Into The World

John 17:6–19 NKJV

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. 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 want to talk to you about coming out of the world and into the Kingdom of God and how He wants to make you an important part of bringing change and transformation to the world.

The Christian lives in a kind of tension between faith, which is the substance of hope, and reality (cf. Hebrews 11.1). There is a kind of disorientation that we experience between being a Christ follower and living in the world.

Now faith and reality are not mutually exclusive. They interact and overlap.

Illustration: Law of Gravity vs Law of Thrust (Newton’s Third Law). It’s how a 380,000-485,000lb 747 can fly. Gravity is a reality. But it can be transcended or superceded.

In fact, as we just read, Christ saved you out of the world. But what does that mean? When Jesus prayed that prayer, He was using the word world in a way that speaks of the world-system or the organized structure that drives and governs the way the world works.

But He didn’t simply rescue us from the control of the world. He sent us back to it. When He sends us back to it we are now operating from a higher principle. The principle of the Kingdom, faith working by love (Galatians 5.6).

You must understand that receiving salvation in Christ is not just a coming out of sin and judgment and the world system. It is an entering in to life and freedom and kingdom and mission. No longer an enemy of God you now become an ambassador for Him.

The Confidence of Christ

If you listen to news reports or read the studies you might grow despondent. It seems like things are so out of control and so dark and terrible that it is hopeless.

It sometimes makes no sense that Jesus would leave us in this world. But He did. And He had a reason.

This is one of the things that makes God so much more remarkable than any other so-called deity. God loves us. God loves the world.

You have to understand the greatness of God’s love and His confidence in you. He love the world so much that He sent His Son. And the Son loved the world so much that He sends us.

God is so confident in you that He sent His Holy Spirit to you so that you could continue His work (John 16.7). We do not do the work of redemption, but we become messengers of the work of redemption.

God is for you. Jesus is for you. He gave you the Holy Spirit so that you have power to be His witnesses (Acts 1.8). He gave you the local church to encourage you and support you in good works (Hebrews 10.25-26). He invites us to to join Him in the Father’s business (cf. Luke 2.49).

Into the World

Jesus saved us out of this world and He left us in it. He didn’t abandon us but offers us purpose. He invites us to enter into a new life with Him and that includes His work in the world.

So how do we join the Lord in His life and work?

Join the Mandate of Christ

John 17:6–8 NKJV

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.

While He was praying, Jesus spoke to the Father about His disciples. He said that the disciples have received His words, believed in Him, and believed that He was sent on a mission by the Father.

Jesus gave His words to His disciples as a mandate for them to follow.

1 Peter 1:13–16 NLT

13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

The Apostle Peter offers insight into what those words meant for the Christian.

An important part of being in Christ is how we live as His people. The way we live is a witness to the world of the power of grace.

Your life is a witness. Not simply things like church attendance or Bible reading or the obvious. But your manner of speech. The type and quality of your work. Your kindness, gentleness, and holiness.

So join the mandate of Christ and choose to live holy.

Illustration: The Royal Family is in the news…the Royal Family lives differently. They are in the world, but they operate by different rules and by different customs. It is part of what distinguishes them as Royals.

If you are are a follower of Christ, you are a child of God. You are a part of a royal priesthood and holy nation. That is as much for your good as it is for God’s glory. It is also so that others might come to experience the same salvation that you and I have.

Join the Mission of Christ

John 17:9–10 NKJV

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.

John 17:14–18 (WUESTNT)

14 I have given them your word, and the world hated them, because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you should take them out of the world, but that you should guard them safely from the reach of the Pernicious One. 16 Of the world they are not, even as I am not of the world. 17 Consecrate them in the sphere of the truth. The word which is yours is truth. 18 Even as me you sent off on a mission into the world, so I sent off them on a mission into the world.

Jesus prayed not that the world system would be blessed but that His people would be as they carried out His mission.

We are called to join the mission of Christ (Matthew 28.18-20). We are sent by Christ to go into the world, preaching the gospel and making disciples. We are called to teach them and show them a new way of living.

Have you considered the kind of confidence that God has in you? Jesus sent you to continue His mission. He believes that the plans and purposes of God are safe in your hands as you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit (cf. Romans 8.14).

Illustration: Story of Grace from Dwight Robertson’s You Are God’s Plan A (and there is no plan b). Widowed grandma from farmhouse in rural Indiana to reaching and discipling over 1,000 Spanish speaking people all over the Americas.

You do not have to be a pastor of a church or ordained minister in order to enter the mission of the Lord. You simply need to make yourself available and be willing to use your gifts, talents, and abilities to reach others with the love of God.

You can do that on your job, at your school, in the marketplace, on the field. If Grace can do that by answering a lone prisoner’s ad in a magazine, then you too can enter into Christ’s mission and make a difference in the lives of others.

Carry the Message of Christ

A major part of the mission and mandate of Christ is the message of Christ.

Romans 10:13–15 NLT

13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

We carry the ministry and message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5.18-19).

The message of Christ is good news. And that is what we are called to share: good news.

There was a man that wanted to follow Jesus after he had been freed from bondage. He put his trust in Christ and wanted to immediately get on the boat with Him and go wherever He went.

Mark 5:19–20 NKJV

19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

Illustration: When you get a promotion what do you do? When you accomplish something what do you do? When you get a blessing, what do you do? You tell someone. It’s that easy to share the good news.

The message of Jesus is good news to all who receive it. You are left in the world so that you can go to others to tell them what great things the Lord has done for you.

Conclusion

Illustration: Vision of people in a shipwreck near the coast. Throwing the rope out and rescuing. Some will sit and do nothing. Some will rejoice that they are saved and go to the safety of the inland. Some will be grateful and turn to try to rescue others.

You were brought out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of the son of His love (Colossians 1.13). Jesus gives us His mandate to live in that love. He sends us on His mission to rescue others in the love of God. And He gives us His message of good news so that those who would hear might believe and be saved.

He trusts you so much that He has committed these things to you. Will you respond? Will you go?

Pray