Sermon Tone Analysis

Well if Jesus thinks it is important...

Statue 1

Bits & Pieces, June 25, 1992

Years ago, a large statue of Christ was erected high in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile.

Called "Christ of the Andes," the statue symbolises a pledge between the two countries that as long as the statue stands, there will be peace between Chile and Argentina.

Statue 2

Shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted -- the statue had its back turned to Chile.

Just when tempers were at their highest in Chile, a Chilean newspaperman saved the day.

In an editorial that not only satisfied the people but made them laugh, he simply said, "The people of Argentina need more watching over than the Chileans.

- Disarming wisdom from that reporter to maintain the unity between the two nations.

2 Tim Slide

This bible is full of wisdom.

The old testament is full of the wisdom that God issues through man.

The new testament is full of wise words that God through the Holy Spirit has has compelled people like Paul to write tells us

You know the New testament goes one better than that, it has the direct words of God in it, the words that Jesus spoke.

Some of us will have those words highlighted in Red in in our bibles.

How much more are the words of Jesus useful for all of these things.

I want to look at some of that red text today.

How may of us know that when a book gives lots of space to a subject or teacher spends a lot of time on a subject it is important to that teacher or that author?

I want to look at a prayer of Jesus, it is the longest prayer of Jesus we have recorded.

As it is given so much page space we can infer that this prayer is therefore important to Jesus, and to us as his followers

Let me ask another question.

Who understands that if we could listen in on peoples prayers we would be able to understand what the real desire and concern of their heart was?

If I could bug your prayer closets I would hear the real deal when it comes to what is important to you.

Instead of the “I’m ok” we swap in greeting, we would hear, the true places of our hearts.

The “God I don’t know how I am going to cope this month, there is just not enough time, or food or money”

The “Father, I’m scared! will you heal me I don’t know how much more I can take”

The heart felt cries for loved ones who are lost or huting

The passionate please for God to provide a new pastor ;-)

The things we pray are the things that are important to us.

Just as an aside, can I suggest that if you are praying for things that are not important to us, I’m not sure you are praying right.

God sees out hearts, as much as he hears our words.

I am not saying that you should stop praying for things, I am just putting it out there that we may need to expand the capacity of our hearts so that we care as God does.

Never-the-less what we pray for is important to us, yes?

So we can assume that the same was true for Jesus.

We are going to turn to

Jesus prays for the Apostles

John 17:6-

Jesus prays for All Believers.

John 17:2

Wow - there is a lot in that.

In the first section Jesus recommits to the task in hand, and declares that he is one with God and that he is God.

He speaks of eternity both his, from which his Glorious nature comes and also the eternity of life that His actions, and out acceptance of Jesus as Lord of all is available to all given to Christ.

In the second section Jesus stake a firm claim on his followers .He makes note of the coming empowerment that will at Pentecost bring the disciples the authority through the HS that will allow them to take His words to the Nations and will make those reconciled with Christ holy, sanctified.

Fundamental to all NT theology is the shift in perspective brought about by the was is reference in this prayer, the role of Jesus, the coming of Jesus Messiah, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

God has come amongst his us people to reconcile us to himself and the future has already been set in motion, although the end has only just begun.

Our Holiness can only be understood in this framework.

If you take a look at the <name> they do not look holy, if you watched the actions of <name> they do not appear holy.

If I could see into the thoughts and feeling of <name> I a guess, but don’t know that they would not be entirely holy.

God sees all those things but he also sees written through all of us, like Skegness rock, Holy - Sanctified - redeemed by Jesus.

Jesus makes no illusion that life will be easy, but he prays for protection as we live in this world

Fundamental to all NT theology is the shift in eschatological perspective brought about by the coming of Jesus Messiah, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

God has come amongst his people to reconcile them to himself and the future has already been set in motion, although the end has only just begun.

Sanctification cannot be understood outside this framework

and , or more accurately the

We hear Jesus pray for love to abound, for Gods glory to rest on each of us, we hear that we are under the protection of God.

All great stuff, that I am so glad that my God cares about and desires for me and for you.

But that aim of that desire that Jesus expresses in that prayer is not a warm fuzzy feeling for each of us.

The main desire of the prayer the thing that is on the heart of our Saviour is in verse 22 and 23.

Jesus’s desire is that we are as close with God and importantly with each other as the Father is with the Son as they are with the Holy Spirit.

- Indivisible.

Why unity is so important.

Why was this so important to Jesus?

Jesus had spent the last three or so years with the disciples.

He had seen how they behaved, how they lived life together.

He had seen the damage that was amongst his 12 when disunity reigned.

Who sometimes feels that they don’t always manage to live up to what being a follower of Jesus is?

I certainly have the feeling.

I tell you what though if you are having one of those days or weeks where you just blow it, you snapped at the kids, got angry with the neighbour, swore at the cat.

Take heart, what you don’t get right has got nothing on Jesus’ disciples.

He had two brothers arguing who was the better disciple.

James and John practically can to blow over it.

They event got their mother involved not to resolve the issue but to promote their cause as disciple(s) of the year over the other disciples.

He had Peter who would rather rush in all guns blazing than take a moment to understand the significance of the events that he was interfering with.

Peter even tried to stop Jesus going through with Gods plan for salvation.

Not the best credentials for one of the 12 followers of Jesus.

When I say Peter went in with all Guns blazing, I was of course speaking metaphorically.

They didn’t have guns in the time of Jesus.

What I should have said was Peter rushes in with all Swords swinging.

Sword story

The main thrust of this

You will know the story of Jesus’ arrest in the temple garden, it is in

Where the Jewish officials and the soldiers came to arrest Jesus.

As Jesus stepped forward, Peter rushed forwards swinging his sword about lopping off the the right ear of the High Priests Servant.

Can you imagine the scene, there is Jesus on the threshold of fulfilling thousands of year of prophesy, treading the path of restoration for the whole of mankind that had so elegantly been set out by the Father when,

In comes Peter, brawn before brains - swinging a sword, why he had that I don’t even want to consider, and whack.

Now I don’t imagine for one minute that Peter was a skilled swordsman that thought “I’ll just use a surgical, accurate sweep of the sword to deftly remove this mans ear as a distraction, while we make our escape” No, he was going for the head he was a blunt instrument wielding a sharp one setting out to kill.

He just wasn’t very good at it.

Now we know from Luke’s Gospel that Jesus healed Malthus but not before he had words with Peter:

There was the High Priests servant kneeling on the ground clutching his ear, or more accurately where his ear should have been, blood oozing through his fingers.

And there stood with a sword in his hand was a grinning Peter, that sort of didn’t I do good grin my dog has when he manages to stand in the muddiest puddle.

Jesus : “ I’ll be right with you sir, I’m having some disciple problems, I’ll sort your ear but I just need to speak to Peter first”;

“Peter put the sword away, am I not to drink from my fathers cup.”

Interesting that before Jesus could heal hurting humanity he had to stop a sword swinging disciple.

Encouraging that Jesus tells Peter to put it away not throw it away.

we sometime hurt people when we exercise the very gifts and talents that God has given us, but we exercise them in the wrong way.

Jesus doesn’t ask us to dispose of those gifts he just asks us to wield them with love.

Reference the statues

The prayer in exposes Jesus desire that today, his followers stop swinging being illicit sword swingers, that they stop using the gifts we have been given to hurt people.

That includes this sword.