John 17:6-19

Praying for Who?

John 17:9 NIV

I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

For those who have responded to the work that God has done, in our hearts, calling us to himself- the disciples responded to the work of God

Praying For?

Protection

John 17:11–12 NIV

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

John 17:11–12 ESV

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Note verse 11- Father, keep them faithful to

Note verse 12- kept them faithful to live in accordance with

Sanctification

John 17:17–19 NIV

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Sanctification is the ongoing supernatural work of God to rescue sinners from sin and conform them to the image of God

Setting them apart for himself- to sanctify is to set something aside for special use- like fine china reserved for special occasions.

The disciples serve as witness to the world, they become the foundation of the church, they are examples of what it means to be in the world but not of it.

He does not asked for them to be removed from the world despite the hardship and dangers that he knows will be coming their way

Instead he prays that the disciples remain faithful to his word and his mission

God works through his word to empower his people to keep following Jesus, even when following Jesus is tough

Joy

John 17:13–16 NIV

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

Joy is an unmistakable mark of a genuine disciple

John 15:9–12 NIV

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

We tend to think that joy and obedience are mutually exclusive

We think that we either need to choose obedience and misery or freedom and joy

Joy flows out of obedience

Which is why Jesus prays again for them to be protected from the evil one- that they may remain faithful, or obedient to his name

That keeping is a work the God does

John 16:20–22 NIV

Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

Sorrow and joy are connected

The sorrow must take place if the joy is to come

There is no skipping sorrow to get to the joy, in the same way there is no skipping nine months of pregnancy and the pains of labor to hold their newborn in their arms

In the same way the disciples of Jesus can’t get the joy without experiencing the sorrow

The sorrow of his death is necessary because his death is the only way for mankind to be saved.

This joy can’t be taken away

Because our joy is found in Jesus , his victory over sin and death and the promise of his ongoing relationship

Exalting Jesus in John This Joy Is Resistant to Every Attack (John 16:22)

Placing our joy in things like relationships, work, events, security, and health is like putting your life savings in a piggy bank, leaving it in a high-crime district at night with a hammer, and adding a note asking people to leave it alone because it’s really valuable. You’re a fool if you think it will be safe. But if our joy is in Jesus, we trade the piggy bank for Fort Knox, and the devil gets a plastic spoon instead of a hammer. You’re a fool if you think he can touch it.