You're an Answer to Prayer

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

In his book entitled Prayer, Philip Yancey writes:

As Jesus once prayed for Peter, now he prays for us … In fact, the New Testament’s only glimpse of what Jesus is doing right now depicts him at the right hand of God ‘interceding for us.’ In three years of active ministry, Jesus changed the moral landscape of the planet. For nearly two thousand years since, he has been using another tactic: prayer. [Barry L. Davis, 52 Sermons from the Gospel of John, Pulpit Outlines Series (n.p.: Barry Davis, 2013), 110.]

Barry L. Davis, 52 Sermons from the Gospel of John, Pulpit Outlines Series (n.p.: Barry Davis, 2013), 110.]

There are four kinds of people here tonight who are in this auditorium and in our radio audience tonight. There are those who are indifferent to the will of God. You have a ho-hum Christianity. You maybe are not even carefully listening tonight. You will not know the will of God because of your indifference. That’s one category. There is another category: these are not indifferent; these are rebellious. They have set themselves against God, and they will not know the will of God because they don’t want to know it. They’re willingly ignorant. There is a third category of persons here tonight, and these are they who are ignorant of the will of God, and they will not know the will of God because they will not practice the principle that we’re going to be talking about. And then, the last category of persons who are here tonight are those who are victorious—those who have discovered and are putting into practice the principle that I’m going to give you tonight from the Word of God. [Adrian Rogers, “Knowing the Will of God for Missionary Service,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), .]

Adrian Rogers, “Knowing the Will of God for Missionary Service,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), .]

1. For its unity (vv. 21–23): That believers might be one. - ,

"...Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are...That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."

- gives the same truth concerning Jesus and the Father, "I and my Father are one." We ought to get along with each other.

- Paul wrote of this in Roman 12:16, "Be of the same mind one toward another..."

- God is displeased when His children don't get along as they ought. Can you imagine being remembered for not getting along? Euodias and Syntyche were, "I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord." ()

- These two women were a blot on a good church's testimony.

Penn’s Agreement With Indians

The value of a peacemaker in national life cannot be overestimated. When William Penn began his duties as chief magistrate, a great conference was appointed with the native chiefs. Penn, accompanied by a few unarmed friends, clad in the simple garb of the Quakers, came to the appointed spot. The chieftains, also unarmed, sat in a semicircle on the ground.

Standing before them and speaking by an interpreter, he said: “My friends, we have met on the broad pathway of good faith. We are all one flesh and blood. Being brethren, no advantage shall be taken on either side. When disputes arise, we will settle them in council. Between us there shall be nothing but openness and love.” The chiefs replied: “While the rivers run and the sun shines we will live in peace with the children of William Penn.”

No record was made of the treaty, for none was needed. Its terms were written, not on decaying parchment, but on the living hearts of men. For more than seventy years, during which the province remained under the control of the Friends, not a single war whoop was heard within the borders of Pennsylvania. The Quaker hat and coat proved to be a better defense for the wearer than the coat of mail and musket.

—History of the World [Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1497–1498.]

[Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1497–1498.]

Note - Sometimes, the greatest weapon we have is to be at peace with God, living with the peace of God, and sharing that peace with others through our quiet and peaceable lives, doing all we can to “as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” When our unity shines, the Gospel light goes forth greatly.

Galatians 3:28 KJV 1900

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

You Have The Duty Of Agreement—Christ’s desire for His people is that they be “one”. That is, He wants us to walk in unity. ...Notice the Lord’s will for His people—

1 Corinthians 1:10 KJV 1900

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Philippians 1:27 KJV 1900

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Php

Philippians 2:1–4 KJV 1900

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

1 Thessalonians 5:13 KJV 1900

And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

1Th

1 Peter 3:8 KJV 1900

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

(Ill. Why is unity so important in the church? Because we are a living advertisement for the Lord Jesus. When the world sees the people of God, they either see the presence of the Lord or the presence of strife. Where there is strife, there is confusion and God is not the author of confusion, .) [Alan Carr, “Jesus Prays for You (),” in The Sermon Notebook: New Testament (Lenoir, NC: Alan Carr, 2015), 1790–1791.]

2. For its power and testimony before the world (vv. 21–23): That we might grow in the Lord. -

"I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."

- Notice Jesus said, "...that they may be made perfect in one..."

The closest to perfection a person ever comes is when he fills out a job application form.961 [Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 261.]

Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 261.]

- "Perfect" means "mature, complete."

- tells us that God adds to our lives that which completes us, "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me..."

- tells us the Lord's desire for us is that we might mature, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection..."

When I cross the Jordan, the work of sanctification will be finished; but not till that moment shall I even claim perfection in myself. ME273

Yet let not the hope of perfection hereafter make us content with imperfection now. If it does this, our hope cannot be genuine; for a good hope is a purifying thing, even now. ME273

We are not perfect in character, any one of us—we are only perfect in position. 232.60 [ME Morning And Evening] [Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Exploring the Mind and Heart of the Prince of Preachers: Five-Thousand Illustrations Selected from the Works of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Oswego, IL: Fox River Press, 2005), 341.]

ME Morning And Evening

ME Morning And Evening [Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Exploring the Mind and Heart of the Prince of Preachers: Five-Thousand Illustrations Selected from the Works of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Oswego, IL: Fox River Press, 2005), 341.]

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Exploring the Mind and Heart of the Prince of Preachers: Five-Thousand Illustrations Selected from the Works of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Oswego, IL: Fox River Press, 2005), 341.]

3. That the whole church may be gathered ultimately with Him in the glory (vv. 24–26): That we would stay close to Him. -

"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

- Abiding in Christ involves keeping in fellowship with Jesus. To abide someplace is to live there, to spend time there, to stay there.

- Christians wander like sheep wander. His prayer was that we remain close to Him, close enough to behold His Glory!

[This] is one of the most tenderly impressive scenes in all the Earthly life of Jesus: His last prayer with the disciples. In that prayer, let us notice that He does not pray for the temporal needs of His people, but rather for their higher, deeper spiritual needs. He doesn’t pray that this little band of men would have enough to eat, and something to wear. Oh, He lifts His prayer infinitely higher than that. He prays that they may be kept by the power of God and that they may go on faithfully with the witness and work that God has left His people to give and to do in the world, that they may be sanctified, that they may be won, that their spirit may be what it ought to be in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And that, when their day’s work is done, they may be gathered unto the Father’s house above to be with Christ and His redeemed forevermore.

But now you notice that in the prayer, there was one prayer that He declined to pray, that He refused to pray. He prayed positively for many things, but there was one prayer that He declined to pray. “I do not pray, Father, that thou shalt take My people out of the world. But, I pray, that they may be kept from the evil.” He declined to pray that we might be taken out of the world until the time of His purpose had fully arrived. Remarkable statement: the one prayer that Jesus refused to pray. “I do not pray that Thou shouldst take My people out of the world, not yet, not now. Not ‘til the time comes. Not ‘til the will of God has been wrought out in them. Not ‘til the purpose of God for His people in the world shall have been completely accomplished. I don't pray for Thee to take them out now.” [George Washington Truett, Sermons of George W. Truett (Baylor University - The Texas Collection, 2013).]

George Washington Truett, Sermons of George W. Truett (Baylor University - The Texas Collection, 2013).

George Washington Truett, Sermons of George W. Truett (Baylor University - The Texas Collection, 2013). [George Washington Truett, Sermons of George W. Truett (Baylor University - The Texas Collection, 2013).]

Conclusion

A person's heart is revealed most in what he prays for. Nowhere does the heart shine through as it does in the prayers of God's people. Nowhere is the heart of the Saviour revealed like it is in His prayer in .

Are you concerned about the things Jesus is concerned about? Are you concerned enough to change your praying so that you can really ask in Jesus' name? Next time, we will learn more of Jesus' heart concerns!