There is No Grace Without Truth

Introduction

Good morning and welcome back!

This morning we are going to be finishing up our “mini-series” that we started a few weeks ago concerning God’s grace.

And this morning an aspect of God’s grace that we don’t often think about.

And that aspect is how there is no grace without truth and there is no access to actual truth without God’s grace being present.

And in doing so we will be looking primarily at the Gospel of John, first in and then over in .

So, if you want, find in your Bibles, put a thumb there and then find .

I’ll read them in order to make it a bit easier but we will be covering them in reverse.

And I know for the past several weeks, we have really been looking at our role in God’s grace and how our attitudes and actions have a direct impact on the presence and influence God’s grace actually has in our own lives.

And I think that we have covered that quite well and we are at the point that it is really up to us whether or not we want to and are willing to do what is necessary to actually access God’s grace in our lives.

Whether or not we want to be responsive to the Holy Spirit, is really up to us.

So, this morning we are going to shift gears to an extent and look at really the root of God’s grace as well as what actually makes God’s grace available and accessible to us.

And we have already talked quite extensively about the Holy Spirit, but we also have to remember that there are two other entities that make up the Holy Trinity.

We, as the Apostles Creed proclaims, believe in the God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And any time we start talking about the work of the Holy Spirit, we must also talk about the work of God the Father and Jesus the Son because they each play a very important role in everything that this Trinity we call God or “the Godhead” does.

And while the Holy Spirit enables us to access God’s grace in our lives, God’s grace is only present in this world because of the work of God the Father and Jesus the Son in unison with each other.

So, that’s where we are headed this morning, but we will start out by reading our Scripture.

So, if you have found and in your Bibles, I’d invite you stand with me as we read, first . ..

Scripture Focus

John 6:43–45 NIV - Anglicised

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

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John 14:1–6 NIV - Anglicised

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 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. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the Way, The Truth, The Life (John 14:1-6)

Alright, so like I mentioned in the beginning, we will be starting with and then going into .

And we find here in a familiar passage of hope that Jesus is offering to his disciples—and to us by extension.

And he starts out the passage by telling them . . .

John 14:1 NIV - Anglicised

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

And this message was important for the disciples at that time because Jesus had just told them about his soon departure from them and they quite frankly, didn’t know what to expect.

For over 3 years they had walked with Jesus and stood mostly in the background as Jesus carried the load and the responsibility.

Now, Jesus is telling them that it is on them to carry on the work of the Gospel.

And they were afraid, because they did not know what to expect.

And the same concept translates to us in our own lives.

We set out on this great adventure called adulthood and we have no idea what to expect.

We are excited but at the same time scared (and too proud to admit it), and at times we feel very alone.

We feel like everyone has abandoned us and it is all up to us.

But Jesus tells us something different.

First, he tells us to not let [our] hearts be troubled, and then tells them—put your trust in God and also put your trust in me (Jesus).

And that is a hard thing.

We have been so conditioned by the world to not trust anyone, except ourselves, that it is hard for us to grasp what it is even like to trust in Jesus, whom we have never seen face to face.

But that is where faith comes in, and also where we begin to gain access to God’s grace.

It is when we make the decision that we are going to trust God and Jesus in every situation.

Even when we don’t understand—even when we may not agree with God—we are still going to trust him.

And that is something that we each have to make our mind up that we are going to do.

And once we make our mind up that this is how it is going to be, then we can move forward to the next challenge—actually doing it, not once here are there, but consistently, day after day.

Jesus then continues on here and tells them that . . .

John 14:2–3 NIV - Anglicised

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 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.

John 14:2-

And what this tells us is that even in the times when it seems that Jesus is not there, he is.

It also tells us that we are constantly on His mind and that He is constantly making preparations for us to join him.

And he is not going to leave us alone out here to wander and find our own way home.

He will come and get us and take us home.

But again, we have to trust in Him to do it.

And my next to favorite verse in this passage . . .

John 14:4 NIV - Anglicised

4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Listen to what Jesus is telling them.

He is almost calling them out for their lack of discernment and also reassuring them at the same time.

We know the way home, but how?

How do we know where he is going and how to get there?

Through God’s grace given to us by the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Just like Jesus taught his disciples, the Holy Spirit is constantly teaching us, guiding us, directing us, if we will let him.

But many times, we act like Thomas . . .

John 14:5 NIV - Anglicised

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

We are so wrapped up in our physical understanding of things that we cannot see or sense the spiritual side of life.

We completely miss the point that the Holy Spirit is trying to make with us.

And we end up scratching our heads in confusion.

And in Thomas’ defense, he does have a point.

Think about it this way, if we set out and say “I’m going somewhere” but have no idea of where we are going, we just get into the car and drive, what happens?

We will probably drive around in a circle for while and then turn around and go home.

And let’s take it one step further.

Let’s say that we decide we are going to go to Butte Montana.

Has anyone ever been to Butte Montana before?

Okay, so we set out with no GPS, no maps, no directions, just going to drive.

How likely is it that we will find Butte Montana?

It is not—What is more likely is that we will never go, or we may start out and end up turning around and going back home.

However, our Christian journey is just like the trip to Butte with no map.

God says, “follow me” and “trust me” and we have to decide whether we will be like Abraham and follow God, or whether we will stay at home instead.

We also have to decide whether we will continue to follow and trust God when things get tough and confusing or whether we will turn around and go home.

And if we decide that we are going to continue following and continue trusting, then we will experience the grace of God in ways that we can’t even imagine.

But remember the title of our message, No Grace Without Truth, without Jesus there is no access to God’s grace—any of God’s grace.

And I say that because of what Jesus tells them next . . .

John 14:6 NIV - Anglicised

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6–7 NIV - Anglicised

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:6

And what Jesus is saying here is . . .

I am the only way to heaven—trust me.

I am the only source of real truth in the universe—trust me.

I am the only source of eternal life—trust me.

Can we do that though?

Can we actually trust Jesus with everything or do we still need hold something back from him?

Grace is born with Jesus and if we want that we can’t hold anything.

No Access to God Without the Spirit (John 6:43-45)

Point 2

But how can we trust in Jesus?

How do we know that it is all true?

How does God tell us?

For that we need to turn over to .

Jesus again is talking here, and this time though he is addressing some Jews who were grumbling against him.

He had just been talking to them about being the “bread of life” and how he would eternally feed their spirits.

This is right after Jesus feeds the 5000 and also when they had witnessed him walking on the water.

He had declared he was the bread of life and the Jews response was . . .

John 6:41–42 NIV - Anglicised

41 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

John 6:

In a nutshell, they were unbelievers.

They were not convinced and they were skeptical of Jesus.

Just like people today.

But Jesus declares to them . . .

John 6:43–45 NIV - Anglicised

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

And the clue that Jesus is giving us here is the work of the Holy Spirit in testifying to who Jesus is and testifying all about heaven and eternal life—to all who will listen.

When the world is busy whispering lies to us, the Holy Spirit is speaking truth into our lives.

When the world is saying, don’t believe that stuff, the Holy Spirit is saying, you know it is true.

When we want to dismiss that draw of God, deep in the pit of our stomach, the Holy Spirit is telling us, come, be a part of God’s kingdom.

Come, repent, lay your burdens on Christ.

The message is different for all of us, but the voice is the same.

It is the voice of the Holy Spirit drawing our spirit toward God.

Point 3

Altar Call

The problem is, we don’t always listen.

This morning, I wonder, what is the Holy Spirit speaking into your spirit?

What is He telling you?

Is He telling you that you need to come and enter into a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ?

Is He telling you that there are things that are separating you from God and you need to come and deal with those things?

Is He telling you that you once had a relationship with God, but you have let that relationship slide and you need to come back?

Is He telling you that you are right no the edge of greatness in the Lord, and you need to come and give yourself fully to Him?

Is He telling you that there is a calling on your life you need to come and accept?

Is He telling you that you have carried your burdens long enough and you need to come and lay them on the altar?

What is He telling you this morning?

You hear Him, but will you respond?

Will you give in once and for all?

The altar is open and available, will you come and use it?

The choice is yours, but the time is now.