Transcription downloaded from https://sermonarchive.gfcbremen.com/sermons/100678/how-to-get-to-heaven/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] John chapter 14, we'll read the first 14 verses together as Jesus is here found comforting his disciples.! John 14 verse 1.

[0:11] Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you.

[0:25] 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.

[0:35] You know the way to the place where I'm going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life.

[0:50] No man comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

[1:02] Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Jesus answered, Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?

[1:13] 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 are not just my own.

[1:27] 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 miracles themselves.

[1:41] I tell you the truth. Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He 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 Son may bring glory to the Father.

[1:56] Father, you may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Ask you to keep your Bibles open there to the Gospel of John in chapter 14.

[2:10] If there's somewhere that you need to go, or that you want to go, you really need just one thing. And that is a way to get there. If I want to go to Chicago, I need a way to get there.

[2:24] And there are several options available to me. I could drive. I could take the South Shore train. I could catch a bus. I've had a lot of time and energy. I could walk or ride my bike even.

[2:38] But if you want to get somewhere from point A to point B, you need a way to get there. If you would want to advance in your company to the very top, you need a way to get there.

[2:51] You need to know how things work in your office, what the proper progression is, what kind of work will be required of you to get to the very top. You need a way to get there.

[3:02] And for most things, there are a variety of routes. There are different ways that we can get there. But there's one place where there's only one avenue.

[3:13] There's only one way to get there. And if you were with us last Sunday night, you know that we've begun to take a very brief look at the subject of heaven. We saw what heaven is last week.

[3:29] It's the dwelling place of God, of the angels, of Jesus, of God's people. And that being the case, we want to consider this morning, how to get there.

[3:46] What's the way to heaven? And a lot of people would have you believe, well, there's lots of ways to get to heaven. Just like there's lots of ways to get to Chicago. There's lots of ways to get to heaven.

[4:00] Is that true? That there are many ways to heaven? I hope you quickly say, no.

[4:12] There's only one way to heaven. But there have been many answers given over the years. A couple of years ago, there was a special on ABC, on the subject of heaven. And they concluded that every culture has wrestled with the question of an afterlife.

[4:29] And most have come to a similar conclusion. The bad end up in hell, the good go to heaven. The bad end up in hell, and the good go to heaven.

[4:40] That's the conclusion of most cultures throughout history. So says ABC's report. And so according to many, the way to get to heaven is to be a good person. To have done more good things in your life than you've done bad things.

[4:57] To have the good outweigh the bad. But will that get you to heaven? Being a good person. The answer of the scriptures is no.

[5:12] Not according to God's word. And neither will anyone of a number of other paths that are advocated today get you to heaven. Because you see, heaven is an exclusive place. And that's not a very popular thing to say, that heaven is an exclusive place.

[5:25] But that's what Jesus says. And he says there's only one way that you can get there. God the Father is in heaven. We saw that last week.

[5:36] Part of the definition of what heaven is. It's the place where God dwells. And Jesus says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father.

[5:49] And where's the Father? Well, he's in heaven. And so, no one comes to heaven except through me. There's an easy one word answer to our question this morning.

[6:00] How can you get to heaven? And the answer is Jesus. There's one name that's the answer to our question.

[6:12] How can you get to heaven? And that name is Jesus. Now, you know I'm going to tell you more than that. Otherwise, it would be the shortest sermon in Grace Fellowship Church history.

[6:23] But the answer can be summed up in the one word, the one name of Jesus. Acts 4.12 Salvation is found in no one else. For there was no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

[6:38] No other name. Only one name. Only one way to heaven. And that is through Christ. In Him alone. And so, having seen what heaven is last week, we want to see how to get there this morning.

[6:52] And then if you come back tonight, we're going to talk, Lord willing, about what it will be like when you get there. What you can expect when you see it. But for this morning, how can you get to heaven?

[7:03] And as we think about the one way, the only way by which men may enter glory, we want to look at the first six verses of John chapter 14 and see three things. Troubling times, comforting words, and an exclusive claim.

[7:19] Troubling times, comforting words, and an exclusive claim. Well, why do you say, are there troubling times? You see what Jesus says in verse 14, or verse 1 of chapter 14, do not let your hearts be troubled.

[7:32] Indicates to us that the disciples' hearts were troubled. Or were on the verge of being troubled, at least because these were troubling times for the disciples. You don't have to look back far in the Gospel of John to see why Jesus is comforting His disciples with these words.

[7:48] Jesus is, back in chapter 12, foretold His death. Now you imagine this for a moment. Here are these 12 disciples that have followed Jesus over the last three years.

[7:59] And Jesus is coming to the end. These words here in chapter 14 and following, and chapter 13 as well, are Jesus in the upper room celebrating the Passover with His disciples.

[8:11] Jesus instituting the Lord's Supper. And He's talking to His disciples. So He's come to the end of His earthly ministry almost. Some three years He's spent with these 12 men. And they have given up everything to follow this one man.

[8:25] You might say they put all their eggs in one basket. And that's the basket of following Jesus. Everything they have now. They've left their livelihoods. They've left family behind.

[8:37] Everything that they have is wrapped up in Jesus. That's a good place to be. But troubling when Jesus says, I'm going to die. I'm going to be delivered over to the hands of the authorities and I'm going to be killed.

[8:51] And you imagine that the disciples' knees start knocking a little bit. Well, Jesus is our leader. He's our master. He's the one that we've given everything to follow.

[9:04] And if He's dead, what are we going to do? What's going to become of us? Not too many people in the area here are that impressed with Jesus. Oh, He had a following for a period of time.

[9:16] There were some people that were excited to see miracles. But most of them have fallen away. And a lot of people want to kill Him. And so once Jesus is dead, they're probably going to come after His followers next.

[9:27] And what are we to do if Jesus is dead? But not only that, now gathered in the upper room, Jesus says, one of you is going to be the one that betrays me.

[9:38] Another blow. Surely not I, Lord. Not I, not I. And each one goes around the table. And yet in their midst is a traitor. Another blow.

[9:49] And you feel their hearts troubled again. But that's not all. Look up in chapter 13 and at verse 33, Jesus says to them, Judas has already gone out from them to go and do his work of betrayal.

[10:06] And Jesus says in verse 33, My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me. And just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now, where I am going, you cannot come.

[10:18] What? This is our Master. We want to go wherever He goes. We want to follow Him. But He says we can't. Then He explains Himself a little bit further in verse 36.

[10:30] Simon Peter asked Him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus replied, Where I am going, you cannot follow now. But you will follow later. Oh, a little glimmer of hope then maybe. Maybe we'll get to be with Jesus again.

[10:42] We can follow Him later where He's going. And then comes another blow. Peter, you're going to deny me three times. And now their loyalty is calling the question.

[10:54] We've given everything to follow you, Lord. How can you say that I'm going to betray you or deny you three times? And it's not in John's Gospel, but the other Gospels record it, that Jesus said, All of you will forsake me.

[11:09] And you feel something of the trouble in the disciples' hearts as the weight of these things begins to bear down on them. And they begin to realize that everything that they've trusted, Christ, He's about to leave them.

[11:28] He's about to be gone from their presence. They'll be all alone. And so the weight of these things bears down, and among other troubles that they have, they soon will be all alone in the world. You ever feel like that?

[11:42] Is your heart ever troubled? You ever feel like the world is against you? Like too many things are piling up at once?

[11:53] Like you're all alone and Jesus isn't there to help you? Do your troubles seem insurmountable? Troubled in your heart?

[12:05] Well, Jesus has some comforting words for you. Some comforting words for you. Heed them well. But before we come to those comforting words, notice one thing about Jesus. Jesus is troubled as well.

[12:19] Look back at chapter 13 and verse 21. Jesus is about to tell them about the betrayal. In verse 21, after He had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit.

[12:30] Same word as in the beginning of chapter 14. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me. Jesus Himself was troubled.

[12:41] His own heart was moved at the thought of one of His own disciples betraying Him. He was troubled. And so what does Jesus do? Does He sit down and have a pity party and say, woe is me?

[12:53] I'm troubled. My troubles are too great for me. Is He selfish and focused on Himself? What does He do? Does He think about His own trouble? No, He looks at His disciples and He knows that they're troubled as well.

[13:05] And He offers them words of comfort. He looks beyond His own difficulty. He puts it aside. And He speaks words of comfort to His disciples. And I think we would do well to take note and to learn a lesson here.

[13:19] That in the midst of our trials and struggles and discomfort and trouble of heart, we would do well to look beyond ourselves. Instead of wallowing in our own trouble and allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed, we should look around to others and see the trouble they are in and offer comfort to them.

[13:40] And in so doing, we'll find great comfort for ourselves. But may we not be so self-centered in our trials that we forget that other people around us are suffering as well. Jesus, in the midst of His trial, in the midst of His troubled heart, has words for the troubled hearts of His disciples.

[13:59] Words of comfort. Words of peace. Let's turn to those words now here in chapter 14. So there's troubling times and now comforting words. And J.C. Ryle says, We have first in this passage a precious remedy against an old disease.

[14:14] That disease is trouble of heart. That remedy is faith. First, Jesus simply says, Don't let your hearts be troubled. And maybe your reflex is, Yeah, right.

[14:26] You haven't seen my troubles. You haven't seen my trials. And how they're weighing. How can you say, Don't let your heart be troubled. Have you seen my problems?

[14:38] Well, this is Jesus speaking, remember. If you've got heart trouble, Jesus has the right medicine for you. You can often avoid real physical heart trouble by proper diet, exercise, staying fit.

[14:50] And should you encounter heart trouble, there are medications that can help you and restore you to health. Well, Jesus has the right medicine for heart trouble, spiritual heart trouble.

[15:04] And His advice is this. His command is this. Trust in God. Trust also in me. Trust. Believe. Have faith. Now, Jesus knows that these men do trust Him.

[15:15] They wouldn't have followed Him these past three years otherwise. But He wants them to strengthen their faith. He wants to see it deepened. He wants to see them cast themselves fully upon Himself.

[15:28] It's a difficult thing to ask when all around seems to be crumbling. And Jesus has just said, I'm leaving. I'm going to leave you. Trust in me anyway. Even though I'm not going to be around. Remember, all that they've known of trusting Jesus is face to face.

[15:42] They were used to having Him there, seeing Him, and now He says, I'm going to be gone, but trust me anyway. That's living by faith and not by sight.

[15:56] Jesus knows that there's perfect peace, even as we've sung of this morning, for those whose minds are stayed on Jehovah. And so He says, trust in God. Trust also in me.

[16:08] And maybe that's difficult for us too. We've never seen Jesus with our physical eyes. Never seen Him. So why should we trust in this one who we've never seen?

[16:19] Why should the disciples trust in Him if He was going to leave them, abandon them, forsake them? Well, He wasn't going to. We'll see that in a moment. But why should they trust in Him if they couldn't see Him? Well, Jesus had proven Himself trustworthy, hadn't He?

[16:33] Had He failed His disciples yet? Had He let them down at any moment? No, He hadn't. Has God ever let... And He says, trust in God. Look back all the way to the Old Testament. Has God ever been unfaithful to His promises?

[16:46] No. Has God always proven Himself trustworthy? Yes. Has Jesus, the Son of God, always proven Himself trustworthy? Yes.

[16:59] Without a doubt. Without question. He's proven Himself faithful. And so, He's right to say, trust in God, trust also in me. We'd be foolish not to trust in Him.

[17:11] Some people say, you're a fool to trust in something you've never seen. You've never actually seen Jesus and you're going to put everything on Jesus. You'd be a fool not to. Because He's trustworthy.

[17:24] He's faithful. But then He offers them other comforting words. Besides, trust in me and in my Father. He says, in my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you.

[17:34] I'm going there to prepare a place for you. There's plenty of space in my Father's house. And even though He's going away, it's just going to be a temporary absence. And while He's gone, He's still going to be working on our behalf.

[17:49] It's not like He's going to go and take a vacation and leave the disciples all alone to themselves and leave us all alone. No, He's still working for us. Because where He's going, to His Father's house, which is heaven.

[18:02] There's plenty of room there. There are many rooms. Probably mansions is not such a great translation in some of the older translations. What the picture Jesus gives us is a great big house with many rooms within that house.

[18:18] The very place that we've been learning about. The place where God dwells. The place where Jesus and the angels are. The place where God's children go when they die. This is a place where there is no trouble.

[18:31] And so, Jesus gives His disciples just a glimpse of glory. You know what's good medicine for a troubled heart? A glimpse of heaven. A glimpse of the place where there will be no more trouble.

[18:44] We'll speak more of that tonight. In the glory of heaven. But, good medicine for troubled hearts is a glimpse of the life to come. And so, Jesus gives them that. And He says, I'm going there to prepare a place for you.

[18:55] Jesus isn't going to go and clean and dust and put new sheets on the bed. That's not what He means when He says, I'm going to prepare a place for you in heaven. Jesus has paved and is paving the way for us to get to heaven.

[19:10] As we'll see, He is the way to heaven. And He prepares a place for us there by accomplishing the will of God. God sent Him to earth with a task to accomplish the redemption of His people.

[19:21] And He accomplished that. And then, He rose back into heaven where He intercedes for us now. And He's working in our hearts even now to cleanse us and to prepare us for glory.

[19:35] And so, when He comes again to take us home, our eternal home will be ready and so will we because Jesus has prepared us for it. And He's going to come back and get us.

[19:49] Now, here's some comforting words. He's told the disciples He's going to leave. And He's going to be away. But He says, don't worry, I'm going to come back for you. I'm going to come again and retrieve you and take you to be with you where I am.

[20:02] That's comforting for His disciples and it's comforting for His disciples today. It's comforting for you if you're in Christ to know that He's coming again. J.C. Ryle again says, how much they possess who live the life of faith and the Son of God and believe in Jesus.

[20:21] How much we possess. And then He goes on, with all their weaknesses and crosses that they have, they have that which the world can neither give nor take away.

[20:31] They have a true friend while they live and a true home when they die. A true friend while we live and a true home while we die. Jesus comforted His disciples this way and so He comforts us.

[20:46] He's coming again. And when He comes, He's going to take us home. He's going to take us to be with Him. It becomes apparent as you read Jesus' words that He wants us to be with Him.

[21:00] He's going through an awful lot of trouble to ensure that it happens. He's endured the scorn of men. He's endured the cross. He was raised from the dead. And now He puts up with us and our sinful tendencies and our going back to our sin.

[21:15] And yet He still wants us to be with Him. He's gone to great lengths to ensure our heavenly security. These words aren't just for the eleven disciples that were left.

[21:27] Judas had already gone out to do His work of betrayal. These comforting words are for you. And for me. For all who are in Christ. He's going to come again and to take you to be with Him.

[21:41] You're not doomed to live in the midst of the troubles that are overwhelming you right now. They won't last forever. You won't always feel the burdens of this life.

[21:53] You won't always struggle against sin and temptation. You won't always be struggling to make ends meet. You won't always be bearing with the wrath of a sinful world that hates Jesus and those who love Him.

[22:09] Because Jesus is going to take us home to be with Him. Come back tonight if you want to hear more of what it will be like in heaven with Jesus. things. But one other word of comfort Jesus offers and it's in the rest of chapter 14 that we don't have time to look at this morning.

[22:27] Just notice a couple of verses. Verse 16. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever the Spirit of truth.

[22:39] And notice verse 26. But the counselor the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Even though Jesus isn't on the earth any longer.

[22:51] Even though He was leaving His disciples for a time. He hasn't left us alone. He hasn't left us by ourselves. He hasn't left us to fend for ourselves.

[23:02] He's given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. To come and to dwell in our hearts and to guide us on the way to glory and to remind us of the things that He's taught us. He gives us His own Spirit.

[23:14] And so Christ hasn't left us. He's with us. Even now if you are a child of God you're a temple of the Holy Spirit and He's dwelling in you at this very moment guiding you directing you protecting you illuminating your mind to be able to understand the Scriptures.

[23:33] Jesus is with us. You see the beauty here of the Trinity. It's something we can't begin to fathom fully on our own. One God existing in three persons the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit but you see how beautifully it works for us.

[23:47] It's a matter of worship. It's a matter of giving glory to God that He is triune but it's also good for us that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

[23:59] The God who planned our redemption from all eternity. The Son who carried it out. The Holy Spirit who applies it in our hearts and keeps us on our way until we are in the presence of God in heaven.

[24:11] And so there's comforting words for the disciples even though Jesus is going away. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. I'm going yes but I'm going to prepare a place for you in my Father's house and then I'm going to come again and I'm going to take you back there with me.

[24:29] And while I'm gone I'm going to give you the Holy Spirit and so I'm not really leaving you. I'll be present there with you. Comforting words in the midst of our trial. If you are in the midst of trial don't forget these things.

[24:42] God hasn't forsaken you. He's with you even now. If He wasn't you wouldn't be able to bear up in the midst of these trials. They would have already done you in.

[24:56] Jesus is coming back for you. And He will take you home to be with our Father who is in heaven. But that brings us in the last place this morning to an exclusive claim.

[25:08] Jesus is talking about going to be with His Father and so begins an exchange with Thomas. Thomas who offers us some interesting moments in the Gospels.

[25:24] He won't believe that Jesus is really Jesus after He rose until He can see His hands and His side. And now Thomas again blurts out he's a little bit like Peter sometimes.

[25:35] Jesus says you know the way to the place where I'm going. And while they should He's been teaching them about it all along and He's about to He's just all but made it explicit. He says I'm going to be with my Father in heaven.

[25:48] Or He doesn't say in heaven I'm going to be with my Father to my Father's house. And I'm going to come back and take you with me. He's told them where He's going and how they're going to get there. Going to the Father's house and I'm going to take you there.

[26:00] But Thomas says Lord we don't know where you're going so how can we know the way? Ryle again said Thomas doesn't know the wither or the way.

[26:11] The where or the way. I don't know where you're going so I don't know the way to get there. Well Thomas it's right there in your hand. He's just told you where he's going. And quoting another commentator Ryle again says Trapp who is the name of the other writer.

[26:28] Trapp quaintly remarks that believers in the frame of Thomas are like people who hunt for their keys and purses when they have them in their pockets. Have you ever done that? You ever been running around and I can't find my keys I've got to get to work I can't find my keys and I've had them in my hand before and have been looking for them.

[26:46] And that's what Thomas is doing. He's got the truth right there in his hand. Jesus has just told him I'm going to prepare a place for you in my Father's house and then I'm going to take you there.

[26:57] Well we don't know where you're going and we don't know how to get there. Okay Jesus says let me spell it out for you. Let me make it explicit. If it's not clear enough already I'm going to tell you.

[27:10] Now true enough we don't know the exact location the physical place where heaven is but we do know that it's where Jesus is and we know how to get there. If you don't if you don't know how to get to heaven this morning pay attention.

[27:23] Jesus is about to tell you. Here's the answer to our question how do you get to heaven? I am the way the truth and the life.

[27:34] No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus tells his disciples many things in the Gospel of John. I am.

[27:44] I am the bread of life. I'm the light of the world. I'm the door. I'm the good shepherd. The resurrection and the life. And now I'm the way and the truth and the life. And they'll say later I'm the true vine.

[27:56] All of these statements have something to do with salvation. Something to do with getting to heaven. And let's focus on this one. I am the way and the truth and the life. And it should be obvious to us if Jesus is the one who's preparing a place for us if Jesus is the one who's coming again to bring us to his Father's house what is the way that we get to that house?

[28:22] Well it's through Jesus. He is the way. You know the way He says. Thomas says how can we know the way? Jesus says I am the way. How is Jesus the way to heaven?

[28:36] I don't have anything new to tell you today. I don't have any magic ticket to heaven. You know that. You've heard it preached here before but I'm going to tell you again as plainly and as simply as I can.

[28:49] How is Jesus the way to heaven? Well we saw last week that heaven is the reward of the righteous. Heaven is the reward of those who are holy but the problem is there is no one righteous not even one.

[29:05] And we read in Revelation chapter 21 nothing impure will ever enter it nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful. and so we've got a problem and so we've got a problem it's the reward of the righteous of the holy and anyone who's unholy can't get in there and I don't know about you today but I'm unholy I'm unrighteous there's no unrighteous not even one no one who does what is right and so I can never get to heaven I can never attain glory because I'm sinful in my own strength.

[29:44] I can't get there on my own efforts at being a good person. And so Jesus came to earth to do the will of His Father and that will was to obey and obey Jesus did never once a sinful deed never once a hasty unthought sinful word never once a sinful thought fleeting through His mind.

[30:13] Now I can't fathom that because the thoughts of my heart are desperately wicked all the time it seems in my fight with sin. But not so Jesus.

[30:27] Never once giving in to temptation. He kept God's law perfectly at every turn and was obedient even to the point of death on a cross.

[30:37] He provides the perfect holiness that we need. You see you're sinful but Jesus is holy. Well how do I get that? Well Jesus has already told you. Trust in God.

[30:47] Trust also in me. And when you cast yourself on the Savior God takes that perfect holiness of Jesus and He puts it over to your account. Here's your name. Aaron Hoke.

[30:59] And here's Jesus' name. And when I came to faith in Jesus God took everything that was under my name all of my sin and He put it over here under Jesus' name.

[31:13] And He took Jesus' righteousness and He put that over here under my name. And so now I am righteous in the sight of God. I am holy in the sight of God. Not because of what I've done but because of what Jesus did.

[31:26] And so now I can enter heaven because I'm holy but still there's the problem of our sin. Sin demands judgment. It demands punishment. God can't overlook sin.

[31:37] He must punish it because He's a holy God. And so if we come to God in our sin we won't be welcomed into His house. And He won't say well here's a room back in the corner we'll put the sinful ones back here and we'll just let you slide by.

[31:52] Now as long as we're in our sin there's no way God will send us away. And we'll be sent to everlasting torment and punishment. And again this is why Jesus is the way to heaven because He took that punishment that we deserve.

[32:04] When God takes your sin and puts it under Jesus' name that's what God was punishing there at the cross. He was punishing Jesus not for Jesus' sin because He didn't have any. He was punishing Jesus for our sin.

[32:19] And so we deserve the eternal destiny of hell. That's the alternative. Punishment forever. Jesus took that hell on the cross for us. and He gives us the reward that He earned.

[32:31] Heaven. He endured God's wrath in our place. I think sometimes we know these things so well and these things are so common to us.

[32:44] We get Jesus' righteousness. He takes our sin. He died for my sin and all is well with the world. Stop and think for a moment what that means. an innocent man suffered for what you did.

[32:58] An innocent man suffered for what I did. He was beaten and spat upon. His disciples forsook Him and fled.

[33:10] Denied that they knew Him. His own Father turned His back on Him and poured out His wrath on Him. So that I can have a place in heaven.

[33:24] So that I can be with God forever. So that you can have a place in heaven. So that you don't have to go to that place of eternal torment and punishment.

[33:38] Jesus is the way to heaven because He gives us righteousness and He takes our sin. And so when Jesus says He's the way it doesn't just mean that He shows us the way or that He teaches us about the way.

[33:53] He does those things. But more than that He is the way. Without Jesus you can't go to heaven. Without trusting in Him you won't go to heaven.

[34:07] And then Jesus isn't done with us at the cross. He's still at the right hand of God interceding for us. He's still bringing us along the way. He's giving us His spirit.

[34:18] He's helping us along in our holiness. Not only are we declared righteous in God's sight we begin the process of becoming righteous. God is making us more and more holy. Jesus is still working in us making us fit for glory.

[34:32] And so He works in us by His spirit to give us grace that we might be able to stand against sin and temptation. Heaven's a holy place. He makes us ready for it on our way there. He is the way to heaven.

[34:47] And so the question for you is are you trusting in this Jesus? That's His command. Trust in God. Trust also in me. Cast yourself at the feet of the Savior and look away from yourself.

[34:59] You can't save yourself so quit trying and run to Jesus and find that He is the way. But He's more. He says I'm the truth. He's the Word of God come down from heaven dwelt amongst men.

[35:12] He's the perfect revelation of God when you see the Son you've seen the Father. To know Jesus is to know His Father and the truth that He is. And it's the truth that you must know if you would be set free and that means it's Jesus you must know if you would be set free from your bondage to sin and Satan.

[35:32] His life showed the truth. He proclaimed the truth. He is the truth. Do you know the truth? Do you know Jesus? He's the way, the truth, and the life. Having saved us by His perfect life as atoning death Jesus rose from the dead and showed that death had no power over Him and that He had conquered the last enemy.

[35:50] Death. Death. Once and for all. And so Jesus says in John 11, 25 I am the resurrection and the life.

[36:00] He who believes in Me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. In His life we have life. Because He lives we who believe in Him we who trust in Him shall live as well.

[36:16] Don't let anyone deceive you. Don't let any documentary that says Jesus is still in the grave deceive you. Jesus is alive today. He's in heaven today. And if He's not we don't have any hope.

[36:27] But He is. He is life. And He gives us the gift of eternal life. John 10, 28 I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.

[36:38] No one can snatch them out of My hand. There's comfort. There's comfort. If you're in Christ no one can take you out of His hand. Nothing can turn you astray.

[36:49] Nothing can grab you from Jesus' safe hand and set you back on the way to hell. He's given you life and no one can snatch it out of your hand. And so if you want heaven if you want eternal life if you want glory the only way to have it is Jesus.

[37:08] To trust in Him. But Jesus wants to make one more thing absolutely clear. If it's not already clear He said I'm the way the truth and the life.

[37:19] He's going to show you just how exclusive a place heaven is. No one. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

[37:32] This is the only way to get to the Father to get to His house to get to heaven. It's through Jesus. Jesus. Looking around and comparing yourself and saying you know what?

[37:42] I'm better than most of the other kids at school. And so I think I'll be alright. I'm better than most of my co-workers. I live a better life.

[37:54] I'm a good person. I'm a kind person. Won't get you to heaven. Hoping to go to heaven won't get you to heaven.

[38:06] Doing good deeds will not get you to heaven. Doing more good in your life than bad will not get you to heaven. Dying will not get you to heaven. It seems that many times when people die it doesn't matter what sort of life they lived whether they ever darkened the door of a church or not whether they most importantly had ever put their trust in Christ or not well they're in a better place now.

[38:30] This is blanket comfort. It doesn't matter who it is or what they did or whether they they're in a better place now. They're in heaven now. I've heard it called justification by death.

[38:43] And it's sad because people really believe that. When you die you go to a better place. Guess what? Just because you die and everyone's sad and wishes you were in heaven doesn't make it so.

[38:59] It's not the way it works. Solomon says there's a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.

[39:15] You might be going down a way that seems right to you. You might be popular and well liked at school but that doesn't mean you'll be received in heaven. You may be successful and have everything that you need in this life but it doesn't mean you have everything you need for the life to come.

[39:33] You may think you're fine and all these church going Jesus loving crazy people are just that crazy. But it doesn't mean that you're okay. The way that seems right to you will end in death.

[39:48] The way that is right according to Jesus ends in life. You'd be a fool to go your own way when Jesus provides you the way. This is a difficult concept for our society.

[40:02] Let me give you an illustration to show just how radical a truth Jesus is proclaiming here. A lot of you live in Bremen. Let's say we're in Bremen and there's a fine upstanding citizen in Bremen.

[40:14] A good man. Everyone loves him. He's a doctor. He offers his services at discounted rates and even for free if you're unable to pay. He brings health and wellness to many people.

[40:27] He gives to every good cause. He supports charities in Bremen. He's always ready with a kind word on his lips. He's a church going man. He's there every Sunday.

[40:40] Anybody that sees him says that's a good man. He's done so much good. So much good. He's a good man. But this man isn't trusting in Christ.

[40:53] His church going is just an outward show. It makes him feel better. He believes it's doing him some good. But in reality, there's nothing there. Then take Osama bin Laden.

[41:07] A man who has done unspeakable evil. Unspeakable wickedness. Taken thousands of American lives.

[41:17] others. He has brought sorrow and sadness to our country. He's a wicked man.

[41:30] And say Osama bin Laden, here's the gospel. And by some miracle, and you know God could do this, saves Osama bin Laden.

[41:42] He actually really and truly trusts in Christ. and he throws himself at the feet of the Savior. And the next day, he dies.

[41:57] Never having done one good thing on this earth, do you know that Osama would get into heaven and the good, fine, upstanding citizen of Bremen, when he died the same day, would not.

[42:16] That's radical. There's nobody that wants to hear that. That sort of makes our skin crawl a little bit. But Jesus says, no one comes to the Father except through me.

[42:29] And so if you're trusting anything other than Jesus to get you to glory today, you're not going to get there. And so the conclusion is trust in Jesus.

[42:44] right now this morning you can be certain that you're on your way to heaven. You can have no doubt in your mind if you would come and cast yourself at the foot of the cross and relinquish all your own imagined strength and good deeds.

[42:59] You let go of your way. You ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to give you his righteousness. Ask him to give you strength to live a life of holiness. Ask him to take you home to his Father's house in heaven.

[43:11] heaven and he will. And if you are confident today you do have peace. You're stayed upon Jehovah. You're fixed.

[43:23] You have found what it is to have comfort in the midst of trouble. You know the Savior. You are trusting in him. Then give him all thanks and praise today. He's the way and he's the one that's even given you the gift of faith.

[43:36] You can't say I'm the one that took the way and so I still get a little bit credit. No. No. Jesus is the one that picks you up and he sets you on the path. He's the one that brings you home to heaven.

[43:47] And so give God all thanks and praise today for his son who is the way and the truth and the life. And one other concluding note. Tell other people about Jesus.

[43:58] If he's the only way to get to heaven. The only way to avoid certain punishment and judgment. And there's a whole lot of people right here in Bremen, Indiana, that think they're on their way to heaven but they're trying to get there without Jesus.

[44:12] Then what do you think you should do? Tell people about Jesus. Tell them how he can save them and set them on the path to glory.

[44:23] Continue to pray for and support and let's be supporting and sending missionaries who tell people about Jesus. when we pray for missionaries in our home and sometimes it can be sort of hard to describe maybe to your children what a missionary is what they do.

[44:39] There's a real simple way to tell them. The Underhills are in Kenya telling people about Jesus. The Vons are in France telling people about Jesus.

[44:52] The Mooses are in Israel telling people about Jesus. Let's pray for these people that are telling people about the way and the truth and the life so that many might come to know Jesus and trust in him and so beyond that way that leads to heaven.

[45:06] Let's be telling people let's be rejoicing that God has set us on that path and if you're not on that path you run to Jesus today. You trust in him and he will set you on that path.

[45:18]  How do you get to heaven? Jesus. Jesus is the way.