Well, I'm getting a little spaced right here. I'm not used to preaching to a congregation like this big. I'm not used to preaching to a congregation anywhere as close as right near this big. I'm currently filling a pulpit in a little fishing village. The population of that particular place has gone down for 14 straight years. I talked to the mayor. last year. And he told me that the population has gone down for 14 straight years. So I have a small congregation of elderly people. They're dear people that bless my heart over and over again. I know that it's not Jesse's habit of doing this, but I'm going to ask you to stand for the reading of the scripture. I'm just more comfortable with that. And if it's hard for you to stand, please remain seated. But open your Bibles, please, to John Chapter 14, and I'm going to read the first 11 verses. John Chapter 14, and I'm going to read the first 11 verses. Follow along with me, please, as I read. John Chapter 14, and verses 1 through 11. Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. That where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. And Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye have known me, ye should have known my Father also. And from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffice us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen the Father, he that hath seen me, rather, hath seen the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? And the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. Believe me that I am the Father, and the Father in me. Or else believe me for the very works taken. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you for these dear people and their faithfulness in this congregation, their attention to the Scriptures. And Lord, may this morning be a blessing not only to them, but also to myself. And may it be something that we can each walk away with here that would serve to change us in the days to come, that we might walk closer to you in Jesus' name. Amen. It is almost impossible to preach from this section of scripture without taking something out of context. So I'm going to take a little bit of time just getting this passage within its context. Where I'm headed is it's a one-point message, but it's a terribly long introduction, so don't get too excited. And what I want to do is contrast today Jesus' reaction to the two statements, or rather the question by Thomas, and then the statement by Philip. The question by Thomas, and then the statement by Philip. In contrast, Jesus' reaction to these two statements. I want to, before I begin getting this into context, just mention there are three people that I am very, very uncomfortable with the way they are preached. One is David. David's time away from God was very, very brief in relation to his life. It was very, very brief. But yet, we know the insides and the outsides, and the preachers are the ones that are guilty here. We know the insides and the outsides of the whole story of Bathsheba really far too well compared to what we know about the rest of David's life. person I'm very, very uncomfortable with the way they are preached is Mary and Martha, or particularly Martha. I've heard many, many messages. As Jesse mentioned, I'm not trying to put you in a box here, Jesse, but one thing is needful. We hear that message very, very frequently, yet very, very seldom do we ever hear a message on Martha of John chapter 11, who is a totally puts her in a totally different light. And then the third one is Thomas. And I'll be very frank with you, when I heard the term doubting Thomas from the pulpit, I feel like getting up and watching him, right there. I believe Thomas is a great man of God. And I do not see him as a doubter. I believe when you take the three passages of scripture where Thomas is talked about, this being one of them, I do not see him as a doubter. but I see them as a great man of faith. And so, getting this particular passage of scripture in context. The Jewish boys, the girls too, but particularly the Jewish boys, learned the scripture from a very, very young age. They were immersed in scripture. They're rabbis, they're priests, Levites, they were taught in synagogues, Pharisees, on and on we go. They were taught in the Scriptures. They memorized huge, huge portions of Scripture. But one of the errors that crept in was the minimizing of the suffering servant. As we go particularly to the Gospel according to Isaiah, and when I talk about the Gospel according to Isaiah, I'm talking about Isaiah chapter 40 through 66. Particularly in that portion of Scripture, We find the Messiah prophesied as being a suffering servant and a conquering king. Now, the Jews liked the conquering king aspect. They didn't like the idea of the suffering servant so much. And so, as Thomas and Philip are growing up through life, they are hearing over and over and over again the political aspect of the Messiah, the conquering king. And that aspect of the suffering servant is minimized and minimized and minimized almost to the point where it's non-existent in the teaching of the Orthodox Jews of that time. Now, we come to the more immediate context. A few days before this passage takes place, the mother of John and James goes and engages and they say, we want you, or I want you, she said, to put one of my sons on your left hand and one of my sons on your right hand in your kingdom." Now what's she talking about? She's talking about the Millennial Kingdom. She has also had this suffering servant aspect of the Messiah minimized. And she says, when you establish your kingdom, she's looking for Jesus to establish the Millennial Kingdom. Right here and now. And she said, when you establish that I want my two sons to rank number two and three in your kingdom, right behind you. You're number one, I want my two sons to be number two and three. And it says that the disciples were moved with indignation. You can read about this in Matthew chapter 20. They were moved with indignation. Now, they were moved with indignation. One of the ones that was moved with indignation was Thomas. Now, why in the world should that caused Thomas to be indignant, or Philip to be indignant, or any of the other disciples. If they would have seen James and John as being the best that there was, they wouldn't have been moved with indignation. They simply would have said, well, they're getting what they deserve, number two and three in the kingdom. But they were moved with indignation. The reason they were moved with indignation, because they thought that they were better than at least one of these two men. And Jesus talked to them there and he said, you must be a servant. You must get this idea of humility into your head. Now they haven't taught the teaching yet. We come to chapter 13 in the book of John. Chapters 13 through 17 take place over a matter of just a few hours. We come from the The Passover, actually the first institution of the Lord's Supper, and we take to the Garden of Gethsemane, chapter 18 and verse 1, we find that Jesus crosses over the Book of Kedron and is arrested. Now the Book of Kedron flows through the Garden of Gethsemane. And so, in these few hours, Jesus passed all this teaching, following chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Now in John chapter 13, he begins by washing the disciples feet. And he says, at the end, he says, you realize what I'm teaching you. He says, I'm teaching you humility. You need to be humble. Now there's a very, very interesting thing. in this passage of scripture. When Peter came to Jesus, or when Jesus came to Peter, Peter said, you'll never wash my feet. Now, why did he make that statement? The lowest slave in the household had the job of washing the guest's feet. So Jesus is actually taking the position of the lowest person in that room. Now, Peter said, and probably speaking for the group, no doubt Thomas felt like that too, no doubt Philip felt like that. I don't want Jesus washing my feet. But the interesting thing is that not one of these men offered to take his place. Why? You know, Peter said, Jesus, you can't wash my feet because you are superior to me. But in Peter's head, he's thinking, well, I'm inferior to Jesus, but I'm not inferior to these other guys. If somebody's going to be washing the feet, then Matthew ought to be washing it, or maybe Thomas, or maybe somebody else. And Thomas is thinking, yeah, I'm inferior to Jesus, but there's somebody in this room that's inferior to me. He ought to be the one that's washing the feet. And Philip's thinking the same thing. And nobody offers to take Jesus' place in washing the disciples' feet. And Jesus, when he gets done, he says, do you understand what I'm showing you here? You need humility. You need humility. Then Jesus goes on and he fingers his betrayer in chapter 13. And the disciples, even though Jesus has pointed out very clearly which one is going to betray him, it says the disciples start questioning each other, who's it going to be? In other words, if they saw Judas dip his finger in the bowl, dip his hand in the bowl, they said, it can't be Judas. It's got to be somebody else. It can't be Judas. And Jesus said, somebody's going to betray me. And then Peter, in chapter 13, he says, I'll die to you. When you come in and they come and try to arrest you, Jesus has been telling you, I'm going to be arrested, I'm going to die, I'm going to go away from you, you cannot come with me. And Peter says, I'm not me, I'm going to die for you. If that's what it is, I'll die for you. And Jesus said, Peter, you're going to betray me. You're going to betray me. And then we come to the text. And then we come to the text. Let not your heart be troubled. Jason is probably addressing this to Peter, but he's saying it so the whole group of men, all the eleven, can hear it. Judas is already left to do his dirty work, but all the eleven can hear it. He says, let not your heart be troubled. These men are about to enter into what is probably the worst three days of their life, without exception. Everything is topsy-turvy for them. They have been trained that when the Messiah comes, he's going to establish his kingdom, he's going to establish that political rule, and now they're just coming to grips with the fact that this is not going to happen. that Jesus is going to be betrayed into the hands of sinners, that he is going to be going away and they cannot come with him, and they're in turmoil. The Bible says, as we look at this passage about Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, which, by the way, more than likely took place between the last verse of chapter 17 and the first verse of chapter 18. that the disciples were so overcome with sorrow, the three of the inner circle that Jesus took into the garden with him, when he asked them to watch and pray, they were so overcome with sorrow, they were so depressed that they fell asleep. These disciples have been, they're getting shell-shocked. Alarm bells have been going off all night. Things aren't going to happen with the way that they thought they were going to happen. And Jesus said, let not your heart be troubled. He believed and God believed also in me. What a tremendous voice of encouragement to us. These disciples are going to be running in every direction imaginable in just a few hours. They're going to be hiding out wherever they can hide out in just a few hours. And he says, when everything goes bad, Don't be troubled by the circumstances when you fail. We talk a lot about Peter's failure, but it wasn't just Peter. And when everything fails, he said, don't be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. Cling to that one thing. Jackson asked prayer for a member here. I do not know if she is present or not. But when everything goes bad, there's one thing we can cling to. Believe in God, believe also in me. Believe in God, believe also in me. And he says, I'm going. He says, I will prepare a place for you. And I will come again. and receiving on it myself. We moved to Canada, we took a position at the Archbishop's Church in the area, Jesse was just a little boy, he was in first grade at that time, and we had no money. And so the only thing that we could afford, the interest rates at that time were over And the only thing that we could afford were we would go to a house that was for sale, and we would say, we'll give you so much money to live in it. And they would say, well, you can live in it, but for that amount of money, we're not going to take it off the market. And what happened was we moved eight times in 20 months. And we wanted a place to abide. We wanted a place to hang our hats. We wanted a place to dwell. And Jesus said, I'm going, I'm going to give you a place to dwell that you can abide with me forever. You can abide with me forever. We do know, people, the last chapter of our life. Every one of us. If you know Christ as your personal Savior, you know the last chapter of your life. You don't know the chapters between now and then, but you do know the last chapter of your life. And Jesus said, Be comforted by the fact that everything goes to pieces. That, number one, you believe in God, believe also in me. Number two, I'm going to prepare a place for you. Number three, I'm coming back. And I'm going to receive you unto myself. And he says, and whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Whither I go, ye know, and the way I know. And Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, how can we know the way? That's not, people, I believe, a statement of doubt. I believe within the context it cannot be taken as a statement of doubt. Thomas is coming to grips with a theological truth that has been hidden him hidden from him by the failure of his teachers. And that is the concept of the suffering servant is going to precede the conquering king. And what he is asking here, I believe, is how is the kingdom going to be established? You know, Thompson has been taught from a little boy that the Messiah is going to come back, we're going to recognize him as the Messiah, he's going to throw off the yoke of the Gentiles, he's going to establish that political kingdom, that kingship, and now he's coming to grips with it's not going to happen. And he said, I don't know where you're going. All my life I've looked for the Messiah that's going to go right to the conquering king. He's going to establish that kingdom. He's going to rule and reign for a thousand years. He says, I don't know where you're going. And I don't know the way that this is going to be implemented. If you're going away, Jesus, and we cannot come with you, and if you're going to die, then how is this kingdom going to be established? And Jesus very, very gently turns him back to what is the most important. I want you to observe very, very carefully. Jesus said unto him, in verse number 6 and 7, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Thomas, get your eyes off of that. Not that that is unimportant. Not that the millennial reign of Christ is unemployed, but get your eyes onto what you need right now. Thomas, you're going into the worst days that you're ever going to experience in your life. And what you need right now is the basis. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. And no man will come to the Father but through me. If he had known me, Thomas, you should have known my father. If you had known me, You should have known my father. From henceforth, ye know him, and have seen him. From henceforth, ye know him, and have seen him. That's a very, very fascinating statement. Jesus has just got done telling Thomas. If you had known me, Thomas, then you should have known my father. And then, He turns around, in the same breath, and says, from this point on, from henceforth, from this point on, you know Him. Jesus, as Thomas asked Him a legitimate question. It was a piece of scripture that Thomas, even though he had heard Jesus preach on it, he just could not get his head around it. And Jesus turned him back to what was most important. And He says, from this point on, you know the Father. If you had known me, you should have known the Father. But from this point on, you do know the Father. Thomas was probably, probably, we can't say this from Scripture, but probably the first disciple that got a hold of that theological truth that Jesus Christ and the Father were one. He said, if you had known me, you should have known my Father, but now you know me. but now you know him. He's probably the first disciple to get his head around that. Philip wasn't one of the disciples to get his head around that truth, as we find in the statement that Philip's going to make. But there's a precious truth there in that we cannot, because of our sin, understand the scriptures to the fullest extent. There's heresy in your life, there's heresy in mine. And one day, when we see Jesus face to face, it's going to all be cleared up and we're going to know who's right and who's wrong and where our mistakes were and where we were right and where we were getting close to being right. And as Thomas seeks an answer to a scriptural principle He might have been thinking particularly about a passage of scripture when he asked that question. Jesus turns him very, very gently. And he uses this to teach him what is most needful for him in this hour. Very, very gentle turn. As he reaches up and says, I don't know where you're going, Jesus. I can't understand this. You're not going to the throne of Israel. I can't understand where you're going. How can I know the way? How can I know the way of kingdom is going to be established? How can I know? And then Philip says, show us the Father and it satisfies us. Now all of, or much of Jesus' last time with his disciples, much of the time preceding this. Jesus has been hammering away, or one of the things that Jesus has been hammering away on that he is the father of one. Jesse is preaching a series on why Jesus came. One of the reasons that Jesus came was to reveal the father. That was one of the reasons he came, was to reveal the father. And he's been hammering away on this for some time. particularly in these last days. That's been a frequent theme that I and the Father are on. It's been a frequent theme of Jesus preaching and teaching. And Philip says to him, show us the Father. Now, Philip was not asking for a visible look at Jehovah God. That's not what he's looking for. He knows the scripture. He knows that the Bible says he cannot see his face and live. He knows that. That's not what he's asking for. He's not asking for a visible manifestation of Jehovah God. But what he's asking for is a new dimension. He says, if I could get a new dimension, you know, something beyond what you're teaching, something beyond what you've done, I'd be satisfied. I'd be satisfied. And Jesus comes down very, very, very hard on Philip. Very, very hard on Philip. And here's the message. We got done with the introduction. He says, Philip, you've been with me so long, verse number 9, and you haven't known me. Have you been with me this long and you haven't known me? I poured three and a half years into you, Philip, of teaching you and you don't know me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. How sayest thou then, show us the Father? How can you make a statement like that, Philip? Over and over and over again, I have told you that I and the Father are one. How can you make this statement, Philip? You've been with me for three and a half years. How on earth Can you make that kind of statement? Believest thou not that I am the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father, which dwelleth in me, and he doeth the works. Believe me that I am the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works sake. Isaiah prophesied of what the Messiah would do as far as miracles. Jesus looks at Philip, and he says, Philip, how can you even make a statement like that? If you don't believe me, then can't you at least believe what Isaiah wrote about me? Believe the works? They're the fulfillment of scripture? There is no new dimension. We look at our walk with Christ and all that it entails, as if there is no new dimension. There is no new dimension. Husbands. The wife that God gave you is your wife. There's no new dimension. If I look at her for a new dimension, I will not find it. But if I pursue that, I will find another dimension. in somebody else's life. Why is the husband that God gave you is your husband? There's not a new dimension to him. I'm not saying he can't improve. But there's no new dimension. And if you search diligently for a new dimension, you'll not find a new dimension. But you will find another dimension in somebody else's husband. You want a new dimension of the Holy Spirit? There is no new dimension. If baptized with the Spirit, when you were saved, there's not a new dimension. But if you pursue it strong enough, you will find another dimension. In the radical fringes of charismatic movement, you'll find another dimension, but it's not the dimension you set out to find. Children. Your parents, whether they're saved or lost, are your parents. You look for a new dimension, you're in trouble. Parents, your children, are the gift of God to you. You look for a new dimension, your family's in trouble. I'm not saying they can't improve. But if you look for a new dimension, it's not there. It's not there. Congregation. You look for a new dimension in your pastor that's not there. I'm not saying he can't improve. And I'm not saying that you follow him blindly. You know, you have the responsibility to test the spirits whether they are of God. And I don't care if he's my son, if he sprays from that and starts preaching other spirits, get rid of him. As fast as you can. That's it. Your congregations, your flock, there's no new dimension. And if you start looking at these people for a new dimension, I'm not saying they can't improve. They're supposed to improve as they're preaching. But if you look for that new dimension, it's not there. And your church is in trouble. It's very, very, it's very, it's very, very simple. We need to serve one another. Going back to the beginning of John chapter 13, he says, do you understand what I did to you after you washed their feet? He says, you have to have the humility to serve each other. You have to have the humility to serve each other. Husbands and wives have to have the humility to serve each other. It's not what you get out of a marriage, it's what you give to it. We look for a new dimension. You become what is in it for me. That's really what a New Dimension is. It's the idea that, what's in it for me? And we leave off with that idea of serving one another. By your love, they'll know that you're disciples. By your love for one another, the world's going to know you're disciples of Christ. By your love for one another. It's really, really quite simple. The easiest place, I think, to illustrate is the marriage. She has a responsibility to me, to reference me. I have a responsibility to her. To love her as Christ loved the Church. Sometimes I'm going to do it halfway good, and sometimes not so good at all. And sometimes she's going to do it halfway good, and sometimes not so good at all. But it's a responsibility. It's a responsibility to me to serve her. It's a responsibility to her to serve me. Not look for a new dimension and say, what's in it for me? Philip said, I'm not satisfied with what you showed me about the Father Jesus. I want a new dimension. If I just had a new dimension of God the Father, then I would be satisfied. It's felt, felt, felt. Jesus said, how can you ever ask that question? How can you ever ask that question? A new dimension. It isn't there, folks. It isn't there. But if you are going to be successful in your family, If you are going to be successful, when I talk about success, I'm not talking about dollars and cents. I'm talking about success in the eyes of God. I'm talking about your Christian walk. If your family is going to be successful, it's a question of servitude. It's a question of the service heart. It's a question of meeting your responsibilities, whether you're a child or a parent or a grandparent or whatnot. The marriage. It's a matter of a servant's heart. Serving each other and meeting responsibilities. It's our responsibility, husbands, to love our wives. It's your responsibility to wives to reverence your husband. That's a responsibility. Within the church, it's a responsibility. You have a responsibility to On the one side of the fence, congregation tests spirits to see whether they are of God. On the other side of the fence, to give honor to your pastor. It's a responsibility, Jesse, to feed the flock and lead the flock. And we find here, in conclusion, to very, very, very radical differences. A very, very radical difference in the way that Jesus deals with Thomas' question and the way Jesus deals with Philip's question. With Thomas, he very, very gently led into a fuller, doctrinal understanding that he needed most at this time. In Philip's case, Philip received a very, very sharp review. A very, very sharp review. And one day, we will, in the days to come, not one day, in the days to come, we will have the same response from Christ. A gentle response to lead us on to higher ground or a very, very sharp review to bring us back to our senses and get us back to what Jesus really is talking about.