Wednesday January 27, 2021 PM

Quiet prayer just because of all the things that have gone on in the day. Just to quiet ourselves.

Before him before we start. Father just thank you for this time that we have tonight just to.

Get together and fellowship with one another. And father to to read your word and to pray. I pray that you would just search our hearts tonight just to teach us to rely on you and to trust you in all the areas of our lives.

And we're so thankful for jesus and for what he's done. Thank you for the holy spirit that is our teacher and he's with us always. And father we just thank you for this time. We can get together tonight and i pray that your blessings would be a bonus as we read your word and and pray one for another and we ask it in jesus name amen.

Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the Life

So if you would turn to john chapter 14 and we're going to read this this.

Chapter john 14 1. 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 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 may also be where i am.

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 the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.

If you really knew me you would you would know my father as well. From now on you do know him and you have seen him in our world. There's many people that think there's many different ways to get to heaven.

But this is a very exclusive passage. Jesus says i am the way the truth and the life. There's not any other way that anyone can come to know the father. But through jesus sometimes in our conversation or and and when we're around other people you'll hear different expressions of how i think.

There may be several ways you know one can be become a christian or be be saved or but it's an opportunity to speak the word in truth and in love to tell them that jesus is exclusive. He says i am the way the truth and the life.

And uh it's something for people to think on when that happens. Jesus said um 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'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 i am in the father. And that me the words i say to you are not just my own 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 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.

You may ask me for anything in my name and i will do it. And again it's to bring glory to the father. And that's what our lives are about. Uh we we ask for the lord to help us or to work in us and through us.

But it's not for our glory it's for his glory. And it's to show others. It's to show the nations who god is. And that that theme runs all through scripture. It's a even with the early israelites how god wanted to use them to show the other nations who he was and we're uh ambassadors for him.

So just encouraging you as you're with your family your friends your your workers that your co-workers whoever you're with to just remember why we're here to to shed light on christ and to bring glory to his name and to uh to point others towards him.

And i think there's just a lot of people right now that are hurting and and and looking for answers and it's a good time to to befriend them. Uh in verse 15 it says. If you love me you will obey what i command and i will ask the father and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever.

The spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you before long.

The world will not see me anymore. But you will see me because i live. You also will live on that day. You will realize that i am in my father and you are in me and i am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys him he is the one who loves me.

He who loves me will be loved by my father and i too will love him and show myself to him. Then judas not judas iscariot said but lord why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world. Jesus replied if anyone loves me he will obey my teaching.

My father will love him and he will come to him and make our home with him abide with him. He will abide with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own.

They belong to the father who sent me all this. I've spoken while still with you. 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.

Peace i leave with you my peace i give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. You heard me say i am going away and i'm coming back to you.

If you love me you would be glad that i'm going to the father. For the father is greater than i i have told you now before it happens. So when it does happen you will believe i will not speak with you much longer.

For the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me. But the world must learn that i love the father and that i do exactly what my father has commanded me. Come now let us leave. It's a very comforting passage of scripture that the father will abide with us and we can abide in him means we that's like living with him all the time.

That's that's like your abode that's like your your place that you can go after the long day in the world to be refreshed. And the comforter is with us. And when trials come and and different things come in our path that we don't necessarily enjoy we have a comforter and we can have confidence in him because he's going to take us through it.

And he's if we will let him he will he will receive glory for it. And so i'm just going to encourage you as trials come and trials go to just abide in him to trust him and and to just be thankful that we have the holy spirit as our counselor.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

And i wanted us just to spend a few moments in prayer just thanking the father.

For what he's done for us. Let's just spend a little bit of time. Father we just thank you that.

You have gone and to prepare a place for us. And father we thank you so much for the comforter that you have sent us the teacher and father our counselor and thank you that we can abide in him. And father we just give you thanksgiving and praise for your goodness to us father we thank you for just the very day that you've given us to live just thankful that we have our hope in christ jesus father and and that one day that we will be with you.

We're so thankful for that we ask it in your name amen. I want us to also uh spend some time tonight praying for others. Maybe you have a family member or a co-worker that you know needs the lord and i just want you to specifically call out and ask the lord to use you in a way.

To bring this person to the knowledge of christ. Pray for someone that you may be close to that.

Needs physical healing tonight.