The Spiritual Compass
John 14:6
August 11, 2002: VBS Sunday
Introduction
The school that I went to as a kid held an annual camp for all students in the sixth grade. We got to get out of school for the better part of a week and get a hand’s on learning experience at an awesome campground.
One of my favorite things that we did was the compass hike. It was really a game that we played using a set of instructions, a route that was marked in the woods and a compass. The compass was the key to using the directions and finding each of the markers on the course and the finish line. Without the compass or being able to follow the compass you would never be able to finish the course.
Life is a lot like that compass hike. We need to get the right directions and follow them precisely in order to finish the course. Our greatest need is not for spiritual directives but rather for spiritual direction. We are in need of a spiritual compass to help us along the way. This morning I want to examine the spiritual compass that was given to us by Jesus Himself.
In your bulletins you’ll find sermon notes and this mornings scripture lesson.
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Jesus acts as our spiritual compass by being…
I. Our Guide for a Divine Direction
A. The direction of Jesus
Jesus has given us a unique promise and an exclusive claim. Jesus bridges the gap between God and humanity by being both fully God and fully human. Jesus has become the bridge that fills the gap and he is the promise that offers us direction for life
B. The direction is Jesus
Illustration: The Missionary Path
The story is told of a missionary who was traveling to a remote village to train leaders of the local church. A guide was selected to take him to the village but that only way to reach the remote place was to travel through the jungle. The journey started out without much of a problem because the path was good but soon into the trip the path literally disappeared.
The missionary grew concerned and asked, “Where is the path?” The guide smiled and drew a machete from his belt. He began to slice and chop his way into the brush and thickets. The guide looked back and told the missionary, “I am the path.”
This is exactly what Jesus has done for us. Jesus has become our path. He has cut through the difficulties and trials of life. Jesus cleared us a path that cut through the power of sin and the penalty of death. Jesus is the way and he is our guide for a divine direction
II. Our grace for a Divine Demonstration
A. Jesus is the message of truth
1. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God’s truth
2. Jesus is God’s truth in human form
B. Jesus is the messenger of truth
1. Jesus communicates the turht of God completely and clearly
2. Jesus shows humanity the right way to the truth
C. Jesus is the mediator of truth
1. Jesus has mediated the gap between God and humanity
2. Jesus has sought to set us free
John 8:32: Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
III. Our Gift for a Divine Destiny
A. The difference between being alive and living
Life is a gift to all people. However, there are so many people who settle for just to exist and never to truly experience life. Living is more than just existing! Living means that we seize life to the fullest and become all that God has created us to become.
B. Jesus shows us how to live
Jesus is the very source of life. He is the embodiment of the power of life.
John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus lived His entire life perfectly and with the sense of becoming all that He was meant to be. Jesus showed us how to really live and how to be alive.
The Ultimate Claim
1. The only way to get to God
In our society there is an increasing shift to be inclusive and tolerant of ideas, lifestyles and faiths. Jesus makes it extremely clear that His claim is completely exclusive. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the way and there is no other. There can be no riding the fence; because the claim of Jesus demands a response. Either you accept Him or you reject Him.
2. Jesus is the only way into…
God’s presence
God’s acceptance
God’s family
Salvation
Heaven
Eternal life
Everyone wants to go to heaven and everyone wants to live forever. Jesus has given us the ultimate direction for this life and the next. We are now given a choice; either accept Him as the way, the truth and the life Him or to completely reject Him. We can get to heaven but it must be God’s way because we can not get there by any other means. Jesus is the way and God provided Jesus to know the way, show the way and go the way. All we have to do is follow Him and he will lead us home. This world, this place is not our home because we are just passing through. We are travelers on our way to a greater home. Jesus can and will show you the way if you let him
Christian faith is extremely simple but far too often people make it too difficult. Paul said in Romans 10:9-10: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Today is the day that you can allow Jesus to be your spiritual compass, place your faith in the ultimate claim of Jesus and join the family of God.
