I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life

Has anyone made a promise to you lately? Come on, we are in the middle of an election. We have had all kinds of promises made to us? We will see how many of those promises are kept after the election.

World History is littered with politicians and government officials making all kinds of challenges and promises. Some of those challenges and promises have been bold and daring ones. Bold ones like the one inspired by President John F. Kennedy back in 1961 when he stated - "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth." NASA made good on that promise when Astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped off the lunar module on to the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969 at 10:56 p.m. (EST) More than 500 million people around the world heard him say, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

Other promises/challenges have not been so lofty nor did they come to fruition. Back in 1988, then presidential candidate George H. W. Bush at the Republican National Convention promised the nation "Read my lips: no new taxes". That phrase helped Bush win the presidency. However, a little more than two years later in the fall of 1990 when the nation was faced with higher deficits and the prospects of severe cuts in government entitlement programs, President Bush agreed with Congress to raise new taxes.

My mom always said, “Don’t make a promise you can’t keep”. Obviously, things happen that can change our ability to keep our promises.

We all know that it's easy to promise something but it can be next to impossible to keep those promises. In our Gospel passage this morning our LORD makes some very direct and distinctive promises. In fact, as you read the passage you discover that our LORD makes three distinct promises to His disciples.

John 14:1-14 NIV

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Promises: According to the Dictionary the definition of a promise is the following:

"A declaration or assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will happen."

I. Promise of a Home in Heaven vs. 1-4

- This is another one of those funeral passages. We want to give people hope.

- This is important in light of the context - Chapt. 13 Predicted the His betrayal, Peter’s denial, and the fact that He would soon be leaving them.

- The room must have been filled with a lot of anxiety and fear.

- Right here at the beginning of our passage Jesus promises that He will make a way for them to overcome their troubles. The word that John uses here is a very interesting word. It is the word "tä-rä's-so" which means to agitate, to stir up or make restless. It's a word that refers to what happens when a person is overcome with fear, dread and doubts.

- These disciples were about to face some of the toughest days of their lives. They are going to be put through the wringer. Try to imagine what those 3 or 4 days would be like.

- Don’t be troubled - find peace

- Trust in God and trust in Me Jesus says.

- When filled with anxiety and fear we have to keep trusting.

Jesus didn't want them to focus on their "troubles". Instead, he wanted them to focus on putting their hearts and faith in God and in Himself. Jesus wanted them to remember that everything that was going to happen was a necessary part of God's plan to rescue, redeem and restore mankind. Jesus wanted them to know that everything was a part of God's Salvation Plan. Therefore, all they needed to do was to put their complete trust in faith in God the Father and in Him. If they would do that Jesus could promise them "abiding peace".

On the surface it seems that none of this makes sense. After all, how can one experience "abiding peace" when one's world is being turned upside down and inside out? Frankly, how can one experience "abiding peace" when all Hell is breaking loose?

Dr. William Barclay reminds us "There comes a time when we have to believe where we cannot prove and to accept where we cannot understand." (DBS - Gospel of John - pg. 152)

One source of that peace is trust, another source is the promise of heaven vs. 2

- We like the KJV - that says mansions - don’t know how it got translated that way.

- Ray Vanderlaan - Rooms, but I am sure they will be glorious wonderful rooms.

- This morning I think we need another reminder related to this.

- Just an important reminder here - this is not our home. If you are in Christ, you have dual citizenship. Your primary citizenship is in the Kingdom of God. The US is just a temporary dwelling place. Be thankful you get to live in this amazing country. But remember, your King reigns forever. Who wins the presidency of the US does not change that.

- While leadership changes happen, this never changes - we are not living for this world.

Hebrews 11:13-16 (NIV) 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Peter (the one who denied knowing Jesus and repented lived through those hard times) called us to live as foreigners and aliens in this world - still obey and respect our leaders - do so by living out our faith.

II. Promise of One Way to the Father

("aletheia" - unveiled reality. The true notions of God which are open to human reason w/o supernatural intervention) Therefore Rom 1:20.