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8 Sep 2022
Key Verse 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.”
Since ancient times, mankind has been searching for the way of life. Confucius, a Chinese teacher around 500 BC said: "If I found the way of life one morning, I would have no regrets, even if I died that evening."
Jesus knows the way of life. That is why he says to us: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Today, we want to learn the way of truth and enjoy eternal blissful life.
1. “Have faith in me!”
A Danish pioneer's promise to his wife
North of Chicago, on the southern shore of Portage Lake, is a small town called Houghton, and this town has a population of about 7000, and most of the residents are of German and Finnish descent.
In the early 20th century, a man named Morison Peterson from Denmark planned to immigrate to the United States with his family. But first he wanted to go there alone to prepare a house for his family.
He said to his wife,
"Elisabeth, I want to go to America and build a beautiful house in Houghton for you and our children. And when I've finished building the house, I'll come back and pick you and kids up."
Then his wife said, "You have to come back and pick us up. Without you, we will never find the way there.”
He replied, "You can trust me, Elizabeth. I'll be sure to come back and pick you up."
And she trusted him.
And Mr. Peterson first went to America by ship. He then took a train to Houghton. There he built a beautiful house. After that he came back to Denmark and picked up his wife and children. They saw their beautiful new home in Houghton.
Some 60 or 70 years later, one of his daughters saw a television documentary about the immigration days in Houghton. She had now forgotten her immigration history. But while watching the show, her memory came back. For example, she recalled how her relatives in Denmark waved goodbye to her.
How can we find our future home in the kingdom of heaven?
We need not worry about this, for Jesus has prepared a house for us, and he will come again and lead us to our new home, as Mr. Peterson led his family from Denmark to Houghton.
Jesus had just eaten the Passover meal with his disciples and washed their feet. He had also foretold the betrayal of Judah and the denial of Peter. This was a time of crisis for the disciples.
In this crisis, Jesus said to them:
“Do not be afraid of your hearts! Believe in God and believe in me! In my father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have said to you" (1-2).
Jesus taught here that they should believe in God and in Jesus, because Jesus has prepared everything for them in the kingdom of heaven.
With these words, Jesus planted a living hope in their hearts. Because of this hope, his disciples and we should not be afraid, despite many negative events, but rather believe firmly in Jesus and have a firm perspective for the future.
We are to believe that Jesus is with us through the Holy Spirit and will lead us safely back to the heavenly house. Jesus promises that he will go up to prepare the heavenly mansions for us and then come back and take us there. So, we can believe his promise as Mrs. Peterson believed her husband.
In this world we hear different news that scare us. It can be news of great inflation, devastating debt, the outbreak of war, or cancer. We then become startled and anxious. Because of fear, we can become restless.
But Jesus says to us:
“Do not be afraid of your hearts! Believe in God and believe in me!”
Heiko Bräuning's song is as follows:
“Before the uncertain future: trust God!
In hopeless situations: trust God!
In the hopeless days: Trust God!
In the hour of fear: trust God!
1. Words that teach fear, crises that increase fear,
walls, that block the view, plans that we can't see through.
People who scare us, hardships that roll over,
dramas, that leave us speechless, worries that create problems.
Do not be afraid of your heart, believe in God and believe in me.
Do not be afraid of your heart, believe in God and believe in me.
2. Departure into the unknown, the unplanned casts shadows,
farewell, which is endlessly difficult for us, doubt which torments the heart deeply.
Mistakes that are never forgiven, guilt that happened so long ago,
hope for a new beginning, fears because it failed so often.
Do not be afraid of your heart, believe in God and believe in me.
Do not be afraid of your heart, believe in God and believe in me.”
2. “I am the way”
When I was about 5 years old, I visited once the marketplace with my mother, which was about 7 km from our house. Of course we walked. The marketplace was quite big and the market was opened every 5 days. The marketplace was crowded with many sellers and buyers. I was very curious and lost my mother in the process. What do I do as a no child? I kicked the way home by walking back home following the path that my mom and I walked when I got there, and I was able to come back home safely. My mother worried a lot, looked for me everywhere in the marketplace, and finally came home and found me.
But there is another way home that many people do not yet know.
Yesterday I got the news from Mrs. Edelgard that her husband had gone to Heavenly Father on September 4th because of cancer.
Some people ask, "Who am I? Where do I come from? Why do I live here? Where should I go?” etc. They think about where they will go after they die.
Will death be a final end, or is there life everlasting?
Jesus said he would go and prepare dwellings for us and come back to get us.
He wanted to give us good future prospects and prepare good apartments for us.
Therefore he said, as the Dane said to his wife:
“Do not be afraid of your heart! Believe in God and believe in me! There are many mansions in my father's house.
If it were not, I would have said to you: I am going to prepare the place for you, and then I will come back and take you with me, so that you may be where I am. You know the way I am going” (1-4).
But the disciples did not know the way Jesus wanted to go.
That's why Thomas said,
“Lord, we don't know where you're going; how can we know the way?”
We should not be too hard on the disciples, for we often behave like them. For example, when we are ill, having relationship problems, or having financial problems, we wonder whether we have taken a wrong way or not.
Jesus' answer to Thomas' question is clear. He says to him and to us:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father without me” (6).
But in a real situation we forget this answer, and we worry a lot. We feel like we've lost the way of life because of the today’s problems.
But Jesus himself is our way to the Father; he has not lost us, but leads us safely to the heavenly Father. For this he sent us the Holy Spirit and is always with us through the Holy Spirit and guides us on the way.
Jesus tells us: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
We are not to think that there are different ways. If we think so, we become confused and rack our brains. But Jesus himself is our way, the truth and blessed, eternal life.
If we are with Jesus, we are on the right path. And Jesus guides us on his way and leads us safely to the heavenly father.
Today, most cars have a navigator. We trust the direction of the navigator and follow it. And we find the place easily.
Jesus is our navigator. We can follow His instruction with confidence and come to the kingdom of heaven safely. If we don't trust the Navigator's instruction, we may doubt whether we are on the right path.
If we don't trust Jesus' leading, we will have doubts, as if we are on the wrong path.
For example, if we imagine the walk with Jesus to be a smooth, triumphant walk with no apparent defeat, then we begin to doubt Jesus' perfect providence.
For a time, Jesus' disciples also believed that Jesus would set up a messianic kingdom and appoint his disciples to be ministers. But Jesus kept saying that he would come to God through suffering, death on the cross and resurrection.
In this sense Jesus says to us: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Correct! Jesus is our way and the truth and the life. Through his passion, death, and resurrection he became the way to God. Therefore, he himself is the way to the father and to life.
We don't need to worry about how to come to God. What we are to do is simply trust in Him and follow Him like a motorist follows the navigator's instruction.
With Jesus we are in God and are in the kingdom of heaven.
Most people in the world don't know where they are going. Therefore, they take some human way. One takes a philosophical path. Another takes a humanistic path and mainly does something good. A third chooses the path of a famous founder of a religion such as Buddha or Mohamed.
But such a path does not lead us to God, nor to the kingdom of heaven.
If people don't know a safe way to God, they become desperate, especially when their last earthly time comes. This is why the deathbed of an unbeliever is often a scary hour, while a good Christian's deathbed is peaceful.
Jesus Christ says to us: "Do not let your hearts be troubled! Believe in God and believe in me”
Jesus is the way of life and victory. And he is with us. So we don't need to be afraid even if we have big problems.
Any concern among us? Each of us has some concern because we live in this world. For example, we have health problems, financial problems, work problems, relationship problems, etc.
We should strive to solve our problems. But we should calmly accept the fact that every person in the world has some problem.
However, it is important that we know our basic problem and know the solution to the problem. The solution to the basic problem is: Do I know the way of life? The solution is called Jesus, for he is the way, the truth, and the life. Am I trusting in Jesus? Then I have the solution to my basic problem.
And Jesus is faithful and unchanging. He can faithfully accompany us at all times and lead us safely to the heavenly house.
He sometimes leads us through a narrow path. But He always gives us victory and leads us to God and to eternal life. That's for sure. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
If we have faith in Jesus, we are victors, regardless of whether we are currently struggling or not.
Jesus Christ can lead us down a slippery highway or down a bad road.
But we don't need to worry because it will lead us safely to our destination.
We are not to lose heart because of the glory of this world.
This world is not our destination.
Our goal is the kingdom of heaven.
We are not to become arrogant when God grants us success or glory in this world.
We should always keep our eyes on our destination.
Joseph in Genesis is a good example of this. He was the Prime Minister in Egypt. But he forgot neither God nor his destination, namely the kingdom of heaven. He remained humble and grateful before God and prepared well for eternal happiness.
Jesus says to us: "Do not be afraid of your hearts! Believe in God and believe in me! In my father's house are many mansions."
Despite various problems, we are not to worry much because Jesus has guaranteed us that he will come again and lead us safely to the heavenly homeland.
Jesus is our way. He is our guide.
Our destination is heaven.
Our Lord will give us joy, peace, and strength during this journey.
You should remember the word of the Danish emigrant.
He said to his wife,
"Don't worry. I will come back and take you with me.”
Jesus tells us the same thing: “I will come back and take you to heavenly mansions.” Amen
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