HOW CAN I KNOW THE WAY? (5 OF 9)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: John 14:1-6
This content is part of a series.
How Can I Know the Way? (5 of 9)
Series: The Great I Am
Jeff Strite
John 14:1-6
OPEN: Back in 1950s and 60s, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra played for NY Yankees and became close friends. One day, Yogi Berra invited Mickey Mantle to his apartment, but Mantle... got lost. He stopped at a pay phone and called Yogi and said, ''I'm trying to find your apartment, where is it?''
Yogi said, ''Where are you now?''
Mantle replied, ''I'm at the corner of 5th and Main.''
Yogi said, ''Well, you just keep coming in this direction'' and then... he HUNG UP.
(PAUSE) Now, how helpful were those directions? Well, not very! But why not? Why weren't they helpful? Well - because Mickey Mantle still didn't KNOW THE WAY. And until he knew the way he was still going to be lost.
What I find interesting about this story in John, is that I think Jesus set this conversation up. I think he primed the pump so that Thomas would ask Him: ''Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?'' (John 14:5) Because THAT'S the question that Jesus wanted to answer: ''How, can we know the way?'' Until you know the answer to that question... you're always going to be lost.
James Thurber once said:
''All men should strive to learn before they die
what they are running from, and to, and why.''
That cute little poem had a powerful point. Until you know WHY you're here and WHERE you're going... you'll always be lost. And so Jesus frames conversation so Thomas will ask ''How can we know the way?''
Now the conversation in our text today actually began much earlier when Jesus said these words: ''Let not your hearts be troubled...'' John 14:1
ILLUS: Have you ever been on a trip, and gotten lost? When you were lost... did you get troubled?
When Larry and I were down in Tennessee last month for a church conference, we wanted to go visit Caleb (the son of one of our members) at Johnson University near Knoxville, TN. We got the address and put it into our GPS, and ...
Series: The Great I Am
Jeff Strite
John 14:1-6
OPEN: Back in 1950s and 60s, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra played for NY Yankees and became close friends. One day, Yogi Berra invited Mickey Mantle to his apartment, but Mantle... got lost. He stopped at a pay phone and called Yogi and said, ''I'm trying to find your apartment, where is it?''
Yogi said, ''Where are you now?''
Mantle replied, ''I'm at the corner of 5th and Main.''
Yogi said, ''Well, you just keep coming in this direction'' and then... he HUNG UP.
(PAUSE) Now, how helpful were those directions? Well, not very! But why not? Why weren't they helpful? Well - because Mickey Mantle still didn't KNOW THE WAY. And until he knew the way he was still going to be lost.
What I find interesting about this story in John, is that I think Jesus set this conversation up. I think he primed the pump so that Thomas would ask Him: ''Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?'' (John 14:5) Because THAT'S the question that Jesus wanted to answer: ''How, can we know the way?'' Until you know the answer to that question... you're always going to be lost.
James Thurber once said:
''All men should strive to learn before they die
what they are running from, and to, and why.''
That cute little poem had a powerful point. Until you know WHY you're here and WHERE you're going... you'll always be lost. And so Jesus frames conversation so Thomas will ask ''How can we know the way?''
Now the conversation in our text today actually began much earlier when Jesus said these words: ''Let not your hearts be troubled...'' John 14:1
ILLUS: Have you ever been on a trip, and gotten lost? When you were lost... did you get troubled?
When Larry and I were down in Tennessee last month for a church conference, we wanted to go visit Caleb (the son of one of our members) at Johnson University near Knoxville, TN. We got the address and put it into our GPS, and ...
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