FBCWest 591 | Knowing Jesus Is Knowing the Father
Recorded On: 01/28/2024
Bulletin
Hymn # 475 “Victory in Jesus”
SCRIPTURE READING – 1 Corinthians 15:51 - 57
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“Overcome”
“Living Hope”
“Raise a Hallelujah”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Knowing Jesus Is Knowing the Father”
“Holy Forever”
Benediction “The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)”
Sermon Notes
John 14:7 Seeing Jesus is seeing the Father
John 14:8 Philip asks for Jesus to show them the Father
John 14:9 – 10 Jesus’ response to that request
John 14:11 Jesus say believe Him or believe the works He has done
John 14:12 Whoever believes in Jesus will do greater works than Jesus did
John 14:13 & 14 Whatever asked in Jesus name will be done so that the Father may be glorified
John 14:15 If you love Jesus you will keep His commandments
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
Frequently when people are searching for faith, they will ask a question that they need one more proof, which is similar to other people who really aren't searching for faith, but will always give the excuse, "Well, I need another proof."
When one of Jesus's students, his disciple, decided to ask that question,
hear what Jesus was response as to that one more proof.
When we started this message, this series, we did so because the gospel of John was written specifically so that those who do not have faith might find it and that those of us who have faith might be more strengthened by it. The context in this message is still that Jesus is participating in the Passover meal, the Passover time, and he's been teaching and he's been giving them advanced notice of what's going to happen so that after it happens that they might have faith. And so he's been telling them things and they've been grasping with things and one of the things that they've been grasping with is that Jesus has been saying that he's leaving, that he's going to the Father and he's telling them these things.
And we have to this point continuation of that teaching and that situation. So in the gospel of John starting with chapter 14 verse 7, it says this, "If you had known me you would have known my Father also. From now on you know Him and have seen Him." And so Jesus is making it very plain who He is, that He is not only the Son of God but He is God incarnate, that He is the glory of the Father, He is the exact representation of the Father, and He's making it clear that their faith might be all the more confirmed. But unfortunately it says this, "Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us." Now frequently when we
don't have sufficient faith we're always saying, "God, prove it. Do this one more thing and then we'll believe." And for those who are truly seeking after God, that is not uncommon. It's like, "Lord, you know, strengthen my faith I believe but help my unbelief and do this one thing, answer this prayer, do whatever that might cause me to have faith or secure my faith." Unfortunately on the other side there are those who never intend to have faith but they're always wanting God to prove Himself and so many of the people who were following Jesus kept saying, "Well, perform more signs. Do this and then we'll believe." They had no intention of believing, they just wanted a good show. And so sometimes when a person asks a question we're not sure if it's because they just don't want to believe but they're playing the part or that they're struggling in their faith.
And so I'm going to assume that Philip is not the one who's saying, "I refuse to believe." It's just, "God help me out here." So it's like, "Okay, you're telling me this. So if you show me the Father then that'll be enough. I won't need another sign, I won't need another miracle. That will be the proof that I need of who you are." And Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you and yet you have not come to know me, Philip?" What a sad statement that here Philip, his student, his disciple, the one that has been with them approximately three and a half years who's observed him. Not just what he's done, not just the miracles, not just the teachings, but who he is. All that he has represented, all that is the love, the compassion, the refusal to let sin just propagate. All of that. He's going, "Philip, have I been with you so long, you still don't know me." And oftentimes it's kind of how we older Christians are. Have we been with the Lord so long that we still need something else to prove who he is and to satisfy our faith as opposed to, "God, you've shown me enough." I believe. And then he further says this, "He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father?"
Jesus said, "You've already seen him. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. How is it you can ask me this question?" And he cuts him and he says, "While the question seemed to have been a good one, if you will, he said, "But you've been with me. You've heard my teaching. You've seen my miracles. You've seen who I am. How can you say this thing?"
So then he follows up and says, "Do not believe that I am, do you not believe that I am in the Father? And the Father is in me." He's going, "You don't believe?" There's a little bit of faith. What's going on here? So then he says, "The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does his work." He goes, "When I say something, Philip, it's not on my own. I'm saying what the Father has told me to say, and I do what the Father tells me to do, and what the Father does, that's what I do. Have you not heard me say these things? Have you not heard me do these things?" And then he's going to give him an opportunity to believe. He says this, "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me." He's saying, "First my offer of proof is me. Believe me. Trust me when I say these things." Because Jesus has just said he is the way, the truth, and the life. If he is the truth, then we need to believe him. So he says, "Believe me. You've been with me three and a half years. Believe me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves." He's saying, "If that's not enough, that you've seen me for three and a half years, and have observed me, and that you can't trust me, trust what I have done. You've seen the works, the works of God. Trust those." So I'm going to make it a little personal. As I have come to faith, I come to faith based on both of those statements. I believe him because my spirit believes him.
That it is entirely, that those Holy Spirit speaking to my spirit confirms that he's the Son of God. I believe him. Some have difficulty in believing him. That's where faith comes in, not blind faith, faith in response to who he is. I also believe because of the works that he has done. Some of the works that he has done is teaching. He'll teach things like, "If you want to be first, be last. If you want to be great, be a servant." Now my mind tells me that's crazy talk, because that's not what the world says. The Scriptures also say that I need a renewing of my mind. But my spirit says that's the truth. He speaks the truth, because he speaks from the Father. So my listening to what he's taught rings true, even if my natural tendency is to say, "I can't be." But I know it's true. I also believe in the works that he has done. He's done things like heal the blind and the deaf and the lame and rose others from the dead, a 12-year-old girl, a son, a Lazarus. And he also raised himself from the dead. I believe in his works. So I believe him and I believe his works.
You'll hear it say, and I've kind of crashed that for y'all. You used to hear it say, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." I say, "No, wrong. God said it. That settles it." It doesn't matter whether I believe it or not. God will do what God does, regardless of my belief. But I thank God that he gave me faith that I might see who he is and come to faith. And I hope that I don't become and be like Philip who says, "Lord, I believe, but maybe do this one more thing to strengthen my faith."
I would hope that I would have enough faith to say, "God, you may have not answer another prayer. I still believe. God, when I am in the fire and I'm not like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that you saved me, I still believe. Whether you're with me in the fire, you leave me alone. You're God.
I believe because I have been with him in my life."
Truly, truly, when Jesus says this, it's on the test. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will also, and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. Now, this is an incredible statement. He says, "Those who believe in him and the works that he does." So I've believed in him and the works that he does. He will do also, and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Is that really true? Can I do greater works than Jesus? Because as of yet, I haven't healed anybody. I haven't raised anybody from the dead. I haven't walked on water. I haven't turned water into wine. There's all kinds of stuff I haven't done. So how can I do greater things?
Well, by the help of some people in this church,
Jesus fed 5,000 and taught them as they were sitting.
Our church has the opportunity by our screaming and other stuff to do to speak to the whole world now.
Jesus was confined to a few thousand people in the area. We can speak to the whole world now.
So we can do greater works. Baptists and other denominations have built hospitals
and done missionary projects and have taught in colleges and universities and other schools.
Throughout the whole world, Jesus was limited to, while he was on earthly ministry, a geographical location. We're not. Just in this church, not only do the messages and the services that we do go out to the whole world, we have a person in this congregation who teaches and is a president of a college in Vietnam. We have churches that are speaking Spanish and Vietnamese in various languages doing many different things. We can do greater things, not because of who we are, but because we believe in him and the works that he does. Now I'm going to break with a lot of what you've heard said in the next verse. "Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." And the next verse says, "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."
You have been told and taught, you can ask anything in Jesus' name and he'll do it.
But there's a catch. You ask it in Jesus' name. There's the rub. All too often we ask it in Jesus' name for our own benefit, not for his. I'm going to take you back to one of the Ten Commandments.
"Thou shalt not take the Lord thy God's name in vain." Now we, and you've been heard and told, that what that means is you're not supposed to say bad words connected with God.
And the Jews are so concerned about this and the name that they won't even spell out God. They'll go G-D because they don't want to violate that.
"Am I humble or not so humble opinion?" That's not the end of it. It's just the beginning. It's just the beginning. "I am not to take Jesus' name in vain by saying, I'm a believer and then acting like I'm not. To say that I'm a believer and talking like I'm not.
To say that I'm a believer and not trusting like I'm not. I take the Lord's name in vain when I claim that I'm His, but I'm not acting as His." So I've used this example before and this the best way I can describe it.
If our pianist was to hand you her credit card and say, "I want you to go to the local pharmacy," which now is a little further away, "and say, I need you to buy me some cold medicine."
You're going and taking her credit card that's in her name and you're purchasing something for her.
If you decide that, "I want to buy some candy and an ice cream and a few other things," you've not bought it in her name. You used her name to get what you wanted.
Too often we take this scripture and we say, "Aha, that means I have a blank check. I can ask God for anything and therefore He has to do it." No, because you're supposed to ask it in His name for His benefit so that He might glorify the Father. Now, unfortunately, we all fall under the trap and I try to limit my prayer. When I do public prayers, I frequently will say, because it's common and we do and we get, it's almost rote, I ask in Jesus' name, amen. I try in public prayers to make sure that I say, whatever, like when we're praying for sick people or whatever, I say, that you might be glorified. So I'm asking for this, but I want you to be glorified. That's the biggest prayer.
Then I'll end it in Jesus' name. Again, we think because we use that at the end, that means He'll do it. No, it's supposed to remind us that when we're asking, we're asking it for His benefit in His name. Not so to prove what a wonderful prayer I have. Now, this is not the only time He's going to say this. He's going to say it again, and I'm going to repeat it again, because all too often, we hear, "This gives us a blank check."
It gives us a blank check to do things for Him, not to do things for us, or to increase our faith, or to do whatever, but to be consistent so that I want you to remember,
asking in His name, make sure you're not taking His name in vain.
And then He's going to say something, "If you love me." Now, I'm not sure which Greek word this is, because there's a number of different Greek words. There are Greek words that say "if" in the sense of "if," and we don't know the answer, and "if," the obvious answer is "if." So I'm not sure which "if" Jesus is saying, because I think He knows the answer. The question, "If you love me," so the question is, "Do you love me?" "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
Find this statement interesting. As I've shared before, and I'll share again,
we have a whole lot of songs about how much Jesus loves us. We even started off with the little ones in nursery. "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." "Little ones, to Him belong,
they're weak, but He is strong." Yes, Jesus loves me. And we have a little more complex songs that have all kinds of musical instruments and whatever, and we talk about how much Jesus loves us, and He does. How many songs do we have that, "Yes, I love you." Not that He loves me, but that I love Him. But the problem is not so much that we don't, or don't have that many songs about us loving Him. Our lives should be a testimony that we love Him, because we keep His commandments.
But what are His commandments? That we believe in Him that the Father sent Him, that He is the Son of God. We believe His commandments, that we are to love one another as He has loved us. We are to be His witnesses. There are all these things He has told us to do. That's how we demonstrate that we love Him. Oh yes, it's good, and we ought to come together and praise and worship Him, and to thank Him for all the great things that He has done. But if all we do is sing a bunch of songs and give Him praise, and walk out, and don't show our families and the world that we obey Him, we've wasted our time, and we've not really... Because let's face it, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So even those who have no belief, and nothing that anyone can do or say that will cause them to have belief, even they will bow their knee and confess to the glory of God. So just because we come in, and again we ought to, because God desires our worship, and we as His people ought to worship Him. But if we're only saying it and not doing it, we are taking His name in vain to keep His commandments.
I hate these messages, because it tells us we have to change, and I don't like to change, I like to be who I am.
But if I believe that He is the Son of God, and I do, and He is, and He is, and if His works has demonstrated who He is, and they have,
and He has demonstrated who He is, and He has, then we should have no other alternative
but to believe what He has said, and do what He has said, and be who He has told us to be.
Because from everlasting to everlasting, He is holy, and He has called us to be holy.
The angels will fall down and worship Him, and they will, and they ought to. What a day that will be when we join them. It's crying out, "Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty." And the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit will receive praise, adoration, and glory from His angels and from the redeemed.
Maybe we ought to start now, praising Him and living for Him in all of God's people's sake.