The Greatest Reason to be Thankful
The High Priestly Prayer of Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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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.”
Last message from the sermon series the High Priestly Prayer of Christ.
Recap: Jesus prayed for Himself, for His disciples, now He prays for future believers..
That includes us:
Extraordinary prayer - Jesus praying for you! for all those who would believe - the entire audience of John’s gospel.
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
— not directly taught by the apostles, but the doctrine of the apostles have been passed down to us.
Recite Ephesians 2:19
There is a spiritual heritage that we can be thankful for today,, there are faithful people who God used to share with you the love of Christ.. that person who witnessed to you.. pioneering leaders who started a great work.. the martyrs of the faith,, the Apostles who wrote the New Testament and died for their faith.. ultimately though, we have God to be thankful to ---- The Lord Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone!
Again --- Isn’t it great that the Lord Jesus, hours before his time of agony and suffering thought of you and prayed for you?
What is the first thing that Jesus prayed for us?
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.
UNITY - Jesus has a burden for the unity of the body.
The Importance of Unity
Why are there so many denominations in the Christian church?
Religion.
Different interpretations of Scripture — baptism, worship expression, end times
Prosperity Gospel
Luke 4
We are saved by grace because of THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST.
2. The Source of Unity
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
- The source of our unity is our union with Christ.
to some degree, we have shared in the glory (research) (partakers of the Divine nature?)
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
talk..
The Glory of God is a Man Fully Alive - Iranaeus
the essence of our unity is the unity of the Triune God
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.
Research the unity of the Father and Son —God the Father is the fount and the Son is the stream.. Leading to love.
The Bond of Unity is Love.
We are not perfect and we will never be.
We may disagree sometimes but it is our love that keeps us… forgiveness
people who think a Christian church that teaches about love is so elementary..
LOVE IS THE MOST ELEMENTARY CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE THAT WE SHOULD NEVER GRADUATE FROM.
3. The Purpose of Unity
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.
The desire of the heart of Jesus… Jesus prayed for our permanent home in heaven.
we already share in the divine nature.. but the Lord desires even more..
Glorification
25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.
To make known the Name of Jesus..
We will be united in God’s purpose for the world.
We have the Gospel. - We are ambassadors, not citizens of the world.
Last week --- fulfill the Great Commission:
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
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.”
the love of God. that the Father has loved us the way He loved Jesus
I always ask: “Don’t you love Jesus today?” - Religion
And we should, but it is not so much about How much we love God, our lives should rather be centered on the truth that God loves you so much!
‘that the love with which you have loved me may be in them..”
Jesus is with us
‘that the love with which you have loved me may be in them..AND I IN THEM.”
We can only truly love each other, by the presence of Christ in us..
THE GREAT COMMANDMENT:
Image of the Cross here...
Two parts of The Great Commandment.
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (vertical relationship)
second is horizontal
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ — this is where we fail a lot (examples)
can we really love others the way we love ourselves?
that is hard enough.. examples..
This is why we can only truly love if we are united with Christ..
Jesus raised the bar of loving others —
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
The elevation of Love:
From
“loving others the way we love ourselves “
to
“loving one another the way He loved us.”
Can we do what Jesus did?
Sacrificial love glorifies the Lord. (examples)
Jesus loved us more than He loved Himself..
The love of God shines in us
In the way we love one another
in the way we share His love to the outside world.
WHAT IS THE GREATEST REASON TO BE THANKFUL? It is not a question of What but rather Who - Who is the Greatest Reason to be thankful..
Thank the Lord Jesus Christ today.