“Do You Know Him?”
John 14:1-9
David P. Nolte
(I am indebted to Peter Hockley for the basis for the three major points today. I have modified his to some degree)
Many people had seen Jesus do signs and miracles. and had heard him preach. Many could tell you that He came from Nazareth and was the son of Joseph and Mary. The downtrodden and despised knew Him as Friend. The pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees knew Him as an up-setter of their applecarts.
But do you know Him – not know about Him – but know Him? Jesus equates salvation with knowing Him rightly. He said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3 (NASB).
Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless-living, sin-forgiving, miracle-working, God-revealing, Father-pleasing, cross-enduring, death-defeating, devil-defying Messiah – the Christ. But do you know Him?
The ladies’ song asks, “Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my friend? Have you heard He loves you, And that He will abide till the end?” (Vep Ellis).
Let’s read the Scripture: “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:1-9 (NASB).
I. JESUS IS THE ROAD ON WHICH WE TRAVEL:
A. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6 (NASB).
1. The word for “way” means “road.”
2. Barnes’ commentary says, “By this is meant, doubtless, that they and all others were to have access to God only by obeying the instructions, imitating the example, and depending on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.” I.e., “No other way will get you to God.”
3. To illustrate. Marlene and I and the Childers clan live on Tapper Lane. To drive there you have no choice but to go by way of Highway 226! No other road will get you there!
4. Jesus said, “I am the way.” Now, He has no intention of representing Himself as an actual strip of blacktop. He speaks metaphorically to indicate that there is no way to God but Him.
5. He is the way, and we need to walk in His steps, going the way He sets before us.
B. Traveling the Jesus road:
1. Means treating others as He treated them:
a. He reached out to the rejected.
b. He forgave His offenders.
c. He was kind and merciful to those whose lives were in shambles.
d. He used His resources for the good of someone in need.
2. It also means surrendering your will to God as He did even to death.
3. It means exercising self-denial.
4. It means resisting the evil one in times of temptation.
5. It means pleasing God even when it displeases men.
6. It means that our wills and minds and desires are toward God.
C. The old saying was, “All roads lead to Rome.”
1. True or not, this is true, “Jesus is the only way to God!”
2. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 (NASB).
D. So, “Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my friend? Have you heard He loves you, And that He w ill abide till the end?”
E. A child became separated from his parents in a large city where they were visiting friends. He was frightened, but he knew that the friends lived right next to a church with a tall steeple. However, he had no clue how to get there. He saw a policeman on the corner and said, “Please, sir – I’m lost, but I know I need to get to a church with a large cross on top, because our friends live next door.”
The policeman smiled at the boy and said, “There are two or three churches with crosses. What else can you tell me?”
The boy thought, then said, “Oh, yeah! There is a park across the street, too.” The officer said, “I know where that is. Come with me and I will take you there!” Taking the boy’s hand the policeman did not just point out the way, he became the way home.
Jesus doesn’t just point out the way to God, He is the way because He takes us there personally. “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” John 14:3 (NLT) .
JESUS IS THE ROAD ON WHICH WE TRAVEL AND:
II. JESUS IS THE COMPANION WITH WHOM WE TRAVEL:
A. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself.” His presence is a promise!
1. “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (NASB).
2. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV).
3. “God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; He won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (MSG).
4. “Earthly friends may fail and grieve us, one day bless, the next day leave us; but the Lord will not deceive us – oh what a Friend!”
5. As our companion He “knows our disappointments; hears us each time we cry; understands our heartaches and dries our tears.”
B. But even better news is that not only is He beside us, but He is inside us as well!
1. “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:10-11 (NASB).
2. “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (NASB).
C. So, what does that mean to us?
1. It means that He ENABLES us, giving us skills.
2. It means that He EMPOWERS us, giving us strength.
3. It means that He ENCOURAGES us, giving us support.
4. It means that He EQUIPS us, giving us supplies.
5. It means that He EDIFIES us, giving us stability.
6. It means that He EMBOLDENS us, giving us spiritual courage.
D. “Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my friend? Have you heard He loves you, And that He will abide till the end?”
E. He has gone ahead of us but he has not, and never will, go away from us! Sometimes when Marlene and I are shopping she’ll say, “I’m going to such and so part of the store – I think I hear her, but after a few minutes I have no clue where she is. A few times I have just called her cell phone and asked, “Where are you?” It is pretty embarrassing to hear her say, “Turn around. I’m right here.” Weird! When we can’t sense or feel or recognize His presence, we may ask, “Where are you?” And we will hear Him say, “Turn around – I’m right here!”
JESUS IS THE COMPANION WITH WHOM WE TRAVEL AND:
III. JESUS IS THE DESTINATION TOWARD WHICH WE TRAVEL:
A. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” YOU HAVE TO GET TO Jesus to get to the Father. Heaven is where we hold citizenship but it isn’t just the place we seek – It’s being with Jesus that ushers us into the presence of the Father that is of first importance. Paul knew that and wrote to the Philippian church:
1. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” Philippians 1:21-24 (NASB)
2. “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:7-8 (NASB).
B. Heaven is heaven because Jesus is there.
1. He is the goal toward which we race.
2. He is the prize for which we hope.
3. He is the fulfillment of our desires.
4. He is the consummation of our anticipations.
5. He is the treasure we search for.
C. We need to
1. “Fix our eyes on Jesus.” Hebrews 12:2.
2. “Set our minds on things above where Christ sits next to the Father. Colossians 3:1-2.
3. Seek Him first and let other considerations take the behind side.
D. “Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my friend? Have you heard He loves you, And that He will abide till the end?”
E. While they were in Louisiana, we dog-sat Chris and Alisha’s little dog Feebee. She got along just fine and we enjoyed having her. But it came time to take her to Kelso to meet Chris and Alisha and return her to them. She perked up and wagged her tail double-time when I said, “We’re going to see your Mom – we’re going to see Alisha!” The most important thing to Feebee was not to be back in Washington – it was to be with Alisha and Chris. That was her greatest desire. MAY OUR DESIRE TO BE WITH JESUS EXCEED ALL OUR OTHER DESIRES, EVEN OUR DESIRE FOR HEAVEN.
What tops your list of wants in Heaven? Who are you waiting to see in Heaven? Jesus is the road we travel to get there; He is our companion as we travel and He is the ultimate destination and desire toward which we travel. We won’t get there without Him.
There’s an old story of the boy who stood on a sidewalk, waiting for a bus. A man walking by spotted the boy, and gave him some gentle instruction. “Son,” he said, “if you’re waiting on the bus, you need to move to the street corner. That’s where the bus stops for passengers.”
“It’s OK,” said the boy. “I’ll just wait right here, and the bus will stop for me.”
Just then, the bus appeared and amazingly, it pulled over to where the boy stood, and the child hopped on. The man on the sidewalk stood speechless. The boy turned around in the doorway and said, “Mister, I knew the bus would stop here, because the bus driver is my dad!”
When you’ve got a family relationship with the bus driver, you don’t need a bus stop.
When you know Jesus and He is your Savior, He will come and pick you up right where you are and take you with Him. You’ll get to your destination because He lets you on he bus and will personally take you home!
PRAY / INVITE
DO YOU KNOW HIM?
John wrote: “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:3-4 (NASB).
He requires faith and that is belief and trust and obedience. That is Biblical Faith. Have you obeyed Him in repentance? In Confession? In Baptism? In daily living?
Jesus is Savior to those who know Him as Lord. “Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my friend? Have you heard He loves you, And that He will abide till the end?” Choose to know Him and seal it by making Him Lord. To that end we stand to sing “Have Thine Own Way Lord.”
