THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS

SERMONS FOR EDIFICATION

LIVING IN HIS NAME

TEXT: John 14:1-14
INTRO:
You know, my Dad is very hard of hearing. He loves to work on the farm all the time. And since he's retired from business, he's kinda given up on keepin' up with the world.
The other day we were talking, and I asked him, "Dad, what do you think about the international crisis?"
He said, "Good tractor!"
Sometimes, we HEAR what we WANT to hear. And, more than we'd like to admit, we HEAR according to our own preconceived thoughts and don't LISTEN correctly.
Here is a Scripture which should be familiar to every Christian because it includes a great promise from God about our eternal home in glory.
But this Scripture is also important for ANOTHER special promise from God.

Jesus said He's building a mansion for you and me.
Jesus said He's coming back to get us and take us there.
The most IMPORTANT thing Jesus said, was that we KNOW the "WAY!"
The "WAY" is LIVING IN HIS NAME! (VS 6)

I praise God for the fact that He IS preparing a place for us! That place is going to be PERFECT! No sickness, no old age, no pain, no death, and NO SIN!
OH! I'm looking forward to GOING THERE! Are YOU?

There's no mistaking what God says about PREPARING a place for us!
However, there seems to be a tremendous mistaking of HOW TO GET THERE!

Jesus said there is only ONE way to that place called heaven - THRU HIM!

Now, there are THREE very important things in this passage of Scripture which relate to LIVING IN HIS NAME!
1. Jesus is the embodiment of the Father
2. The work of Jesus glorifies God
3. Believers do the work of Jesus.

I. Jesus Is the Embodiment of the Father
1. Phillip's question - (vs 8).
2. Jesus' answer - (vss 9-11).
3. Now I don't understand all there is to know about the TRINITY!
No one else does!
But one thing I DO understand….God had only ONE Son, His name is Jesus; God only had ONE body - the body of Jesus!
4. ((Col. 2:9))
To see and know Jesus is to see & know God (Vs 7)
((That's why it's important for Christians to STUDY the Bible….that's how you get to KNOW Jesus. Bible is the REVELATION of JESUS!))
5. When Christ came to earth, His work reflected the glory of God!
It was NOT the power of His BODY that did the work, it was the power of God IN that body! (vs 10)
II. The Work of Jesus Glorifies God
1. (vs 11)
2. Jesus healed lepers with a TOUCH or just by SPEAKING.
3. Jesus healed blind people, Jesus healed deaf people, Jesus raised people from the dead!!
4. These are works ONLY God can DO!!
Jesus did them because (vs 10B "Father that dwelleth in me")
The power of GOD lives & works thru JESUS!
(((This is a TELPHONE. When I hold it to my ear, I hear the VOICE of whoever is speaking to me. This phone is operated by POWER from a battery. But the power of the BATTERY is not what GIVES the voice. The power of the battery BRINGS the voice! It is the PERSON on the other end that has the power of the VOICE!))
JESUS houses the VOICE of the LORD GOD of GLORY!!! (John 1:1-3)
5. Now, listen to this closely.
It is the power of God Almighty that works through Jesus Christ.
Since that is the case, ALL that Jesus does GLORIFIES GOD!
Which takes us to the NEXT point!
III. Believers DO the Work of Christ!
1. ((vs 12))
2. Jesus was crucified for our sins.
But He was RESURRECTED on the 3rd day!
PRAISE GOD!!! There is an EMPTY TOMB!!!
Sin and death are conquered! The Lord of Glory LIVES!!
He is ABLE to GIVE LIFE!!! ETERNAL LIFE!!!
3. THEN - Jesus ASCENDED into glory!
He BODILY LEFT the earth!
4. BUT - to all those who BELIEVE in Him, He gives the POWER to become SONS OF GOD ((John 1:12))
5. And when we become "sons of God," then we become INDWELLED by the SPIRIT of God Himself!! (see vss 16-17))
6. Believers, the CHURCH, are called "the body of Christ"!!
Paul says in 1Cor. 12:27, "Now YE are the body of Christ, and members in particular."!!

CONCLUSION:
The call of Christ to believers is a call to be: forgiven by God, sealed in His Spirit, put in a personal relationship with Him, empowered by His indwelling presence, AND-SENT ON MISSION as the "body of Christ!"
You can look in the Bible and see that Jesus Christ is the "embodiment" of the Lord God of glory, and that every work He did on this earth was to GLORIFY God.
And when we look at what Jesus said about believers, we can see that He EXPECTS us to be doing HIS WORK!

That work is to GLORIFY GOD, call sinners to salvation through Jesus, and minister to all believers for education and edification.

This is THE WAY OF LIFE IN CHRIST!

It is to LIVE IN HIS NAME!

INVITATION:
Have you surrendered YOUR life to Christ (Luke 9:23)?
Christian are you allowing God to work in and through you?
((PRAYER))