January 23 24th, 2021 | The Upper Room Intimacy with Jesus | John 14 1 14 | The Exclusivity of Chri

[Music] hello everyone welcome to north coast calvary chapel's weekend online service i'm so glad you're with us my name is ryan pfeiffer i'm here to kick us off we are in our series upper room intimacy with jesus now we are weeks into it and i'm really excited to take us into chapter 14 as we look at some of the most bold and radical claims that jesus ever made about himself but before we get to that we're going to take some time we're going to hit the pause button slow down and we're going to worship jesus we're going to spend some time in the presence of god together as b.j leads us into worship so let me just lead us in prayer and prepare our hearts lord thank you so much for being in our life that your promise to us is that you will be with us always even to the end of the age as we hit the pause button on our life right now we open our hearts to you and we pray re-center our thoughts our emotions the pace and rhythm of our life on you today we love you jesus and we open our hearts to you in your name amen [Music] our father everlasting the all-creating one god oh my through your holy spirit conceiving christ the son jesus our savior i believe in god our father i believe in christ the son i believe in the holy spirit our god [Music] not judging our defender our judging the defender suffered a crucified forgiveness is in you descended into darkness [Music] i believe in god our father i believe in christ the son i believe in the holy spirit our god is threatened away i believe in the resurrection that we will rise again for i believe in the neighborhood jesus for i foreign in the name of jesus [Music] through every battle through every heart through every circumstance i believe that you are my fortress you are my portion and you are my hiding [Music] place [Music] i believe that you are my fortunes yes you are my portion you are my hiding place i believe you are the way [Music] the truth [Music] the light is i believe you were the way the truth in the light [Music] i cause believe believe you are [Music] god you are my fortress you are my portion you are my hiding place [Music] yes you are my fortress you are my portion and you are my hiding [Music] place [Music] we bow our hearts we've end our knees oh spirit come make us humble [Music] we turn our eyes from evil things oh lord we cast down our eyes so give us cleanest and give us pure hearts let us not lift ourselves to another give us cleanly give us pure hearts let us not lift ourselves to another with our hearts we wow our hearts we bend our knees oh spirit come make us humble [Music] we turn our eyes evil things oh lord we cast out our idols so give us clearness give us pure hearts let us not lift ourselves to another give us cleanness give us pure hearts let us not lift our souls to another let us not lift ourselves to another let us not lift ourselves to another [Music] god let us be [Music] a generation that sees seeks your face oh god of jacob oh god let us be a generation that seeks [Music] [Music] give us pure hearts let us not lift our souls to another give us clean heads and give us pure hearts and let us not lift our souls to another and let us not lift our souls to another [Music] hey friends joel parker here with debbie samuels we've got some announcements for you the first announcement is this we say it every week so if you don't know by now you need to know that we are having church live and in person here on campus 9 00 a.m 11 a.m 5 p.m we'd love to see you out and second announcement is that children's ministry is back finally we're able to serve our little kids from birth through sixth grade and that happens at the 9am service and listen if you want to get your kids plugged in you have to register online the week before so make sure to do that and lastly mark foreman is doing a series called mark's 12 tips for surviving disruptive times it's going to be incredible i would suggest you follow give him a follow on social media or you can subscribe to his weekly emails on our website at northcoastcalvary.org and here is debbie samuels hello church we know that many of you have been longing for community and this is the weekend for small group registration we'd love to have you sign up online so you can experience walking through the word together and being with others that are like-minded if you look online you'll be able to see that some are going to be meeting on zoom and some are going to be meeting in person so check out what you'd like to be part of next we also have an 11 month journey together in the topography of discipleship if you go to north coast calvary chapel main page you'll see an introduction video as we begin to take a look at what did jesus say about being a disciple of christ join us for that journey finally jim doyle is going to be facilitating a three-week class on belong and this is where you'll discover the history and our values of north coast cavalry chapel plus you'll be able to find out what is your gifting what is your calling and how can you get involved in where god is have you placed to make an impact for him all these announcements and more are going to be on our announcements page and we look forward to seeing you in person let's continue our worship through our giving our regular tithes and financial offerings are one of the ways that we express our trust in god through them we also demonstrate gratitude for all he's given to us and they're how we can participate in tangibly communicating god's love to our community both locally and abroad i'm going to pray for us and then i'd invite you to pause the service and participate through either texting to give at the number on the screen or giving through our website our heavenly father thank you for your continued care for us we want our lives to honor you we want to reflect your glory as individuals and as the church and we want to bring your light into the world by sharing our financial resources with the broken the hurting and the poor please receive our gifts that we offer now gratefully in jesus name amen okay here we go i'm going to start us by just reading the scripture diving right into the passage and then we're going to unpack it together so here we are john chapter 14 beginning in verse 1 do not let your hearts be troubled you believe in god believe also in me my father's house has many rooms if that were not so would i have told you that i'm going there to prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you i will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where i am you know the way to the place where i am going thomas said to him lord we don't know where you're going so how can we know the way you got to love thomas asking the questions that we probably all be asking jesus answered i'm the way in the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me if you really know me you will know my father as well from now on you do know him and have seen him now philip said lord show us the father that and that will be enough for us jesus answered don't you know me philip even after i've been among you such a long time anyone who has seen me has seen the father how can you say show us the father don't you believe that i am in the father and that the father is in me the words i say to you i do not speak on my own authority rather it is the father living in me who is doing his work believe me when i say that i am in the father and the father is in me or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves very truly i tell you whoever believes in me will do the works i have been doing and they will do even greater things than these because i am going to the father and i will do whatever you ask in my name so that the father may be glorified in the son sun you may ask me for anything in my name and i will do it amazing scripture okay so right at the outset i just want to draw out some of the tension you may be feeling as we go into this passage so last week we were looking at jesus talk about loving one another and he's talking about even to the point of loving our enemies now this idea of loving one another and loving even to the point of loving our enemies captures the inclusive nature of jesus's way of relating to people and posture towards people and this wasn't just in this moment in john but we see this all through the gospels we see earlier in the gospel of john the way that jesus interacts with a samaritan woman by the well in john chapter four and as he reaches out to her just having a conversation with her offering her salvation through faith in him he breaks through the gender barriers and even the race and cultural and religious barriers of the time that kept people separated in the kind of caste system separating the haves from the have-nots and we see this trend this pattern in jesus's life this inclusive trend all through jesus's ministry we see him welcoming prostitutes right when the woman comes and anoints his feet with tears and we see jesus welcoming tax collectors like think of zacchaeus or jesus welcoming even the pharisee the uber religious snob who is excluding everybody else jesus is inviting them in think of nicodemus and when we read jesus's life we just see this really open inclusive person now that's what we looked at last week now this week it's like whoa we hit the brakes because we get to verse 6 and we might be asking who is this jesus verse 6 says jesus answered i am the way i am the truth and i am the life no one comes to the father except through me it's like all of a sudden this inclusive jesus brings us to a point of like exclusivity that can feel really tight and crowded i want you to think of like a funnel a really wide point and then a narrow point a lot of us are comfortable with the wide point of the funnel when it comes to jesus jesus is open and loving and welcoming and forgiving like we said to enemies to samaritan women to tax collectors but then there's this other side of jesus like a funnel that brings us to this focal point that makes things really uncomfortable and narrow jesus is exclusive when he says no one comes the father except through me he doesn't say i am a way or i am a truth he is the truth the way and the life and so that might raise objections in our hearts and our thoughts we might be thinking what about other religions or don't all paths lead to god kind of like a wheel like a bike wheel with the spokes and the hub you know all the different spokes are different religions or world views but in the end they all lead to god right in other words aren't all religions essentially and fundamentally the same and who are we that is to argue and claim our way is better than another who are christians to claim that they have ultimate truth so right here is the tension point last week we see inclusive jesus this week it's exclusive jesus we are brought into this tension and there's a tension in how we're supposed to respond to this for some of us on one end of this spectrum it's offensive right doesn't saying this that jesus is the way doesn't this devalue other people's beliefs and thereby devalue them as a person and result in all the hate and bigotry and wars in our world on the other end of the spectrum we can find ourselves kind of arrogant maybe a little bit smug and self-righteous right we have the way and you better become more like us you better dress like me you better talk like me you better think like me and these are two ends of the spectrum maybe two extreme points but nonetheless we probably have felt both of these in our life jesus's inclusivity and his exclusivity seem to be an irreconcilable paradox and it creates tension i want to talk about the tension of exclusivity for a moment i remember when i was just married i was in starbucks and i'm sitting there um doing some work and a cute girl sits next to me and all of a sudden without me even realizing it i slowly started to unconsciously put my hand under the table and hide my wedding ring all of a sudden it just dawned on me what i was doing like wait why is my hand down here what am i doing and when i realized what i was doing i realized oh my gosh i'm so used to trying to present myself as available to the cute lady next to me but i had wasn't used to the fact that i was actually now married and by being exclusively committed to her and meant i was no longer available to any other woman and so when i realized what i was doing i just put my hand up and was kind of waving it around and looking at my ring and let's just be clear this woman didn't care did not notice me but it was really more about me the idea that jesus is exclusive can create discomfort for us but there's actually something really important and good about it i want to talk about that today what if jesus's exclusivity or his absolute uniqueness is what actually makes him so radically inclusive what what if his exclusivity is not in opposition to his inclusivity but because he is exclusive he can be the most inclusive person to have ever walked the face of the earth and what if by accepting his uniqueness and his exclusive unique claims about himself we put ourselves on a trajectory to be transformed into the most radically inclusive people on earth just like him that's what this message is about okay so what is so radically inclusive about jesus's three exclusive statements i am the way i am the truth and i am the life here we go let's unpack this together and try to untangle all this and understand what is jesus really saying about himself about what it means to come into a relationship with god so first we'll start with the way now in john 14 and in the first few verses jesus says this i want to read them again to you i'm going there to prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you i want you to pay attention to that word prepare i will come back and take you to be with me that you that you also may be where i am you know the way to the place where i am going which we know tom's like what we don't know what you're talking about where are you going and how can we know the way now what jesus is talking about here he's talking about the way through sin and he's talking about preparing a way through sin by way of the cross this is what jesus is ultimately talking about right because remember in the upper room he is preparing his disciples to understand why he has to die something they had no expectation for the meaning behind his death and how his death and resurrection changes everything for the world and for them as disciples now jesus claims an exclusive solution to the problem of sin right here right listen to this john 8 24 for unless you believe that i am who i claim to be you will die in your sins now that is a really challenging statement but what is jesus saying he is saying he has an exclusive solution to the problem of sin now all religions admit there's a problem in the world this is one of those things that all religions can agree on okay and it's because religions do agree on some things it makes people falsely assume that all religions are fundamentally the same and they're not because for example the solution that each religious system comes up with on how to deal with sin is vastly different for example other religions focus on solving the problem of evil in the world with effort earning willpower karma reincarnation and a bunch of other things so really all come back to one thing you doing the best you can to save yourself okay i go look at other religions and this is the fundamental solution that every religious system offers in response to sin but christianity is so different because what jesus offers is so radically exclusive or in other words unique christianity or jesus focuses on grace jesus is saying i'm gonna do for you what you could never do for yourself now this cuts against the grain of all other religious systems listen to this ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 no one understood this better than paul because at one point he was actually persecuting christians killing them and so this guy more than most knew he didn't deserve god's kindness and mercy listen what he writes god saves you by his grace when you believe when you believe what just believe that you're a good person believe that all things work out in the end believe that all paths lead to god no paul is talking about believing in who jesus claims to be and what he claimed to do by believing in the way that jesus has solved the problem of sin he goes on and he says and you can't take credit for this this is a gift from god salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done so none of us can boast about it do you see right here is where the inclusive nature of jesus's claim comes in this is what makes jesus so radically inclusive right here when he says you can't take credit for being in a relationship with god and you can't brag about it none of you can boast because sin levels the playing field and when you can't get right with god by your own effort then you can't compare yourself to everyone else well i did it right and you did it wrong or i'm somehow better i'm more moral i'm more intelligent i was born into the right family jesus is the most radically inclusive person because he's saying you cannot have a relationship with god based on your merit because it's our merits are what separate us and create hierarchy caste systems competition and comparison and give us a sense of superiority over others our ethnicity our gender our skin color our culture our intelligence our wealth our popularity our fame how many likes that we have who we know our morality even our willpower none of that merits a relationship with god and if that doesn't merit relation with god then the playing field is leveled i don't know if you get what this is saying here and how radical what jesus is suggesting is but because he has done what nobody else could do he's saying then no one it's not about comparing ourselves to each other and saying oh i'm a better person than that person so i'll probably go to heaven okay that's the way jesus is the way meaning he is the way through sin through the way of the cross where he would die to free us from sin he's also the truth okay let's talk about that the truth where we learn about jesus's exclusive claim about the truth about his identity and your identity your true deepest core identity deeper than your identity in your politics athletics your social circle your achievements your ethnicity and culture even your gender an identity that is more deeply rooted than all those things let's go back to john 14 verse 9 jesus says jesus answered don't you know me philip philip even after i have been among you such a long time this is in response to philip saying show us the father and jesus is like don't you know who i am anyone who has seen me has seen the father how can you say show us the father you can just get this picture of like philip looking over jesus's shoulder hey uh so would you show me the fire father i would love to meet him and jesus is like why are you looking over my shoulder you're looking at him don't you believe that i am in the father the father is in me the words i say to you i do not speak on my own authority remember that he says i do not speak on my own authority rather it is the father living in me who is doing his work these words don't you know me jesus's exclusive claim that he is more than a prophet he's more than a good teacher or a miracle worker but that he is in fact divine that he is god that is an exclusive unique claim muhammad didn't claim to be god buddha did not claim to be god all the other major religions of the world their leaders their spokesmen did not claim to be god in fact for islam to believe that jesus is god is a sin it's ascribing to what they believe a human being divine attributes that belong to god alone all religions are not the same jesus is exclusive because he is unique jesus puts himself on par with god in this passage in two ways number one back in verse one listen to this jesus says do not let your hearts be troubled you believe in god believe also in me i mean think about that don't just believe in god believe in me he is putting himself on par with faith in god to believe in god is to believe in him and vice versa verse 10 i am in the father jesus says and the father is in me and because of this mutual indwelling that jesus and the father have this oneness of nature and being that they share they are distinct and yet of the same substance both god and because of that that is the basis for jesus's authority and this takes us to truth because his authority is rooted in his unique divine nature and so his authority on truth stands on that claim of identity this gives jesus an authority in what he says does it on a whole different level than anybody else can claim what jesus says about ultimate truth regarding our origin where we came from or the meaning of our life why we're here or morality how we should live or even our destiny where we are headed jesus claims unique authority to speak the truth into who you are because of the unique claim he makes about himself he in fact is your maker your lord and your god and as your god he claims ultimate authority over the deepest truth about where you've come from and where you're going john 1 18 says this about jesus get this john chapter 1 verse 18 no one has ever seen god but the one and only son who is himself god and is in closest relationship with the father he being the son has made the father known and so because of jesus's unique relationship to the father he has unique authority to reveal the deepest truths about who god is who we are in the meaning of our life john 1 12 or actually yeah john 1 12 says this because now this has implications about you and me john 1 12 yet to all who did receive him to those who believed in his name i want to emphasize the word all to all not just to the jews not just to the good looking not just to the priests or the or the levites or to the people who've followed through a certain religious system or have offered enough sacrifices or made enough donations to their church no no no no he's saying to all who receive him to those who believe in his name he gave the right to become children of god what is this saying it's saying that because jesus is uniquely the son of god he uniquely has the right and the power to make you a child of god the bible teaches that every human being is made in the image of god meaning every human being is created with a spiritual dna and has the potential to be an intimate communion with god and was made to know god but not every person is a child of god there is a distinction becoming a child of god is about actualizing that potential as someone made in his image it's about being brought into relationship intimate relationship with god so when the bible said when jesus says i will make you a child of god he's talking about bringing you into a kind of relationship with god that is like the one that he has with his father that is intimate that is close that is personal that is rooted in unconditional love colossians 3 11 says this now here are the implications for the inclusivity of jesus get this because of this because we become children of god we are brothers and sisters and that creates an inclusivity that is so radical paul writes because of this there is neither jew nor gentile neither slaves nor free nor is there male and female for you are all one in christ jesus meaning these areas of how we define ourselves are no longer a legitimate basis to exclude and differentiate ourselves in a hierarchy of who is greater and who is less because you and i both know that our world does function on that basis listen what the bible says in second samuel it clearly says man judges by the appearance god alone judges the heart human beings are trapped judging one another by superficial standards by the outward shell of the person only god can really truly look at that heart but as we become children of god that it creates an inclusivity with people a way of relating equally between male and female someone who's black someone who's white or latino it puts us on equal footing and abolishes those barriers to relationship and equality that's radical lastly the life he is the way through sin and through the cross he is the truth he is the truth about god because he is god and he alone reveals the truth about your true identity and number three he is the life verse 12. very truly i tell you whoever believes in me will do the works i have been doing and they will do even greater things than these because i'm going to the father and i will do whatever you ask in my name so that the father may be glorified in the son you may ask me for anything in my name and i will do it this is like the climactic crescendo of this whole thing listen to this jesus claims to have access to eternal life that's a unique exclusive claim muhammad did not not a buddha listen to what jesus says here verse 3 i will come back and take you to be with me what is jesus talking about i will leave and then come back he's talking about dying and rising from the dead john 11 25 john 11 25 jesus says this i am the resurrection and the life the one who believes in me will live even though they die this resurrection is both an eternal thing it's an existential reality right ontological reality i should say when we die we can be certain that we're going to be resurrected and enter into eternal relationship with god but it's also about our life on earth now because that life of jesus begins to fill us in this lifetime as we believe in him through the power and the indwelling of the holy spirit which we're going to talk about next week in verses 15 through the rest of the chapter but what jesus is saying is this if you believe in me you my life my quality of life and the power of my life is gonna begin to take residence and express itself through you now he says if you believe in me you will do the works i have been doing what kind of works did jesus do he healed people he led people to faith in god his father he reconciled people in relationship to one another matthew the tax collector peter the fisherman peter the apostle cornelius the gentile centurion we see that in acts chapter 10. we see jesus reconciling healing forgiving restoring transforming when we get to be a part of that through his power and his indwelling life in fact what this is saying is this this is the exclusive time that jesus makes anyone and everyone can participate in god's life he lays exclusive claim to reproduce his life in us no other religious system even comes close to suggesting that which is what makes jesus so exclusive and so unique listen to this acts chapter 2 verse 17 in the last days god says i will pour out my spirit on all people do you see the ex the inclusive invitation that was only possible because jesus died on the cross that the holy spirit could fill anyone who chooses to believe in him your sons and daughters will prophesy your young men will see visions your old men will dream dreams even on my servants both men and women i will pour out my spirit in those days here we're going to go to a song of worship and just let this sink in with you but what is jesus saying he's saying that by making himself exclusive by saying only through me everyone anyone who's willing to receive him can come into his life but we have to come through him where are you on your journey with god have you made peace with jesus yet are you struggling with his exclusive claims and do you see that by being exclusive he has opened the door to more people than we could ever ever even ourselves feel comfortable with let me pray for us lord thank you for your love that is so big but there is no way to god except through you because of who you uniquely are no other religious system or worldview offers the way the truth and the life that you exclusively and uniquely offer and i pray that you would free us from the fear that we are you have to be snobs or arrogant to believe this and i pray for those who have not yet accepted this he would open their heart to receive you as their way as their truth and as their life in jesus name may pray amen let's go to worship and then i'll close us out with a final prayer [Music] [Music] a hidden glory creation now revealed in your christ what a beautiful name it is what a beautiful name it is the name of jesus christ [Music] what a beautiful name it is nothing compasses what a beautiful name it is the name of jesus [Music] we didn't want heaven without us so jesus you brought heaven down [Music] my sin was great but your love was greater [Music] and what can [Music] what a separate name it is what a wonderful name it is the name of jesus christ my king what a wonderful name it is nothing compared to this what a wonderful name it is the name of jesus what a wonderful name it is [Music] silence the boast of sin and grey the heavens are roaring the praise of your glory for [Music] [Music] now if [Music] yours is what a powerful name it is what a powerful name it is the name of jesus king what a powerful name it is and nothing can stand against what a powerful name it is the name of jesus what a powerful name it is the name of jesus what a powerful name it is the name of jesus [Music] jesus said boldly and audaciously i am the way the truth and the life there is no no one comes to the father except through me not because jesus is arrogant but because jesus was uniquely the son of god had a unique relationship with the father and uniquely carried the inclusive all-encompassing love of the father for the entire world to offer a salvation that is open to anyone who chooses to receive and believe in him really ultimately the barrier for us as human beings is not having to be an elite person being strong enough good looking enough it's ultimately boils down to are you humble enough are you willing to admit that jesus has done for you what you will never achieve for yourself no matter how many achievements you acquire no matter how much money you make no matter how many people like you no matter how successful you become no matter how hard you try you can never earn your father's love for you it's received as a gift and if you'd like to receive that gift and receive jesus i want you to join me in praying right now just close your eyes and just put your hands out as like a symbol of receiving this gift from god here we go let's pray repeat after me whatever you're saying just repeat these words after me jesus i accept that you died on the cross to make a way through sin for me not just for the convict down the street or the person who's in jail or for the really bad people that i don't like but for me and my sin so that i could be forgiven and restored into relationship with my heavenly father i want to receive your eternal life fill me with your holy spirit in jesus name amen if you prayed that prayer would you please just text the number at the bottom of the screen we'd love to encourage you support you give you resources to help you on your journey with jesus because it's a personal experience to give your life to jesus but it's not a private one we hope that you will join us and join our community as we walk together in following jesus god bless you have a good week

Channel: North Coast Calvary Chapel

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Length: 47min 43sec (2863 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 23 2021