Sermon for 5/29/22 "God's Available Love" Memorial Day - 16 Minutes

John 17:20-26

This morning I'll be reading John chapter 17 verses 20 through 26. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. John 17:20-26 These verses are part of the discussion that we have looked at the last 3 Sundays. All of them occur after Jesus has told Judas Iscariot in John 13:27,,, "what you're doing,,, do quickly.",,, The verses this morning are part of the prayer after Jesus has finished speaking to the disciples that are left. John 17:20–26 (HCSB) 20 I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. 21 May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. 22 I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. 23 I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation. 25 Righteous Father! The world has not known You. However, I have known You, and these have known that You sent Me. 26 I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- This week has been another eye opening experience when it comes to the hatred in the world today.

The shootings that we have had lately have been hard to understand since we are always trying to bring God’s love to the forefront in all that we do as a church today.

The shooting in Uvalde, Texas was especially hard because of the little children that were targeted,,, even though any of the shootings are extremely bad,,, but anytime that children are involved,,, it just seems to be harder to understand.

But they show,,, that we,,, as a church,,, still have a lot of work to do.

With this weekend beginning the Memorial Day holiday,,, we try to remember those that have laid down their lives fighting for this country,,, a country that they believed in,,, and fought for,,, even while they knew that there were things that needed work,,, and many of those same problems are still with us.

And because of that,,, we still have work that we must do,,, to make sure that the men and women that died fighting for the freedoms we have in this country,,, are honored,,, and their families assured,,, that they did not die in vain.

As a church,,, and a country,,, we owe them that small token of promise,,, that we will do our best,,, to finish that work!

Last Sunday we looked at John 14:23-29,,, and we seen that Jesus offers us “His peace”.

And we have the assurance from Jesus that we don’t go through this life alone.

Through the help of the Holy Spirit,,, He’s with us every step of the way to help us,,, if we just listen like we should.

This morning,,, we will look at these verses in John 17,,, and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 20 says: 20 I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message.

Jesus has just finished praying for the disciples,,, now continuing in His prayer,,, He prays for,,, those who believe in Me through their message.

And not only those that believe in Him during the time while He’s here on earth,,, but for all Christians that have believed His words after His death,,, burial,,, resurrection and ascension into heaven.

Jesus was praying for all of us that are Christians,,, all that believed immediately after this time,,, and all of those up to today and even beyond,,, all that believe the message,,, that comes from the disciples of Jesus.

And we see what He prays for in the next few verses.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 21 through 23 say: 21 May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. 22 I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. 23 I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Jesus prays for unity for future believers.

We have a lot of work to do here.

If we were unified as we should be,,, there would be far fewer wars,,, far fewer crimes,,, and far fewer shootings today!

We have so much work that needs to be done,,, but,,, it is when the unsaved see Jesus in us,,, that,,, that makes them realize that they do need God in their lives,,, and they will only see that if we live our lives as Christians the way that God wants us to live.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 24 says: 24 Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation.

Jesus desires to have His people with Himself in glory.

Every time a believer dies,,, it is,,, in a way,,, an answer to this prayer.

If we truly realized this,,, it would be a comfort to us in our sorrow,,, because,,, to die is to go to be with Christ,,, and to behold His glory.

This glory is not only the glory of divine nature that He had with God before the world began,,, It’s also the glory that He acquired as Savior and Redeemer.

This glory is proof that God loved Christ before the foundation of the world.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 25 says: 25 Righteous Father! The world has not known You. However, I have known You, and these have known that You sent Me.

The world failed to see God revealed in Jesus.

But,,, a few of the many followers that He had,,, did see,,, and they believed that God had sent Jesus.

On the eve of His crucifixion,,, there were only a few faithful hearts that truly believed in Him,,,— ,,, and even those were about to abandon Him,,, as we know from reading just a little further after Jesus is arrested.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 26 says: 26 I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.

We know from 1 John 4:8 “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Jesus,,, made the Father and His love,,, known to the world,,, by His death.

And the Father,,, made known His love for the Son,,, by raising Him to glory.

Jesus’ purpose in revealing the Father,,, was so that Christians,,, would continue to grow in that love,,, and,,, to enjoy the personal presence of Jesus in our lives. ----------------------------------------------------------- The key word throughout this whole passage,,, is,,, “Love”!

And that’s what we truly need to get across to all that are intent on doing harm in this country today.

And not only those intent on doing harm,,, but they,,, along with so many more,,, that are in need of “Love” but they don’t realize it.

If the church was doing the job the way that we should,,, everyone would know the love of God,,, and,,, more importantly,,, would feel that “Love” each and every day.

It’s hard to be angry when people are helping you to live out your life in a loving way.

It’s hard to be angry when the people you know truly care about you and show it by the love that they have for you!

It’s hard to be angry when you are being helped with anything that is bothering you!

It’s hard to be angry when you know that you are “Loved”!

And no-one,,, “Loves” you more than God!

No matter your situation,,, no matter how bad you have been,,, no matter how many times you have failed,,, nothing matters that can keep God’s “Love” from you,,, except,,, You!!

You are the only one keeping yourself from God because Romans 5:8 says: “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!”

God “Loves”you that much!

You don’t earn it,,, you don’t wait until you are good enough,,, because you can never afford it,,, and you will never be good enough,,, but Jesus took care of that on the cross at Calvary!

And it’s up to us,,, the church,,, those of us that call ourselves Christians,,, to begin the job of spreading God’s love the way that we should have been doing all along.

Because the men and women of this great country that have given their lives for this country deserve the attention that we give to this so that their deaths will not be in vain,,, and the quicker we realize that it’s our responsibility,,, the more lives that we will save in the long run,,, and the fewer tragedies that we have to witness in this world going forward!

----------------------------------------------------------- If you feel like you are missing God's “Love”,,, and you aren’t experiencing God’s peace the way that you want to,,, Let me remind you that Jesus said that His peace is always available,,, but you have to make that choice. It will not be forced on you,,, that is something that you must decide to do. If you have never made the commitment to allow Jesus to be your Personal Savior,,, please make that decision today. We aren't promised tomorrow,,, so the choice must be made today. We don't know the hour or the day when Jesus comes back nor do we know if we will be called home,,, we are just told to be ready. And to be ready,,, you must have made the decision to follow Jesus,,, be sure that you have made that decision today! ----------------------------------------------------------- So as we sing our final hymn,,, let me remind you that the alter is always open,,, If you feel God speaking to you,,, don't hesitate to come,,, maybe you just have questions,,, God will answer,,, you just have to ask Him,,, whatever the need may be,,, As we sing the final hymn,,, come if needed! Oakdale - Hymn Page - Seminary - Hymn Page - 382 -----------------------------------------------------------

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