Chapter the book of John, John
chapter 14 and verse number 6. Our Lord says here, He is the way, the truth, and
the life. Jesus saith unto him, in answer
to Thomas' question, Thomas said, We know not whither thou goest,
how can we know the way? And Jesus said, I am the way,
the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father
but by me. I am the life. Let's talk about
that for a few minutes here this evening. I am the life. Well, our Lord could say that
he was the life, I think for this reason, because life essentially
dwells in him. All creatures receive life from
their Creator. As a matter of fact, there's
not an angel in heaven that's an independent being, not one. Every angel that's in heaven,
every celestial being, had his life given to him from another. And even the life that he had
given to him from another is sustained by another. So there's
no creature in heaven, or there's no creature on the face of the
earth. that can consider themselves independent beings as far as
life is concerned. The Scriptures say that He made
us, and we not ourselves. We are His people. We are the
sheep of His pasture. He made us. As a matter of fact,
our Lord could say this, I am the life. because there is but
one being that is independent, and that is the true and the
living God. And this true and living God,
as revealed in the scriptures, certainly the God of the Old
Testament, the I Am of the Old Testament, is also the I Am of
the New Testament. the Lord Jesus Christ. And he
is that true and living God. And to know him is eternal life.
In John 17 there, if you remember those first two or three verses. So he is that one independent
being, God himself, the true and living God. He receives life
from nobody else, and he himself possesses this life, essentially,
in himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ could say,
I am the life. Moses, you remember in the Old
Testament there, Moses asking, he said, what name should I communicate
to the children of Israel? God had told Moses to go back
and deliver the children of Israel from the hands of Pharaoh. And
he said, well, who will I say sent me? What's your name? What
name will I give them? And essentially, God said, this
is the name by which I shall be known. I am! Tell them! I AM have sent me unto you. Isn't that what He said? Tell
them, this is the name that I'll be known by. I AM. I AM. I AM declares the character of
His being. It declares His self-existence. And He says, you go back to the
children of Israel. You want a name? I'll give you
that name. I'll be known as I Am. I Am. Tell them, the great I
Am has sent you unto them. Well, this I Am is the very same
name that our Lord Jesus Christ appropriated unto himself here. See that in that sixth verse?
in that one, two, three, four, about the fifth word there. I
am. Jesus saith unto him, he answered,
he said, I'm going to go away. I'm going away. You don't be
upset because I'm going away. My father has many mansions in
his house and so forth. I'm going to go prepare a place
for you. And where I am, there you'll ultimately be. And Thomas
said, well, We know not whether thou goest. We don't know where
you go. That was a question about like
I'd ask. We don't know where you go. He
told him time and time again, I come from the Father. I'm heavenly. You're earthly. I'm heavenly.
I'm sent from above. And Thomas said, we don't know
where you go. And we don't even know the way. And Jesus said,
I am. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. He appropriates this very same
name of the Old Testament to himself. So it's safe not to
assume, but to believe here tonight, that God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ are one, yet they're two. The Lord Jesus, in other
words, is the embodiment of God Almighty himself. He is God. I know we can't lay hold of that
and kind of lay it out there that we can see it in all of
its details in order that this poor mind and heart of ours can
rationalize it so that we can understand it. I know that. No
man can understand that God is one and yet God is three. God the Father, and God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. But yet the Lord Jesus Christ
was God, manifest in the flesh. He said, I am. That's one reason
why he could say, I am the life. I am the life. Every other being
on the top side of God's green earth, in the heavens and under
the earth, in the seas, are dependent upon their existence from that
independent being, God himself. Jesus Christ said, I am the life,
no life apart from me. Well, I think that John was very
particular, and Bob, I didn't ask him to read this, but he
read it anyhow. In the first chapter of the book
of John, in the first four verses, John was very particular here
in explaining this, that the Lord Jesus Christ was one with
the Father. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. Now listen to this, all things
were made by Him. And without Him was not anything
made that was made. In Him was life. In Him was life,
and the life was the light of man. Well, the life was in Him. That is, in Him essentially and
only. Now listen, over here in John
chapter 8, I believe. Well, I'll not turn to it, but
just call it to your attention. You'll remember the Scriptures.
In the 8th chapter here of John, our Lord said, Before Abraham
was, I am. Use that same expression. Before
Abraham was, I am. God. He said to Martha there,
He said, I am in regard to the resurrection. I am the resurrection and the
life. Another place he said, if you
believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins. Now that sounds
like a very narrow and strict statement, doesn't it? If you
don't believe that I am, that doesn't mean If you don't believe
that I'm here in the flesh, and that I'm Jesus, and I'm a miracle
worker, and I'm literally, really, actually here, you'll die on
your sins. He means if you do not believe that I am the I Am
of the Old Testament, I am God, and besides me, there's none
other. He said if you don't believe that I am, you know what's going
to happen to you? You're going to die on your sins.
I know that people, for the most part in this world, and I'll
tell you eventually why they act the way they do, but I know
for the most part the majority of the folks living right now,
they don't believe that, could care less, could care less. Even religious people, they could
care less about this. But he said, Unless you believe
that I am, you'll die in your sins. And if you die in your
sins, then you'll experience the wrath of God on the account
of sin. And if you die in your sins,
it'll be judgment for you. If you die in your sins, it'll
be judgment and it'll be hell for you. If you die in your sins,
you'll go to hell and be punished for your sins on the account
of your sins forever and forever and forever. And people don't
care. People don't care. Poor souls, if you believe not
that I am, you'll die in your sins. What I'm saying is that
the Lord Jesus Christ is the great I am of the Old Testament.
He's life. He could say I am the life because
He is the life. The only life. Life. Natural
life. Spiritual life. Existence, we
call it. That's what He is. He is existence. Well, he is the life, secondly,
he is the life, and he gives and sustains life to all of his
preachers. He gives it and sustains it.
Now, John tells us, and I read to you and Bob read to you there
in that first chapter, John tells us that by him, by the Lord Jesus
Christ, who said, I am the life. Now, by him were all things created. Now, whatever this earth possesses,
and whatever has life, that life was given to us by the Lord Jesus
Christ. You see that? The sun, which comes up every
morning in the east, and brightens our day. The moon, which appears
somewhere every night, and the stars that sprinkle the sky somewhere
every night that can be seen by the eyes of man, all of the
animals that roam the fields and the forest, all the fishes
in the sea, all of these were created by God. They owe their natural existence,
their instincts, and every movement to the hand of God himself, who
is the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, I am the light. You see, he gives and sustains
life of all of his created creatures, everything that's created, everything
that has existence, God give them that existence. We live
and breathe and move and have our being here tonight in God
Himself. My Lord Jesus Christ made them
all. Now if you doubt this, let me
make good on it. If you turn with me to the book
of Colossians, In the first chapter, let me read some verses to you. If you have any doubt whatsoever
about what I said about him so far, that is, that he sustains
life of all created life and existence, and whatever things that are
created, and whatever things this Earth possesses whatever
has life, that life was given by the Lord Jesus. Colossians
1, verse 15-14, in whom we have redemption through His blood,
even the forgiveness of sins. Talking about the Lord Jesus.
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature?
Verse 16, for by Him were all things created. that are in heaven,
that takes care of the angels and every celestial being, doesn't
it? And that are in the earth, that takes care of me and you
and all the animals and the fish and the sea and the moon and
the star, it takes care of everything, doesn't it? Right there. Visible
and invisible, things that you can see and things that you can't
see, God made them. The Lord Jesus Christ made them.
Whether there be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by Him and for Him. And it says He is
before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is
the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, and in all things. He might have the preeminence,
for it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness, completeness
dwell. Well, now that natural life which
He gave to His creatures, He sustains. Just one word from
the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ and He'd do away with everything
that breathes forever. It'd annihilate everything. It'd
be a great catastrophe. Annihilation, I guess, would
be the proper expression. If he would just utter one word,
he could destroy all created life in heaven and in earth and
start all over again if it pleased him. The natural life or existence,
as we call it, which He gave to the creatures of this earth,
He sustains that life. He gave that life, He sustains
that life. Yes, He's the life, brethren,
and we're indebted. We're indebted to God Almighty
this evening in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, even this
very night, here at 730, for our health. For our health. Where'd
your health come from? Well, listen, we're indebted
to Him for our health. For any portion of it in which
we enjoy tonight, we're indebted to God for it. Ah, He rules the
world. And because He rules the world,
we live. See, He sustains us. He sustains
us. If someone dies, it's because
God took his life. If a baby's born, it's because
God gave him life. If the baby is born, it is because
God gave him life. And if that baby lives to be
five years old, it is because God sustained him to this point. If that baby lives to twenty-five,
fifty-five, if that baby lives to be ninety-six years old, it
is because the God who gave that baby life sustained that baby
all through this life until he is ninety-six years old. And
whatever is involved by way of help from the cradle to the grave,
God sustains us in it. If we can enjoy, say we're so
decrepit and so helpless and hopeless that we only got one
eye that we can see out of, thank God for the one eye. You only
got one leg to walk on, thank God for the one leg. If you haven't
got any legs to walk on, thank God that you can breathe. If
you're just a basket case and have to be carried around, thank
God that someone's there to carry you around, because God sustains
you. God sustains you. You don't need
to quarrel with God or question. You see why he's able to say,
Thomas said, we don't know where you're going. We don't know the
way. He said, I am the way, the truth. I am the light. I am the life. All right, fourthly, well, I
guess since I said all that, surely the Lord Jesus Christ
deserves a song from our lips, doesn't he? A song of praise. Well, thirdly, he originates
and supports our spiritual life. Well, we know that there was
a time when we was without spiritual life. There was a time when we
were like the majority of the world's population. We were dead
spiritually. We were alive physically. We had emotions and desires and
appetites, but none of them were for God. They were all for this
terrible nature within the framework of this soul. We had no spiritual
life. Our hearts did not pant after
God. We did not seek God. We did not
understand God, and we did not want to understand God. We were
just satisfied in what we were doing. We were satisfied in our
lifestyle. We were completely satisfied
to be left alone and not to be bothered with any of this Bible
business or Jesus business or hell business or heaven business,
we would have been satisfied if God the Holy Spirit would
have left us be and would not have crossed our path and created
an interest. We would not have been mad. We
would have been pleasantly Painful that we were not involved, but
God, in His mercy, in His kindness, in His grace, crossed our path. And once He crossed our path,
once the Lord Jesus Christ came to us, brother, He breathed into
our nostrils the breath of life and our hearts began to beat
and the blood begin to pursue through the course of the veins
of our body, and we begin to live when Jesus breathed into
us. Well, you see, our Lord Jesus
Christ originates. Life comes from him, and he supports
our spiritual life. You know, the scripture says
that the world lies in the wicked one, or that he is under the
power, the spell, under the captivity of the wicked one, the devil,
the world. We're taken captive by his will
and his pleasure. Well, in other words, this world
tonight, this world right now, here tonight, is a vast cemetery,
it's a vast graveyard, not of bodies, not of bodies, not of
physical bodies, but of souls, dead souls, loathsome, decaying,
putrefying, corrupt, mauled, dead souls. This is a graveyard. This is what it is. This whole
world is a graveyard of dead people. Dead people. The whole
world lies in the realm and the captivity of the wicked one. And the whole world is dead towards
God and hates God. And the only way this thing can
continue on is that God rules the world. If He didn't rule
the world, it would blow up. of all the rebellion and corruption
that's in us, and in sin, and in human nature. Couldn't stand
it. But God rules the world. God
rules the world, and God sustains, and withdraws, and keeps from,
and keeps this thing on the right keel that its purpose might be
fulfilled. But here you can see, when our
Lord Jesus Christ said, I am the life, He's standing, looking
out, looking over this vast cemetery of dead souls, and he's saying,
I am the life. And brother and sister tonight,
if any man ever has life, it will be because the blood-drenched
hand of the Lord Jesus Christ was extended to him. He's got
life, and you can't get life from nobody else. And that's
what every man needs. Every man in the world, he needs
life. He needs a life better. He's got this life, but that
won't get him. He'll die and go to hell if that's
all he's got in this life. He's got to have more than that.
He's got to have spiritual life. Spiritual life is originated
in the hands of, I am the life. That's where it's at. I am the
life. Parents can talk to their children and do all these things
and try to give life to their children, to their friends, and
to their kinsmen. But it's all vain. They can't
do it. Preachers might try to arouse
dead, dead sinners. to arouse them from their lethargy
of sleep and deadness, but to have no veil. It's vain. They must go back to their studies
and read where it says, Who hath believed our report? To who is
the arm of the Lord revealed? I am. I am. You see? The life. I am the life. No life apart from Him, you see. Nothing can give life except
Him. No, sir. Who hath believed our
report? Well, listen to what he says,
and I'll quit and go over here this evening. Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way. I'm the way to God. I'm the reconciler. I'm the truth of God. I am the
life, and no man. No man, don't make any difference
who he is, whether he's me or you. Well, I heard someone say
here, read an article there in the paper today, there's a question
in the paper. I think the procedure is to take
the newsworthy items of the paper of the week and then ask four
or five questions at the end of the week in regard to the
newsworthy articles that the paper contained. And one of them,
the question was, as a boy, about some boy in the area here, and
said, called out his name, I don't remember it now, but said, who
was the boy, or who was the person that this boy met who is probably
living nearer to God than any human on earth? And I thought,
well, who in the world, was that the Pope? Is that what he was
talking about, the Pope? Now he's talking about Mother
Teresa. I read the questions down in the corner. It was Mother
Teresa. That's who it was. Well, I don't know about all
that. But I know that Mother Teresa
can't give any lies. And I know that she hadn't got
enough influence to bring any dead sinner to God, I know that. And I know the Pope hadn't got
enough influence to bring any dead sinner to God. As a matter
of fact, the Pope and Mother Teresa together can't help themselves
much less anybody else. Our Lord said, I am, I am, I
am, independent of all beings. I am. I have life. I am life. Essentially, life is in me. And
everything that draws a breath, I give it to them. And if it
lives to be a hundred years old, I sustain them. I kill. I wound. I make alive. I have life. No
man in this great cemetery of dead souls will ever be aroused
except I arouse him. Now, that's hard. But that's
the truth under God. That's what he's saying. He said,
in this cemetery of dead, corrupt, decapitated souls, none of them
will ever be aroused or quickened or have life unless I do it. No man come up unto the Father
but by me. And that doesn't mean that he'll,
he's going, here he's coming, he's got to come and he's got
to come up. It means that he'll not come
unless I come and get him. That's what he means. It means
that every man, you and me, prior to regeneration, prior to conversion,
every one of us was so far off from God. I don't know how far
off from God we were, but we were far off. We might have been
as close as Pat McGinnis is to me this evening, but yet been
10,000 miles away from God by web distance. As far as the moon
is from the earth. as far as the heavens is from
where I'm at. That's how far we were from God. We weren't on the threshold.
We were so far from God that we would never come back by ourselves.
We was lost completely, wandering aimlessly into this wild wasteland
of sin here and delighting in our wandering and fulfilling
of the appetites of our lust. We were delighting in it, and
God came where we was. And if He didn't come where we
was, Bob, and bring us back, we'd still be there. That's what
it means. I have life. I have life. Brethren, we need pity. Pity. Poor souls are not interested
in what we're interested in. We're interested in the Lord
Jesus, because He gives us life. I don't know what it's going
to be like, but it's going to be what we've got. We've got
life now, but we've got the quantity of it now, and the quality of
it, but there's an abundance of it. And we've only tasted
it. We've only drank of the river,
of the cool, clear water. We've just got a taste of it. And whatever it's going to be,
it's going to be this. It's going to be this. The Apostle
said, Boy, it's so great and so grand and so glorious. He
said, Whatever it's going to be, it's going to be this. It's
going to be this. The Apostle said, Boy, it's so
great and so grand and so glorious. He said, Boy, my desire is to
depart. He'd seen some things up there,
you know, and he'd been there. And he came back and he said,
well, I've been there. He said, I knew a man 12 years
ago in the body or out of the body. He said, I don't know.
He said, boy, I was up there. Something going on. I've seen
some things. He said, it's unlawful for me to even talk about him
right now. One time he just bursted out in a victorious triumphed,
and just a burst of praise had come forth from his lips, and
he said, Oh, he said, Peace be unto God for He is unspeakable
gift. And he went on and he said, I
desire, he said, to depart. I desire to make my exodus and
to be with Christ. I desired. We need to pity people
who don't have that desire. Pity Him. Pity Him. Only God can help them. Maybe
it would please God to answer our prayers. Maybe we could join
together, you and I, and just join together and pray, O Lord,
for this fellow and that fellow, for this child and that child,
for this mother and this father, grandmother and uncle and aunt. O Father, God in heaven, send
Thy Holy Spirit to bear Your arm. and come where they are
and do something for their hearts. Lord, change them. We can't change
them. Lord, you change them. Will you change them? And just
keep on. Maybe God will do something for us. Maybe we can see the
hand of God. I know I can't change anybody.
The only change I can make in anybody's life is for the worse,
not for the better. Unless God does it, it will not
be done. Would you join with me? and asking
God to come where we are and visit us one more time. We welcome
his fellowship. We welcome his presence.