Gateway Church's Podcast
The Way
Good morning turn to John chapter 14 we're starting our series today Jesus aka which stands for also known as and today Jesus aka the way part one of a four-part series while you're turning there I want to tell you a story about Billy Graham you know how much I love Billy Graham and recently he was returning from a trip from speaking and came to the airport near the long stretch black limo there and you know he was walking to the limo and says you know I'm in my 80s and I'm never driven a limo and I'm Billy Graham so I'm going to drive the limo so he asked the driver said look you hop in the back just enjoy yourself I know the way to my house I want to drive so he gets in the car and starts driving gets out on the freeway and there's a rookie police officer on the side of the interstate and Billy Graham goes by him doing 70 and a 55 so the state trip pulls him over and you know walks up to the window and when the window rolls down he realizes it's Billy Graham driving the limo so he doesn't say anything he just kind of walks back to his car radios and says Sarge I have a problem and I know sometimes when we pull over limousines that have important people inside that they get certain curdices I have a big problem though he said well who'd you pull over the governor he said no somebody a lot more important than the governor and you know this guy's a rookie so the Sarge goes what who'd you pull over the president or someone and he says no this is not someone a lot more important than the president so who'd you pull over he says I think I pulled over Jesus because Billy Graham is driving the limo it's pretty good huh hey what do you think Billy Graham's driving the limo all right Jesus aka the way Jesus known as the way now before we get into this series we're going to be talking about the names of Jesus and names and descriptions of Jesus over the next four weeks and in the Bible there are around 350 names and descriptions of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation the whole Bible talks about Yeshua the Messiah coming to the earth and so this week we're going to take about 75 and then next week no really going to take about three or four week but my goal is really really simple I want you just to think about Jesus more often that's it the bottom line after this four weeks I want you to read the Bible and as you read the Bible you will see Jesus in more and more scriptures after this series that's my goal of my hope even studying for this series I'm thinking more about Jesus than I've ever thought about him before and that's a good thing do you agree? Well Jesus by the way in the New Testament was a fairly common name it was like John or Bill or William that's your name I'm sorry but that's a common name and so that's why in the Bible they would say Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the son of Joseph because there was a lot of little Jesus boys running around and they said which Jesus are you talking about Jesus you know of Nazareth oh that Jesus by the way there's another Jesus even mentioned in the New Testament Colossians 4 talks about another man named Jesus it was a very common name but Jesus can trace that name all the way back to Joshua you know that I mean just tell you how the name Jesus came about it started out as a name called Hosea which was turned to Moses into Yahshua which where we get the Greek name Joshua then after the exile Yahshua or Joshua was named Yeshua which is what the Jewish people actually called Jesus while he was walking the earth was Yeshua they didn't say Jesus they said Yeshua we say Jesus because it's the Greek form of it you know what the word Yeshua or Jesus really means it means to save his name identifies his purpose for coming to the earth Yeshua means to save and so that's the origin of the name and we're going to see other names in description and in John chapter 14 verse 1 this part of scripture is called the holy of holies the final few hours of Jesus' life on the earth where he really begins to talk about eternity begins to talk about the role of the disciples this is called the holy of holies by the way no one said more about themselves while using less words than Jesus do you agree with that no one revealed more about themselves while using fewer words than Jesus and he does this in John chapter 14 he's talking to Thomas Thomas knows that Jesus is about the dynies he's saying I want to know the way so let's look at this conversation and Thomas is very upset here in verse 1 don't be troubled you trust God now trust in me there are many rooms in my father's home and I'm going to prepare a place for you if this were not so I would tell you plainly when everything is ready I will come and get you that's great news by the way that's for all of us I will come and get you so that you will always be with me where I am and you know where I'm going and how to get there not believe Jesus is assuming an awful lot here now he what he's saying is Thomas you've been with me for a long time maybe three years or more and I've been telling you I'm going to heaven I am the Messiah and one day you're going to join me in heaven for eternity if you believe in me and Thomas you believe in me the Thomas still had not caught the truth of what God was trying to say and now verse five we skip over this many times because verse six is the real famous part of this passage but we cannot understand verse six if you don't catch the question that Thomas asked in verse five so here's what he said verse five no we don't low we don't Lord we don't know how to get there Lord we have an any idea where you're going now remember Jesus just tells Thomas he's just basically Thomas Thomas you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer but obviously you know what I'm talking about Thomas is talking about I II until he realizes he doesn't know the answer and then he starts saying we we we ever notice people do that as long as you think they're smart they say I when they realize they don't have the answer they say we Thomas says no Lord we don't know I'm not the only one that doesn't get this Lord I'm not the only one no we don't know Lord we have an any idea where you're going so how can we know the way now listen to me very closely every lost person on the earth today is asking that question Lord we believe there's a God but we don't know the way how do we get there we want to be with God how do we get there show us the way begging the church they're begging gateway to show them the way and then in verse six in nineteen words Jesus totally changes the philosophy everything of humanity with nineteen words in nineteen words Jesus totally changes our thoughts about heaven and about eternity verse six Jesus told them that didn't count the 19 words okay the 19 words start now I am the way the truth and the life no one can come to the father except through me I am the way the truth and the life no one can come to the father except through me now you think about you your Thomas and you hear this from Jesus it one of those things just saying I'm the way would have blown Thomas's mind but instead he says I'm the way I'm the truth and I am the life and no one on the earth can come to the father except through me with those 19 words Jesus answers three of the greatest questions that have ever been asked by humankind they're still being asked today here's the first question how can I know God now I want you to hear something this morning I personally believe that there are not a great many great number of atheists on the earth they may call themselves atheists until they're hanging off a cliff you know until they suddenly become believers most people most people who even people who call themselves atheist believe that there is a higher power they believe that there is a God in heaven they just don't know how to describe it they don't know how to get there they don't agree with all the paths that do lead there so they just call themselves an atheist because they don't understand how to get to God but it's not that they don't believe in God they believe they were divinely created it's obvious that there's some higher power and they just don't understand all of it now so everyone's asking how did I get to God and six times in the book of Acts when people were described as being a disciple of Jesus they were described as followers of the way believers in the way because of why Jesus said in John 14 I am the way and so it began to be known well you want to know the way to God I'm a follower of the way I'm a believer in the way and that's how they were described in the book of Acts so let's look now at Acts chapter 4 verse 11 because I want you to really catch this truth and I know you're asking well Brady we all understand this we know that Jesus is the only way to God you want to hear something very alarming though a recent study just released by George Barna who in my opinion is the foremost student of the belief systems of the American church the foremost expert just released a recent study very recent and you know what his findings found that 60 percent of people who call themselves born-again Christians in America 60 percent of American people who call themselves born-again believers are not quite sure that Jesus is the only way to God they believe he is a way almost everyone agrees with that that Jesus is a way to God 6 out of 10 let's say there's 10 people here there's close to 10 people on this front row what they're saying is is that we all may be nodding our head in here but chances are that 6 out of a 10 people sitting on this front row are not quite sure if in fact Jesus is the only way to God in heaven and yet everything we believe hinges on this do you agree everything we believe as a church everything we believe hinges on the fact that he's either telling the truth or he is not he said in John 14 I am the way and he repeats it through our scriptures are so many places in scripture that I could point to I'm just going to take you to one in Acts chapter four verse 11 for Jesus is the one referred to in the scriptures where it says the stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone verse 12 there is salvation and no one else let me ask you a question is that clear or unclear I mean is there a lot of debate about that scripture there is salvation in no one else and then in just in case we haven't caught the truth of this he repeats it again he says this there is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them I want you to hear something your children are being told something different by the world your grandchildren's belief system is under great attack right now six out of ten of born again people are not sure if this is true or not do you understand what's at risk here if Jesus lied about this then everything changes he said I am the way John 10 says he says I am the door to the sheep on the door no sheep can come in unless they come through me see there's a popular teaching today that says that there are many paths that lead to God that teaching is prevalent among most people outside the church they believe that Jesus obviously is a way he was a prophet of God they believe they may even say he was the son of God but he was just a way that pointed to God and there are many ways that point to God can I tell you what this feeds it feeds our postmodern mindset we're living now in the postmodern world and here's what the postmodern culture teaches and believes that all opinions are valid and that there is no absolute truth that your opinion about God and my opinion about God should have equal weight in our discussion and we should not worry ourselves with what is absolute truth what we should worry ourselves about is do you have a valid opinion and it's valid only if you have it if you have an opinion then I respect that I need to respect your opinion you need to respect my opinion but let's not get caught up in absolute truth today listen the problem with that is that there is an absolute truth and I'm going to talk about that in just a minute well let's go now to Matthew chapter 7 verse 13 because Jesus describes the decision to follow him to heaven is narrow and difficult and so it feeds into the mindset that maybe it is narrow maybe we are narrow-minded maybe we haven't caught this maybe we need to open up our minds to other possibilities when in actuality this scripture is misinterpreted I'm going to show you how it's misinterpreted in Matthew chapter 7 verse 13 it says "enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it sounds to me like heaven's hard to find sounds to me like God made it pretty hard for us here's why Jesus was describing he was describing the city of Jerusalem when he was painting a picture for them he said listen there are some wide gates that the general public uses to get in and out of the city they're very broad where you can get your carts in and out and then there are some other narrow passages that maybe politicians or those who need protection or those who have specialized access these are the narrow ways that you can get into the city and he was he was comparing the way to eternity through Jesus as the narrow passage and he was he was showing at the broad open general passage where the masses of people went in and out of the city as the way that leads to destruction now if we stop right there without really thinking about the context of the scripture or what Jesus was trying to describe we might conclude that with Jesus why did you make it so hard it's not narrow or difficult because of the requirements for entry salvation by grace is the easiest possible formula and idea that God could have given us simply believe the payment for all the sins of your past all the sins for today and all the sins for tomorrow are taken care of if you will simply believe and after you believe you don't have to keep earning it by your works faith comes by works salvation's by grace how much easier could it be for any of us so the way to heaven is not narrow or difficult because of the requirements for entry it is not narrow because God doesn't want a crowded heaven you know we want one acre lots we want all our mansions to back up to a nice green belt we don't want to be crowded i mean we're crowded in here we're crowded in our neighborhood so when we get to heaven let's not let let's just not let a lot of people in it's it's not as messy that way and i want all that look like me and act like me let me ask you if this is a deep theological question i want to ask you i want you to think about it do you believe that heaven is large enough that if every person who was ever born were to choose to follow Christ that there would be room in heaven for those people do you really you think that heaven right now is big enough so if every person who ever walked the earth chose to believe in Christ that there would be room in heaven for all of those people listen you must believe that because it's true it's not narrow or difficult because Jesus doesn't want a crowded heaven it's not narrow or difficult because God is hard to find either Jesus came and lived out an open view preached an open view preached in public gatherings in front of hundreds of thousands of people either saw him heard him believed in him he died a very public death when he was resurrected over 500 people according to the bible over 500 witnesses saw him after his resurrection and he left behind a very clear path to god a written very detailed account of his life and a very detailed blueprint of how to find god and this book by the way is the most widely published most widely read book that's ever been written or published god is not hard to find so that's not what Matthew chapter seven is saying here's why Jesus said it was narrow and difficult it's narrow and difficult only by comparison because we have an enemy who has strategically produced so many alternatives thousands hundreds of thousands of alternatives that it seems narrow and difficult only by comparison it's like saying Dallas Fort Worth is a small city compared to Tokyo is Dallas Fort Worth a small city no it's not have you ever been to Tokyo have you ever been to Mexico City have you ever been to Cairo it is small in comparison to them to all those places that's why Jesus is saying the road to heaven is clearly marked out salvation by grace it's been plain sight I left behind a powerful church I left behind two point three billion witnesses on the earth to show you the way it is not narrow or difficult because God's hard to find because he doesn't want to crowded heaven it's because the enemy has produced so many alternatives that it seems narrow and difficult only by comparison listen this is the wrong question to be asking anyway here's what the world says this is what the world's teaching today before Jesus came there were so many ways to God and God felt like it was confusing so he sent Jesus and said look all those ways now are invalid I'm going to narrow it down to one place in this Jesus that's what the world teaches that Jesus came and that believers have made him the narrow choice because we're saying he's the only way and all the choices that were available before Jesus are no longer valid here's the truth before Jesus came there was no way to God and if Jesus had not come and if he had not died there would be no way to God our sins separated us from God and only one payment only one thing only God only required one thing the perfect sacrifice from the pure spotless lamb of heaven and once that was paid he said that's all I need now Jesus you are the way to God and that is the truth here's the second question by the way that I am the way the truth and the life answered what is absolute truth what is absolute truth are you do you understand that there's a great debate now that there are no absolute there are no absolute truths if Jesus said I am the only way to God and no man can get to God except through me if that is true do you agree that that's true this morning 10 out of 10 okay 10 out of 10 we agree now if Jesus said I'm the only way you're going to get to God do you agree this morning that God in heaven the father in heaven is the center of all absolute truth do you believe that or is there another source of absolute truth Jesus said at the enemy the devil there's no truth in him he speaks only lies so we know that the center of all truth is only found in God the father right and if Jesus said I am the only way to God the father then guess what the teachings of Jesus is absolute truth they are absolute truth let me ask you a question why do you consider absolute truth this morning for your life and for your family what are you teaching your children and your grandchildren what do you consider as absolute truth just think about what you consider this is something for you to think about next week now let me ask you a question can you trace the origins of those truths back to the teachings of Jesus if you cannot trace the origins of your beliefs back to the teachings of Jesus chances are you're believing something that's not absolute truth that's why we must know this you must be able to describe to your children what is absolute truth and why Jesus is the only way to God the father in heaven what is absolute truth the teachings of Christ they lead us to God who is the source of all truth if we believe in the teachings of Christ then it must lead us to the source of absolute truth and therefore I can build my life upon those truths because he's the only way do you agree all right now listen everything sounds like the truth to me sometimes I'm an easy cell first of all I used I'm good at cells I'm a good cells person before I came into vocational ministry I was in marketplace ministry in in the cells and I was really good at it because I can make things sound really good and I didn't lie I'm just good at selling so I know I know a family called the Smith we'll call them the Smiths today okay and they're one they're one of those families who spent a lot of time thinking about their genealogy talking about their past and they traced their family tree all the way back to the Mayflower some of their family came over and since that time they've had all kinds of famous people in their family tree I mean famous politicians famous pastors famous leaders famous business people and so they're getting older and they decided to hire a well-known author to write a detailed family history but there was one problem Great Uncle George who was killed in the electric chair he was famous too and so they're getting ready to they talked to this author and said listen we have a great family history but Great Uncle George is a problem how can we write this and present this to our children you know as a legacy of our family when Great Uncle George is kind of there the author said hey that's no problem I've had a lot more challenges than Great Uncle George and so he goes away writes the family history comes back gives them a nice leather bound book you know presents it to them terrible copies and of course where do they turn first when they get it Great Uncle George all right so here's what the author said about their Great Uncle George George Smith occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution was attached to his position by the strongest of ties and his death came as a real shock you understand we need to know what absolute truth is the world is very good at presenting something that sounds really wonderful and nice and truthful can you trace what you believe is absolute truth back to the teachings of Christ or not if you can you're believing truth if you cannot I believe it's time for you to reevaluate what you consider as absolute truth and here's a third question when Jesus says I am the way the truth and the life he was answering the third question how can I live forever that's the question that everyone's been answering or asking no one's answered it really you know Ponce de Leon came to Florida in the 1500s looking for the eternal springs you know that gave life you know if you dive in all your sickness was healed that's all way back to the Alex and or the Great men have been looking for the eternal springs of life because the Bible says in Ecclesiastes that eternity has been planted in the hearts of men right that we have this feeling inside of us that life goes on after we die that's been planted in our hearts according to scripture all of us every person on the earth thinks you know what something else happens after this body stops living and so they've been asking the question how can I live forever because I'm unsure of what happens after death so I'd rather just stay right here there are two words for life that the Bible in the New Testament especially that talks about two Greek words for life and Jesus teaches on both of these words the first word is zoe life which is eternal life what happens after you die for eternity what happens to your body your spirit your soul after you die zoe life the other word is beos where we get the word biology it means from birth to death the natural living process that we go through of getting older and dying and aging and all those things Jesus teaches on both of them he does not avoid either topic beos life natural life and zoe life now Jesus came for which one do you think most important to Jesus zoe life because eternity is a lot longer than our time on the earth so he came and spoke more often on zoe life but he did not avoid the issue of beos life fact when he healed people's bodies had little to do with zoe life and really a lot to do with really good beos life do you agree I mean he didn't want the woman to have the issue of blood he didn't want the man to be blind he didn't want the man to have leprosy art to be crippled so he said I want you to have great beos life I've came to give you abundant beos life stand up and walk why would Jesus even be concerned about that if he wasn't concerned about beos life do you agree with that now listen there's only one place in the new testament where he really addressed both of them at the same time and it's in the book of john chapter 11 and we're going to close with this story of when he came Lazarus had died by the way Lazarus was his friend Lazarus Mary Martha the group they all hung out together they were very good friends and Lazarus is dead his friend we don't know why Lazarus died the Bible doesn't really say why Lazarus died but he is dead and he wasn't that far away yet it took him four days to get there to console his very dear friends these were not just people they sort of knew these were close friends and yet Jesus waited four days to come to the funeral back the funeral was really over before Jesus ever showed up on the scene he made a big entrance john chapter 11 verse 17 when Jesus arrived at Bethany he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem and many of the people had come to pay their respects and console Martha and Mary on their loss when Martha got word that Jesus was coming she went to meet him but Mary stayed at home Martha said to Jesus Lord if you'd been here my brother would not have died you understood that she had a sense Martha had a sense that Jesus had authority over both B.O.'s life I don't know if she understood but she's about to that Jesus had authority over zoe life he says but even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask and Jesus told her your brother will rise again yes Martha said when everyone else rises on resurrection day and Jesus told her I am the resurrection and the zoe life those who believe in me even though they die like everyone else they will live again they are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish he's wait what he just said two different things there he said though they will die and then he says they will not perish you understand what Jesus was saying he said though their B.O.'s life no longer exist they will never taste death now I want you to hear something this morning I want to change your definition of death death is not when we take our last breath and are sent to the grave let me tell you what the real definition of death is because our zoe life regardless if you believe in Christ or not your zoe life is an eternal thing it will continue to go on after you're dead whether you believe in Christ or not your zoe life will continue here's what the definition of death is eternal complete separation from God and only those who don't believe in Christ will taste death because those of us who believe according to what Jesus just said will never perish will never be separated from God now my dad passed away in December and he chose to die at home and we were all there we knew the time was getting close for him to die and in the back bedroom we had a bed set up and two in the morning he took his last breath couple of minutes after he passed away I'm watching him looking at his body we're sad we're crying we we miss him already and while I'm watching my dad who was a believer this is what came to me in such a strong way is this all I've been afraid of Lord my dad's never tasted death has he he took a deep breath like this and he stepped into heaven lord is this all I've been afraid of and here's what the Lord said back to me Brady I want you to be free from the fear of dying so that you will be free from the fear of living and Brady there's nothing to be afraid of Brady when your life belongs to me you have eternal zoe life and you will never taste death and so Jesus is saying that to Martha and then he says no Martha just approved to you and all those who will read this story that I have absolute authority over zoe life and over Bios life Lazarus come forth and Lazarus stepped out of heaven back onto the earth and for Jesus it was a seamless transition just like it's a seamless transition for us to pass from Bios to zoe life and here's the good news do you know how you can guarantee today that you'll never taste death simply ask the Lord into your heart and once you have made that decision death is no longer your master you will no longer be afraid to live and you'll no longer be afraid to die because death has no control over you any longer would you close your eyes this morning and let me pray for you and I want to pray especially for those of you this morning who have never asked the Lord Jesus to come and give you eternal zoe life he's the Lord over both this morning he's the Lord over Bios life and by the way I want to pray for those of you who need healing in your body because the Lord Jesus has complete absolute authority over Bios life he wants you to live life abundantly while on the earth and he died so that you would have abundant life forever with him that's just too good a deal to pass up isn't it if you're here this morning and you've never asked Jesus to come maybe you believe in Jesus maybe you trust Jesus lives in heaven but you've never given him complete authority over your life and here's a simple prayer that if you'll pray this today that issue will be settled and you can get on with living Lord Jesus I know I'm a sinner I know you died for me come now and live in my heart I give you control of my life from this day forward be my Lord I'm a sheep of your pasture if you'll pray that simple prayer right now right where you're sitting the Lord will come and he'll take death out of your equation you see without the way there is no going without the truth there is no knowing without the life you cannot live you can start living today if you'll let him come into your heart Lord we just pray right now in Jesus name for your Holy Spirit to come Lord convict every heart in this room Lord let us not be deceived in thinking that things are right if they are not Lord you are good and perfect to let us know if things are really right between us and you because you came to give us eternal life this is your business Lord and not ours Lord today right now I pray for every person in the room to be honest before you and not before me or other people but to be honest with you if you're here today and you want to make a decision right now I need Jesus in my life every service we've had people get saved this weekend every service people have given their lives to the Lord and I believe that there are those of you here today by lifting your hand and coming forward in just a minute you're going to make the best best decision you've ever made if you're here today and you want zoe life if you want eternal life with the Lord would you just lift your hands right now and say pastor Brady I want to pray that prayer today I prayed that prayer I believe that thank you for the hands is there anyone else there's other hands there's some of you here today you've never made the decision but you've made it today and you want to make it right now would you lift your hands let me pray for you and just a moment we're going to stand our ultra ministry team's going to come forward and when they do can you just come forward and let them pray for you one more time now I want to pray for another group those of you who are afraid of living are afraid of dying maybe you need healing in your body maybe you have a fear of death maybe you have a fear of something sudden happening to you but you want that to be broken in your life today you want to get on with Beo's life would you lift your hand right now let me pray for you let that be broken in your life lots of hands if that's you right now there's a fear that you want just broken in your life I want to get on with living Lord I pray right now that the fear of death and the fear of living Lord would be broken in every person's heart in this room Lord I pray right now we thank you that you came to give us life and life abundantly thank you this morning that that fear is broken and has no longer control over our lives Lord you are the way you are the truth and you are the life and we're grateful today for all of those things in Jesus name amen