Title: All We Need And More!
Bible Book: John 14
Author: J. Mike Minnix
Subject: Assurance; Heaven; Jesus; Salvation; Peace; Holy Spirit
Objective:
Introduction
The word Father is found in John, chapter 14, twenty-three times, which is more than any other use of the word in a New Testament chapter. We cannot understand John 14 unless we appreciate the fact that Jesus is pointing out our need for the Godhead, the Trinity, the Triune nature of God. For in this chapter we see the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit.
A pastor asked a boy, “What is the Trinity?” The boy had a weak voice and answered somewhat quietly, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” The pastor then said, “I can't understand you.” The young lad replied, “You're not supposed to - it's a mystery!” The mystery of the Trinity is evident even in John 14, but the truth of it is clearly present.
Also, please note with me that there are two important questions in John 14. Look at John 14:5:
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Thomas was concerned that the “way” might be unknown to the disciples and they might not be able to find Jesus after He left them.
Then, look at John 14:9-11 and see the answer of Jesus to Philip’s statement:
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
Thomas was confused and Philip was confused. But, then we see Judas ask a question. Look at the question by Judas in John 14:22-24:
Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
There is so much wrapped up in these questions, and we don’t have time to delve into them tonight, but I wanted you to see that Jesus was sincerely trying to reveal truth to His disciples. He wanted them to have what they needed. Let me say without equivocation that Jesus is all we need. Lo, all these years I have served Him and He has been all I needed. He wants us to know that He will be all we need beyond this world.
So, look with me at three important truths in John 14 this evening.
I. A House
Jesus told His disciples not to be troubled, for He was going to prepare a place for them. We know that one day we are going to leave this world. Someone wrote, “Drive carefully, remember that the car you are driving is not the only thing that can be recalled by its maker.” One day we will be called to meet God. For those of us who have received Christ as Lord and Savior, there is a home prepared for us.
A. The Place for You
Jesus said that it is a place prepared “for you.” This speaks of the personal nature of the home God prepares for His children. This phrase makes the “place” prepared for us a comfortable and peaceful place.
Through the years of my ministry, I preached many revivals. Occasionally I was invited back to a church to preach a revival and second or even a third time. It was interesting to see how kind people were to me when I returned for another revival week. When there the first time, they knew little about me, but during the week they learned my favorite foods, and my favorite soft drinks and snacks. When I went back to a church for the second time, the people would have often have my favorite snacks in their homes or in my hotel room. They would invite me to restaurants that served the foods I liked. In other words, they had a place prepared “for me.” Jesus is telling all those who know Him that He is preparing for you a place more at home than any place you have ever been in your life. When we die, we will truly be “at home” with Christ.
B. The Prepare-er of the Place for You
Jesus did not say that angels were preparing a place for us, but that He was going to prepare a place for us. Just think of that! Jesus preparing a place just for you. It is a bit beyond our comprehension that the Lord of glory would personally prepare our home in heaven – but that is clearly what He said. The One who built the universe is preparing a place just for you – just for me.
C. The Presence of the Prepare-er of the Place for You
But there is one thing even greater than having an eternal place to live, and knowing that Jesus prepared it. The supreme thought on this matter is that Jesus will be with us. He said, “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.” How do we even take all this in, especially the thought that we will be in the very company of the Redeemer, the Savior, the Lord of glory.
Now, think about a second part of the passage before us…
II. A Highway to this House
Thomas had a concern from the moment Jesus began to talk about going away. His apprehension centered on the “way” to the house Jesus promised. Thinking logically we can understand how Thomas thought that way. After all, if you lost your way trying to find the place Jesus promised, you had no hope of ever finding it. Jesus spoke very specifically when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Let me unpack some things buried in the statement Jesus made to Thomas.
A. He is the Way so that one can be Saved
Jesus is the only way that anyone can be saved from the judgment of sin. There are not two ways, or three ways, of a thousand ways to the home God promises. Jesus is the “highway” to heaven.
We read in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Today eclectic society, with little knowledge or understanding of the Christian faith, believes that the diversity of religion in America is due to the fact that all religions lead to the same place. There is great difference in the Christian faith, and that difference lies in the fact that we serve a risen, living Savior. He died and rose again. He did not just teach a better way of living, one that might enable us to be accepted by the Father. No, He is the Way to the Father. He alone can save us from our sins and grant us the risen life He displayed at the empty tomb on that first Easter.
The songwriter penned,
“Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus now and live.”
B. He is the Truth so that one can be Sure
One thing that Jesus desired for His disciples was assurance. He did not speak in ambiguities, or use vague language. He spoke clearly and forthrightly concerning the assurance we can have in Him. “I am the way,” He said. “No one comes to the Father but by me,” He declared. There are those who don’t like the exclusivity of Jesus, but those of us who know Him as Savior love it! We are SURE because He is LORD.
C. He is the Life so that one can be Strong
True Christians have a strength that is not their own, for Jesus is their life! Listen to what Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) Paul stated clearly that Christ was his life – Christ lived in Him. We do not hold our salvation, Jesus holds us in our salvation. The writer to the Hebrews penned these words: “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil…” What hope? The living hope in our lives. Peter spoke of this living hope in 1 Peter 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” We don’t keep that which was given to us in Christ, but it is kept in heaven for us! Praise God! My anchor holds. His strength is mine!
Now, let’s consider one more thing this evening that is so important to us as Christians. Remember, we are looking at all we need. We have already seen the home prepared for us, and the Highway (Jesus) that we are on, but think of this…
III. A Helper on the Highway to this House
Jesus promised us that until we are called to the home He is preparing, we will have a Helper every day we live on this earth as believers.
A. The Person of this Helper 16 - 17
Jesus spoke of this Helper as a person and not just a force. We read, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
You see in the words of Jesus that He speaks of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, as “Him”. The presence of God with us is the person of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is made up of God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. Yet, we do no worship three gods. No, we worship one true God, yet He appears to us in a trinity. The person of God indwells every true believer and He guides us in truth, prompts us in service, comforts us in trials, leads us in decision, and does so much more. We are not alone in this world – Jesus wanted His disciples to understand this truth, for in this world He reminded them that they were going to face tribulations and trials.
B. The Purpose of this Helper 12, 16 - 18
So, what is the purpose of the Holy Spirit, the Helper with us in this life? One of His purposes is to guide us into all truth. There is a story of four men on a plane that was running out of gas. A pilot, a student, a minister and the smartest man in the world were said to be on the place. Yet, they only had three parachutes. It came down to the student and minister as to which one would remain on the plane and likely die. The minister told the student to jump and that he, the minister, would go down with the plane. The student said, “Its alright preacher, the smartest man in the world just jumped out of the plane with my knapsack!” You may look like and think of yourself as the smartest person in the world, but without God’s guidance all intelligence is foolishness.
The Spirit will guide us to an even deeper knowledge of the Lord. I read a story about four British soldiers during the Persian Gulf War that wandered away into the desert and got disoriented. They came upon a general who was out checking an area for future troop placement. The soldiers ran up to him and said, “Do you know where we are?” The General was angry that they did not salute or call him sir, so he asked, “Do you know who I am?” One of the British soldiers said, “Great, we don’t know where we are and he doesn’t know who he is.” Well, let me tell that the Holy Spirit can teach us all we need to know about who we are, where we are, what we are to be doing and how we can follow faithfully in the footsteps of our Lord.
C. The Permanence of this Helper 18 - 20
In verses 18-20 Jesus told His disciples that He was going to leave them, but He reminded them yet again that the Helper would never leave them. They were not going to be left on the earth as spiritual orphans. The Holy Spirit is God’s permanent presence with His people in this earth. He will be with us till God comes to take us home.
D. The Peace of this Helper 27
I’ve got to finish, so let me add one more thought. In verse 27 of John 14, we read, “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” Jesus was letting the disciples know that the peace of God was going to be with them, even after He had gone away. Oh, there is so much I could say about the peace of God, but suffice it to say that Jesus does not want us to live in anxiety in this world. He is with us and will not leave us. He grants us a peace that goes beyond understanding. We have the peace of God and the God of peace with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Conclusion
A preacher tells the story of sitting beside a man on a plane to Philadelphia. The man told the preacher, “I believe that heaven is like going to Philadelphia. You can go by car, plane, bus, train, there are many ways that lead to the one place.” The preacher was extremely sleepy and fell asleep. As they came near to Philadelphia, a storm had arisen and was pelting the plane with rain and sleet. The plane pitched left and right in the wind. The preacher had awakened and turned to the man and said, “I am glad that the pilot doesn’t believe what you believe. Right now he is listening to the people in the tower. They are guiding us in to the runway. The Pilot cannot see where he is going, he is trusting someone else to guide him. I am glad that he does not believe that there are many ways into Philadelphia and has decided to just take his chances. There is one way to that runway, and if we miss it, we are doomed!”
If you do not know Christ today, you may have many things, but you don’t have what you need. Yet, if you have Christ, you may be missing many worldly goods, comforts and privileges, but you can be assured, you have all you need!
