Let's pray. We thank you, almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We thank you, Father, that the plan was yours. We thank you, Jesus, that you came and paid the price for our redemption. And we thank you, O Holy Spirit, who applies the wonderful work of Jesus to us. whose illumination, where would we be without your regenerating work, without your illumination of the truths of the inerrant Word of God. So be with us tonight. Open up your Word. Give us understanding that we might praise Jesus more and more. In whose name we pray, amen. We're in John chapter 14. Last week we took a look at the first, basically only the first three verses because there was a lot in those three verses. And again, the context of chapter 14 and the context of chapter 14 all the way through chapter 17 is what is referred to as the upper room discourse or Jesus's farewell address. All of this occurred on the night of the Passover or the Passover observance, the Last Supper institution, or just prior to his arrest. And so everything, and only John is the one that brings this out. You don't see it in Matthew, Mark, or Luke, any of those, basically these discourses of Jesus, but a lot of important information here and wonderful truths. that the disciples were troubled when Jesus says, I'm going away and you can't follow me right now. And they said, well, why not? And we want to, in one sense, they didn't want to see him go, but he says, you'll come after me at some point. But Jesus is trying to comfort them, and remember, He is comforting them with the idea that when I leave and when I'm raised from the dead and I'm ascended on high, eventually I will come back to get you. We looked at that last week, as you recall, how wonderful a fact that is that the Lord Jesus knows us and he will come for us. He will never forsake us. He will never leave us or forsake us. And He knows who we are. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, by the way, Ephesians says, for the day of redemption. What is that day of redemption? But the day of His second coming, the day, the last day, the day of resurrection that the scripture talks about. So he's seeking to comfort them because he knows that they are troubled that he is leaving. He knows they were troubled that one of them was gonna betray him, which Judas did, and troubled by the fact that even they will forsake him for a time. So in this context of Jesus dealing with that, Take a look at verses four and following. We're gonna go down through verse 15 this evening. And he says here that Jesus says, verse four, and you know the way where I'm going. And Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going. How do we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through me. So the reason Jesus says they know the way is because he had been revealing to them for some time that what was about to happen. And for example, in John chapter eight, verse 19, He says, then they said to him, where is thy father? Now he was talking about to some Jews and Jesus answered these Jews saying, you neither know me nor my father. If you had known me, you should have known my father also. And he says, the reason you don't receive what I am saying is because you don't know God. you're not one of his elect. And that we've seen that dynamic. We don't fully understand how no one can be saved outside of being his elect. But we know that if we end up perishing in hell forever, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Jesus makes that very clear. So Jesus says, I've been telling you the way all along. Now after all, what did Jesus say? If you look back in John chapter 10, look at verses one and two and verse seven. I like to use this in evangelism, it's a great passage. Jesus says, truly I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber, but he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. And then verse seven, Jesus says, Jesus therefore said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. So Jesus says, I'm the way you enter to get into the presence of the Father, and it's only by me. And anybody else who thinks they can get to the Father apart from me, he says is a thief, is a liar, is trying to climb up another way. They're not gonna make it. So take a look at John 10 verse nine, by the way. He says, I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. Then turn over to John 12. This is just things we've already looked at, but turn over to John 12 and look at verses 44 and 45. Jesus cried out and said, he who believes in me does not believe in me, but in him who sent me. And he who beholds me, beholds the one who sent me. And then verse 49 and 50 of John 10. For I do not speak from my own initiative, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me." So Jesus says, I have revealed the Father to you. But Thomas then asked him the question there in verse five of John 14, Lord, where are you going? How do we know the way? So Jesus answers Thomas, it's gonna be the same one who says later on we're going to see After he's raised from the dead, where we get the term doubting Thomas, he says, I don't believe he's been raised until I can see him with my eyes, until I can feel his hands touch his side. I'm not gonna believe it's happened. So Jesus responds to Thomas with a passage that I think we ought all to memorize. because it's so important in evangelism. And it goes to show the exclusivity of the Christian faith. You know, we live in a time where absolute truth is despised. We live in a time where there's the champion of what I call theological diversity. And in religious terms, It's called syncretism. In other words, it's the belief, in fact, it is the Freemason belief, that all religions are the same. It's just different routes you're climbing up to the mountain to get to God. that we all, the Buddhists have a way, the Hindus have a way, the Christians have a way, the Jews have a way. You hear it all the time today. But what did Jesus say? No, there's only one door to the sheepfold and I'm it. And anybody who climbs up those other ways, they're thieves, they're robbers, they're liars. He says, I am the only way. And again, we have noted Kenneth Scott Laderet, who wrote a church history, noted that was always the problem with the Christians in the Roman world, in the early church. You see, Rome tolerated religious pluralism. as long as you gave token homage to Caesar, who had the modest belief that he was God on earth. That's how Caesar viewed himself. And so as long as you did that, you can believe whatever you want. Those pesky Christians, narrow-minded, wouldn't go and give homage to Caesar. And so that's why they were persecuted. But there's only one way. Jesus said, I am that way, and I am the truth, and I am the life. And you know, another great passage in this regard, y'all know, is Acts 4, verse 12. It says, and there is salvation in no other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. You know that saying was put on a Roman coin, but had reference to Caesar? And so you see how the scripture says, no, Caesar is not Lord, though he says he is, though he thinks he is, no, there's only one Lord, and that's Jesus. So, You know, in terms of the exclusiveness of the faith, we've got to be firm. We cannot yield one inch in this regard, not one. Don't ever, never apologize to anybody for the fact that Jesus is the only way. And there are gonna be people who are gonna try to force you to say otherwise. It's so narrow. Well, yeah, Jesus said the path through life is narrow. I'm the only way. What matters is, is it the truth? That's what matters. So Jesus says to Thomas, I'm not only the way, but he says, I am the truth. So in saying that he is the only way, he is saying that and implying two things when Jesus says, I am the way. First, he is saying he is the way from God to man. That's the first thing that he is saying. And remember what Jesus said, if you wanna turn over to Matthew 11 verse 27, we read, all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father, nor does anyone know the father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him. See right there, that's another passage of the exclusivity of the Christian faith. And he says, Jesus says, you can't know the Father unless I choose to reveal the Father to you. You remember when Peter, when Jesus asked the question, who do men say that I am? Some say, well, you're Elijah, come back. You're John the Baptist, returned. Well, who do you say I am? And that's when Peter says, you're the Christ, the son of the living God. And that's when Jesus says, Simon, flesh and blood did not reveal that to you, but my father who is in heaven. Jesus reveals truth to men. So he is the way in the sense that he is the way from God to man. And remember, that is one of the things that is peculiar to the Christian faith and the dynamic of the Christian faith, because all the other religions of the world, you can check it out, you can study them, they are all human attempts to try to reach up to God by some kind of human effort. And it's only Christianity, no, it's God reaching down to man to save him. Jesus says, I am the way in that I came from the Father to the earth. The second way that he is the way is that he is the way from man to God. It's just what I just commented about. Again, this is what we stress or should stress in evangelism. And I like to always to use what I call the bridge illustration, whereby, you know, the scripture portrays the fact that God is a holy God. He dwells in unapproachable light. He has a law, a law that demands perfect obedience. And if you don't give God perfect obedience, you don't make it. So you have a holy God, and then you got man over here who cannot do what God demands, and he keeps falling short. That's why Romans 3 talks about, Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law that every mouth might be stopped and that the whole world might become accountable to God. For by the law, no flesh shall be justified for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. So there is man in his feeble attempts to try to reach God will not make it. And Jesus says, no, I am that way. I like to show people, I am that bridge. If you don't go by me, you don't make it. You just don't make it. And people may think, you know, well, that's kind of hard. I said, well, what matters is not whether it's hard. What matters is, is that the truth? Is that the way things really are? And we got to tell them, no, that's what it really is. So come to Jesus is what that means. Well, not only is he the only way, but he says, I am the truth. Well, he is the truth in his person. He is the truth of God. Now, when we get over to John chapter 18, when Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, and it'll be helpful just to turn over there for a moment. Turn over to John 18 and look at verses 37 and 38. So Jesus said, let's back up to verse 36. Jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting that I might not be delivered up to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, Pilate therefore said to him, so you are a king? Jesus answered, you say correctly that I'm a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, what is truth? You know, Pilate was no dummy. Pilate was steeped in Roman philosophy, mainly the Greek philosophers, who always trying to discern what is truth. So there's this great nebulous philosophical idea out there, oh, what is truth? Jesus says, well, I am the truth. I'm the very embodiment of that truth. So in one sense, truth is absolute. Truth is not relative. And the Apostle Paul in Colossians chapter two, verse three says, talking about Jesus, says, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So whatever is truth, Jesus says, I am that truth. I am God in the flesh. And not only did Jesus say, not only am I the way, not only I am the truth, but I'm also the life. Now, you know, in Greek, if you want to stress the identity of something, you have the definite article, thee. If you want to stress the quantity, the quality of something, you leave it out. She says, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. Now, In saying that, Jesus was telling, now he's speaking to Thomas here. He says, Thomas, I have life within myself. He is the source and the giver of life. Do you remember how John's gospel account starts? Just turn back to John 1 and see how it all starts. John 1.1 through verse three. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. So it says there about what we know later on in John 1, the Word became incarnate. We know the Word was the eternal Son of God, became incarnate in the person, the God-man, Jesus Christ. So he says, I am the life. Jesus said in John 6, 68, he says, I have the words of life. John 10, 10, Jesus said, I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. You know, that's no minor thing. And that is one of the things that God used to bring me to saving faith when I was in Utah as a 18 year old college student who was an agnostic. who had no meaning in life. And I remember someone had shared some meaning about Jesus and the abundant life. Is that true, Jesus? Is that true? If that is true, I want that life. I want to have meaning in life. Jesus said, that is why I came. And so, We can say that Jesus is the way because he is the truth and he is the life. That's why he's the way to God. And in John 14, seven, Jesus continues his response. Notice what he says continually to Thomas. He's still talking to Thomas. Turn back to John 14. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. From now on, you know him. and you have seen him. He says, you have seen the Father. But to a large extent, the disciples had failed to see the Father in Jesus. He kept telling them that he was, but he just wasn't sinking in as it should have. And He says, after all, I am the Son of God, and being the Son of God, I have revealed the Father to you. So they should have been paying closer attention to what Jesus said, but they didn't. And Jesus had said, you have seen the Father with your very eyes. Thomas says, well, how? Philip says, well, have we seen the Father? And if you notice in verse eight, it's Philip who asks the question. Philip says, Lord, show us the Father. And it is enough for us. In other words, all you have to do is show us the Father and that's good enough. You gotta realize the patience of Jesus with them. He says, what do you think I've been doing? What, look at my miracles. Look at what I have been preaching for three years for you. I have been showing you the Father all along. It just hadn't sunk in. And apparently Philip had failed to listen just like the others. And Jesus had said to Thomas that the Father, the Father has been manifested in the Son. So he had emphasized this time and time again. How did Jesus manifest the Father to them? By the words of God and by the works of God. By the words of God and by the works of God. That's how I manifested the Father to you. Now let's see just how, just in the book of John, how Jesus revealed the Father to his disciples. And we'll just look at a few isolated passages. First, turn back to John 1, verse 18. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. Now that's important. He has explained Him. So the text clearly shows that Jesus, in His words, had shown them who the Father is. Look over at John 3, verses 33 through 36. He who has seen and heard of that, he bears witness and no man receives his witness. He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. What does it mean to obey the Son. It means to believe the words that the Son is saying. That's what it means to obey the Son. And 2 Thessalonians 1 talks about when Jesus says, when Jesus returns with his mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to all those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus, these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord. To obey the Son is to obey what the Son says. Turn over to John 5 verse 17. Says, but he answered them, my father is working until now, and I myself am working. Look at John 6, 38. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. Turn over to John 7, verse 28 and 29. Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, you both know me, and you know where I am from, and I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true whom you do not know. I know him because I am from him, and he sent me. Quite explicit, right? Look over, turn over to John 8. Look at verse 19. And they were saying to him, that is these Jews, were saying to him, where is your father? Jesus answered, you know neither me nor my father. If you knew me, you'd know my father also. And then look at verses 28 and 29 of John 8. Jesus therefore said to them, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing of my own initiative, but I speak the things as the Father taught me. And He who sent me is with me, and He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him. As he spoke these things, many came to believe in him. And then finally, verses John 8, 54 and 55, Jesus said, if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my father who glorifies me of whom you say he's our God. And you have not come to know him, but I know him. And if I say that I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. So when Jesus was saying all of this, when Philip says, look, just tell us and we'll believe it, Jesus. Well, I have been telling you. So, You just haven't come to understand who I really am. So it is clear here that Jesus, in one sense, is giving a rebuke to Philip and the other disciples. And we're going to see that in the Upper Room Discourse, which is what this is all about, we're going to see here later in chapter 14, especially in chapter 16, that he's gonna talk about the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the truth. Now this is important. So when Philip sang, just show us Jesus, we'd believe, I have been, Philip. I have been in what I've been preaching, and I have been in the miracles which were signs that I really am the Messiah. I have been telling you this. It's just gone over the head. Now, in one sense, there was no excuse for that. That's why Jesus says, I have been showing it to you. You should have known better. But let me tell you here, there is a vast difference in the lives of the disciples before the day of Pentecost and after the day of Pentecost. I mean, a whole huge difference. Before Pentecost, they all forsook him. They didn't fully understand. They were cowards. After Pentecost, they were bold to the point Even when they were beaten by the Sanhedrin, said, don't go out in the street and preach. Where'd they go once they were let out? Back out on the street preaching. And then they had this understanding. Why? Because Jesus says, as he's going to tell them in the upper room discourse, I'm going to send you a comforter. And it's better for you that I go away. Because if I go away, I'm gonna send him to you. And when I send him to you, he will guide you into all the truth." And all of a sudden, the man who was a coward before is a bold preacher of the Word of God. How'd he become a bold preacher? Because now he has an empowerment of the Holy Spirit that he did not have before. That did not mean they did not have the Spirit. But at Pentecost, something, I call that one of the greatest events in the history of mankind, it really is. Because after Pentecost, they had the power of the Holy Spirit upon them that no believer prior to Pentecost ever had. None of them, from Abraham to Moses to David to Solomon, none of them had the magnitude of an understanding as the disciples after Pentecost. Now, if you look at John 14, 10, it's crucial. Turn back to John 14, 10. He's talking to Philip who said, asking the question, just show us the Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak of my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does the works. You have seen the Father. by hearing the words that the Father gave me to say to you, that is how you've seen the Father. You have seen the Father in my preaching. And so every word of Jesus is the work of the Father in the Son in his preaching. So whatever the Son speaks, the Father, His redemptive work is being accomplished. But the works of the Father are not limited to the words that the Father gave to the Son to speak. They also included His miracles, which were signs. Remember what was the purpose? What is the theme of the book of the Gospel of John as revealed in John 20? Many other signs Jesus did in the presence of disciples. But they were given that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in believing you might have eternal life. That's the whole theme. So Jesus says, I have revealed the Father to you, Philip, in everything that I've preached about the kingdom of God. And I have revealed the Father to you by the miracles that created the sense of all that proved I am truly the Messiah. So, and we need to recall what Jesus said in John 10, 37 and 28. Let me just remind us again what he said there in John 10, 37 and 38. He says, if I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do them, though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father. Now, who is he talking to there? He was talking to the Jews who were upset that Jesus had identified himself with God. Who do you think you are, Jesus? Well, okay, if you don't believe what I've said, then at least believe the works that I've done. And what are the works that I've been doing? all the miracles that you have seen and you can't deny. Remember the feeding of the 5,000 and the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the Sanhedrin. At first, they weren't sure about it, but then we're told they didn't necessarily challenge it. but that is they were unwilling, which goes to show the darkness of the heart. They were unwilling to see this magnificent miracle, this work of God. Jesus says, okay, you don't believe I'm God, but at least believe the work that I'm doing. Who can do what I am doing if I'm not God? Come on. Who can do it if I'm not God? And then we find in John 14, if you turn back to John 14, verse 12, that's an amazing passage. He says, truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, shall he do also. And greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father. You know, the amazing thing here is the disciples do not need to fear that the absence of Jesus's physical presence will mean a loss of power to perform miracles. Just because he's not with them doesn't mean there's a loss of power. to do not only similar miracles, but Jesus says even greater ones. Now the verb tense here in verse 12 is significant because it's a present participle meaning keep on believing, keep on believing. For there's a great promise for those who keep on believing. You know, you and I, sometimes we have this tendency, have you ever had this thought, I would have liked to have been there with Jesus and walked with Him like the disciples for three years, to sit right by Him, to listen to the Sermon on the Mount, to see the miracles with my own eyes. Oh, I wish I'd been there. Let me tell you something. No, you don't. Not really. No, you don't. Because you and I, right now, are in a greater position than the disciples ever were in prior to the day of Pentecost. Because guess what? You and I have that spirit that has been outpoured. You and I have been regenerated. You and I have this illumination. We have an understanding The others had difficult time understanding why, because we have the Spirit. We have the abiding presence of the Spirit. So anytime you have the tendency to think, I wish I'd been there, no, no, say it back, I'll say no, no. Thank you, Jesus, that I'm better off now than before. Remember what Jesus said to Thomas? Later on, we're going to see, I didn't go believe unless I can touch him. Well, Thomas touched me. Thomas, because you've seen me, you have believed. But blessed are they who have never seen and yet have believed. That's us. That's us. So the Lord's departure is going to be a great benefit to the disciples. Now remember, they're discouraged when He says, I'm gonna go away, I'm gonna be delivered of, I'm gonna be betrayed, I'm gonna be arrested. He's trying to encourage them. What greater encouragement to them than to say is, I'm gonna be with you greater than you ever imagined. So not only will the disciples perform works which Jesus did in the physical realm, which they did, by the way, now that's the apostles, remember? The guy that was begging, the lame man begging, give me, give me alms. And Peter says, I don't have silver or gold, but what I do have, I'll give you in the name of Jesus, get up. The guy caught up. Just like Jesus raised the lame man and made him walk, so did Peter. But then Peter says, the one who did it was not me. The one who did it is Jesus. So let me tell you about this Jesus. And then Peter preaches that great sermon recorded in Acts chapter three. So not only did they do similar miracles as Jesus did, but they did greater works, namely miracles in the spiritual realm. So we ask ourselves, what did Jesus mean, you're gonna do greater works than I did? Because he said, I go to the Father. I think all indication is that he's talking about the conversion of the Gentile world. Now, if you recall, take a look at Matthew 15 verse Jesus talks about, he says, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus did not go to the Gentile world. I was sent to the lost sheep of Israel. And we're going to see, if you, Turn back to John 10, 16. We already addressed this when we were in John chapter 10. Take a look again at John 10, verse 16, where Jesus says, And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they shall hear my voice, and they shall become one flock with one shepherd. In the best understanding that I mentioned then, who's he talking about, these other sheep? Well, the Gentiles. I was sent only to the house of Israel. But I am gonna send you, now remember, it will help to turn over to Acts 1 verse 8 for a moment. This is just right before Jesus ascends to heaven. This is what he tells his disciples. In Acts 1 verse 8. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. You know what the book of Acts is? It's simply, verse eight is simply the outline of the whole book of Acts. That's what it is. who was the first one to take the gospel to the Gentiles, but it was Peter, Acts chapter 10. Cornelius has this vision, and he says, is told to go find, Cordaeus, you will find a man praying on a housetop. And he goes to Peter's house, and that's what Peter's doing. Peter has this vision of God coming down and saying, eat this flesh that was forbidden in the law of Moses. And he says, no, I can't do that. And God says, what I've declared pure, don't you call impure. And then Cornelius shows up and says, I've been sent by God to come get you. Take you to my house. And it's at Cornelius' household that the Gentiles will hear the gospel and believe and the Holy Spirit will be poured out on the Gentiles the same way it was poured out on the apostles at the day of Pentecost. And then all of a sudden Peter on his way to Cornelius and figured out what the vision meant. Well, the vision meant the Gentiles were the unclean, but God had now declared them clean, and I'm to go preach to them. So Peter first takes the gospel to the Gentiles, and then if you turn over to Acts chapter 26, turn to Acts 26, you've got Paul his defense before King Agrippa. And he's recounting how God saved him on the road to Damascus. And how Jesus spoke to him, and take a look at what Jesus said to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. Acts 26, beginning at verse 16. But arise and stand on your feet, for the purpose I have appeared to you to appoint you a minister and a witness, not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things which I will appear to you, delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I will appoint you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who've been sanctified by faith in me." So you know what the greater works that Jesus says, you're going to do that I ever did when you go out and preach to the Gentile world. And they will start believing. Remember when Paul enacts, his custom was to always go to the Jewish synagogue first. Because he says in Romans 1, he says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of God for it is the power of God to salvation to the Jew first and then to the Greek. To the Jew first and then to the Greek. That's why Paul always went into the synagogue first. But in Acts 13, When the Jews would not receive what he was saying, he says, I've had it. It's over with you. You have proved yourselves unworthy of the kingdom of God. I'm going to the Gentiles. And from that point on, he went to the Gentiles. And guess what? The Gentiles says, oh, we'll take it. We'll take that word. And they did. And the Gentiles began to flood in. Exactly how it was promised. You're gonna do greater works, Jesus said, when I go away. Because in your preaching, there's gonna be many that's gonna be brought into my sheepfold through your preaching. And then if you look at John 4, 12, notice what he says here. Verse 13, and whatever you ask in my name, that will I do. that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. Now, I've mulled over that passage many times. It's a passage that has a great promise, but with every promise there comes usually a condition. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. So what does it mean really to pray in Jesus' name? It's far more than understanding that Jesus is our mediator between man and God. It's more involved than that. What it means to pray in Jesus's name, remember names in scripture reveal character of a person. It reveals their person. Like when God changed the name of Abram to Abraham, why? Because you're going to be a father of many nations. He changed Jacob's name from Jacob to Israel, reflecting the change that had occurred in Jacob's life. Names reveal character and purpose. The name of Jesus reveals everything that is true about Jesus, everything that Jesus desires for planet Earth. So here's what it means, ultimately, to pray in Jesus' name. It means, here's the purposes of God, okay? It means, I align my purpose in this life with God's purpose, with Jesus's purpose. That's ultimately what it means to pray in his name. So everything that Jesus values is what I should value. So unlike some of the prosperity gospel preachers, if you want that Corvette, just ask for it. How about being like John Knox, the great Presbyterian reformer of Scotland, who said in prayer, Lord, give me Scotland lest I die. And Bloody Mary, Queen Mary of Scots, you know what she said one time? She's a great persecutor of the godly Presbyterians. She once said, I fear the prayers of John Knox more than an army of 10,000, as she ought to. We need to learn to align ourselves, and Jesus says, If you pray in my name, you're gonna do great works. You're not even gonna do greater works. Because if your desire is the nations, and remember what Jesus said in Matthew 9, 36, the harvest is plentiful. It's ready to be picked. Pray to the Lord of the harvest that he may send forth workers to go into the harvest. That's what we need to pray for. And when we start praying like that, We're gonna see amazing things happen. Well, next week, we'll pick up on what Jesus had to say about the role of that Holy Spirit, which is gonna enable them to do these greater works. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the promises of the scriptures. We thank you for Jesus and all that he means to us. Help us to be faithful. In his blessed name we pray, amen.