1 00:00:02,602 --> 00:00:05,822 John 14:6–7 2 00:00:07,107 --> 00:00:10,193 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, 3 00:00:10,827 --> 00:00:13,830 and the truth and the life. 4 00:00:14,180 --> 00:00:17,183 No one comes to the father except through me. 5 00:00:17,634 --> 00:00:21,204 If you had known me, you would have known my father also. 6 00:00:21,838 --> 00:00:24,691 From now on, you do know him 7 00:00:24,691 --> 00:00:27,677 and have seen him." 8 00:00:29,479 --> 00:00:29,996 Hey, everybody. 9 00:00:29,996 --> 00:00:32,916 Good morning and welcome to Christ Community Chapel. 10 00:00:32,916 --> 00:00:33,767 My name is Joe. 11 00:00:33,767 --> 00:00:35,185 I'm one of the pastors here. 12 00:00:35,185 --> 00:00:38,188 And I'm just really glad that you come. 13 00:00:38,688 --> 00:00:38,905 All right. 14 00:00:38,905 --> 00:00:42,242 This is Palm Sunday, and we call it Palm Sunday, 15 00:00:42,242 --> 00:00:47,814 because this is the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. 16 00:00:48,231 --> 00:00:51,501 And people cut off palm branches and laid them 17 00:00:51,501 --> 00:00:54,687 in the road and cried out, Hosanna! 18 00:00:54,721 --> 00:00:57,323 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 19 00:00:57,323 --> 00:00:59,793 Hosanna in the highest! 20 00:00:59,793 --> 00:01:03,363 Hey, just so you know, in our kids area right now, 21 00:01:03,363 --> 00:01:08,635 we have two miniature donkeys walking the halls and, 22 00:01:08,852 --> 00:01:12,989 the kids are out with their little palm fronds and putting them down 23 00:01:12,989 --> 00:01:16,526 in front of the donkey so that they're reenacting Palm Sunday. 24 00:01:17,093 --> 00:01:18,812 I love what our kids, 25 00:01:18,812 --> 00:01:21,481 I would love to be a kid in this church. 26 00:01:21,481 --> 00:01:24,651 You know, when I was a kid, we were lucky if our Sunday school teacher 27 00:01:24,651 --> 00:01:28,488 had a cutout of a donkey that they put on the flannel board. 28 00:01:28,738 --> 00:01:31,741 You know, we have real donkeys. 29 00:01:31,858 --> 00:01:34,260 Anyway, we are in a series. We're calling 30 00:01:34,260 --> 00:01:35,762 I Am More. If you're new, 31 00:01:35,762 --> 00:01:36,212 just once 32 00:01:36,212 --> 00:01:38,248 you know, it's not about us. 33 00:01:38,248 --> 00:01:40,350 We're not saying that we're more. 34 00:01:40,350 --> 00:01:41,851 We're saying that Jesus is more. 35 00:01:41,851 --> 00:01:44,838 We've been looking at what Jesus says about himself. 36 00:01:45,572 --> 00:01:48,775 And those statements are called I am statements 37 00:01:48,775 --> 00:01:51,711 where Jesus says stuff like, I am the good Shepherd. 38 00:01:51,711 --> 00:01:53,897 I am the light of the world. 39 00:01:53,897 --> 00:01:56,900 In this case, he says, I am the way, 40 00:01:57,267 --> 00:02:00,270 the truth, and the life. 41 00:02:00,270 --> 00:02:04,140 Let me kind of set the stage of he actually says this 42 00:02:04,524 --> 00:02:08,278 statement to his disciples right before he goes to the cross. 43 00:02:08,845 --> 00:02:11,815 I mean, this happens late Thursday night 44 00:02:11,815 --> 00:02:14,300 or in the wee hours of Friday morning. 45 00:02:14,300 --> 00:02:19,556 By Friday at 9:00 in the morning, he is hanging on a cross, 46 00:02:20,456 --> 00:02:22,942 and then he kind of just paint the picture for either. 47 00:02:22,942 --> 00:02:29,065 The disciples at this point are really pretty rattled and understandably so. 48 00:02:29,883 --> 00:02:32,869 I mean, tensions are at an all time high. 49 00:02:33,002 --> 00:02:36,539 They just finished the Passover meal with Jesus. 50 00:02:36,773 --> 00:02:39,092 It would later be called the last Supper. 51 00:02:39,092 --> 00:02:42,078 Of course, they didn't know it was the Last Supper at the time, 52 00:02:42,629 --> 00:02:45,598 but it was still super unsettling 53 00:02:45,598 --> 00:02:48,418 because during that time, with Jesus, 54 00:02:48,418 --> 00:02:52,038 Jesus told them that one of them was going to betray him. 55 00:02:52,622 --> 00:02:55,074 He talked about his body being broken, 56 00:02:55,074 --> 00:02:58,044 his blood being poured out. 57 00:02:58,044 --> 00:03:01,648 He told Peter that Peter before the the sun would rise. 58 00:03:01,648 --> 00:03:05,485 Peter would deny even knowing Jesus three times, 59 00:03:06,052 --> 00:03:10,073 and then he just broke the news to them that he was leaving them. 60 00:03:11,007 --> 00:03:14,911 And so into that, Jesus gives them the statement, 61 00:03:14,911 --> 00:03:17,931 let me go ahead and read the whole passage to you. 62 00:03:17,931 --> 00:03:20,934 This is beginning at verse one of chapter 14. 63 00:03:21,467 --> 00:03:24,571 Jesus says, let not your hearts be troubled. 64 00:03:25,171 --> 00:03:28,157 Believe in God. Believe also in me. 65 00:03:28,224 --> 00:03:30,143 In my father's house are many rooms. 66 00:03:30,143 --> 00:03:34,163 If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 67 00:03:34,914 --> 00:03:37,967 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, 68 00:03:38,418 --> 00:03:39,869 and will take you to myself. 69 00:03:39,869 --> 00:03:42,872 That where I am you may be also. 70 00:03:42,889 --> 00:03:44,724 And you know the way to where I'm going. 71 00:03:44,724 --> 00:03:47,760 And Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you're going. 72 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,529 How can we know the way? 73 00:03:49,529 --> 00:03:52,098 And Jesus said to him, I am the way, 74 00:03:52,098 --> 00:03:54,651 and the truth and the life. 75 00:03:54,651 --> 00:03:57,921 No one comes to the father except through me. 76 00:03:59,239 --> 00:03:59,522 Out of 77 00:03:59,522 --> 00:04:02,642 all the statements that Jesus makes about himself, 78 00:04:02,642 --> 00:04:08,514 this is probably the most polarizing because this is where he claims 79 00:04:08,514 --> 00:04:12,652 exclusivity and people hate that about Christianity. 80 00:04:13,319 --> 00:04:17,657 Jesus says no one comes to the father but through me. 81 00:04:17,657 --> 00:04:20,660 Super offensive to people. 82 00:04:21,594 --> 00:04:25,315 What's interesting is that Jesus said it to comfort 83 00:04:25,915 --> 00:04:29,118 the disciples, not to offend them, to comfort them. 84 00:04:30,236 --> 00:04:32,839 He was saying, listen, it's all going to be okay 85 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:36,392 because I am the way, the truth, and the life. 86 00:04:37,610 --> 00:04:40,263 No one comes to the father but through me. 87 00:04:40,263 --> 00:04:43,833 How can the same statement be so offensive 88 00:04:44,751 --> 00:04:46,919 and yet so comforting? 89 00:04:46,919 --> 00:04:49,739 Paul the Apostle says something 90 00:04:49,739 --> 00:04:52,742 very similar in Second Corinthians. 91 00:04:52,825 --> 00:04:56,629 He says this for we are the aroma of Christ to God 92 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,650 among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing, 93 00:05:01,217 --> 00:05:04,220 to one a fragrance from death to death, 94 00:05:04,470 --> 00:05:08,124 and to the other a fragrance from life to life. 95 00:05:08,958 --> 00:05:11,327 The same fragrance smells like death. 96 00:05:11,327 --> 00:05:14,330 To some smells like life to others. 97 00:05:15,048 --> 00:05:17,784 Jesus makes this statement. 98 00:05:17,784 --> 00:05:20,453 It offends some people, 99 00:05:20,453 --> 00:05:22,855 and for other people, it's the best news they've ever heard. 100 00:05:23,823 --> 00:05:26,826 And of course, the question is why? Why? 101 00:05:27,093 --> 00:05:28,161 I hear my three points. 102 00:05:28,161 --> 00:05:31,497 I'm just going to take the three things Jesus says about himself. 103 00:05:31,998 --> 00:05:34,050 The first point is Jesus the way. 104 00:05:34,050 --> 00:05:36,919 Second point is Jesus the truth. 105 00:05:36,919 --> 00:05:39,922 And the third point is Jesus the life. 106 00:05:39,922 --> 00:05:42,925 First, Jesus the way. 107 00:05:43,559 --> 00:05:46,829 Right after my son graduated from college, we took a family 108 00:05:46,829 --> 00:05:50,583 vacation out west to go to the national parks. 109 00:05:50,583 --> 00:05:51,951 Out there. 110 00:05:51,951 --> 00:05:56,039 And while we were out there, Jeremy and I decided to go bouldering. 111 00:05:56,039 --> 00:05:59,726 We were outside of Las Vegas and a place called Red Rock Canyon. 112 00:06:00,443 --> 00:06:03,713 If you've never heard of bouldering, it's kind of what it sounds like. 113 00:06:03,713 --> 00:06:05,398 There are these big rocks. 114 00:06:05,398 --> 00:06:08,418 It's kind of like a a big hill, steep hill, 115 00:06:08,418 --> 00:06:11,788 or a small mountain, and we had never done it before. 116 00:06:11,788 --> 00:06:12,622 But it was a blast. 117 00:06:12,622 --> 00:06:15,391 So you kind of you running kind of jump on the rock 118 00:06:15,391 --> 00:06:18,027 and you climb up on all fours and it's really steep. 119 00:06:18,027 --> 00:06:21,197 There are places where you have to jump across little chasms. 120 00:06:21,197 --> 00:06:23,816 And, we made it up to the top. 121 00:06:23,816 --> 00:06:26,819 Beautiful view. All of that. 122 00:06:27,019 --> 00:06:31,374 But I was thinking when we got to the top, I was thinking, you know, going up 123 00:06:31,491 --> 00:06:36,079 was okay, but going down at that steepness might be kind of dangerous. 124 00:06:36,512 --> 00:06:41,517 So I said, Jeremy, let's try to find a different way down to a smoother way down. 125 00:06:41,517 --> 00:06:42,769 So we did. 126 00:06:42,769 --> 00:06:44,237 We went 127 00:06:44,237 --> 00:06:48,207 and started to go down a little path that seemed like it was going to work out. 128 00:06:48,207 --> 00:06:53,062 And then about 20 minutes later, we came, to a place where it was a sheer 129 00:06:53,062 --> 00:06:57,600 drop of about 40 or 50ft, and we had no way to get down there. 130 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:02,538 So we ended up having to reverse course, go back to where we started, 131 00:07:02,538 --> 00:07:03,840 and try again. 132 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:05,041 I should tell you right now 133 00:07:05,041 --> 00:07:09,445 that, you know, we had never done it before where we were way out of our depth. 134 00:07:10,847 --> 00:07:13,232 We knew enough about climbing that 135 00:07:13,232 --> 00:07:16,586 when we got into crevices, we'd spread out like, you know, like a spider. 136 00:07:16,586 --> 00:07:19,922 And use the force of our legs and hands against, 137 00:07:19,939 --> 00:07:22,558 you know, the two walls and go up and down. 138 00:07:22,558 --> 00:07:24,677 And at one point we're in one of those crevices, 139 00:07:24,677 --> 00:07:28,197 and my son Jeremy said, hey, dad, are these rappelling hooks? 140 00:07:28,698 --> 00:07:33,836 And a rappelling hook is what, a rock climber will pound into the rocks 141 00:07:33,836 --> 00:07:38,608 to put the ropes in because it's so dangerous to do without ropes, right? 142 00:07:38,658 --> 00:07:40,226 We didn't have ropes. 143 00:07:40,226 --> 00:07:43,946 I had a backpack with two water bottles that left my phone in the car. 144 00:07:44,514 --> 00:07:47,366 All right, so we're outside Las Vegas, middle of the summer. 145 00:07:47,366 --> 00:07:49,352 It's literally 113 degrees. 146 00:07:49,352 --> 00:07:52,071 We are way out of our depth, right? 147 00:07:52,071 --> 00:07:55,074 So we try another way down, 148 00:07:55,158 --> 00:07:58,161 come to the same type of impasse. 149 00:07:58,277 --> 00:08:00,263 We did it three times. 150 00:08:00,263 --> 00:08:02,031 After the third time, we went back up. 151 00:08:02,031 --> 00:08:04,584 And my son has a really good sense of direction. 152 00:08:04,584 --> 00:08:07,253 And I turned him and said, Jeremy, you have to find the way. 153 00:08:07,253 --> 00:08:10,640 We came up because I don't have another mistake in me. 154 00:08:12,892 --> 00:08:15,328 I was praying, I mean, it's just going, God, 155 00:08:15,328 --> 00:08:19,081 I know, I know, I'm an idiot, but don't make him suffer right. 156 00:08:19,732 --> 00:08:20,399 Save him. 157 00:08:20,399 --> 00:08:23,119 Maybe I'll go with him. 158 00:08:23,119 --> 00:08:24,237 But. So, Jeremy, 159 00:08:24,237 --> 00:08:28,608 he searched his way down, and I just watch him, 160 00:08:29,308 --> 00:08:32,311 and I stay right with him. 161 00:08:32,695 --> 00:08:35,781 Thomas says to Jesus, we don't know where you're going. 162 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,602 How do how can we know the way 163 00:08:39,602 --> 00:08:42,588 he thinks that Jesus is going to give him a set of directions 164 00:08:43,639 --> 00:08:45,174 like a map? 165 00:08:45,174 --> 00:08:47,910 Every other religion gives you a map 166 00:08:47,910 --> 00:08:50,897 on how to get to God, like you want to get to God. 167 00:08:50,897 --> 00:08:54,467 Obey these rules, climb this ladder, walk this path, 168 00:08:55,701 --> 00:08:57,687 but not Jesus. 169 00:08:57,687 --> 00:09:00,089 Jesus comes and says, you. 170 00:09:00,089 --> 00:09:01,641 You want to find the way to God. 171 00:09:01,641 --> 00:09:02,425 It's not a map, 172 00:09:03,659 --> 00:09:05,478 it's a person. 173 00:09:05,478 --> 00:09:07,463 It's me. 174 00:09:07,463 --> 00:09:08,297 And this is the thing. 175 00:09:08,297 --> 00:09:12,602 If you think that you have another way that you can get to God 176 00:09:12,602 --> 00:09:16,289 or that there are multiple ways, and when Jesus says, I'm the only way, 177 00:09:16,939 --> 00:09:19,942 then that'll be offensive to you. 178 00:09:20,359 --> 00:09:21,594 But if you're like, 179 00:09:21,594 --> 00:09:25,848 I was, Will, you've tried a couple of ways to make yourself 180 00:09:25,848 --> 00:09:28,851 feel right with God, and you don't have another mistake in you. 181 00:09:29,852 --> 00:09:33,205 Then when Jesus says, I am the way, it's the best news you've ever heard. 182 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:36,959 Because Jesus is saying, listen, it's not a map. 183 00:09:36,959 --> 00:09:40,429 It's not based on your performance, it's based on mine. 184 00:09:41,597 --> 00:09:43,733 So you just stick with me. 185 00:09:43,733 --> 00:09:46,285 That's the first thing Jesus says. 186 00:09:46,285 --> 00:09:47,903 I am the way. 187 00:09:47,903 --> 00:09:50,239 The second thing is Jesus. The truth. 188 00:09:51,857 --> 00:09:53,759 There is a law for logic. 189 00:09:53,759 --> 00:09:56,696 It is the most basic law of logic. 190 00:09:56,696 --> 00:10:01,250 It provides for all reasoning, but also meaningful communication. 191 00:10:01,917 --> 00:10:04,920 It's called the law of non contradiction. 192 00:10:05,087 --> 00:10:08,274 And it's simply this that two opposing statements 193 00:10:08,691 --> 00:10:11,694 cannot be true at the same time in the same way. 194 00:10:11,927 --> 00:10:12,478 That's it. 195 00:10:12,478 --> 00:10:14,030 That's the law of non contradiction. 196 00:10:14,030 --> 00:10:18,117 Like if I say there's a table here and you say there's not a table here, 197 00:10:18,384 --> 00:10:21,570 one of us is right and one of us is wrong, we can't both be right. 198 00:10:22,588 --> 00:10:25,341 If there's a religion that says there are multiple gods 199 00:10:25,341 --> 00:10:27,777 and one and a religion that says there's one god, 200 00:10:27,777 --> 00:10:31,013 they could both be wrong, but they can't both be right. 201 00:10:31,013 --> 00:10:34,016 That's the law of non contradiction. 202 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,553 Truth in its purest 203 00:10:37,553 --> 00:10:40,556 form is always exclusive. 204 00:10:41,057 --> 00:10:44,477 Jesus says, I am the truth. 205 00:10:44,477 --> 00:10:46,579 What's he talking about? 206 00:10:46,579 --> 00:10:49,498 I think he's talking about at least three things. 207 00:10:49,498 --> 00:10:53,152 The first is Jesus is saying I am the truth about God. 208 00:10:53,853 --> 00:10:55,855 You want to know what God is like? 209 00:10:56,822 --> 00:10:57,540 Look at me. 210 00:10:57,540 --> 00:11:00,693 Other religious leaders would say, you want to know what God is like. 211 00:11:00,693 --> 00:11:02,662 I can tell you what God is like. 212 00:11:02,662 --> 00:11:04,547 Jesus goes one step further. 213 00:11:04,547 --> 00:11:08,000 He said, I will not only tell you what God is like, I'll show you. 214 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:08,934 Just watch me. 215 00:11:08,934 --> 00:11:11,787 That's what he says in verse seven. 216 00:11:11,787 --> 00:11:14,957 He says, if you had known me, you would have known my father also. 217 00:11:14,957 --> 00:11:20,246 From now on, you do know him and have seen him and his disciples. 218 00:11:20,246 --> 00:11:22,314 Philip doesn't quite understand. 219 00:11:22,314 --> 00:11:26,452 And Philip said to him, Lord, show us the father, and it's enough for us. 220 00:11:26,452 --> 00:11:29,672 And Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long? 221 00:11:29,672 --> 00:11:32,541 And you still do not know me? Philip. 222 00:11:32,541 --> 00:11:35,461 Whoever has seen me has seen the father. 223 00:11:35,461 --> 00:11:37,880 How can you say, show us the father? 224 00:11:39,382 --> 00:11:40,199 Jesus is 225 00:11:40,199 --> 00:11:43,202 saying, you want to know what God is like? 226 00:11:43,402 --> 00:11:45,738 Look at me. I'm the truth. 227 00:11:45,738 --> 00:11:49,008 The second thing is, he says, you want to know what you are really like. 228 00:11:49,759 --> 00:11:52,578 You need to look at me. 229 00:11:52,578 --> 00:11:57,299 Years ago, I took a golf lesson at, a country club near here. 230 00:11:57,633 --> 00:12:00,536 From the golf pro at that country club. 231 00:12:00,536 --> 00:12:03,873 And I was just talking to him, and I said, hey, how did you become a golf pro 232 00:12:04,256 --> 00:12:06,058 at this club? You know, a club? 233 00:12:06,058 --> 00:12:09,061 Because I didn't know how anybody became a club pro. 234 00:12:09,261 --> 00:12:13,399 He said, oh, well, this is the way I was playing golf for Ohio State. 235 00:12:14,033 --> 00:12:16,285 I was the best player on the team. 236 00:12:16,285 --> 00:12:19,171 My plan was to play in the Big Ten 237 00:12:19,171 --> 00:12:21,690 Conference championship, win that, 238 00:12:21,690 --> 00:12:24,143 then go into the PGA, 239 00:12:24,143 --> 00:12:28,247 earn my card, become rich and famous as a professional golfer. 240 00:12:29,365 --> 00:12:31,167 And I said, 241 00:12:31,167 --> 00:12:33,686 what happened? 242 00:12:33,686 --> 00:12:36,956 And he said, well, I played in the Big Ten Championship. 243 00:12:36,956 --> 00:12:39,708 There was another player for a University of Illinois. 244 00:12:39,708 --> 00:12:41,811 His name was Steve Stricker. 245 00:12:41,811 --> 00:12:44,730 Now, if you are a golfer and you know who Steve Stricker 246 00:12:44,730 --> 00:12:48,617 is, he, had a very, very good PGA career. 247 00:12:48,617 --> 00:12:51,620 I don't know if he's going to make the Hall of Fame or not, but he's really good. 248 00:12:52,488 --> 00:12:54,507 And this club pro said. 249 00:12:54,507 --> 00:12:57,827 So I was playing in the Big Ten Championship. 250 00:12:57,827 --> 00:13:01,530 Steve Stricker was playing Steve Stricker beat me by 18 strokes. 251 00:13:02,548 --> 00:13:04,166 He said, I had no idea. 252 00:13:04,166 --> 00:13:08,003 I had no idea how good I would have to be 253 00:13:08,788 --> 00:13:11,040 to make the PGA tour. 254 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,043 So now I'm a club pro. 255 00:13:14,460 --> 00:13:18,030 Jesus says, you, you want to know 256 00:13:18,981 --> 00:13:20,966 how good you are to. 257 00:13:20,966 --> 00:13:24,570 An awful lot of people will say to themselves and said, other people, 258 00:13:24,770 --> 00:13:26,789 I'm a pretty good person now. 259 00:13:26,789 --> 00:13:29,758 That's why I can find my own way to God, 260 00:13:29,758 --> 00:13:33,529 because I'm a I'm better than most the way you think. 261 00:13:33,529 --> 00:13:38,300 That is because you compare yourself to the people that you are friends 262 00:13:38,300 --> 00:13:41,537 with or around you, right? 263 00:13:42,171 --> 00:13:44,757 If you want to know if you're good enough for the PGA, 264 00:13:44,757 --> 00:13:46,442 you can't just play with the foursome. 265 00:13:46,442 --> 00:13:48,294 You usually play with. 266 00:13:48,294 --> 00:13:51,897 You got to play with somebody who's good enough to be on the PGA. 267 00:13:52,882 --> 00:13:55,651 Jesus says, you want to know 268 00:13:55,651 --> 00:13:59,088 how you stack up against the standard that God has? 269 00:14:00,289 --> 00:14:01,974 Look at me, 270 00:14:01,974 --> 00:14:02,992 look at me. 271 00:14:02,992 --> 00:14:05,995 There's a place in the Gospels where Jesus says, 272 00:14:05,995 --> 00:14:09,448 you need to be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. 273 00:14:09,448 --> 00:14:12,051 Then Jesus lived a perfect life. 274 00:14:13,285 --> 00:14:14,186 Peter 275 00:14:14,186 --> 00:14:17,389 and his letter Peter was one of the disciples. 276 00:14:18,173 --> 00:14:20,809 He said, there is no sin. 277 00:14:20,809 --> 00:14:22,161 Jesus committed no sin. 278 00:14:22,161 --> 00:14:24,680 There was no deceit found in his mouth. 279 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:28,801 What he was saying is, I lived with him 24 seven for three years, 280 00:14:30,119 --> 00:14:32,087 and he was perfect. 281 00:14:32,087 --> 00:14:34,173 Jesus says, you want to know what you really like? 282 00:14:34,173 --> 00:14:34,557 You know. 283 00:14:34,557 --> 00:14:37,610 You want to know how you stack up with the standard that God has. 284 00:14:38,544 --> 00:14:41,297 Don't look at other people. Look at me. 285 00:14:41,297 --> 00:14:43,682 I'll show you the truth about yourself. 286 00:14:43,682 --> 00:14:47,519 The final thing is he shows us the truth about our need. 287 00:14:47,519 --> 00:14:48,771 About my need? 288 00:14:48,771 --> 00:14:50,239 You know, whenever somebody asked me 289 00:14:50,239 --> 00:14:53,642 why I believe in Christianity, I will give him one of two answers. 290 00:14:54,109 --> 00:14:58,831 The first answer I give them is that I believe that the resurrection happened. 291 00:14:59,548 --> 00:15:03,769 I mean, if the resurrection happened, then Christianity is true. 292 00:15:04,887 --> 00:15:06,572 Like full stop. 293 00:15:06,572 --> 00:15:11,210 If the resurrection of Jesus did not happen, then Christianity is not true. 294 00:15:11,427 --> 00:15:12,628 Full stop. 295 00:15:12,628 --> 00:15:14,847 That's what the Bible says, and I'm okay with that. 296 00:15:14,847 --> 00:15:17,850 But I am convinced the resurrection happened, 297 00:15:18,017 --> 00:15:20,219 and we're going to talk about that next week. 298 00:15:20,219 --> 00:15:24,073 And I can't tell you really what we can, but, you know, that's 299 00:15:24,073 --> 00:15:27,242 there's going to be live preaching in both venues 300 00:15:27,242 --> 00:15:29,812 here and over in the gym, which we're going to transform. 301 00:15:29,812 --> 00:15:33,449 And so Zach and I will be preaching and we're both going to do the same thing. 302 00:15:33,449 --> 00:15:36,268 We've never done it before. It's going to be very cool. 303 00:15:36,268 --> 00:15:38,153 Can't tell you about it. Yeah. Gotta come right. 304 00:15:38,153 --> 00:15:39,805 Just I'll let you know. 305 00:15:39,805 --> 00:15:40,823 But it's going to be great. 306 00:15:40,823 --> 00:15:43,559 All right. 307 00:15:43,559 --> 00:15:45,177 But that's what I tell him first. 308 00:15:45,177 --> 00:15:46,979 The second reason I'll tell them that I believe in 309 00:15:46,979 --> 00:15:49,048 Christianity is because it just makes sense to me 310 00:15:50,366 --> 00:15:51,116 because and I, 311 00:15:51,116 --> 00:15:54,119 when I, when I say that, what I mean is I'm a dad, 312 00:15:54,119 --> 00:15:57,122 and I feel like I understand something about justice and love. 313 00:15:58,040 --> 00:15:59,541 Like I love my kids. 314 00:15:59,541 --> 00:16:00,893 If if one of my kids 315 00:16:00,893 --> 00:16:03,445 got into financial trouble and they were going to lose their home, 316 00:16:03,445 --> 00:16:06,632 become homeless, I would do everything I could 317 00:16:07,232 --> 00:16:10,219 to gather the money to pay off their debt. 318 00:16:10,953 --> 00:16:13,339 And that makes sense to me that if they had a debt, 319 00:16:13,339 --> 00:16:16,342 they could not pay out of love. 320 00:16:16,759 --> 00:16:19,762 I could step in and pay that debt. 321 00:16:20,245 --> 00:16:22,314 Makes sense 322 00:16:22,314 --> 00:16:27,619 now if they happen to get into debt with the mafia, with the mob. 323 00:16:27,686 --> 00:16:31,824 And it was something that neither of us could pay, and the mob sent 324 00:16:31,824 --> 00:16:36,261 word to say, listen, somebody's going to have to pay with their life. 325 00:16:37,312 --> 00:16:39,531 Somebody's got to die. 326 00:16:39,531 --> 00:16:42,534 And I stepped forward and said, okay, take me. 327 00:16:43,018 --> 00:16:45,387 I will stand in as the substitute. 328 00:16:45,387 --> 00:16:47,539 That makes sense to me, to 329 00:16:47,539 --> 00:16:49,358 it makes sense to Hollywood. 330 00:16:49,358 --> 00:16:51,143 And they make movies about it all the time. 331 00:16:51,143 --> 00:16:54,146 There's a movie called Man on Fire with Denzel Washington, 332 00:16:54,713 --> 00:16:58,584 plays a guy, there's a crime boss, and you don't have to know much about the movie. 333 00:16:58,584 --> 00:16:59,935 I give it to. 334 00:16:59,935 --> 00:17:00,953 There's a crime, boss. 335 00:17:00,953 --> 00:17:06,091 He's kidnaped a little girl he calls Denzel Washington, and he says this. 336 00:17:06,892 --> 00:17:09,895 Your life for her life. 337 00:17:10,579 --> 00:17:12,798 Your life 338 00:17:12,798 --> 00:17:14,133 for her life. 339 00:17:14,133 --> 00:17:15,651 And nobody's watching the movie goes. 340 00:17:15,651 --> 00:17:17,302 Doesn't make any sense. 341 00:17:17,302 --> 00:17:18,287 It makes perfect sense. 342 00:17:18,287 --> 00:17:21,206 And it's based on a true story. And sure enough, that's what happens. 343 00:17:21,206 --> 00:17:24,927 Denzel Washington trades himself for the little girl. 344 00:17:24,927 --> 00:17:25,711 She goes free. 345 00:17:28,464 --> 00:17:31,316 Listen. 346 00:17:31,316 --> 00:17:32,634 You know, if if I 347 00:17:32,634 --> 00:17:36,388 have a debt to God that is so great, I cannot pay it myself. 348 00:17:37,523 --> 00:17:40,976 I need somebody who will say, I will pay that debt for you. 349 00:17:41,927 --> 00:17:45,564 And if that debt is so great, that don't cost me my life. 350 00:17:46,398 --> 00:17:49,218 I need somebody to step in and say, 351 00:17:49,218 --> 00:17:51,887 my life, for your life, 352 00:17:51,887 --> 00:17:52,588 my life for you. 353 00:17:52,588 --> 00:17:54,690 That's the gospel. 354 00:17:54,690 --> 00:17:57,326 Listen, if if you want to know the truth 355 00:17:57,326 --> 00:18:00,329 about God, about what God is like, look at Jesus. 356 00:18:01,130 --> 00:18:04,399 If you want to know the truth about yourself, where you are 357 00:18:04,399 --> 00:18:07,402 with the standard that God has set, look at Jesus. 358 00:18:08,387 --> 00:18:11,540 If you want to know what it takes to be forgiven, 359 00:18:13,075 --> 00:18:16,078 what can happen to set you free? 360 00:18:17,246 --> 00:18:18,230 Then look at Jesus. 361 00:18:19,381 --> 00:18:21,600 Jesus says, 362 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:23,268 I am the truth. 363 00:18:23,268 --> 00:18:24,570 I am the truth. 364 00:18:24,570 --> 00:18:26,338 That's the second thing. 365 00:18:26,338 --> 00:18:29,758 The third point is he says, I am life. 366 00:18:30,392 --> 00:18:31,977 I am the life. 367 00:18:31,977 --> 00:18:33,595 Here's a question 368 00:18:33,595 --> 00:18:37,533 what do you think you need to be really happy? 369 00:18:37,533 --> 00:18:41,720 What do you need to have a full life like full to the brim 370 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,240 from now until you die your whole life? 371 00:18:45,958 --> 00:18:49,828 Like if I said to you, you can write out a list, like a Christmas list. 372 00:18:49,828 --> 00:18:52,831 And I will give you everything on that list. 373 00:18:53,282 --> 00:18:55,851 If you write out that list, how 374 00:18:55,851 --> 00:18:58,620 how certain are you 375 00:18:58,620 --> 00:19:02,424 that if everything on that list is met, that you will you will have life 376 00:19:03,025 --> 00:19:06,028 and have it abundantly? 377 00:19:06,478 --> 00:19:10,048 I don't think you ought to be very confident of that list, 378 00:19:11,183 --> 00:19:11,783 you know, 379 00:19:11,783 --> 00:19:14,820 and I say that because I, I was thinking about my own life 380 00:19:14,820 --> 00:19:18,407 and how my list has changed all the time, the things that I thought 381 00:19:18,407 --> 00:19:23,579 would make me happy, like when I was ten, I wanted to I wanted to be gone. 382 00:19:23,579 --> 00:19:24,930 I was like the kid from, 383 00:19:24,930 --> 00:19:28,100 you know, the Christmas Carol, just like, let me put my eye out. 384 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:31,787 And so I wanted to be gone from my dad. 385 00:19:31,887 --> 00:19:33,422 I asked him for that for Christmas. 386 00:19:33,422 --> 00:19:36,542 He gave it to me. It's a great Christmas. 387 00:19:37,109 --> 00:19:40,462 It filled me to the brim for about a month. 388 00:19:41,580 --> 00:19:43,615 And you think, oh, you were a child. 389 00:19:43,615 --> 00:19:45,317 Yeah, that's true. 390 00:19:45,317 --> 00:19:48,320 When I was 19, in college, 391 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:53,492 I was on a basketball scholarship, but I was able to fill myself up 392 00:19:53,492 --> 00:19:57,963 with everything that was supposed to make a college kid happy. 393 00:19:58,647 --> 00:20:00,382 And that lasted about eight months. 394 00:20:01,917 --> 00:20:05,387 Oscar Wilde was he famously said this 395 00:20:05,387 --> 00:20:09,541 when the gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers. 396 00:20:10,642 --> 00:20:13,645 When the gods want to punish us, 397 00:20:14,179 --> 00:20:15,264 they answer our prayers. 398 00:20:15,264 --> 00:20:17,216 What's he saying? 399 00:20:17,216 --> 00:20:19,885 He said, we don't even know what to put 400 00:20:19,885 --> 00:20:22,037 on the list. 401 00:20:22,037 --> 00:20:25,040 When Jesus says, I am the life, 402 00:20:25,741 --> 00:20:28,577 he's talking about something else. 403 00:20:28,577 --> 00:20:30,212 There's a story in John chapter 404 00:20:30,212 --> 00:20:33,865 four where Jesus is outside of a little town called Sychar, 405 00:20:34,549 --> 00:20:38,537 and a woman comes out to draw water, and she has had five husbands. 406 00:20:38,537 --> 00:20:41,540 The man she's living with is not her husband. 407 00:20:41,690 --> 00:20:45,360 She has a conversation with Jesus and Jesus says, basically, 408 00:20:45,861 --> 00:20:48,864 you've been making a list your whole life and it's never worked for you 409 00:20:49,848 --> 00:20:51,083 if you would ask me. 410 00:20:51,083 --> 00:20:55,704 And then he says this, I would become inside of you offspring, 411 00:20:56,672 --> 00:20:58,106 welling up to eternal life. 412 00:20:58,106 --> 00:21:00,392 Spring. 413 00:21:00,392 --> 00:21:03,378 But Jesus says to his disciples, is this 414 00:21:04,229 --> 00:21:06,265 you don't need a list. 415 00:21:06,265 --> 00:21:07,049 Don't keep thinking. 416 00:21:07,049 --> 00:21:10,052 You need a list to fill your life up. 417 00:21:10,068 --> 00:21:12,070 All you need is me. 418 00:21:12,070 --> 00:21:14,089 Iron is me. 419 00:21:14,089 --> 00:21:17,092 Augustine said, 420 00:21:17,576 --> 00:21:19,578 our hearts are restless 421 00:21:19,578 --> 00:21:23,515 until we find our rest in thee, O Lord. 422 00:21:25,667 --> 00:21:26,718 Listen. 423 00:21:26,718 --> 00:21:29,721 The disciples were unsettled. 424 00:21:30,272 --> 00:21:32,424 They were rattled, 425 00:21:32,424 --> 00:21:33,859 and Jesus came to them. 426 00:21:33,859 --> 00:21:37,579 And he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 427 00:21:38,547 --> 00:21:41,550 No one comes to the father except through me. 428 00:21:41,667 --> 00:21:43,702 It's going to be okay. 429 00:21:43,702 --> 00:21:46,705 So this is the message I have for you. 430 00:21:46,738 --> 00:21:49,007 No matter what you're going through, 431 00:21:49,007 --> 00:21:52,010 no matter what's going on in your life, 432 00:21:53,362 --> 00:21:55,230 this is what I say. 433 00:21:55,230 --> 00:21:58,100 Let not your heart be troubled 434 00:21:58,100 --> 00:22:00,802 the way the truth 435 00:22:00,802 --> 00:22:03,805 and the life has come for you. 436 00:22:04,172 --> 00:22:05,340 And his name is Jesus. 437 00:22:06,508 --> 00:22:09,261 Did you pray with me? 438 00:22:09,261 --> 00:22:11,029 Lord Jesus, we come to you. 439 00:22:11,029 --> 00:22:14,583 And I, all of your statements, I love 440 00:22:15,417 --> 00:22:18,420 when you tell us who you really are. 441 00:22:18,887 --> 00:22:22,524 This one is the one that divides people 442 00:22:23,158 --> 00:22:27,145 where it offends people because they can't believe that you would be so exclusive. 443 00:22:27,145 --> 00:22:29,448 But for those of us 444 00:22:29,448 --> 00:22:33,535 who have found you, who are don't have another mistake in us. 445 00:22:34,970 --> 00:22:37,322 This is the best news in the world. 446 00:22:37,322 --> 00:22:39,291 I pray for every one of us here. 447 00:22:39,291 --> 00:22:42,327 I pray that for all of us you would become 448 00:22:42,894 --> 00:22:45,897 the way, the truth and the life. 449 00:22:46,531 --> 00:22:47,966 Fill us up. 450 00:22:47,966 --> 00:22:50,969 Thanks for being such a wonderful Savior. 451 00:22:50,969 --> 00:22:53,372 We pray this in your name. Amen.