I Am The Way, The Truth And The Life! Series

“I am the way the truth and the life.”

Series:"I AM" statements of Jesus

Thesis: Jesus makes it clear in our text that He is the only way into Heaven. He is the path to truth which then leads to eternal life. Without His path or His truth we could never discover eternal life.

Review of the “I Am” Statements:

I AM the bread of life – Jesus said I am the one who can and will satisfy your eternal

hunger.

I AM the light of the world – Jesus points us to the light which will lead us out of the darkness of this world.

I AM the door – Jesus said I am the door there is no other door to Heaven and I am the one who opens and closes this gateway to eternal life.

I AM the resurrection and the life – Jesus said I am the one who brings dead people back to life and let’s them live forever. I am the one who defeated death by the power of my resurrection.

Scripture Text: John 14:1-6

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

3And 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.

4You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Key Verse: John 14:6

"Jesus answered, ’I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’"

Introduction:

Today we are going to focus in on Jesus’, "I Am” proclamation, “I am the way, the truth, and the life ..." In this section of the Gospel of John we once again see Jesus asserting His divine nature. It’s interesting that once again a question is addressed to Jesus and He answers with a profound reply. The question was asked by Thomas, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"Thomas’ question has been asked probably by 100,000 of people. The question in brief is, "How can we know the way?" Men and women over time have tried many ways to find a satisfying eternal life but they soon discovered them lacking truth, and fulfillment in life. For example:

Man’s Quest:

Greece said …..Be wise, know yourself

Rome said…….Be strong, discipline yourself

Judaism said …Be holy, conform yourself

Epicureanism says…..Be sensuous, enjoy yourself

Education says ….Be resourceful, expand yourself

Psychology says ….Be confident, fulfill yourself

Materialism says….Be acquisitive, please yourself

Pride says….Be superior, promote yourself

Asceticism says….Be inferior, suppress yourself

Diplomacy says….Be reasonable, control yourself

Communism says….Be collective, secure yourself

Humanism says….Be capable, trust yourself

Philanthropy says ….Be unselfish, give yourself

(Swindoll, pages 270,271)

Yet none of these ways has brought about fulfillment in people’s lives or entrance into eternity. For these people they soon discovered the emptiness of these pursuits and discovered reality check that these ways do not get you into Heaven.

There have been other ways developed over time - ways to view life – they gave a false hope that if you did these they would bring contentment, fulfillment and even eternal life!

a. Optimism: By looking through rose-colored glasses, we can convince ourselves that we live on Fantasy Island, existing under cloudless skies and surrounded by oceans of love, affirmation, and support. There’s only one problem -- Lack of reality.

b. Pessimism: It is easy to turn life into a grim existence. If something bad can happen, the pessimist is convinced it will. The problem here is an obvious lack of joy.

c. Suspicion: Suspicion is a deeper trench than pessimism. "Everyone is out to get you. You can’t believe anyone anymore. Their major problem? --Lack of trust.

d. Fatalism: The fatalist says we may as well accept our lot, nothing can be done to change it. "Just bite your lip and endure to the end." "If you can check out of responsibility, do it! Stay uninvolved." What’s the problem here? -- Lack of hope.

Man has been on these quests for years asking, "Which way is the right way?", excited when they first enter into their false belief systems but they soon discover that it was a temporal path and not a path that lead to everlasting life. So they in turn, do as Rollo Mays says, "It is an old and ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way."