Are There many Paths to God?

Todd Pendergrass | John 14:1-6

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Well, good morning, Kingsland. Three of you said good morning. Hey, I would you in the courts and in this room, would you thank those who led us in worship today? Thank you for an incredible job. You know, you often hear about the good old days. There's been a lot of good days in the close to uh close to 50 years of Kingsland, uh, but I tell you, we're living in the good old days right now. The Lord is allowing us to see things happen right here uh that uh this just it's just such a blessing. I I was being interviewed by a college student the other day doing some type of of research, and and she asked a question. He she said, What makes Kingsland unique? And uh I said, it's the people. Without question, it's the people. Uh you are passionate about the lost, you're passionate about transforming families, you're passionate about reaching the world for Christ. And uh I just want to thank you for the exemplary uh way that you walk uh with Jesus. It is such an honor to be a part of these great days. Would you give the Lord a hand for allowing us, we get to participate in that? And I know that God could that there are people that love Jesus just as much as we do, that are serving in a church that's not doing a lot, but they're faithful. And so God has chosen, for whatever reason, to allow us to experience that here. We don't ever want to take that for granted. Today we're going to be sharing a message from John chapter 14, verses 1 through 6. Pastor Ryan spoke on those uh first five, four or five verses last week, and I'll pick up from from there on. Uh, grateful for Pastor Ryan allowing me to be up here. And uh it's kind of like we just got a new dog, right? And this dog uh has to be controlled, right? Has to be kind of kept in a particular space, and she's not ready for us to take the leash off and let her go. And sometimes I'm think they probably think of me that way, that I don't know if we ought to let him go or not. And uh, and so they're serving all over the world today. Pastor Ryan's in Turkey. Turkey, is that right? Is that where he is, Lana? And um, and so we got people, we've got students all over the world right now. Just another way that Kingsland uh is unique. And uh, so I am honored for the any time that the Lord allows me to speak, and Pastor Ryan allows me to share during this time. I don't take it lightly. You're gonna hear this morning, uh let not your heart be troubled. It's not a catchy title, but I want to tell you that I may not know you and I may not know your circumstance, but I am confident in this room today are people with a troubled heart. And uh and I, if if not all of us have some concerns in our life, uh some are more uh uh high or uh amplified than others, but I hope today that you will learn from this passage of scripture how you can let go of some of that trouble in your spirit and in your heart today. It was when I was preparing this sermon, I was thinking about uh many years ago our 35-year-old daughter was in first grade. And I know you gasp in disbelief that I have a 35-year-old daughter. And uh, but but but she had just come home from school. She has on still has on a dress, and uh she is giving me a project or sharing with me a project that has been given to her by her teacher. Want to thank you, teachers, for those projects. And um, and this project was to find all these leaves, right? Leaves. Uh our house was new, one tree in the yard, six foot tall. It was a Bradford pear, and Bradford Pear wasn't on the list. So we don't even have the one, the one leaf. And so uh I thought about okay, where can we go to get all these leaves and get it knocked out? And there in West Tennessee, there was a park, it was really a 380-acre wilderness where you uh rode bikes through there, kind of like the George Bush Park kind of feel to it. And um, and so I thought that's where we can get the leaves. And so we went right then. I mean, she's still in her dress, and we barrel over to the Nespit Park. And what did they call those trails the stanky creek, stanky, stanky creek trails? So it kind of tells you what was in there, and so we pull up, and me being the outdoorsman, I ignored the signs and just walked into the woods. And uh, and sure enough, we found those leaves. We had them all together. It was getting a little dark, and uh, and so Brooke is going, okay, Dad, we have everything we need. It's time to go. And and uh and I said, Let's go. And I looked around and didn't know where I was. I didn't, I wasn't even on a trail. I was just in the woods. I'm just looking, and I've noticed a tree over here. This tree has arrows on it, got red era and a green era and a silver era. I'm thinking, I bet you that's some good information if I'd have read that sign back in the parking lot. But right now it doesn't mean anything to me. And uh, and so it wasn't long till she sort of catches that I'm not sure where we are. I'm just wandering, and she begins to cry, and then I began to cry. And so we finally do find our way out, obviously, but I needed a guide. I didn't need directions, I didn't need the arrows on the tree, I needed somebody to come and get me and take me out of those woods. I think it's a little bit the way that the disciples felt here in John chapter 14. They were a little bit lost because of what has happened and transpired that leads up to this uh passage of scripture. What has happened is the last supper has already taken place, okay? Uh he's already already said that somebody will deny me. Peter, you're gonna do that three times. Uh he he he he predicted what Judas was gonna do. Judas is already gone. He's already out of it, he's already gone. And so, and he's told them in chapter 13 that he's gonna leave. That's that's that's one of three times he's told them he's gonna leave. So they're troubled. They gave up everything, they gave up their livelihood, they gave up their reputations, they gave up everything to follow him, and now he's saying he's gonna leave. And that's where we pick up these this passage of scripture in John chapter 14. And I will start in verse one. Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I'm going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am, you will make you may also be. You know the way to where I'm going. And Thomas is like most of us. Lord, we don't know where you're going. How can we know the way? And Jesus gives him the answer. Jesus told him, I'm the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me. Just moments before in chapter 13, as I mentioned, he had already told them, he was leaving. He said, Little children, I am with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so now I tell you where I'm going, you cannot come. Can you imagine what they were thinking? What were they going, what was going through their mind? They had followed him, depended upon him, and now he says he's leaving. No wonder their church, their hearts were troubled. So we go back to Thomas. We don't know where you're going, and how can we know the way? Jesus asked, I mean, Thomas asked the obvious question. Thomas was a realist, he wanted to know the answers. Give me some clarity to what you're saying. His confusion, though, was he was placing his attention on a place, not on a person. Jesus was saying, look to me, look here, I'm the way. Don't worry about where we're going. Look to me. Look to me. I am the way. These were not warm and fuzzy moments in the life of the disciples. These are dark times, and Jesus knew they're about to get darker. It's not going to get better. Not yet. And so you need to trust in me. He said, I am the way. He first brings comfort. Comfort. He is trying to ease the hearts of the disciples that are there. He's going to be crucified in around 12 hours from now. This is very close to that time. But instead of him giving him direction, saying, Oh, this is what you need to do, Thomas, you need to go out here. He gives them himself. He focuses their attention upon him. Not very often does Jesus connect himself directly to God, but here he does. He speaks exclusively that no more are you to do anything, you're to focus right here. Put your attention on me as we go through this troubled times. He said, I am the way over in Isaiah chapter, I think it's 35 verse 8. 35 verse, yeah, 35, verse 8, he says this, it's the same way that's spoken of in John. A road will be there and a way, it will be called the holy way. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for the one who walks the path. Fools will not wander on it. It's the same way that's being spoken of in John. On this way, when you focus your attention on Jesus, there's no uncertainty, there's no confusion, there's no panic. But when you look at the word troubled, he said, Let not your heart be troubled. They were troubled. It's literally like taking the ocean and stirring it back and forth. It's literally like waves and sediment all stirred up. They were agitated, they were confused. They were looking at this as a catastrophe. They were in a state of panic and didn't know what to do. I want to tell you that I believe in this room today, for whatever reason, God laid you on my heart that you're dealing with a troubled heart. You are agitated, you are you are confused, and you're maybe even at a state of panic. He is saying, Stop a minute. I am the way. It doesn't mean that everything's going to be fine. It doesn't mean that everything necessarily would be better. It wasn't better for the disciples, but it does mean he's willing and wants to carry that burden along with you. So how do you actually give a troubled heart to Jesus? How do you deal with the fact that Thursday you received this particular diagnosis at the doctor? How do you deal with the fact that a spouse has said they're going to leave you? How do you deal with the fact that a child is not responding to you the way that you expect them to respond? They're making poor decisions. How do you deal with a troubled heart? How are you willing to give that to Jesus? Well, listen, if you give, if you if you want to give your troubled heart to Jesus, you have to do a few things. First of all, go to him first. We always seem to go to the wrong person. He's saying, Come right here. Listen, I'm the way, Thomas. Don't listen to all the chatter. I'm the way. Come to me first. He says that when you start to worry, you begin to worship. When you start to panic, you begin to pray. He said to come to him first. Instead of opening up social media, open up the Word of God. Look for the answers in Him. He's saying, I am the way, Thomas. I'm the way to deal with your troubled heart. Faith is not having all the answers, but it is knowing who does have the answers. And that's in Jesus. Giving up a burden doesn't make the burden go away, but it transfers the burden to someone else. It's transferring the burden to Jesus. He said, Let me carry that. Let me take care of that. Let me deal with that. So you can live an abundant life, which we'll talk about in just a second. So when you turn think, when you turn your troubled heart over to Jesus, does that give you a job tomorrow? Not necessarily. Does it change the diagnosis in your health? Not necessarily. Does it make your life better with your marriage? Not necessarily. It didn't happen for them. But you'll see what happened in chapter 20 in just a minute about what they did do and then how he responded. He said, I am the way. He was comforting them. Well, then he went a step further. He said, I am the truth. How do you describe someone as the truth? That seems odd. But he's saying, I am the truth. I have right here a hundred dollar bill. Y'all think that's big and fancy, but I actually got it from my 12-year-old son. And so this $100 bill is authentic. It's the real thing. I know it's real because it came from the bank. This is real. Hey, did you know that there's only two places this bill is actually printed? Did anybody know that? A little useless information today that they only print it in Washington, D.C. and Fort Worth, Texas. Where do you think this one came from? I'm not carrying no Washington, D.C. hundred dollar bill. You know, I'm the guy still looking for Texas in the World Cup. And uh, and so you know what I'm saying? This right here is the real thing. You know how, you know how tellers at the bank, Secret Service, whoever determines if a bill is real? They don't study all the fakes, but they study this one. Then when they know see the fake, they know it's fake. Jesus is saying, I am the authentic, real deal. If you want to know the truth, come to me. The world will tell you you're never gonna get over this. The world will tell you you're a failure. The world will tell you you don't need a job. Your world will tell you your marriage will never survive. That's what the world will tell you. He's saying, Come to me, I'll tell you the truth. The truth is here. This is what's authentic. I'm the only thing you can trust to give you the truth. The world will give you lies. And then it becomes confusing, right? That's why they had a troubled heart. He didn't say to the to the disciples, everything's gonna be all right. He said, Know me, look to me. If you understand me, then you'll understand truth. Our feelings tell us he's abandoned me. Here I am going through this trouble. But truth tells you that he will never leave you nor forsake you. Your feelings will tell you this will never get better. But the truth tells you that weeping endures for the night, but joy what? Comes in the morning. Your feelings will tell you that I'm all alone. But the truth will say I'm with you always. He didn't say that everything's gonna work out. He didn't say that that things couldn't get worse. What he did say is that I'm the truth, you come to me, and you're gonna hear the right answer. The truth isn't that life is easier, that Christians don't have difficult times. We do. Jesus is saying that when you look to me, though, you're gonna find truth and you're gonna find consistency, you're gonna find the same thing every time. I will prove to you over and over that I am truth. The only way for you to get to know what the will of God the Father is, is through Jesus. He is truth. Some think that he's the only, he's one of many ways to know the truth. I'm gonna tell you, he's not one of many ways. Here's what religions will tell you today. This is what I'm I'm hearing. They're just like we are. They believe in God, they believe in Jesus, they believe in heaven. There's not really any difference. Oh no, no. You go back to Jesus, that's where the truth is gonna be found. Because everyone that's not following Jesus, as we know him through the Word of God, is a lie. Jesus is the truth, he's the way, he is the truth. A troubled heart is usually fueled by somebody or something telling you a lie, and you buy into that lie because you're not leaning on the truth. He provides comfort, he provides certainty, and he provides life. He said, I am the life. I think in your mind, you ever ran into those people who just seem to have a closer walk with Jesus than you do? Doesn't mean you don't love Jesus, not believe it. It doesn't mean that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying some people that just live on a different plane. These people are prayer warriors, they're they're always consistent in sharing their faith. They're the first ones to volunteer for things. They're always well, they always see things in a in a positive outlook. For some reason, they're they're here, and I'm going, how do I get there? Do you do you know some people like that? Have you had had that experience? Anybody? That you you you you think of those people in your life and you go, man, that person right there walks with Jesus. It's the type of person that when you really need to know what God is trying to teach you, you go, I need to talk to so-and-so. I need to go sit down with with them and ask them, okay, help me understand this. And somehow clarity comes from that. Because they walk closely with Jesus, they have understood what the abundant life really is. Once you have understood He is the way, the truth, and now the life. We often think of eternal life, and that is part of it. But that's not all he's talking about here. He's telling these disciples, life, your life, begins now. Today. In this room, there is somebody, or several of you, that are carrying a burden, and it is weighing you down. And he is saying, I'm the way, the truth, and I will give you life. Life. Not just eternal life, but an abundant life. Not just an abundant life, but a hopeful life. And all of those things flow from God the Father through Jesus. You won't have eternal life without Jesus. You won't have an abundant life without Jesus. You won't know what God the Father wants for you without Jesus. He is the centerpiece of everything related to the way, the truth, and the life. So, what happened with these disciples? If you look over in John chapter twenty, verses nineteen and twenty, we'll find out. Jesus has been since they have uh last seen him. He's been beaten, sped upon, hung on a cross, put in a tomb, the tomb's locked up, and now he's been resurrected. And where are the disciples? When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together to catch this. With the doors locked. Because they feared the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Somehow. Some way. They missed it. He said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life, and now they're living in fear behind a locked door. Or aren't you good? Aren't you glad that Jesus didn't come in and go? I told you. He came in and said, peace be still. There's no reason to fear. Some of your cared a burden a long time. And over and over, God has told you what to do, and over and over, you've locked the door. In fear. He's not coming in pointing a finger. He's coming in going, peace be still. Now let's work on getting this right. I'm the way to the truth and the life. This morning, as I was preparing for this message, I was thinking about how we would close our time together. And a song kept coming to my mind. It's a song that I used to sing as a kid. We don't sing it much anymore. It's a real short song. It was written in the 1950s. It was in the Baptist hymnal. I remember those. Anybody remember a hymnal? And um it just conveyed the message that Jesus is unique. There's no one quite like Jesus. And the song is His Name is Wonderful. You may want to sing it with me.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

His name is wonderful. His name is wonderful. Jesus my Lord. Master of everything. Would you stand up and sing that with me? His name is wonderful. His name is wonderful. His name is wonderful. Jesus my Lord. His name is Wonderful. Jesus my Lord. He's the great shepherd. He's the great shepherd. The rock is all his wonderful. Jesus my Lord.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

I want to pray for us to give you a chance to respond. There'll be people here at the front. If you'd like somebody to pray with you, you can obviously pray right there. I encourage you today to give that burden over to Jesus. Let's pray. Father, thank you. Thank you for the word of God. Thank you that you gave us clear guidance, Lord, that you opened up yourself even more to say, just look to me. I pray that right now there'll be people in this room that the Holy Spirit would convict and draw, and that they may clear up those areas of their life that have brought them such weight, pain, panic, struggle, agitation, and that they can let that be given to you today.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

In Jesus' name, amen. Hey, Pastor Ryan Rush here, and I just want to thank you for being with us at Kingsland Online today. What an honor. But I'll tell you what it'd be even better. We'd love to see you get connected with the physical church in the days ahead if you haven't already. And that means maybe if you're local in the West Houston area, we'd love to see you at Kingsland. Otherwise, regardless, we'd love to help you facilitate uh jumping in to a local church near you, and we can do that together. You can go to Kingsland.org slash online connect. Kingsland.org slash online connect to find out next steps on your journey. Listen, thanks again for being with us today at Kingsland Online.