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(John 14:7-11)
I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
Last time, we saw
That just after Judas left to betray Jesus,
He revealed to His disciples
What would happen next:
He would glorify His Father
By going to the cross
To reveal His Fathers justice and mercy
And the Father would glorify Him
By raising Him up into heaven,
Seating Him at His right hand,
And giving Him absolute control over all things
That He might bring all His redeemed home.
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So Jesus began to comfort them:
1. He told them not to be afraid, but to trust Him and His Father:
They knew what they were doing.
2. That He was leaving to prepare a place for them in His Fathers house
Through His death, resurrection and ascension,
He was opening the way into heaven for them.
3. And He would come again to receive them when it was time
Not at His Second Coming,
But when their work was done on earth,
He would come to take them home to His Fathers house
As a husband takes his bride.
B. Preview.
The disciples may not have known precisely
Where Jesus was going and how to get there,
But they did know one thing:
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That we have that same relationship.
II. Sermon.
A. Weve all wondered from time to time
Just what the Father is like.
It seems like we should know Him from the OT
Where He appears to be interacting with His people
But from what well see in John, in just a few moments
Its more likely that was the Son of God.
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Weve seen the Son of God
Come to earth in our nature,
So we know a great deal about Him.
But what would the Father be like
If He came down in the same way?
Jesus tells us
That to know Him is to know the Father;
To see Him is to see the Father;
They are the same.
We should believe this
Because He said it
And He is the Truth
But also because of His works/miracles
Only God can do these things,
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And He would never endorse a lie.
Lets try to understand what Jesus means and what He doesnt here:
First, Jesus is not saying that He and the Father are the same person.
Weve seen this a few times already,
But I want to repeat it
So that we understand.
If Jesus isnt saying that the Father and Son are the same person,
What is He saying?
Hes saying they are the same Being,
And as the same Being,
They share the same nature
What this means is that we know more about the Father than we thought.
He isnt really a mystery to us anymore than the Son:
Because He has revealed Himself to us in His Son.
If you know what Jesus is like,
You also know what His Father is like:
He loves the same things
And does the same things as His Son
Because they have exactly the same likes and dislikes
Thats why they can eternally live together
In perfect love and harmony.
He also loves you
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In the same way Jesus does,
If you are trusting Him this morning.
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Though in heaven it will be perfect
But its something we experience now.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding
as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
In a certain sense
Though in a very imperfect one
Just as Jesus said
That those who have seen Him
Have seen the Father,
Its also true that those who see us
Have seen the Father and Jesus
Because we are like them.
Thats why the disciples
Were first called Christians at Antioch:
Because they were like Christ.
We dont become eternal,
Or infinite or changeless like God,
But we do become like Him morally:
We love what He loves
And hate what He hates.
We say what He would say.
Do what He would do.
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Act as He would act in our situation.
We approve what He approves,
And disapprove what He disapproves.
We do this naturally
Its not a decision on our part,
Its part of our new nature.
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And His Word,
And do our best
With the Spirits help
To figure out what He wants.
And well discover
That more often than not,
It will be directly the opposite
Of what the people of this world are doing.
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If you dont see this change in yourself,
Then let me encourage you again
To turn to Jesus,
Trust in Him,
And follow Him.
Hes the only One
Who can give you His Spirit
And make you like Himself. Amen.
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