Untitled Sermon (23)

A powerful prayer from Jesus

John 17:1–12 NKJV

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. 9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

John 17:13-26

Intro:

John 17:13–19 NKJV

13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

I. Jesus prays for His disciples. VS 13-19

VS 13 He prays that they might have joy.

1. When Jesus prayed this prayer, He had just spent time with them, He prayed for their good, His prays in part was to bring them some comfort.

a. He would soon be with the father, He would be leaving the world and His disciples would finish His work.

b. They were to continue the work of Jesus. And He wanted them to have joy.

That they might have my joy fulfilled in them:

John 15:11 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full”

I Peter 1:8 “joy unspeakable and full of joy”

c. This is a singular and peculiar joy, an inward joy comfort which Christ gives to believers.

d. Jesus gives us a joy that words cannot express. Since He was getting ready to leave this world, He wanted them to know this joy.

e. Remember, He had told them the world would hate them. Elab So here He gives them some word of comfort as He pray for them.

VS 14 He states the world hath hated them.

I have given them your word:

VS 8a (I have given them the words which you have given me)

1. Jesus prayed early in the morning, often all night. He would receive the Word of His Father, and He would give those words to His disciples.

a. What Jesus did brought Him joy, and He wanted His disciples to have to same joy He had.

And the world hath hated them:

b. The joy that we have through Jesus, comes by serving Him, being truly committed to serving Him, totally surrendered.

c. The more joy we have; not superficial joy, not emotional joy, but pure joy from the heart, the more the world will hate us.

d. The world will hate us, but we have God’s promise that if we suffer with Him, we will one day be with Him.

e. It is great to be counted worthy to suffer for His sake, worthy to be hated by the enemies of Jesus.

Matthew 5:11–12 NKJV

11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

1 John 2:15–17 NKJV

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

f. The world hates them and the world hates us (true believers) because we are not of the world.

Because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world:

1. As believers, we are citizens of Heaven.

Philippians 3:20 NKJV

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

KJV conversation; means community or citizenship.

Song: This world is not my Home.

a. We just don’t fit in.

VS 15-16 He prays to keep them for evil.

John 17:15–16 NKJV

15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

I do not pray that you should take them out of this world:

1. Since we are saved the best thing for us is heaven, to be taken out of this world. But God has plans for us to serve Him, and bring Him glory.

a. Jesus praying not for His disciples to be taken out of the world. But to keep them form the evil one

b. We know that the world is an evil place. Isa 5:20 (Evil good and good evil)

Isaiah 5:20 NKJV

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

(Things getting worse)

2 Timothy 3:13 NKJV

13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

d. We are not going to change the world. But, when we share the gospel and people are saved, they will be changed.

e. This would be the ministry of the disciples. So Jesus does not pray to take them out of the world. He does not pray to keep them from persecution, trails, tribulation.

f. He prayed that God would keep them from evil, that they would not become part of the wicked evil world.

2. It is very important for us to realize that the God who saves is able to keep. We are no more able to keep ourselves as we are to save ourselves.

I Peter 1:5 “We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation”

a. Jesus was praying this for His disciples, which means it is for us too.

VS 17-19 He that they be sanctified.

John 17:17–19 NKJV

17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

VS 17

1. Jesus prays for His disciples to be protected from evil. Now He prays for their sanctification, that they may be made more Holy, a higher degree of purity. And this was to be done through truth.

a. To sanctify means to set apart. Jesus praying for them to be set apart, to be cleansed thoroughly, and that they might live blameless lives.

b. Paul sheds some light on sanctification writing to the Christians at Thessalonica. The 5

c. He urged “Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, In everything give thanks, prove all things, hold fast to that which is good, abstain from the appearance of evil”

d. These things Paul spoke of will help us to live a separate life from the world. (we have to interact with the world, but not sin with the world) Jesus prayed for us, and we need to pray, to keep our lives separate from sin, day by day.

VS 18

1. As Jesus is praying His disciples hear His prayer as He prays, “Father you sent me, I send them”

a. Jesus came into this world to declare and show forth the Father and His glory; He came to seek and save that which was lost; He came as the compassionate, tender, longsuffering Savior.

b. If we follow His steps, we will have the same characteristics. We are full of grace when we possess Jesus and He posses us.

VS 19

1. I believe what Jesus is saying here as He prays for His disciples is. “I sanctify (consecrate, dedicate) myself, as your High Priest. I offer myself as a sacrifice in order that my disciples may be sanctified by the truth on the Word;

a. That they may be Holy, blameless witnesses for me on earth.

II. He prays for all believers. VS 20-26

John 17:20–26 NKJV

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

VS 20

1. Jesus had prayed on the behalf of His disciples. They were the first to spread the gospel, they would be the first to face the enemy head on.

a. Now He prays for Christians to come. But for those who will believe in me through their word: (The word that would be preached by the disciples, which we have today)

b. As Jesus was preparing for the cross, you were on His mind. He prayed for you. He knew then what we as believers would be going through.

VS 21a.

Vs 11 Jesus prayed for His disciples to be one.

a. Here He prays for the church to be one.

Phil 2:2 “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being one accord, of one mind”

b. In the book of Acts the early church was of one mind, and one heart.

c. Today we have some that have church on their building, but they do not preach gospel by grace, they teach, the gospel plus something. Elab

d. It is so important that we at Pine Grove have unity, that we are as one.

e. It is church have unity, work as one. Even if they are not a Baptist church.

VS 21b

1. This is the main reason for being in unity and being as one.

a. When believers dwell together in unity and peace and brotherly love the world sees that there is something special about us. And it is because we have Jesus.

b. When unsaved people see dedicated people, spirit-filled people dwelling together in live and unity, they will see that God is in the midst of that unity.

c. But the world also see people like Westboro Baptist church. It is sad that too many times all churches are associated with people like that.

d. Jesus prayed for churches to be as one, even as He as the father were as one.

VS 22

1. Jesus repeats His desire for unity among His followers.

a. Let’s look at the first part of the verse.

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given you:

1. This is one of those verse that has many different interpretations.

a. The same glory the Father gave Him He gives to us.

b.

VS 23

Continuing with unity. Perfect Means complete.

READ REST OF VERSE AND ELAB

VS 24

VS 25

VS 26