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Liz, thank you very much. Well, please do keep your Bibles open in John, chapter 14. In our evening services over recent weeks, we've been looking at Jesus I am statements in John Gospel and you'll see our one tonight. In verse six, Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

One of my favourite TV shows that's on periodically is, and I probably told you this before actually is Race across the World. Do you know it? The show where teams, couples, they head off on a journey around different parts of the world. The most recent series was in Asia and it was. It was really exciting.

They started up, I think, in top of Japan maybe, and they worked their way all the way down to somewhere near Australia, I can't quite remember where. And it was incredible. There was so many different routes they took through the mountains of Japan, down through. I don't think they went through China. It was like they couldn't go through China.

They had to skirt around and. And then they got into the kind of jungly type areas and there was some beaches, forests, mountains, hills. And there were so many different routes they took. Some went by land, some went by sea, some went the scenic routes. It was really quite exciting.

The previous series of Race across the World was in Canada. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure Canada's lovely. I can see some people who love Canada over there, but lots of trees, lots of mountains, lots of lakes. And there was one particular leg, you know, there's like six different legs and they had to go to this place called Churchill, which is right up in the Arctic Circle. There's polar bears up there and the only way to get there was on a single train line.

So all the, all the episodes are really exciting, like which route we're gonna take, which route should we go? It's like, got to get on the train. The train goes once a week and that's what you do. So there's one episode basically consists of the teams just sitting on a train for like two days to get up here. How dull.

So many routes, really exciting. One route felt a bit dull. I don't know at what age it is. I think it's men of a certain age. I don't know, perhaps it's when you kind of hit your 30s, routes become quite exciting.

So if you turn up a party or something or turn up at someone's house, the ladies in the room might say, well, how did you get here? And the answer will probably be by car or by train or by bus. Whereas if a gentleman of a certain age says, well, how did you get here? They don't actually care the mode of transport. They want to know which route you took.

You know, even getting down to Brighton, which way do you go? A 23 beacon, which was quicker. You go via Lewis. Where are the road works? You know, going down to southwest.

Oh, did you go on an A303? Oh, I wouldn't have gone the A303 if I were you. No, definitely go the M4 and down. Concerned about the routes, how did you get there? Perhaps you've had those conversations.

Which services did you stop at?

Did you do T Bay? Yep. Did Tea Bay? The routes become rather more interesting. Exciting?

People have different opinions about the route you took. Actually, all that matters was, I got here, I'm here to see you. Does it really matter how I got here? Perhaps it does, perhaps it doesn't. Jesus said, I am the way.

And when you hear that, that might sound a little bit like that episode in Canada of Race across the World. Really? Well, just one way sounds a bit boring, a bit restrictive. Perhaps you prefer it like the conversation had when you arrive. There's so many different options.

Which one did you go? Why do you have to be so exclusive about the way to live your life, about the way to find God? You see, it is an exclusive claim, isn't it? I am the way. And it's not just this saying tonight that's exclusive.

All our sayings have been exclusive, haven't they? I am the good shepherd. Jesus says, actually, there's false shepherds. I am the gate. You can't climb over the other fence.

I'm the gate. All Jesus claims have been exclusive. But I wonder if, when we hear this, our tendency is to lean towards the negative. Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes the Father, except through me.

We hear Jesus say this and we. We think he's like the big bouncer on the door or the man with the roadworks with a stop sign. No way through. No, not that way, not that way. No way through, no other route.

And of course, that is what Jesus is saying. Jesus is making an exclusive claim. He is saying that actually other religions don't lead to God. There's no other way that you can find the Father except going through him. Please don't mishear me.

This very much is an exclusive claim. But I'm not sure the emphasis is on the stop sign.

If you're heading north, I wonder which route you take a 1M 1M6. If you're heading M40M6, you get to Birmingham. And if it's busy, the traffic starts to slow, doesn't it? You start coming towards Birmingham and everything slows down. But there's a sign that appears, says, M6 toll clear.

Fantastic. Now, leave aside the fact it costs money. That doesn't help my illustration, but I think that's the emphasis here. There's a road open. This isn't a stop sign.

This is Jesus saying, there's a road open.

Come on to this road, come on to this way. That's literally what Jesus is saying. He's saying, I am the road and it leads not to Birmingham, it leads to the Father. If you want to know the Father, if you want to know God himself, come on the road, come on this way. It's open and it's free.

You see, Jesus says, that's where the road leads. The road leads to the fold. And what follows after that? In verses kind of 8 to 10, Jesus talks about the Father, doesn't he? Philip said, lord, show us the Father, that will be enough for us.

Jesus answered, don't you know me, Philip? Even after I've been among you for such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

Jesus wants to not only say that he is the way to the Father, but he wants to show us the Father, show us what God's really like. And I think that's what he's doing in the rest of the verse.

So when he says, I am the truth, I think he's saying, I'm like the Father, I'm one with the Father, I'm the one with authority. My words are words of truth. My life is a life of true righteousness. In John chapter one, it says of Jesus, he came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Truth is a characteristic that comes from the Father.

He says it again, doesn't he? I am the life.

John chapter five says, as the Father has life in himself, so he has given the Son life in himself. Life comes from the Father. So when Jesus says, I am the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. He's saying, come to me if you want to know the Father. Look at me.

Look at my life if you want to know the Father. You see, truth and life, they're not abstract virtues, kind of philosophical ideas. What's truth? What's life? What does he really mean.

They say, come to me. And they the father. Not a stop sign, but an invitation. Come, follow this road leads to the father.

And I think deep down, that's what we're all doing in life, we're all seeking a father. There's loads of statistics out there, loads of psychology that will tell you about how somehow, deep inside us, we're longing for a father figure.

That's why young men are attracted to voices online.

Peterson, Tate. People who speak will purport to speak words of authority, words of order, words of what it means to be a man.

That's why I think so often in life we look for approval, we look for order and relationships. And we see it across so many films as well. So many films and stories there in the heart of them, there's a search for a father about some of them. Spider Man, Batman, Good will hunting, comically, Mrs. Doubtfire, Star Wars, Peter Pan, the Lion King, even.

I went to see a film yesterday called Dogman, and would you believe it, it is all about searching for a father. That's what it's about. I wonder if you saw the. The Christmas special of Gavin and Stacy.

There's a scene towards the end. It's gone, hasn't it? Christmas gone. I can't really spoil it. There's a scene towards the end.

It's the wedding. Smithy's about to marry the wrong woman. And I can't remember who stands up first. I think Gavin stands up and says, you can't go ahead with this. It's not right.

And Smithy says, who else agrees? Who doesn't think it's right? And a few people stand up, but there's one person who Smithy really cares what he thinks. Remember who it is. It's Mickey.

Mick. We don't really know in Gavin and Stacey much about Smithy's dad. He's not on the scene, but Mick is, if you like, his adopted father. And that's the verdict. That's the opinion that really matters.

Mick, what do you think? What do you think you see deep down? That's his long, isn't it? Mick's dad, he wants to know what his dad thinks. And that's what Jesus wants to do for us here.

He wants us to see the father. He wants to lead us to his father. Follow me. I'll take you to my father. I'll show you what he looks like.

We see, I think, in this passage, and we saw it last week in church. John, chapter 11 as well. Something of Jesus, compassion, something of his heart. That wants to come alongside people. We saw him come alongside Mary and Martha in their grief last time, cried with them.

He walked with them that journey to the tomb. He's there for them. And here he is now for his disciples.

At this point, I'm going to give you my three seeds. A lot of times if I'm doing a funeral, people ask for this passage to be read because it's got words of comfort in it. And I give them three Cs. Three Cs, which tell us something about Jesus. Here's the first C that Jesus gives comfort.

He gives comfort in loss. You see, we don't want to just look at the one verse, do we? We want to look at what's around it. Comfort in loss, verse 1. Jesus says to his disciples, do not let your hearts be troubled.

You believe in God, believe also in me. Now, what's just followed preceded this is Jesus saying, I'm going somewhere and you can't come with me. I'm going to be betrayed. I'm going to die. I'm going to be denied by you.

Going somewhere, you can't come with me. And Jesus disciples are sad, they're confused, they're grieving. And what follows after is in verse 15, Jesus promises to bring his comfort, his comforter, the Holy Spirit. You see, even in their loss, even as Jesus is about to leave them, Jesus offers his presence. In his absence, he offers his presence.

Jesus is going to come and draw alongside. In times of trial and loss, he promises to bring comfort to his friends.

I think this is a hugely encouraging promise. When we, as we all do, experience loss, whether that's the loss of a loved one, as we would say, or the loss of something else. The loss of a hope, the loss of a dream, the loss of something unfulfilled.

Jesus brings his comfort. He walks alongside. He's the comforter.

And many have found that to be true. Actually, in the darkest times, at the bottom of the pit, that's where Jesus has been with his friends. Jesus brings comfort in loss. Now here's the second C. Jesus brings certainty, certainty in confusion.

Now, these are exclusive claims that Jesus makes. I am the way. They could appear to be arrogant, couldn't they? Who's he to claim I am the way?

But actually, if exclusive claims are true, they're not arrogant. Rather, they bring clarity, uncertainty.

Now, if you go to a restaurant that's got a really big menu, it's confusing, isn't it? What am I going to have? There's too much choice.

And then if you're with my family, they'll say, what are you having? As if it wasn't complicated enough to choose what I'm having. Now I've got to think about what you're having and. And my answer to your question. And then I don't actually want to have the same thing as you because that's going to be weird.

And then, like, it's got even more confusing. Whereas last summer we went to Holland. Is it Holland or the Netherlands? I'm not sure. And I don't think the cuisine there's that good.

Maybe it was just where we went, but we found a fritery, a chip shop, and the only thing on the menu was chips. The only thing you had to decide was the sauce. And I thought, this is really limiting, but it makes my life so much easier.

Plain, actually. Thank you.

You know, the world is a confusing place enough as it is, isn't it? There's so much going on. What's going on with technology, what's going on with geopolitics? Language makes things confusing. Cultures make things confusing.

What's the world all about? How am I supposed to live in this world? It's confusing enough. And yet Jesus brings clarity and certainty. I'm grateful for that.

In a confusing world, I'm grateful that Jesus brings certainty. Not just another option among many, just a menu to choose from. But he's the way more and more people are discovering that he's the one who makes sense of life. I read earlier this week the testimony of a chap called Larry Sanger. Larry Sanger was one of the co founders of Wikipedia.

He spent most of his life as a kind of atheistic philosopher. And he's just put online last week a lengthy testimony of how he came to trust the Lord Jesus. And it's interesting. The turning point for him says, I began to read the Bible. Wow.

As an adult looking at things afresh, I began to read the Bible. I came to the scriptures. I found Jesus, who says some exclusive things, but some really helpful things that put me on the right path. Jesus brings comfort in our lives, certainty in our confusion. And finally, he brings confidence for the future.

Look at what he says to his friends in verse 2. My father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you that I'm going to prepare a place for you?

Every other route, every other way in the world that purports to be a route to God or a way to live lacks assurance. We're always left with the question, did I do enough? Was I successful enough? Did I feel happy enough? Did my life work?

There's a, I think, tragic scene at the end of Saving Private Ryan. Remember that war film, Saving Private Ryan? As I can't remember his name. Tom Hanks, the actor's name. As Tom Hanks is dying, he whispers his final words to Matt Damon, Private Ryan.

His final words are, earn this. Earn this. He's basically saying, these soldiers have given their life to save you. I've given my life to save you. Now earn this.

And there is Private Ryan years later, at the grave of Tom Hanks. And he says, I tried to live this life the best I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that was enough. And that's tragic because that's how so many of us go through life.

I hope I did enough.

But Jesus says, friend, the one who follows this way There's a place for you it's prepared, it's ready Nothing to earn, it's already been paid Are you confident for the future?

Only Jesus offers that assurance Only Jesus offers a place ready for you Jesus, the way, the truth and the life the way he's about to go to the cross that's the way he's going the truth he's about to be put on trial Falsely accused, lied about the life he's about to give it up for you and so this way says, come and follow me the truth says, believe in me the life says, receive it from me I freely give it up for you. And so Jesus, the way, the truth, the life Tonight is offering each one of us an invitation through him to come to his Father.

O come to the altar the Father's arms are opened wide Forgiveness was one with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Amen.