If you only had hours left to live

Luke 22:14 – 23

Introduction: On his deathbed

British preacher

Charles Simeon

smiled brightly

and asked the people

gathered in his room,

"What do you think

especially

gives me comfort

at this time?"

and

When they all

remained silent,

he exclaimed,

"The creation!

I ask myself,

he said

'Did Jehovah

create the world

or did I?'

He did!

Now if He made the world

and all the rolling spheres

of the universe,

He certainly

can take care of me.

and then

the old preacher said

Into Jesus' hands I can safely

commit my spirit!"

and

he did

and

with that in mind

lets read our text

this morning

and

as I already mentioned

it is in Luke 22

the Bible says

in Luke 22:14–16 “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Lets pray

(pray)

I. Jesus assembled with the disciples v.14

Declaration

Now then

Notice our text

If you would again

please

Luke, the Physician

Said

In verse 14

(Luke 22:14 “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.”

Now

When I read that verse

I get the sense

That time

Was important to Jesus.

When the hour was come

The Bible says

The

Lord Jesus

Sat down with the 12.

When the hour

Was come..

And Although the hour

Being spoken of here

Contextually speaking

Was the hour

Of the Passover

Yet

That hour represented

Death!

In fact

the Passover

celebrates the liberation

of the Israelites

from slavery

in ancient Egypt,

commemorating

their exodus From Egypt

and journey to freedom.

And as believers

We know

That with this Passover

comes from the story

of the final plague

Upon Egypt

where

an angel of death

"passed over" the homes

of the Israelites

that were marked

with a lamb's blood

on their doorposts.

see,

each Jewish family

slaughtered

its own Passover lamb

during the Exodus

from Egypt

It was their custom.

So the fact is

The Passover

Was symbolic

Of the death

Of God’s perfect Lamb

On the cross of Calvary

The Lord Jesus Christ

But

Many years later

In our text

In Luke 22

Again the Bible says

(Luke 22:14 “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.”

So think about that

When the time

Was

Drawing close

That the Lord Jesus Christ

Would be slain

Upon the cross of Calvary

As the time

Of His death

Was drawing nigh

The

Lord Jesus sat down

And the 12

With Him

And

The point is

When Jesus knew

That His time on this earth

Was short

He Assembled

With the disciples

In

Other words

When the Lord Jesus

knew

He only had hours

Left to live

He used them wisely

And

That’s what I want to talk about

This morning

Because

The truth is

Every one of us

Is racing

Towards our final hour

Here on this earth

That’s true.

Somebody said

Pastor

Isn’t that a bit morbid?

Well perhaps

But it is nonetheless true

And the Bible

Makes that quite clear

In fact

The Scripture says

In James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Think about that

Your life

Is like fog

that sets in.

But it is only there

For a short time

Likewise

The psalmist wrote

In Psalm 144:4 “Man is like to vanity: His days are as a shadow that passeth away.”

And again in the book of Job

We find the words

Job 7:7 “O remember that my life is wind: Mine eye shall no more see good.”

Then again

We are told in Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

So

Morbid or not

Death

Is something all of us

Is racing towards

Our days are but a shadow

Our life

Is like the wind

It is even a vapor

That endures

For just a little while

And

The Lord Jesus Christ

Understood that truth.

By the way

Speaking of death

Let me read you a poem

That I found

Yesterday

As I was preparing

To preach

For this morning

It says

Too busy

To read the Bible

Too busy

To wait and pray

Too busy

To speak out kindly

To someone

Who passes by the way

Too busy

Working and worrying

To think of the life

To come

Too busy building

Earthly mansions

To plan

For heaven above

Too busy

To help a brother

Who faces trials

And suffering woes

Too busy

To share his burden

No time!

I am busy, you know

Too busy

For all that is holy

On earth

Beneath the sky

Too busy

To serve the Master

But not too busy

To die.

Oh

What great truth there is

in that poem.

That

We might be too busy

To do

What we ought to do.

But listen carefully

When our appointment with death

Comes due

We won’t be too busy

To die.

So

Let’s get busy

Serving God

As we serve God’s people.

and

While we still have life

And breath

Let’s use

The opportunities God gives us

To serve

And

With that in mind

Let’s read

The entire text this morning

From Luke 22

The Bible says

Beginning in verse 14

Luke 22:14–23 KJV 1900

And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

Discussion

now

With that text

In Mind

This morning

I want to preach on the thought

When death

Comes calling.

If you knew

That death

Was coming

for you shortly

Just

What would you do?

In terms

Of your time?

Just

How would you spend

The remaining minutes

Of whatever time

You had left?

Have you

Ever thought about that?

If death came calling…

If you knew

That it was approaching…

How would you spend

The remaining minutes

Of the time you had left?

Just what would you do

If you only had hours

Left to live

On this earth

Where

Would you go?

With whom

Would you spend that time?

What would you do

With your time

If you knew

You only had hours left

To live in this world?

Well

When the Lord Jesus knew

That His hour was come

As it says

In John 13:1.

I want you to consider

That the Lord Jesus…

When He knew

He had only hours left

To live on this earth

Notice

First of all

That He assembled

With the disciples

See

The Lord Jesus

Had just spent

Three and half years

Ministering

To the disciples

Laboring

With

And for the disciples

And

In our text

He was only hours

From being crucified

Yet

He felt the absolute necessity

Of engaging…

Of assembling together

With the disciples!

Of

Spending quality time

With God’s people.

With the men

That God the Father

Had given Him

In fact

Notice versus 14 – 15

Again

We are told

(Luke 22:14–15 “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:”

Now

Do you see the word

Desire?

With the desire…

I have desired

To eat this Passover with you?

With

Desire

I had desired

To assemble with you

To partake of the Passover?

Well

That word desire

Means

To long for

Jesus

Was saying simply

I have longed

To fellowship with you.

For this particular occasion.

And my point is

When Jesus knew

That

He only had hours

to

Live in this world

Because again

Remember

His crucifixion

Was eminent

It was just hours

Away

Yet

As the son of God

Faced the certainty

Of His own death

He could have chosen

To do anything else

To do

Perhaps

Lots of other things

Oh

But when the Lord Jesus

Understood

That He only had hours

Left to live

In this world

He chose to assemble

With the disciples

In fact

He longed for it!

With

Desire

He said

I have desired

To eat this Passover

With you

Now

I find that

Noteworthy…

For someone

Who could have chosen

To do many other things.

Things

Like taking care

of business matters

Things

Like spending time

With some family member

Things

Like putting His house

In order

Or a whole host

Of other things

But

When the Lord Jesus knew

The hour was approaching

He longed

to be assembled

With the disciples

It was the Lord Jesus’

Great desire

To have the Passover

With His disciples

Because

He had some lessons

To teach them

For example

The Lord Jesus

Wanted them to understand

What He was about to endure

For their sins

In fact

Notice

Verses 19 – 20

Here Luke 22

As Jesus shared

The Passover

With these men

He said

Luke 22:19–20 “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me

So

The truth is

Jesus

Wanted His disciples

To understand

What God had conveyed

Through the prophet Isaiah

Many years prior

In fact

Keep your place here

In Luke 22

And turn back

To the book of Isaiah

If you would please

Isaiah 53

And read with me

Versus 4-5

Isaiah wrote

Concerning the Lord Jesus

(Isaiah 53:4–5 “Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.”

And now

Centuries later

While the Lord Jesus

Was standing on the precipice

Of His own death

He

Tells the disciples

Take, eat

This is my body

Which is broken

for you

So

I realize

That the Lord Jesus

Had a purpose

For this time of fellowship

This time of assembly.

He wanted the disciples

To understand

What He was about

To endure for them

And

For all of us

I might add!

But at the same time too

The Lord Jesus

Wanted to assemble

And fellowship

With the disciples

One more time

In fact

It was

With desire

It was Jesus’ desire

To assemble with them.

And may I say

That our Lord Jesus

Still

Has the same desire

The

Lord Jesus

Desires to Assemble

With all of us

As believers

And to fellowship with us

In His church

He longs

for it

And

By the way

Aren’t you so glad

That unlike

Other religions

In our world

We serve a God

Who longs

To fellowship with us

He yearns for it!

He

Is not removed from us

He is not

Unapproachable

Like so many other

So-called deities

Seem to be!

no...

Our God

Long’s

To be with you and me

Deliberation

And

Let me say

I find that precious

Don’t you?

But I find that

Precious

It is precious

That the Lord God of heaven

Would want to

Would

Long

To spend time

with me

But Jesus did

Because again

He said

(Luke 22:15–16 “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Man

Think about that

When the Lord Jesus knew

That His hour was come

As is mentioned

Here in verse 14

The hour of His death

But

When the Lord Jesus knew

That His hour

Was approaching

Jesus could have done

Many other things

But the one priority

He had on Is mind

Was to assemble

With the believers

It was

To assemble

With the disciples

Because to Him

That assembly

Was a priority

And

Let me say that

If assembling together

With the disciples

Was a priority

To the Lord Jesus Christ

then

It ought to be

a priority

To all of us!

If

Getting together

With the disciples

Was important

To our Savior

Then

It ought likewise

be

important to us

And

By the way

The Scripture is filled

With references

To the assembly

In fact

Turn quickly

To the book of Acts

For just a moment

Acts 4

And notice

Verse 31 - 32

The Bible says

Regarding the church

(Acts 4:31–32 “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.”

Now

There is a lot of instruction

In those two verses

Which I will not take time

To discuss with you

This morning

But

I do want you

To understand

That

In the Bible

The disciples

Assembled together.

And it wasn’t just

The apostles

It was all

of the disciples

They

Came out of their homes

off of their jobs

Away perhaps

From friends and family

In order

To assemble together

With their fellow believer

And

While you’re still

in The book of Acts

Turn to chapter 11

And read with me

Versus 25 – 27

The Bible says

With regards to Barnabas

(Acts 11:25–27 “Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.”

There again

The church

Was assembled

And Barnabas and Saul

Assembled with them.

They assembled themselves together

With the church

see

The early church

Made it their business

To assemble together!

Now

I should point out

That

An assembly a believers

Is what a church is.

In fact

That is what the Greek word

For church

Is

And

An assembly of believers

Is the body of Christ.

And that being the case

An assembly of believers

As much

As is possible

Should all

Assemble together

Every one of them

Now

Obviously

There are times

When a particular member

Of the body of Christ

Isn’t able

To assemble

With the other believers

Because

After all

We all get sick

From time to time

Or our jobs

Require us

To be on the job

And sometimes

We have no choice

But to be out of town.

Those things happen

But

Allow me

To make a statement…

If assembling together

Was so important

To Jesus Christ

That

When He only had hours

Left to live on this earth

He

Had a longing

To Be with the other believers

then

every last

One of us

As believers today

All of us as Christians

As followers

Of Jesus Christ

Every one of us

As believers

Ought to

Like

The Lord Jesus Christ

Make assembling together

With our church family

A priority

For the sake of Jesus

But

I wonder

This morning…

Is it?

Is it a priority for us

To be together

With this body of Christ?

And

By the way

If you’re listening in

On Facebook live

Or on the YouTube channel…

Don’t misunderstand me.

I’m not saying

That

There is no valid reason

For people

To not assemble

together

Because

The truth is

Sometimes

There are valid reasons

Why Christians

Cannot assemble together

But

That being said

Some Christians

Do not have

A valid reason

By the way

I Find it amazing

That there are people

In churches today

Who for them

Assembling with the church

Faithfully

Used to be a priority.

They

Used to attend Sunday school

They used to attend

The Sunday morning service

The Sunday evening service

And the midweek prayer service

It used to be important

To them.

But not so much

Anymore.

Because

Some

Have become complacent

Where assembling together

Is concerned.

But

Can I tell you something?

Your presence

In the assembly

It is imperative

If

You are a leader

In this church

Your presence in church

It is imperative.

You are needed

To serve.

And when you’re not here

Then

Someone else

Must take your place

In-service

But

The reality is

Even if you’re not

A leader in the church

You are still needed here

Because your presence

Encourages others

I am

Reminded

Of what the Bible says

In Hebrews 10:24–25 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

And the point is

Our faithful assembling together

Provokes others

Encourages others

In the body of Christ

But

At the same time to

The lack of our presence

Might very well

Discourage others

It sure discourages me

As your pastor

Demonstration

So

Let me ask you

Today

Are you like Jesus

in that

When He knew

He only had hours left

To live

He

Had a great desire

To assemble

With the disciples?

Can

That being said

Of you?

That it is important

And imperative

For you?

To assemble with other believers

Or is it just easier

To stay home

And

Just kind of relax

And catch the service

On the Internet?

Now

Don’t get me wrong

I am thankful

That God has blessed us

With technology

I am so thankful

That we have

An Internet ministry

Which

Enables us

To live stream our services

And yes

I am so thankful

For the television ministry.

These platforms

Have enabled us

To reach others

That we previously

Would not of been able

To reach

People

Who were sick

Who are shut in

Or even those

Who are just watching

Out of curiosity.

I am thankful

For these platforms

But

For those

Who are physically able

And who are members

Of this body of Christ…

Is assembling together

With your fellow brothers and sisters

In Christ…

Is that important

to you?

Well

It sure was important

To the Lord Jesus Christ

Because again

The Bible says

(Luke 22:14–15 “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:”

See

When Jesus knew

That the hour of His death

Was approaching

He made

Assembling together

With the disciples

A priority

And

I sure hope

We do too

II. Jesus served the disciples v.17

Declaration

Secondly

This morning

Not only did Jesus

Assemble

With the disciples…

He made assembling

With them

A priority

When

He only had hours

Left to live

But

Likewise

Jesus served

the disciples

When He knew

He only had hours

Left to live

And

By the way

It is difficult

To serve

Without assembling

With others.

But see

The Lord Jesus

Served

The disciples

When He knew

He only had hours

Left to live.

In fact

read with me

Verses 14 – 17

Again

The Bible says

Luke 22:14–17 KJV 1900

And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

Now

Think about that

After coming together

With the disciples

Something again

Which Jesus longed for.

But after coming together

With the disciples…

Jesus

Served them

The Passover

(Luke 22:17 “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:”

By the way

For Jesus…

Serving people

Was a priority

In fact

I’m reminded of the words

Of the Lord Jesus

In Mark 10

Our Savior said

Of Himself

In Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

The

Word minister

There in verse

Is a word

That means to serve…

As an attendant.

And in Greek culture

It was used of one

Who waited tables…

One who attended

Patrons

So

Think about that…

The Lord God of heaven

One

Who for eons of time

Was served

By the angels of heaven

Was worshiped

By the Angels

From eternity past

The

Lord God of heaven

In the person

Of the Lord Jesus Christ

Came not

To be ministered to

But instead

He came to minister

He came not

To be served

But to serve

Because

Serving

Was a priority

For Jesus.

And it ought likewise

Be a priority

For all of us.

Now

By the way

there are times

When we need to be served

That’s true

I know that

And I know

That there are times

When we need

To be encouraged

There

Are certainly times

When our hearts

Need to be ministered to

All of us

And

That is the wonderful thing

About serving together

As the body of Christ

Because see

Every member

Of the body of Christ

Serves other members

Of the body of Christ

Or we are supposed to

just like

In our physical bodies.

Every member

Of my body

Serves the other members

For example

My eyes

Serve my body

By helping me see

Where I am.

My ears

Serve my body

By helping me hear

What is taking place

All around me

Then

My neck

Serves my body

By turning my head

From side to side

My brain

Provides instruction

To my body

It

Tells my lungs

When to breathe

It tells my heart

When to beat

And

My stomach

Processes all the food

For my body

My intestines

Digest that food

To provide energy

For my body

My

Heart pumps

The blood

Throughout my body

My nose helps me to smell

My tongue

Helps me to taste

My fingers

And my hands

Help me to feel things

My legs

Carry my body.

And the truth is

That which seems

Most insignificant

In my body

Serves

Some important function

For the body

And

That is one reason

That God likens

The church

To the body of Christ

Because

Every member of the body

of Christ

Has some vital function

Where the other members

are concerned

Discussion

For example

The preacher serves

By preaching

By praying

By providing leadership

For the body of Christ

The deacons serve

The needs of the members

In the body of Christ

As was the case

In Acts 6

And

In that passage

The deacons served

The neglected Grecian widows.

Then

The Sunday school teacher serve

The body

By teaching

The congregation

The

Musically inclined

Serve the body

By providing

Godly Christian music

The ushers serve

By helping people

Find a seat

And so forth

The

Sound room people serve

By helping to broadcast

The church services

To others

Who can’t be here

in person

The

Nursery workers serve

By helping take care

Of our little ones

Soul winners serve

By reaching the lost

Officers serve

By providing counsel

For the pastor

And

Others serve

by edifying the believer

And doing various tasks.

But my point is

Every single act

Of service

Is vital

Every

act of service

is imperative

And therefore

We as members

Of the body of Christ

Ought to

Like Jesus

Make serving

A priority

Because Jesus did

That

When the Lord Jesus knew

That He only had hours

To live…

He didn’t run

Hither and yon

But instead

Jesus assembled

With the disciples

And Jesus served

The disciples

(Luke 22:14 – 19

Luke 22:14–19 KJV 1900

And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

See

Serving was important

To Jesus

And may I say that

It ought

to be important

To all of us

It

Ought to be a priority

For us

Like it was for Jesus

Who served the disciples

The Passover meal

Deliberation

By the way

While we’re on the subject

Of serving

Let me challenge you

To esteem your service

As an important thing

Because see

Sometimes

In our serving

We try to rush through.

Sometimes

We are halfhearted

in our serving

And sometimes

We skip it

All together

Or

We do it

Lackadaisically

We don’t give it

Our best.

And if we’re not careful

We may justify ourselves

By saying things like

Oh

What I’m doing

Is not all that important.

But

Can I tell you something

We ought to perform our ministries

As though the Lord Jesus Christ

Is among those

Whom we serve

In fact

The apostle Paul wrote

In Colossians 3:23 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”

Now

Do you know what the word

Heartily means?

It means

Giving it

All you’ve got

Until the job

Is done

So that

If I have a job

To do in the church

And we all do

by the way

But if I have a task

To perform

In the church

Whether

It is singing

Or teaching

Cleaning.

Or ministry

In any other way…

I

Ought to do that task

Heartily!

I ought to give

110%

To the task

Until the job is done

Because

In the final analysis

Yes my service

May be there

To help people.

But my service

Is really

for Christ

And

Because it is

We ought not give Jesus

Our second best

I am

Reminded of a song

We sing sometimes

In our church

Entitled

Our best

Allow me

To read you

The first verse

And then the chorus

The song says

Hear ye the Masters call

Give Me thy best

For be it Great or small

That is His best

Do then

The best you can

Not for reward

Not for

The praise of men

But for the Lord

Every work

For Jesus

Will be blessed

But

He asks from everyone

his best

Our talents

Maybe few

These may be small

But unto Him

Is due

Our best

Our all

Determination

But

I wonder this morning

If our service for Jesus

In the body of Christ

Is our best?

I wonder

If we give our best?

I wonder if we serve

With our best?

Or

Do we serve

With our leftovers?

If at all!

Well

We will serve…

If it is important to us

So

How is your service…

My dear Christian friend?

Is it a priority?

Do you feel like the Lord Jesus…

That I must serve

The Lord’s disciples?

Because again

Back in our text

In Luke 22

When our Savior knew

That He only had hours

To live...

When His hour

had come

Jesus

Assembled

With the disciples

And Jesus

Served the disciples.

Because serving

Was important to Him

But

Is it important

to you?

III. Jesus instructed the disciples v.24-25

Declaration

thirdly

When Jesus knew

His hour was come

When He knew

He only had hours

Left to live

On this earth

He instructed

The disciples

In fact

Notice versus 24 – 26

In Luke 22

The Bible says

(Luke 22:24–26 “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.”

Now

Let’s try

To put this in Perspective

Jesus’ hour…

Had come.

He was about

To die

For the sins

Of mankind

Yet

There the disciples were

Arguing

Over which of them

Was the greatest!

Was it Peter?

Was that John?

Or perhaps James?

By the way

Isn’t it amazing

What people have

As priorities

People sometimes

For example

Make having the preeminence

Their priority

The disciples did!

But

That’s not our place

Because the Bible says

In Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

But

As the Preeminent One

As the Lord Jesus

With only hours

Away from dying

He

Recognized

That His disciples

Needed some instruction

Some words

Of admonishment

So

The Lord

Took the time

To instruct the disciples

To give them

Some spiritual edification

That

When they were concerned

About which of them

Would be considered the greatest

Jesus told them

(Luke 22:25–26 “And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.”

Discussion

So

Apparently

Instructing the disciples

Was important

To our Lord.

But I wonder

If it is important

For us

I wonder

If providing spiritual instruction

To our fellow believer

Is important to us?

Somebody said

I don’t know how

To instruct anybody

Well

We can all

Help Others

In some way.

We can all…

Edify one another

And

The truth is

All believers

Needs to be edified

From time to time.

That is

They need to be built up

n the faith

I am

Reminded

Of something Paul said

In the book of Romans

He said

(Romans 15:14 “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.”

That word

Admonished

Means

To put someone in mind

About something

It carries the idea

of gently rebuking someone

For wrong

they are doing

And

There are times

When believers need that.

The disciples…

Needed that here.

Because let’s be honest

None of them

Was the greatest

And none of us are

So

Let me ask you…

As you think about

our body of Christ

Here at the Albemarle Baptist Church

Is there

Anyone in our church

Who could use

some instruction?

There sure are

So

Why not do like Jesus

Come alongside them

And instruct them

See

When Jesus knew

His hour had come

When His life on earth

Was almost over

He

Made assembling together

A priority

He made serving

A priority

And Jesus made Instructing others

A priority

IV. Jesus made supplication for the disciples

Declaration

Number 4

When Jesus knew

He only had hours left

To live

He made supplication

For the disciples

A priority

When

He could have done

So many other things

Jesus took time

To pray for the believers

And John 17

Clearly enumerates that

I

Wish I had time

To develop this.

But here’s the scene.

Jesus was only

A short time away

From being arrested

Unjustly

I might add

Unjustly tried

And unjustly condemned

By the Jews.

And rather than engaging

In sports activities

In entertainment

Rather than involving Himself

In a host

of other things

Our Savior

Took the time

To pray for the disciples.

So

Let me just read you

A small portion

Of that prayer

Jesus said

in John 17:14–15 “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”

See

Our Lord knew

That the disciples

Were in dire need

So He took the time

To pray for them

And

May I say that

Believers today

Are likewise

In dire need of prayer

Believers

In our own congregation

Need your prayers

For example

Our

Children

Our youth

Our single adults

Our married couples

Our senior saints

Our leaders

Our pastor

All of us

Are in need of prayer

Discussion

So

Let me ask you

Do you

Like the Lord Jesus

Make prayer

a priority

in your life?

Well

when Jesus

Had only hours left

To live in this world

He could have done anything

But

He chose

To pray for others

And in a moment

When the music begins to play

I

Want to invite you

To come to this altar

And pray for someone

Even

If it is just for a moment

Maybe

It is some lost person

Maybe

It is a married couple

One of the teenagers

And if you can’t think

Of anyone else to pray for

Well

I’ll tell you…

I need your prayers.

So

Would you come

And pray for me

Maybe

You’re not a believer

but

Would you like to go to heaven one day?

Well if so

You need to come to Jesus

And if you’re not sure how

Would you allow us

To show you from the Bible

How to receive Jesus

And

If you’re Listening in

from home

Call us right now

And let us help you

Come to Jesus

And finally

Christian

Is your church attendance…

Assembling with believers

Important to you?

If is not

so important

It ought to be

and

is serving God

By serving people important to you?

Is instructing others

And praying for others

Important to you?

You

May need to come

To the altar

To get things right with the Lord

I truly hope you will

Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer!