John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is obviously talking about Eternal Life with the Father in Heaven. People ask “why is Jesus the ONLY way to God?” The answer is:
Christianity is the ONLY religion that believes in ORIGINAL SIN. Jesus died to save us from ORIGINAL SIN. If people don’t believe in ORIGINAL SIN, they won’t believe that Jesus is THE ONLY WAY to God. But, this morning, I want to talk about life in the “here and now.” Jesus said that He came so that we might have “an abundant life.” He was talking having an abundant life in the “here and now.” So, what does He mean when He says, “I am the Way” if we are talking about the “here and now?” He is saying, that the Christian way of a life is a supernatural way of life. Jesus brought the supernatural into our world. Our world is about our mind (what we think and feel) and our bodies. The WAY of Jesus is to get the supernatural into our mind and our bodies. So, how do we get our mind to stop thinking and to start believing? We’ve got to surrender our mind to the supernatural, the Holy Spirit. The Christian way of life can only be fulfilled through the power of the Spirit. If you moved to another country, you would need to learn the “ways” of the people in that country. heir way of conducting themselves would be different from what you were “taught” or what you are used to doing. You would have to learn their language. Learn their customs. Learn what is accepted and not accepted in public, for example.
When you became a Believer, you became a citizen of God’s kingdom here on earth. In the way of God’s Kingdom here on earth, we should not be living our lives according to the “ways” of the world’s system. That means, we have to CHANGE our ways!! That’s right!!!! For example, for the believer, good decisions are based on God’s Word. For the unbeliever, good decisions are based on worldly principles. In the way of the world, doing what is best for you is ALWAYS considered correct. Even if it means someone else suffers at your expense. Self is #1. Take care of yourself. You are the only person that matters. In the way of God’s Kingdom, here on earth, selfishness is never correct. In the way of the world, being confrontational is considered a necessary skill. In the way of God’s Kingdom, here on earth, being confrontational is never necessary. If we do not live according to the way of Jesus, our relationships can be shortened. If we do not live according to the way of Jesus, our lives can be shortened. In the way of God’s Kingdom here on earth, the real problem is what is going on inside of us. In the way of the world, all problems are about what’s going on around us. We are taught to believe that we are never the ones with the problem!!! Ha! We fix problems by figuring out how to manipulate people or circumstances. In way of God’s Kingdom here on earth, we fix problems by taking them to God. Jesus said that all our sinful behaviors and habits are connected to our heart. We need God to help us root out the “worldly junk” in our hearts. In the way of the world, the only person who can solve our problem is us. In the way of God’s Kingdom here on earth, the only person who can solve our problem is Jesus. That’s a BIG difference. But God said, “My WAYS are higher than YOUR ways.
Your brain cannot find a way to TRANSCEND a problem. It can only find ways to help you temporarily get AROUND a problem. What we learned from the “way of the world, is that it is okay to attempt to solve our problems without appealing to God. AT ALL! ‘Cause that’s what we’re doing!!!! We learned that it is okay to call on God ONLY when we’re in trouble. In the way of God’s Kingdom here on earth, good decisions are based on correct information. In the ways of the world, not all decisions will be good, and not all decisions will be based on correct information. Which means, in the ways of the world, there can be a lot of confusion. But, God offers us wisdom instead of confusion. He offers us peace instead of anxiety. According to God’s Ways: We need to stop trying to face our difficulties in our own strength.
We need to take our inadequacies to God. We need to realize that we cannot overcome on our own. We need to rely on God’s strength. Secondly, Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” How does that work in the “here and now?” In the way of God’s Kingdom here on earth, knowing truth depends on our being in a proper relationship with Jesus. After all, He did say He IS the truth! Truth in the way of the world is filled with competing claims. Everyone can have his or her own version of the truth.
Even believers can be pulled into this false reality. Married people often are! They think they know something, and they act out toward their spouse based on THEIR truth. Sometimes what they think they know is not the real truth.
The reason they don’t know the real truth is because:
1. They haven’t actually talked to their spouse to find it.
2. They are blinded to the truth by their own selfish needs.
3. They haven’t gone to God for help.
What can God do to bring truth to a conflict between a husband and wife?
He can get rid of the:
1. Strife
2. Anger
3. self-righteousness
4. unforgiveness
5. stubbornness
You don’t think that makes a difference???
He can bring:
1. Patience
2. Gentleness
3. Faithfulness
4. Peace
5. Self-control
You don’t think that makes a difference??? There is no truth without God! Jesus said, “I am the Life.” When a person walks in the “way and the truth,” life is produced.
How does that work in the “here and now?” Jesus was sent into the world to demonstrate how God wants us to live. A life in Christ is a “transformed” life. We change what we were for what HE IS!! In the life we see around us, we have learned to seek achievement by our own self-effort. We have learned to seek self-improvement by our own self-effort. We have learned to seek forgiveness by our own self-effort. We have learned to seek peace by our own self-effort. No one can live the Christian life in his own strength. No on can have a TRUE ABUNDANT LIFE without the Holy Spirit! As believers, in God’s Kingdom here on earth, we are already blessed with every spiritual blessing. God has chosen to make us holy and blameless. We have received full access to the Father. We no longer have the burden of guilt for violating God's holy laws. We have become part of His perfect plan and purpose. We are inheritors of His riches of glory. And ALL THE WHILE, we are caught up in trying to get approval from people because we despise ourselves and consider ourselves less than worthy?????!!!! We need someone here on earth to tell us that we have value???!!!! True achievement in life occurs through the power of the Holy Sprit. True self-improvement occurs through the power of the Holy Sprit.
True peace occurs through the power of the Holy Sprit. As Believers, we actually lack nothing!! Except the need to grow in our understanding of what we ALREADY have in Christ. Christ has ALREADY supplied us with every possible need for life. Christ has ALREADY supplied us with every possible answer in life. Christ has ALREADY supplied us with every possible solution in life. Christ has ALREADY supplied us with every possible direction in life. In Christ, our life is filled with FREEDOM from the cares of life. We have access to God. We have access to forgiveness. We have access to wholeness. We have access to pure joy! We are free from the bondage of hopelessness. We are free from the bondage of low self-esteem! We are free from the bondage of despair. We are free from the bondage of confusion.
We are free from the bondage of condemnation and guilt! WE ARE FREE TO LIVE!!!
