Go Ahead, Ask
Christianity is not a point of view. Christianity is a relationship with a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. And you have committed your life to Him so that He can run it.
Transcript
Alright, thank you very much. And hello again, radio friends. How in the world are you? [chuckle] Yes, this is your friend, Bob Cook. And I’m glad to be back with you, to share from the Word of God. We’re looking at John Chapter 14. And we’ve come down through the Third Verse in those first three verses of John Chapter 14. Jesus has said, “You can’t trust yourself, but you can trust me.” The second thing He said was, “I got plans for you.” The third thing He said was, “I’m personally going to implement those plans.” And the fourth thing He said was, “I want you with me.” Precious truth, you remember that? Well, now, we go on and He says, “You know where I’m going and you know the way.” Verse Four, “Whether I go, ye know, and the way, ye know.” “You know where I’m going and you know the way.” Well, Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going and how can we know the way?” This is the first of a number of questions that the disciples asked. This one here, “How can we know the way?” Verse 22, “How is it that we’re different from the world?” Over in another Gospel, “Lord, don’t you care that we perish? Does Jesus care?” Over in another Gospel, “How can we feed so great a multitude in the wilderness?” In other words, “How do you face up to the impossible demands of the world in which you live?”
And then Peter said, “Lo, we have left all and followed thee. What shall we have?” Therefore, “What’s in it for me?” All these different questions that the disciples asked. I’ll deal with two of them in our study of John here. The first one is right here in Verse Five, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going and how can we know the way?” “How can we know the way?” This question lies deep in the heart of every human being. I’ve traveled by God’s gracious provision now, through the years, all over the world, and I’ve found wherever I’ve gone, that there is that heart hunger for God, a vacuum that can only be filled with the presence of God. “A God-shaped hole in your heart,” somebody has said. Everywhere I’ve gone, there’s been that hunger for… To know the real God. I’ve been received by people immediately when I said, “I want to talk to you about the Living God.” Because they know He’s there. They know He exists. Romans, Chapter One says that, “You can tell there’s a God by looking at the creation, and you can tell there’s a God by looking at the universe inside of you, with your conscience. But there’s that hunger and it’s only satisfied in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The way, oh, there’ve been so many devious pathways dreamed up by people, who thought that that might lead them to an experience with God. Currently, we have the plague of drugs that is flooding our country and flooding the world. And it is a fact, that as one puts his mind under the influence of drugs, one also becomes susceptible to the attacks of Satan, and his evil spirits. The whole question of demon possession is a touchy one. And I’m against, of course, the idea that if anybody exhibits bizarre, or unusual behavior, you immediately label him or her as being under the influence of occult spirits. This is, most of the time, not true. Mental illness is a fact and dealing with it is a medical and psychological reality. But I’ve lived long enough and gone far enough in this world to know that there are bonafide cases, where it is quite obvious that the individual has opened himself to the control of Satan. Satan worship is growing in our country, as you know, you can see it mentioned now and again in the newspapers. For the most part, they’re rather careful not to play it up.
But it’s growing. And you go into other countries, and you’ll find that it’s an obvious, vigorous cult. Why am I saying all of this? Well, it grew out of the question, “How can we find the way? The way to a knowledge, and an enjoyment of the presence and power of God.” Now, the Devil’s business always has been to suggest an alternative. This happened in the Garden of Eden, you remember? Well, you weren’t there, obviously, but you’ve read it, haven’t you? In the Bible, Satan said to Eve, “You shall not surely die, for God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil.” See, he gave a half truth, and a half lie, and she fell for it, an alternative to obedience. The Devil’s ploy, beloved… Now, get hold of this for yourself, because it’ll come in handy as you live through, perhaps this very day. The Devil’s ploy, the Devil’s scheme is to suggest an alternative to outright obedience to God, an alternative to forthright, frontal, unqualified, no mental reservations, obedience to God. There’s an easier way.
It’s always the way of death. It’s always the way of disappointment. It’s always the way of tragedy. How can we know the way? The way is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t fall for the alternatives that Satan can suggest to you. Instead of complete obedience to God, you will find yourself receiving suggestions of things that might be easier to do, than to obey God on a matter. Well, far better to obey Him. Our Lord Jesus takes this subject up later on. In the 14th Chapter of John, He said, “If you love me, you’ll obey me.” We’ll get at that when we get there. But right now, He is the way. How can we know the way? He said, “I’m the way.” The way turns out to be a person to whom you commit yourself, so that He can do what He wants to do in your life. This is more than a mental point of view. To say, “I am a Christian,” is more than saying, “I am a Democrat, or a Republican, or a conservative,” or whatever it may be.
Christianity is not a point of view. Christianity is a relationship with a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. And you have committed your life to Him, so that He can run it. Small thought here, how long has it been since you asked Jesus for advice on anything non-religious? You’ve said your prayers and you’ve included in the prayers the desire to be blessed. That’s a religious phrase, but how long has it been since you asked Him for advice on something that had nothing to do with religion? He’s interested. “In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.” Mr Vice President, ask God to guide you today. Mr Sales Manager, or Miss, or Ms… [chuckle] I know that the ladies are highly placed in business these days. Every now and again, somebody reminds me that I use the male gender in talking about things. Alright, him or her, she or he, whoever you are, have you formed the habit of asking our blessed Lord to guide you?
See? Faith in the Lord Jesus as the way involves commitment to Him, so that He can control things and live His life through you. Paul said, “I live the life now, by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Christ liveth in me. This is the secret then of the Christian life. He’s the way.” How can we know the way? He’s the way to the Father, to know Him. Verse Nine, “I have been with you such a long time, don’t you really know me, Philip? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father.” The way to know God, be acquainted with Him, to be comfortable with Him… Most people are scared stiff of God, isn’t that true? You just speak of God and people immediately brace themselves, as though some disaster was about to occur. The way to know God and be comfortable with Him is Jesus. The way to hear Him and see Him work is Jesus. He said, “The words… ” This is Verse 10, “The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works.” To hear God’s voice and see Him work is Jesus. That’s the way. So simple, isn’t it? You tend to back off and say, “Oh, that’s too simplistic.” Well, sin is always complicated. Faith is always simple and direct. Will you remember that? It’s axiomatic, always true.
Sin is always complicated. Faith is always simple and direct. Faith is as simple as saying, “Yes, Lord.” Faith is as simple as taking the first step in the journey from Ur of the Chaldees to the promised land. Faith is as simple as Jonah saying, “I’m the man, toss me overboard.” He knew that he was dealing with God. Faith is as simple as the little boy giving his lunch to Jesus, so that he could use it to feed 5,000 men, beside women and children. Faith is always simple and direct. Sin is always complicated, a lot of ‘if’ clauses. Beware of the hypothetical ‘if’ clause in your approach to the will of God. It always leads you to a detour. Well, He said, “You can hear God’s voice and see Him work, if you commit yourself to me, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Every now and then, I remind you, that you can hear from God. The Holy Spirit of God dwells within the believer, and He takes the Word of God, and makes it live in your heart and life.
That’s why it’s so important for you to feed on God’s Word, the Bible, every day, because the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance, “He shall teach you all things and bring to your remembrance.” We get that in a verse later on in this 14th Chapter, “He’ll bring to your remembrance things that God wants you to be aware of.” And so, it is that, when you’re reading your Bible, all of a sudden, a truth will pop out, in a way of speaking, from the page. Just leap right out at you and you’ll say, “I never saw that before. I never thought of that before.” Well, the Spirit of God is trying to teach you something. So that you can hear from God through His word, by the Holy Spirit’s teaching. God will tell you things. Do you understand me? God will tell you, you personally, tell you things, if you’ll get into His Word, if you’ll pray, if you’ll listen to the voice of the Spirit of God, who dwells within you, if you’re a believer.
This is no wildfire, hysterical kind of mysticism. This is down to Earth, bedrock solid Bible truth. God spoke to us by His Son. He’s spoken to us through His Word, the Bible. He gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell within the believer. And He uses that combination to reveal His will to us, you can hear from God. Jesus is the way to hear from God and to see Him work in your life. And then, of course, He’s the basis for all of your belief. “Believe me,” He says, “Not only from what I say, but believe me for the very work’s sake,” Verse 11. He’s the basis for all of our relationship on all of our belief and all of the authority we have as believers. He’s the way. Great truth, isn’t it?
Father God, today, oh, may we love Thee, and obey Thee, and enjoy Thy presence through Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Till I meet you, once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!
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