Show Me the Way...

November 9, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series: The I Am Statements of Jesus

Sermon 7 of Series:

“I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life”

John 14:1-17 NIV Bible

Acts 4:12 NIV Bible

“Show Me The Way…”

Let us pray…Pray for the Spirit’s leading and that God’s word would be heard…

Each time we come together for church, we spend our time praising God for what He has done through Jesus Christ. We praise God for how He is involved in our lives. We spend time in prayer with one another thanking Him for how we have seen what He has done in our lives and in the lives of others. We bring our joys and our sorrows to God as we pray for ourselves and for others. It is a time when we are able to be there for one another in their sorrow and despair. We comfort one another with our prayers and our hugs we may give to each other. When we are lost…we can be found within our church communities…

Now I want you to picture this…Jesus’ followers felt as if there world was falling apart. They felt lost…with no direction. They must have been afraid because the One who had showed them by example how to live their lives was not going to be there anymore. Jesus has just told them that He was leaving and they couldn’t come with Him. As they are in their time of despair and sorrow, Jesus speaks words of peace and then makes a statement that just astounds them. I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life…

We are continuing that Season where we begin to journey towards a manger…the Season that we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. As prepare for the pilgrimage we are looking at the seven “I Am” statements that Jesus made while He walked among us. I pray that as we do, we will realize what really happened that day, how that one day changed the tide of sin and death. You see…it’s all about the name and what goes along with that very same name…not just who a person is but also what that name implies.

We have talked about the name I Am and that Jesus, the Great I Am, is always with us even when we don’t feel His presence with us in those times when we feel we are walking in a dark tunnel and not seeing the light at the end. Jesus is The Bread of Life and Jesus fills us spiritually so that we never will hunger again for those Spiritual things that we need for our faith walk. He is “The Light of the World” giving us light for the journey. He is “”The Gate” that keeps us safe in the pasture of His love and grace. Being the perfect gate…Jesus truly is “The Good Shepherd” who shepherds us with His love and peace. We came to the realization that Jesus is also the Resurrection and the Life last week and it is through Him that we rise again and have life eternal. It is He who is the Way, the Truth and the Life…

In the scripture I read this morning, Jesus states that He is “The Way, the Truth and the Life” that no one comes to the Father except through Him. What does that mean to and for all believers Jesus? What that means is that there is no other way into the presence of God. It means that by accepting Jesus’ death and resurrection, we believe that the payment has been made in full for our sins. Peter tells us in Acts 4:12 that Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. It means that Jesus is the only remedy that has been provided for the forgiveness of sin. He is the only Way to eternal Life. This is the Truth of God’s Word… There is Hope in Jesus.

Now… some people may think that we, as Christ followers, may be a little narrow minded as we proclaim that Jesus is the only way to God. But…this is how I see it. It is only by living the way that Jesus taught and exampled that we live in the truth that he taught and still teaches by the Holy Spirit given to us that we can have that eternal life that is promised to all who believe…just saying…

Looking back at the scripture this morning is where we can find such hope. Jesus tells us what He will be doing while He us away. He is preparing a room for us so that we can be with Him in Heaven. As He is preparing this room for us He is also preparing us to be with Him. As we follow His way and believe in the truth He taught we are being prepared daily to be with Him…to have that life He offers us…life eternal. We are being prepared to be with Him as we use our gifts and talents for God’s glory…doing what Jesus did and even greater things that we have been prepared to do since the foundation of the world…

So now…with all this being said…how do you want to live your life? Jesus offers us a better way to live our lives. It is by following His ways that we learn the truth of the Gospel of Grace. As we live into that truth, we will do what He did when He walked among us…even greater things that have been prepared for us to do. And through this living and knowing we are given eternal life in that room He is preparing for you and me. So what will it be? Will we live a life that is lived out in truth or a life that is lived out in the lies and deception of the world? Maybe if humanity started living in truth instead of chaos and deception there really could be a change in the truth in which we live. Perhaps if we prayerfully decide to follow Christ we would see the truth that sets us free. Free to live a life of love…free to live a life of hope…free to live the life the Way…the Truth and the Life…our Risen Lord Jesus Christ intended for His disciples to follow all the long. Maybe…just maybe…perhaps we would do all those things that were prepared for us in Christ Jesus long ago…Think about the kind of life that would be…

Pray about Jesus being the Way, the Truth and the Life…

Amen!