Northside Church - Sydney
He Week 3: He is the One
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. Good morning everyone, great to have you in church with us this morning as Kristin said. Just about all the team is over in lovely New Zealand which is just as well given that so much of our church is from New Zealand so they are picking up some cultural notes there and the conversation a couple of weeks ago when we were preparing for this morning was with Graeme he said look I'm going to be over in New Zealand so it's your turn to preach in the morning Sam and I said what on and he said Jesus statement I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except by me and I'm thinking which short-stroded I pull because let's be real here this has got to be one of the most offensive statements in our society today no one gets to God except through Jesus Christ and how can you Christians claim that your religion is the only true religion it's a matter of enormous concern it's something that Andrew Lloyd Webber picked up so well in that musical Jesus Christ superstar when Jesus meets Pontius Pilate and they have an interaction Pilate says then you're a king Jesus says it's you that say I am I look for truth and I find that I get damned and Pilate says what is truth is truth unchanging law we both have truths are mine the same as yours how can Christianity say that they have the exclusive rights on this truth that Jesus is the only way to God and that is the issue people go well this exclusive anything it's it's divisive it puts people the other way and so therefore look the deal is let's just let's just make all religions equal and I will all be happy we won't kill the peace for the Pilate approach I've got my truths what is truth unchanging law I've got mine you've got yours I'm mine the same as yours now the thing for me is often when I came to this passage it was just that one bit of the verse that I would always remember I'm the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except by me and yet this week in studying this passage I saw it in a whole new light a whole new context because look at what is happening here as we saw in the first couple of verses the disciples they're fearful they're anxious they're sad and they're heartbreaking why because Jesus is going away it's going back to the Father and to do what to write the holy book for his new religion to to to sort of escape this world altogether no it's to prepare a place for the world to be with God the Father and so what it said to me in the perspective that God gave me on this this morning is that we always approach this passage intellectually it's not arguing truths when we don't look at it relationally Jesus was preparing a place for the world to be with the Father the Pilate approach what is truth the mind the same as yours it's it's it's not going to work if you read it out of context in his why because Christianity is not a religion of rules and regulations it's a religion of revelation that is the Christianity at the very heart of it is a person why this series is called he it's about Jesus Christ and so when we seek to ask answer this question this morning and that's what I'm going to do the question really is on on many people's minds on family members on friends I know I've got them why does Christianity seem so exclusive that's the challenge the first point this morning I believe it's because Christianity is a person or relationship it's about Jesus Christ that's something uniquely different about Christianity is that every other religion in the world leaves you with its teaching Christianity leaves you with the teacher you keep reading through this passage Jesus talks about the way that another counselor is going to come the Holy Spirit the Alarom Para Kletos another Jesus of the same kind in the Holy Spirit we're left with the teacher here and not only that it's it's it's personal it's interaction Philip in the verses after this here's what Jesus is saying he's he's not too sure what he means Jesus is talking about going to the father and Philip says look Lord show us the father and that will be enough for us now we feel don't we feel like Philip sometimes just let's have a miracle apparition and then I'll really really believe and you see the funny thing is that Philip Philip had been there he'd seen the miracles he'd seen what Jesus had done with people he'd eaten with him he'd seen the incredible way that Jesus had acted in fact Jesus in the latter part of the passage says Philip look don't take what I'm saying is the basis for your belief look at the miracles themselves that you know that I am the father and the father is in me and that I am God Philip was on the inside and he still didn't get it how is that I think what it's saying to us this morning is that it's possible that you can be busy with Christian activity and not really know God what Jesus is saying is that there is a distinction between knowing about God and knowing God let me put it this way I went to a Taylor Swift concert she's a teenage country music singer and I did that purely because my wife is a huge fan I've never heard of her before of course and and we were sitting there before the concert and and and Kristin was on this thing on our iPhone this for your autofocus it's called Twitter and and basically how Twitter works is that these superstars like Taylor Swift they sort of tweets it's what's called Twitter they have 140 characters to tell you what they're up to and there was phrases like I'm backstage and I'm up to this and so the whole time before the concert Kristin's telling me all about what Taylor Swift's been up to and and I'm like oh well how do you know all this stuff I know I know Taylor I know Taylor I'm thinking you don't know Taylor there's a difference between Twitter and there's a difference between being backstage there's a difference between reading her iPhone screen and there's a difference between being her presence and sensing the nerves before the concert and the anxiety and and and and seeing the sweat and and and and there's a difference there's a difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone right and so what what this is saying to us is that Christianity won't work for you if you treat it the same way Kristin and he won't work for you if you fall to come to the this generation on the way they use Twitter and sort of trick God the somewhat the same way if you just sort of yeah I know God and you sort of know him from a distance it won't work like that because information about God needs to go from the informational to the personal that's what was happening here with the Philippines amongst him the whole time you see look if you ask the average person why did Jesus Christ come to earth in the first place people will say oh look it was to give us his lovely teachings and and it was to die for our sins and look that is true to some extent right I'm not denying that but in some way it misses the point now people say Kristin someone who goes to church and he's looking for inspiration and says their prayers all the time and tries to be a good person and yet Jesus says you've missed the point Philip you've missed it I came and and I lived and I died so that you might know the father I came so you the world might know the father you know he says it John 17 3 further on in the chat that he had with the boys he said this is eternal life to know the one true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent he says it's not only the purpose of life here but it's a very definition of life is to know intimately God so it what he's what I'm saying this morning is that Christianity is a personal relationship it's not a tweet Christianity is ultimately a relationship with a person with he Jesus Christ and and here's the thing that's actually the thing that makes Christianity exclusive see Christian is exclusive because it's a personal relationship Jesus says I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except by me and look here's the point where Christianity gets problematic right because what about all the questions what about all the questions that arise for us what if what about my doubts what if I've got doubts how can I believe in Jesus if I've got doubts what about what about all the suffering in the world if God is such a good and a great God then why is all of this suffering and what what about my needs how is Jesus going to break this addiction in my life what is God going to do about that all these questions arise and how is this statement going to help me with that and here's a thing when we come to this statement purely intellectually we're treating Christianity like a philosophy if Christianity was a philosophy then okay we could go to the questions first but it's not you know if if if we're treating Christ if Christianity what is it was a therapy then we could go first to Christianity with our needs and it would help but it doesn't seem to help us in that way and here's why because Christianity look the New Testament in particular is so narrow-minded all the time in this way is that it's it's always asking the question that Jesus asked the boys on top of the hill at Caesarea Philippi who do you say that I am it's not asking intellectual questions it's asking this morning to come to grips with who do you say Jesus Christ is and it's always asking us about the person and so I put it to people this morning that often the problem with Christianity is not the problem with the questions the problem is that it's too personal Christianity is first and foremost about accepting the person Jesus not his principles and so look you know you're going hang on you're not answering the questions Sam you're trying to duck and weave here a little bit of sermon magic you know I can't believe you know what if I can't believe about the virgin birth and the authority of scripture and all this sort of stuff look it's a problem really intellectual or is it personal it's about the fact that look I don't like the fact that someone's going to have total control over my life I don't like the fact that I've got to submit to this God and the way that he says that I should live my life people don't like the way that Jesus makes these exclusive claims the way he says if I'm going to be in your life there is no halfway there is no grey zone they can't stand that you know for example they say why should he be the only truth and why should he be the only life and why should he be the only way and don't you see it's because he's a person because it's a relationship but guys we all know anyone he knows that the minute that you move into a relationship any form of relationship whether it be for a friend or someone you've known for life you lose at least some part of control over your life right I learnt that the hard way in my first year of marriage you see I luckily Kristen's down with the youth this morning but you see it was my fault I had stayed back a little bit I was I was fair bit late on the way home to work and way home from work and I had stayed back and I was living life I was singing zippity doodah on the way in the car and I opened the door and I was greeted by these sort of tears down her face and she said where have you been I've been worried sick about you I've called dad I've called mom I was almost going to call the police so I thought you were dead in the park I don't know what happened to you where have you been and I'm thinking why are you getting so worked up about this and then I realized that when you move into relationship that I don't have total independence or control over my life anymore I'm accountable to someone someone loves me and wants the best for me and I need to phone ahead is what I've learnt basically so that seems marriage course if you want to sign up for it at the information desk like guys you and I both know as you enter into any relationship it means that an aspect of your independence and your control is lost for the sake and the joy and the beauty of that relationship right and so if that's the case in our earthly relationships then surely moving into a personal relationship with the ultimate person of the universe in God through Jesus Christ means a lot more than losing your into independence and control over your life it has to because that's how every relationship works that's why Jesus can say I am the way and the truth and the life he's saying I'm the way I'm not I'm not a I'm not a way to help your career I'm the reason for your career he says I am the truth he's not saying I'm not a series of sayings it's going to assist you in the life I am the reality of life itself and then he says I'm the way the one that bugs us what about the good people out there what about the good Buddhist and the good person who's never heard about Jesus what about the good person and look there is mystery in that I'll admit that this morning and we don't have time to go into that but you see when I used to read this statement I used to pick to picture Jesus as heaven's bouncer and he said I'm the way the truth and the life no one you want to list okay click in you go I used to see him as heaven's bouncer all the time but this relational aspect gave me a whole new perspective you see you can't be led into a relationship anyway you choose you can't be just let it look you imagine going to a friend saying hey let's do coffee tomorrow unless I can't do tomorrow can you do Wednesday and he said no no I want it now coffee now it just doesn't work like that right or I heard this great illustration of well what about this athlete that has got all these ladies chasing after him and he sees the girl that he wants she is the one and he goes to her and he's quite interested and he sort of you know starting it a bit bit interesting getting to dialogue with her and and he says I'm a great athlete I do all these incredible things and I think I'm in love with you and she turns to him and says you know what sports mean nothing to me you know I don't even know the difference between a try and a behind you know like it means nothing to me you know what gets my will spinning is literature and the arts and all that wonderful stuff now what what is what does he say in the middle of that you know what does he do if he wants to befriend her and that sort of stuff did you say forget it I love sports so I've bought your book on sports and you're going to read the rules and you're going to see how much of an amazing athlete and you just you're going to fall in love with me for who I am it doesn't work that way and here's why because relationships are opened from the inside relationships are open from the inside and with the persons you can't say I'm going to get into your heart any old way you please by my efforts and my wills and not my my rule book relationships are only open from the inside Christianity is a religion of revelation it means God has to open out from the inside and therefore it says you don't find God through your own efforts don't find God through discovering him yourself he comes to you and he says here's the way in and when this woman says you know here's what's important to me here's what I like I'm not you know I'm not some sort of mathematical formula or an object or some you know concept for you I'm a person if a woman can say to an athlete like that in the same way that's why Jesus can say I'm the way into the Father you know when when Jesus says I am the way you know I used to picture him like a bouncer in heaven but you know he's saying I am a demonstration of God opening his heart to the world that's how he is chosen to reveal himself you want to be on the inside then you can only have a relationship with me on my terms not your terms says God guys does that seem exclusive because you and I do it every day with people that we meet you can only ever get in and we instinctively know that's our relationships work when you open your heart from the inside and when you understand that Christianity is a personal relationship then you can see that exclusivity is normal because every human relationship is exclusive Christianity is exclusive not because we're arrogant always sitting on some special truth it's exclusive because we've come to know God as a he is not a bouncer but he is a person you know you think in common Sam you've done nothing to deal with the fact that Christianity is narrow minded and exclusive you know you haven't talked about any of this intellectual stuff look let me finish with this and that is that everyone has beliefs that are exclusive you know the pilot approach which is our postmodern world what is truth I have my truth my truth the same as yours you know the postmodern truth is quite unique because it's an absolute truth that says there are no absolute truth and under this sort of veneer in the surface of this wonderfully open and accepting and inclusive statement that you can have your truth and I have my truth is the most exclusive statement in our society at the moment and that's not even religious so here's the thing everyone has beliefs that are exclusive and the question is which ones result in the most inclusion you see what is religion really is it institutions is it rule following is it regulations no no essentially religion that is essence is simply answers to the big questions in life how will we created where do we come from where do we go when we die and everyone has those different perspectives and yet what the world sees a problem is that if you claim to have exclusive rights on that then you're going to be divisive you're going to ruin the peace of the world and how does the world fix it they say in political spheres and social spheres come on all religions are equal and that approach in itself is extremely exclusive because all religions aren't equal and you're denying the wonderful factors of every religion in the world if you put them on the same plane so here's what I'm it's what I'm getting at if the prevailing mindset is that we need to be inclusive and then every religion is the same here's the thing it was one of the great paradoxes of history the Christianity exploded from a culture that perhaps had the most inclusive theology in history the Roman culture the Roman culture said there were hundreds of religions there was not one god for everybody but everybody had their own god in fact you can have multiple gods you had a supermarket full of gods you could go to and you could pick whatever religion you like to help whatever aspect of your life and the culture encouraged it and that embraced it and it was wonderful it was fuzzy and it was all okay to have lots of different religions all equal now the question how that worked out because if you go and read the history books we see a culture that was characterized by brutality a culture characterized by ethnic division a culture characterized by socioeconomic division how'd that work for him and then along comes his Christianity and says forget this multi-god stuff Jesus Christ is Lord of all and what happened it exploded it exploded in Antioch you know the New York City of the ancient world someone was smart enough to build walls to keep the various ethnic groups away from each other they knew how the world operated and yet in Antioch when Paul went in there and the gospel was preached what happened people were climbing the walls to do church with each other and they could not explain the way all these ethnicities were coming together for the first time in love they had no word for it so they gave them a nickname they called them Christians and so what we saw at Antioch was a Christian it included all the racial differences that the world had at the time and then in Philippi when Paul goes in and preaches the gospel in Philippi at the end of the whole story there in the Philippian jailer and that sort of stuff we see a slave girl sharing a Milo with the aristocracy of the society they didn't actually have Milo back then that's just me working with you but Christianity included all the socio-economic differences of the world and in Rome when it was festering with the plagues hundred years after Christianity had first burst on the scenes and people the Roman citizens are running for the hills they look back and they see people running the other way into the rod and into the horror and into the sickness and who were they there with the Christians and so in that sense Christianity included the powerless of the world what I'm getting at is why would this exclusive statement lead to such humble and loving and inclusive community how is that possible think for a second if if Jesus is not just a great guy but he's God then in Jesus Christ ultimate reality has become visible and when ultimate reality becomes visible do you know what we see in Jesus Christ I am only in Christianity do we see a God loving others by dying for those that don't love him that's the ultimate reality for Christians a man on a cross loving people that don't love him and when Christians took that into the heart of their life they couldn't be superior to other people and they couldn't trample on other people and they they couldn't be divisive against the social classes they couldn't be because of his example and where and we won't be if we take that reality into our hearts too the Christianity's got a set of exclusive beliefs just like every other religion has exclusive beliefs post modernism's got the exclusive beliefs the only truth that's and there are no absolute truth which one leads to the most inclusive behavior and so what does it leave us in some ways I hopefully we've been to you know we've we've addressed the intellectual but we've seen that in the person of Jesus Christ it's the only religion in the world that is personal and at the center of that is the drive and the imperative to know God friends do you do you know God or do you know about God this morning I speak to you this morning if you're still trying to battle the intellectual stuff like that it's because you're trying to approach Jesus Christ as a philosophy when he's a person and he says to you this morning through his word and spiritual you know spiritually in that sense come to me come to me you don't know God it's because you haven't approached him through Jesus Christ who is the way the truth and the life there's an opportunity to do that after the service here this morning or just talk about it with us Christians what does it mean for us the world will constantly think that religion is divisive may you and I show the world through the example of Jesus Christ that self-sacrificing love that the most exclusive statement in the world produces the most inclusive behavior in its followers Christianity is radically different may we live that out because of his example at the cross this morning the example of not a philosophy of a religion but our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ God a person he let's pray heavily Father we have just scratched the surface of my numbing truths this morning Father and there is great mystery surrounding this statement of your son Jesus Christ but Father we take into our hearts this morning that now reminded nature of the New Testament and a wonderful and a joyful way Father and I would just pray that in our hearts whether we are Christians or whether we are just seeking you greater Father that we might come to grips this week with the question that you ask of every person through your son when he says who do you say that I am Father may we take the very paths and the roads of the gospel that extend ever outwards through our hearts and may we align ourselves to that Father as we seek to be a community in this place that is inclusive not because we have to but because we want to through the model and the example of our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the self-sacrificing love that you poured out on the cross move and work among us this week Heavenly Father amongst family and friends and workmates and those that grapple with that may we be the living answer and we pray this now in Jesus Christ amen. 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