The Way, The Truth, The Life

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (ESV)

Growing:

1. Acceptance
   • Devil’s Lie
   • God’s Work
2. Obedience
3. Alignment of Will

Walking:

1. Your journey serves a purpose.
2. God gives you the desires of your heart.
3. You can ignore the Holy Spirit and say “NO” but his voice gets quieter.
4. Our journeys are different.
5. The path can be hard.

Arriving:

1. Hope
   • 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? –John 14:1-2 (ESV)
2. We will be with Him.
   • Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” –Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (ESV)

Truth is NOT…

• Information
• Feelings, Opinions, Observations
• Casual

Truth IS… Jesus

John 1:1-3 – 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Hebrews 4:12-13 – 12 For the word (logos) of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Matthew 16:13-16 – 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Lies of the World

1. Follow your heart to find fulfillment.

2. Truth is subjective. What’s right for you may not be right for me. “My truth”

• Not a new phenomenon
• Cain and Abel

3. The truth is complicated.

• Slick speakers, complex arguments, double-speak, agendas
  • Abortion
  • Transgender
• The blind man that Jesus healed with mud

4. Conform with others.

• Romans 12:2 – 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Lies we tell ourselves

1. Lies rooted in feelings of pride
2. Lies rooted in feelings of worthlessness
3. Lies rooted in compromise and surrender to the wrong things
4. Lies about our own righteousness

Lies of the Enemy

1. Deception

2. Distraction

• Choices
• Entertainment
• Troubles in the World vs. the Battle Within
  • The battle starts within. Do not lose sight!
  • How to battle; Logos vs. Rhema
  • Ephesians 6:16-17 – 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God.
  • James 4:7 – 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The TRUTH of Jesus

1. Jesus is the ONE thing in which you can place all of your trust.
2. Truth can hurt! I love you enough to not leave you the way you are!
3. Use the truth as a net to capture, not a sword to slay… Justice is God’s job, not yours.
4. Do you believe? Are you living like Jesus is the truth when it means sacrifice?

John 14:1-6 – “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.

John 10:10 – 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Psalm 27:13-14 – 13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Priority

1. Acknowledge that you need a
   • 1 John 5:12 – “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
2. Seek the way
   • Matthew 11:28-30 – 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
3. Prioritize
   • Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Morality

1. “Morality is the invitation to flourishing”
   • The enemy wants us to think of morality as a standard that measures whether or not we’re worthy of love, specifically God’s Love
   • God already proved his love for you with the ultimate sacrifice.
     • Romans 5:8 – 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
   • God says live this way so you will flourish because I love you!
2. God wants us to flourish so we can experience goodness and pass it on to others
   • Matthew 7:24-27 – 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
3. God’s vs. God’s Principles
   • Promises – What GOD says he WILL DO, and are always true
   • Principals – What WE should do and how we should live, bring prosperity and blessing over time

Unity

1. Death of “self” is life through
   • Matthew 10:39 – Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
2. Surrender is
   • 1 Peter 5:6-7 – 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
     • Rich young ruler
       • Do the thing you least want to do
     • Jesus and Peter on the beach
       • Do you love me?
       • Go where you don’t want to go
       • Don’t worry about the other guy
3. Abiding in Jesus
   • John 15:5 – 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
4. The Fruit of
   • “Jesus over Everything”
   • Galatians 5:22-23 – 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
5. The Peace of Unity
   • John 16:33 – I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
   • Philippians 5:6-7 – 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.