between there, looking
specifically at this very intimate moment that
Jesus shared in the upper room, upper room above
this house, random house, where he was in this
upper room with his disciples the night before
he was crucified, a moment that is often known
as his farewell discourse. That's the name around
these chapters of John that we're studying over
these few weeks. So these are some of, in essence,
what this means is these are some of his final
human moments on earth before his death, and
certainly some of his final words on earth before
his death. Obviously, of course, before his resurrection.
We know that after his resurrection, he appeared
for about 40 days to many people. There's additional
words and things that Jesus did. But before his
death, before his crucifixion, these are his
final moments. And certainly these are his final
words with his people, with his disciples. And
last week we started in chapter 13 with Jesus
saying to them, hey, I'm summarizing it. Hey,
I'm not going to be with you much longer. And
before I go, there's a foundational thing that
I want to make sure that I give you. And it's
new. And it's this. Love one another as I have
loved you. That was where he started this whole
farewell discourse, if you will. And you may
remember I said last week that the placement
of something tells us something about its importance,
right? I don't know how many of you are like
me. If you get an email, you immediately open
the email and skim the first two lines or maybe
the bottom lines if it's a long email because
you're probably going to get some sense of like...
What's in this email? Why are they writing me?
Is it important? Et cetera. Not that all of your
emails aren't important, of course, but, you
know, you're just skimming, like, what is this?
And Jesus, right out of the gate, so to speak,
at this very, on the front end of these moments
with his disciple, these very intimate moments,
I should say, he's like, hey, I'm not going to
be with you much longer. There's some things
I really want to tell you, and the most important
one. It's foundational to everything else that
I'm going to tell you is this. It's new. Love
one another as I have loved you. And so that's
where it started. By the way, side note, but
we are very encouraged to see a number of you,
quite a few of you, I don't know, 50 or more
of you, I think, subscribe to what we've called
The Carryover. It's a digital, if you will, daily
devotional that's really tied to the series that
we're in. How many of you spent some time in
it this week? I'll close my eyes and reopen them.
All right, a couple of you. If you love it, give
all the credit in the world to Preston because
it's phenomenal. He spent so much time on doing
that. A lot of you took paper copies too, by
the way. None of you downloaded the EPUB, and
Preston was very discouraged about that. But
I don't even know where to tell you to go to
do that, so I'm of no help there. But it's been
encouraging to see your engagement with that
is the point. It's been encouraging for me as
well. It's been challenging for me. I'm trying
to engage with it the same way that you are.
And so if you haven't subscribed or downloaded,
you really ought to. We're always going to have
copies for the next week near the door. Not as
many as we did last week, but if you prefer the
analog way of life, then that's there for you.
So it's ready to go. Anyhow, we're moving ahead
is the point in this conversation between Jesus
and his disciples. We're moving ahead. Fresh
off this new command that Jesus gives them, one
of the most relatable disciples, in my opinion,
among the 11 that are still there, because remember,
Judas has left. He's betrayed Jesus, so it's
11 of them. And one of the most relatable, if
you will, disciples, a guy named Peter, keeps
the conversation going with Jesus. And this is
what he asked Jesus in verse 36. Lord, Simon
Peter said to him, where are you going? Jesus
answered him, where I'm going, you cannot follow
me now. but you will follow later. Lord, Peter
asks, why can't I follow you now? I will lay
down my life for you. Jesus replied, will you
lay down your life for me? Truly, I tell you,
a rooster will not crow until you have denied
me three times. Don't let your hearts be troubled.
This is end of chapter 14. 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'm going to prepare a place for you? And if
I go away and prepare a place for you, I will
come again and I will take you to myself so that
where I am, you may also be. You know the way
where I'm going. Lord, Thomas said, we don't
know where you're going. How can we know the
way? Jesus told him, you sang this earlier in
the song, I am the way and the truth and the
life. No one comes to the father except through
me. If you know me, you will also know my father.
From now on, you do not know him and have, you
do know him, I should say, and have seen him.
Remember, Jesus had dropped these two, what I'll
call kind of big truth bombs on them. And they
were what? I'm going to be glorified. Remember,
we talked about a child finding a rock and holding
it up and saying, look, look at the incredible
worth and value of this. And so Jesus said, I'm
going to be lifted up. I'm going to be glorified.
So he told him that. And he had told him, love
one another in a new way. And good old Peter,
presumably kind of speaking on behalf of the
rest of the disciples. I don't know if you, when
you were in school, if you had that friend who
would just say anything, right? And you're like,
I'm not going to say it. You say it. And there's
always the one, right? Well, the one was Peter.
Hey, Peter, why don't you ask Jesus where he's
going? And so Jesus said, I'm going to be glorified,
love one another in a new way. And Peter, presumably
speaking on behalf of all the rest of the disciples
and never want to miss an opportunity to say
something dumb. is like, yeah, that all sounds
cool, but let's go back to the whole you're going
away part, Jesus. Where are you going? Where
are you going? Peter, it seems, just completely
ignores what Jesus had just said. Instead, he
jumps back to the thing that what? Worried him
the most. And that's important for you to understand.
I mean, he heard it. He heard the things that
Jesus said, but the worry of his heart, the...
preoccupation of his mind, if you will, said
like, okay, that's all good. We'll figure out
the love thing. But I want to go back to something
that you said, which is that you're going away.
And where is it that you are going, Jesus? That
was the question that Peter had for Jesus. What
was Jesus's response? He doesn't tell him where.
Instead, he tells him, you can't come, but you
will later. That's not probably the answer that
Peter wanted. When you get to Tuesday this week
in the addition of the carryover, if you're engaging
with it, you're going to find this question of
where that is very common in the Gospel of John.
And we kind of put it under the magnifying glass
for you to go and to do a little bit further
kind of exploration of this question. But what
you'll find is that this question of where is
a frequent theme. asked in the book of John.
I'm going to give you a few examples of what
I mean. This is in John chapter 1, very first
chapter. This is right after John the Baptist's
testimony about who Jesus was. He's about to
come onto the scene. His ministry is about to
kind of take off, if you will. And this is the
dialogue. The next day, John was standing with
two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing
by, he said, look, the Lamb of God. The two disciples
heard him say this and follow Jesus. When Jesus
turned and noticed them following him, he asked
them, what are you looking for? And they said
to him, rabbi, which means teacher. Here's the
question. Where are you staying? Where are you
staying? John chapter four. This is the conversation
between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the
well. She asked Jesus this. Sir, said the woman,
you don't even have a bucket and the well is
deep. So here it is. Where do you get this living
water that you speak of? You aren't greater than
our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well
and drank from it himself, as did his sons and
livestock. One more example, John chapter 7.
So Jesus is facing opposition in this moment
as he's teaching in the temple. Then Jesus said,
I am only with you for a short time. Then I'm
going to the one who sent me. You will look for
me, but you will not find me. And where I am,
you cannot come. Then the Jews said to one another,
here's the question, where does he intend to
go that we won't find him? He doesn't intend
to go to the Jewish people dispersed among the
Greeks and teach the Greeks, does he? Those pagans.
So you see it by now, right? All throughout John's
gospel, and I just gave you three examples, but
all throughout the gospel, and if you, again,
if you're engaging with us in the carryover Tuesday,
when you get there, you'll see it. We kind of
teased it out a little bit more. We want you
to go and see that for yourself. All through
the gospel, John, there's this recurring question
directed at Jesus. Where? Where, where, where?
And I would just say there are a few questions
that expose our humanity more than the question
of where. If you have a child under like five
years old, their favorite question is what? Why?
Why? Why, mommy? Why, daddy? Like, because I
said so. For the ninth millionth time. But there
are a few questions, even as adults, that expose
our humanity more than the question of where,
if you think about it. Where will I... meet somebody?
Where will I feel safe, maybe emotionally or
physically or mentally? Where will I find community?
Where is it that my family will be happiest?
Where is a very normal question that we ask probably
more subconsciously than we realize in a variety
of different capacities every single day? The
question of where is wildly human, if you think
about it. And so what was Jesus' reply when Peter,
very human, very like us, was like, hey, where
are you going? What was Jesus' reply? Not to
tell him where, but rather when. And the answer
was not now, but later. And it's a very similar,
I'm going to show you this, a very similar tone
to an earlier question at the beginning of the
scene. In the upper room, Jesus is preparing
to wash their feet. He came to Simon Peter. This
is what it says. This is verses 6 and 7. He came
to Simon Peter who asked him, Lord, are you going
to wash my feet? Peter again. Jesus answered
him, what I am doing you don't realize now, but
afterwards you will understand. So you see the
similarity, I hope. In this case, it was like,
what is it that you're doing? But later, it's
where is it that you're going? And Jesus' reply
is very similar. Not now, but later. You don't
understand it now, but you will later. You can't
go with me now, but you will go with me later.
You see the similarities, I trust. But Peter's
just not going to let it go. He's just not going
to let it go. And in typical Peter fashion, he's
going to write a check that he can't cash with
Jesus. Why can't I go with you was his response.
And then what does he say? I will what? Lay down
my life for you. These are big. Bold words from
Peter. And I said earlier that if you read through
the Gospel of John, you pay careful attention,
you'll find this theme of where throughout the
book. I'm going to give you a little bit additional
homework if you're interested and you want to
learn to study your Bible. Go through the Book
of John and try and identify all the moments
that are marked by irony in the Book of John.
Because the John who wrote the, recorded for
us the Gospel of John, he had a particular knack
for kind of drawing out the irony of moments.
And this hollow promise here from Peter to Jesus,
I think is just like dripping with irony. And
we should ask, well, what's ironic about it?
Two things are ironic about it. The first is
that Peter, I'm sorry, Jesus just flat out knows
that Peter is not going to do that. Peter's like,
hey, I'll lay down my life for you. And Jesus
is like, actually, it's gonna be the opposite.
You're gonna actually deny me three times and
then a rooster's gonna grow. And so Jesus has
this just, In fact, he uses the word truly. What
does he mean by that? He means I am certain that
this is what's going to happen. So this isn't
just my hunch. This is not just like my suspicion,
Peter. This is actually a fact. And the fact
is, you're not going to lay down your life for
me. In fact, you're going to deny me three times
before a rooster crows. So there's a lot of irony
in that. The second thing that I find ironic
in this scene, and more significantly probably,
is the irony that it would actually be Jesus
who would lay down his life for Peter, not Peter
for Jesus. John chapter 10, verse 11. This is
how Jesus described himself before this scene
in the upper room. I am the good shepherd. The
good shepherd does what? Lays down his life for
the sheep. The boldness of Peter's, I'll say,
hollow promise is just like infused with irony.
Like, how ironic. And then you get to verse 1
of chapter 14. And Jesus shifts his words from
addressing just Peter. So it's like Peter and
Jesus were having this kind of individual moment,
surrounded, of course, by the others. But he
shifts his focus from just addressing Peter to
really all the disciples. And these incredibly
beautiful words of comfort from Jesus, he's reading
the room. I mean, what I would give, there's
no amount of money I would give to be able to
go back in time and just be in the room with
Jesus. Everything he did, he did perfectly. That's
one thing to say. But he also just had a way,
if you just pick any story you want to in the
Gospels, and you see like Jesus always just had
a way of just knowing the need for the moment.
He could just read the room. He could read people.
He could sense their true need. He was a master
question asker. He just knew how to do it. And
he's, don't you know, he's just reading the room.
He's even working through Peter's just bold kind
of arrogance. And he's reading the room, and
he shifts back, or he draws back from just Peter,
and he's going to give him all this beautiful
comfort, words of comfort. He's reading the room.
He's sensing their, what, anxiety? He's sensing
their fear surrounding his imminent departure.
And what does he tell them to do in verse 1?
Don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in
God. Believe also in me. You could make an argument
that that's one of the most, like, I don't know,
duh. verses in the scripture, right? Like, oh,
thanks. Don't let your heart be troubled. Got
it. Thanks, Jesus. Never thought of that. But
it also seems to be different coming from Jesus,
doesn't it? Like, if you came up to me and said,
hey, I'm scared because I'm going through whatever,
I would say, hey, don't be scared. You tell your
little ones when they're scared at night, like,
hey, don't be scared. We're here. We got you.
And we're doing our best as humans to offer words
of comfort in that moment. But there's something
different when Jesus says, hey, don't let your
heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also
in me. And if you were here with us last week,
I mentioned that this genre of farewell discourse
is not unique here to Jesus. In fact, you can
go back in the scripture and you can find several
different examples. I mentioned Moses. And if
you go back in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter
31, I'm going to show you this. Moses is giving
his own farewell discourse essentially to the
nation of Israel. Listen for similar language
to what Jesus has just said in John 14, Deuteronomy
31 .6. Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified
or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the
one who will go with you. So he will not leave
you or abandon you. So just draw a parallel with
me here between the two scenes. So the Israelites,
their leader Moses is preparing to leave. The
disciples, their leader Jesus is preparing to
leave. preparing to leave. The Israelites, there's
a fear of what's in front of them. We don't know
life without Moses leading us. This is scary.
The disciples, there's fear of the unknown in
front of them. Like, Jesus, you are our guy,
man. We don't know how to do this without you.
Moses gives them a command to not be afraid.
Jesus gives them a command to not be afraid.
And what Jesus is trying to do is he's trying
to push fear and worry out of their hearts by
this reassurance that his presence is not permanent,
but rather to prepare eternity for all who come
to him by faith. And much has been made like,
was Jesus giving us a physical description of
heaven? Because what did he say? In my father's
house are many rooms. The answer is, I mean,
this is the honest pastoral answer. I have no
idea. I have no idea if he's given us a physical
description of Jesus or of heaven, rather. It
seems unlikely, but rather what he is doing is
he's trying to make a point that it is big enough
for all who come to him by faith, which presumably
at the end of history will be millions, if not
billions of people inhabiting one space, heaven.
And by the way, a little fun side theological
nugget here for you if you want it. People will
ask sometimes, like we've had this question come
up in Alpha, for example. People ask, like, did
Jesus really believe that he was God and he was
one with the Father? Like, he really believed
that. And there's a lot of evidence that you
could pour into. The simple answer is yes. And
there are many places that illustrate that. One
of them is right here in this verse that we just
read where he says, believe in God, believe also
in me. What was he saying? We are the same. So
to believe in one is to believe in both. He was
equating himself with the Father. So it's just
a side little theological gift for you. He's
equating himself with the Father, co -equal.
And you could digress so much into that to say,
of course he believed it. Otherwise, he could
have bypassed the cross because they were essentially
trying to get him to deny his divinity. Were
they not? All you got to do is deny this. And
he's like, no, I am essentially God. Anyhow,
side note. Jesus is doing his best here to help
these disciples understand. And when you get
to verse four, it's just clear that they still
don't understand. They're looking for a literal
answer from Jesus. Again, it's like your five
-year -old is just, but why, but why, but why,
but why? And you're like, you're not getting
it. And so first it was Peter like, hey, where
are you going? And Jesus tries to like walk them
into this. And then you get to verse four or
verse five rather, where Thomas now comes into
the conversation, says this to Jesus, Lord, Thomas
said, we don't know where you're going. How can
we know the way? Thomas represents all of us
in that moment, right? Like, how is it that if
we don't know the destination, we can know the
way to get there? If I'm like, hey, meet me this
afternoon. And you're like, where? And I'm like.
What street are you going to get on? You don't
even know. It's impossible to meet me if you
don't know where you're going. But if I tell
you, meet me at Broadway and Houghton, you know
how to get there. You know the path to take to
get you there. So he's very logical reasoning
here by Thomas. It's just clear that they just
weren't getting it. And so Jesus is going to
double down. And make it even clearer for them,
what was Jesus' reply? Maybe one of the most
well -known verses in the entire Bible. This
is how he responds to Thomas. Jesus told him,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me. So in
Jesus' response, what was he communicating to
them? Several things. First, the way. Remember,
where was their primary concern? The way is not
a literal way, nor is it a set of directions,
but rather a way of life, which is a commitment
to following Jesus. This is where, when Jesus
starts to talk about the newness of just all
things, this is what he means. You want to understand
this as a literal checklist, and Jesus is instead
saying, I'm inviting you into a surrendered life
in relationship with me. It's a commitment to
follow Jesus. Jesus said this earlier in John
chapter 12. If anyone serves me, he must also
follow me. So this is what he's essentially inviting
them to do. Come follow me. Where I am, there
my servant will also be. If anyone serves me,
the Father will honor him. And so here's what
I will say to you, friends. If Jesus is, if he's
anything more than a good teacher or a guide
to a better place, which I think he is, he's
actually rather the way to the Father. And I,
yeah, there's, I have so many, anyhow, I'll let
it go. But I just have a lot of thoughts on the
prevailing narrative around the usefulness of
Jesus. Jesus is not useful to us in the sense
of like a free ride to heaven. But rather like
this is what he's inviting us into. Like you
have to come follow me. You have to surrender
your life to me. You have to walk the narrow
path that Matthew chapter 5 talks about. Few
are those who find it difficult is the way. And
if I asked you, hey, how do you get to Phoenix?
Like literally, how do you get to Phoenix? You
would tell me, all right, head down Houghton
and then take a left. And then when you get to
the freeway, take a ride on an on -ramp and then
just stay on that for a hundred some miles and
you're at Phoenix. Like there's a literal...
way to Phoenix. If I asked you, like, how do
you make the honor roll at your school? You probably
have some, what do you call it, criteria that
you're aware of. Like, well, you have to have
at least this many AP classes and you have to
have at least the minimum GPA, like, et cetera.
If I asked you, how do you get to heaven? The
list of directions that you would give me would
be what? I mean, it would be just a really fun
experiment to go stand on the street corner downtown
and say, hey, how do you get to heaven? I would
imagine that you would maybe get some answers
like, well, you got to go to church. You got
to get baptized. You got to volunteer. You got
to do good things. You got to maybe throw God
a little bit of your money. Like, how do you
get to Phoenix? One, two, three, and four. How
do you get to heaven? One, two, three, and four.
No. There is no list. It is a person, and that's
what Jesus was trying to get them to see. Like,
there's no checklist to heaven. There's a person
that gets you to heaven. He's the way, the truth,
and the life. And that's what he was trying to
communicate to them in that moment. That's the
way to the Father. That's the way to eternal
life. There is no other way. And so there's just
a couple, maybe one. I don't even remember how
many points I have. Just maybe one point that
I really wanted us to get from this moment between
Jesus and his disciples. And it's this. Salvation
is exclusively found in Jesus. And here's what
I will say. Despite the popular narrative. All
roads don't lead to heaven. All roads don't lead
to heaven. There is an exclusivity to salvation.
And yet, and this is the tension of our church
that I love so much. And yet, it is available
to any and all who by faith trust in Jesus. So
the exclusivity of it is wide. It will at the
end of history include millions if not billions
of people. And when you hear the number billion,
it doesn't seem very exclusive. It is in the
sense that there's only one way to get there.
It's by Jesus, by faith in Jesus. But here's
the good news. He can receive as many as will
come to him. There's no capacity. He can check
you in faster than you can show up. There's an
exclusivity to it that is widely available to
any and all who come to him by faith. And what's
so wild is that later in the book of Acts, so
this is after Jesus has gone, this is after the
church has been established and it's growing,
this same Peter who was so confused by Jesus'
words earlier in John chapter 14, he now seems
to have total clarity. Look at what he says in
Acts chapter 4. There is salvation. This is the
same Peter. There is salvation in no one else.
For there is no other name under heaven given
to people by which we must be saved. That's the
same Peter. Just think of the irony of that,
right? Like he was before, he was like, we don't
know the way. And Jesus is like, I am the way,
I am the truth, I am the life. And then later
in Acts chapter four, when now they're kind of
being put under, when the heat's been turned
up on them and they're having to give a testimony
and to defend this very faith now that Jesus
has entrusted to them, they're like, hey, we're
pretty clear on this. There is salvation in no
one else. There is no other name under heaven
by which people must be saved. Here's what I
will say. The aim of Christianity is not to get
more people to go to churches. The aim of Christianity
is to shepherd people towards surrendering their
lives to Jesus so that they willingly follow
him. And obviously as a pastor, I keep up with
the... trends in the pastoral world and church
growth strategies. Educators, you spend time
in that. We all have our niche that we are interested
in. There's a growing fascination, if you will,
with how do we get more people to come to church?
I suppose that's a necessary question for us
to be asking, but it's easy to get caught up
in the trap to think that that's the aim of Christianity.
The aim of Christianity is not to get more people
to come to churches, but to shepherd people towards
surrendering their lives to Jesus so that they
willingly follow him. And you know what that
often translates to? People coming to church.
You guys are sharp. And Jesus also claimed here
in John 14 to be the truth. So similar to what
we just established, there aren't many truths
that help us arrive at salvation. There's only
one, it's found in Jesus. And if you know any
of the Sermon on the Mount, so that's this sermon,
if you will, that Jesus gave to this gathered
group of people. It's in Matthew chapters five
to seven. There are multiple places where Jesus
said, you have heard it said, and then what would
he say? But I tell you. What was he doing? And
there's like, I don't know. Six or seven of those
statements at least. You have heard it said,
love your neighbor as yourself. And then Jesus
would say, but I tell you. And then he would
give them this new, updated, radicalized Jesus
form of the old law, if you will. What was he
saying? You know the law. That's what he would
say. You have heard it said. That's another way
of saying, you know the law, but I am superior
to the law. You have heard it said, you know
the law, but I tell you, I am superior to the
law. That's essentially what that translates
to mean. He also came to fulfill the law and
the prophets. What does that mean? It means that
he becomes the single source of truth, the only
truth, the only true measure of righteousness.
And when we hear that, we're inclined to think,
how arrogant. And not lost on me is the perceived
arrogance of the exclusivity of Christianity.
Long, run -on sentence. I'm aware of that. But
what gets lost in that is just how wildly generous
Jesus is with that invitation and becomes the
single, the true measure of righteousness. And
so when we hear that, we're inclined to think
how arrogant, like how restrictive, how whatever,
whatever, whatever. But what did Jesus tell us
about truth? John chapter 8, 32, you will know
the truth and the truth will set you what? Free.
It's not actually like you're not signing your
freedom away by surrendering your life to Jesus.
You're actually taking on freedom in a sense
that you've never experienced it before. There's
freedom in truth. And then finally he describes
himself as the life, which is somewhat ironic
at that moment if you think about it, because
he's just been telling that he's basically going
to what? Die. This is his farewell discourse.
And now all of a sudden he's like, I'm the life.
I'm like, run that by us again one more time.
The deliverance and freedom he was about to provide
was not a political or social deliverance, which
most of the Jews were seeking. And don't you
know, by osmosis, if you will, by proximity,
the disciples as well, like, hey, you understand
everybody's upset, Jesus, because you have not
delivered us from Rome, and they all thought
you would. And so they're all seeking this political
and social deliverance, but a true deliverance
from a life of bondage to sin and death to a
life of freedom and eternity is what Jesus was
ultimately offering them. And there's just one
last thing. I went really long last week, so
I'm not going to go long this week. I owe you
a few minutes. And I just struggled with this
message because I... It's my job to kind of draw
out things for us to see. And I just, I felt
like the text is the text today, if that makes
sense. And there wasn't a lot of like hidden
things there that aren't plainly obvious to us.
But there is one thing that I just kept coming
back to. And I don't even think it's the main
point of the text. But if you remember from our
text last week, Jesus has given them this new
commandment to love one another as he had loved
them. And then you fast forward to this text,
and we just looked at today, and guess what?
I just wanted us to see it. It's easy to miss
because it's not the main point of the text,
but he again practices and models the very love
that he's called him to. How so? Because now
it's Peter's turn to deny him. And it's going
to happen just shortly after this whole scene.
So think about it. Judas betrayed him, and Jesus
is like, Love one another as I have loved you.
By the way, I'd wash the betrayer's feet, if
you will. And Peter's going to deny him. And
yet here in this moment, Jesus is just extending
and modeling the same love, this newness of love,
not for the people that are lovable per se, but
the people who will deny you and the people who
will reject you and betray you and all the things.
And there's two of them in the room and one's
gone. Peter, well -meaning Peter, well -meaning
Peter. Just a short time later, he's like, hey,
you were with the guy. I don't know him. You
were with the guy. I don't know him. We saw you
with Jesus. I don't know him. And then the rooster
crows, and Peter's like, oh, turns out Jesus
was right. And yet, and yet, he's in the room,
and Jesus is saying, this is the newness of this
love. And then if you were to go to the end of
the book, John chapter 21, you see this incredible
moment where Jesus restores Peter three times.
Ironic? No. Intentional. Like, do you love me,
Peter? Yes. Feed my sheep. Do you love me, Peter?
Lord, you know that I love you. Feed my sheep.
And then it's this dialogue between him and Jesus.
And you just see this, like, restoration happen
in that moment. And so I pointed out to us because
I wanted you to see that once again, Jesus is
practicing and modeling the very thing that he
was calling them and us to. This wasn't just
like, I'm Jesus, do as I say. It was, I'm Jesus,
live as I have lived. And they were getting a
front row seat to this. They were getting a front
row seat to this between Judas' betrayal and
Peter's denial and all the other things that
would transpire. And so I'll close by just maybe
giving you a couple of rhetorical questions to
chew on. What is it that you're seeking after
today? So take that where question that Peter
had and Thomas as well, and just apply it to
your own lives. What is it that you're seeking
today? And I understand I'm asking what, and
they were asking where, but a lot of times, The
where is to try and satisfy the what that we're
looking for, if that makes sense. What is it
that you're seeking today? Perhaps the question
of where resonates with you. Like, where can
I find true happiness? Where can I find true
peace? Where can I find true contentment? Where
can I find acceptance? Where can I find true
life? Those are very normal human questions.
As a society, we're asking them in some very
sophisticated, subtle ways. Social media is an
example of like, where can I find acceptance?
Where can I find validation for who I am? And
Jesus gives us that answer with an invitation
to come follow him. And when we discover and
surrender to him, we find truth and we find life.
And I will just tell you that one of my greatest
fears as a pastor is that you would see the means
of Christianity as the end, so to speak. In other
words, if you're checking those boxes, those
directional boxes of how to get to heaven, that
you would unintentionally pacify your conscience
to believe that you are in fact following Jesus.
And I know maybe it's a bold thing to say that
to you, but... More importantly than you coming
to our church is you surrendering your life to
Jesus. More importantly than you giving your
time or your money. That's the fruit that grows
in your life when you first make that decision
to surrender to Jesus. And one of my deepest
desires, maybe a more positive way to say it
than one of my greatest fears. Let's try this
route. deepest desires is that you understand
that you wouldn't see the means of Christianity.
So the attending, the serving, the giving as
the end all be all. Does that make sense to you?
But rather that the end is Jesus. That's the
end. That's what we're after. And in the similar
capacity that the disciples were confused, we
get confused ourselves. Where? How do I get there?
And don't you know that they were just like so
hopeful in that moment that Jesus would be like,
all right, well, here's the deal. The Romans
are going to come and they're going to take me
and they're probably going to take me to the
courtyard around the building. And then they're
probably going to hold me there for 12 hours.
And then they're going to take me to this hill
where they're going to crucify me. Like, got
it. We're with you every step of the way, Jesus.
We know where you're going now. And we, to some
capacity, we want that too, don't we? Tell us,
Jesus, how to get there. And Jesus is like, if
you find me, you found the way. And so if you
surrender your life to me, like, guess what?
You've got it. You've got all you need. And these
other things that we're inclined to think like,
that's how I get there, so to speak. Jesus is
like, no, that's the fruit that grows out of
your life because you can't help but do those
things once you surrender to the way, if you
will. And you've found truth and you've found
life. Don't get me wrong, like all these things
that we're inclined to kind of adorn ourselves
with and do are good, healthy, right, biblical
things. But if they become the end in themselves
rather than a means to an end, if you will, then
we've missed a whole invitation from Jesus. Does
that make sense? We've missed a whole invitation
from Jesus if the means become the end. I think
so much of what is driving this new vision for
us, this discovering Jesus, deepening faith,
which by the way, we ran out of those shirts.
A lot of you ordered them. We have them today
on the plaza, but only if you special ordered
them. Don't try and pull one over on us, okay?
We have your names. I'm serious. We only have
them if you ordered them. They're on the plaza.
But so much of what is driving this new vision
for us, discovering Jesus, deepening faith, is...
this very thing. Like, we don't want our people
to see the means as the end. Like, the goal is
Jesus. The aim is Jesus. The destination is Jesus.
Like, where are you going? We are going to Jesus.
We might get heaven. We will get heaven in eternity.
That's a beautiful reality. But that's where
we're going today is we're going into surrendered
posture into life with Jesus because he is the
way, the truth, and the life. Amen? Let's pray
together. Father, thank you for this moment.
Thank you for the truth of Jesus. Thank you for
his boldness to say, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. It's exclusive, but it is vast.
And I know, I know for certain. that there are
multiple types of people in this room today.
There are some who are just clear. Like, this
is a decision that is so clear for me. It's one
that I've made. It's one that I'm, by the Spirit
of God, doing my best to live into every day.
There's a second group of people in the room
who, in good faith, innocently, we'll even say,
have made... Kind of the directions, the destination.
Rather than fixing our eyes on Jesus, we've tried
to, by our works, by our good deeds, by our whatever
it is, we have tried to work our way to the way
instead of surrendering. And then I think there's
yet another group of people in the room who...
They're just like, I'm not sure I have one clue
what this means. I'm so grateful that our church
is a landing place for all people, no matter
which category you fall into. And so I especially
pray for my friends in the room who are like,
I really have no idea what this means. God, I
pray that today would be a day where they just
take the next step. We're not trying to get to
the finish line today. We're trying to just take
the next step. And so would you give them spirit
of boldness and courageousness to courage to
just ask a question, to have a conversation,
to do the hard work of just exploring what does
it mean that Jesus is the way, the truth, and
the life. And I pray for myself and I pray for
everybody else in this room. If they're human
like me, God, then this is the prayer we all
need to pray, which is, would you forgive us
for pursuing the wrong things? There's a way
that seems right to man, but its end is destruction.
And so often, God, so often we get on that path
with No intention of staying on it. And yet,
all of a sudden we turn around and we look and
we just wandered really far. And the things that
we thought were going to satisfy us have just
proven to leave us empty handed. And so would
we, by faith, draw near to you today, trusting
that in you is... Is the answer to all of our
where questions in life. Where will I find happiness?
Where will I find peace? Where will I be content?
Where will I be accepted? Where will I be made
whole? Where will I be set free from this addiction?
All of those where's are resolved in Christ.
So we just give our hearts to you today by faith.
Our song is for you, God. And we sing it to you
now in Jesus' name.