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[0:00] Randy, should I just switch to the... Just keep on going? Okay. All right.

[0:12] Have you ever been praying with somebody before?! And as you're praying with them, you're like, this dude is like in God's presence when he prays.

[0:25] It's like this person prays with such directness and confidence that this guy has like huge reps in the presence of God.

[0:39] Anybody pray with someone like that before? Or maybe you're praying with a sister, and when she's praying, she's like, man, I like pray for the fungus on my toe.

[0:51] I don't pray for what she's praying for. She's otherworldly in her praying. She prays kingdom values. She prays along the grain of the Scriptures.

[1:07] And so what we regularly experience with other believers are believers who pray a certain way, and there's a certain content to the prayer that's almost shocking.

[1:21] It's really compelling. This morning, we get to look at a prayer of Jesus, and it's one of those prayers in our Bibles where it's God incarnate praying, and we've got 26 verses of God incarnate praying.

[1:37] It's remarkable. It's such a gift. And it's not just the way he prays. Multiple times throughout this passage, Jesus addresses God as his Father.

[1:52] There's an intimacy throughout this prayer, again and again and again. Father, Father, Father, Holy Father, Righteous Father, Father. But this morning, it's the content of what he prays that I want to draw your attention to.

[2:09] It's what he asks for. And so this prayer has three sections to it.

[2:20] There's verses 1 through 5 where Jesus prays for himself, and then there's verses 6 through 19 where Jesus prays for his immediate disciples, and then in 20 through 26, Jesus prays for future disciples, future believers.

[2:35] That's us. But we can actually benefit from every aspect of this prayer together. One of the things that I want to help you to see in what Jesus prays is Jesus is helping us know how to live as Christians in this world though we've been called out of the world.

[3:05] The world is sinful humanity and organized rebellion against God. The world has a way of thinking, a way of living, a way of doing things, and the Lord Jesus has called us out of the world.

[3:23] And in this prayer, you will find yourself equipped, helped, in knowing how to be in this world but not of this world.

[3:34] In fact, we see three priorities that Jesus prays for. And you can summarize each priority with one word. And here are the words. Glorify, sanctify, unify.

[3:49] Glorify, sanctify, unify. And these capture how we are to be in the world but not of the world.

[4:02] So let's make our way through through this prayer. It starts with Jesus praying for himself in verses 1 through 5.

[4:13] Let me read it for you. As I'm reading through, notice the words glory and glorify. When Jesus had spoken these words, that's the rest of the farewell discourse, starting in verse 13.

[4:27] When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

[4:43] And this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

[4:54] And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. There's a lot of glory talk. And whenever you see a word repeated like that in kind of a short amount of biblical real estate, it's being emphasized.

[5:17] What's interesting is that in this prayer, there are actually like three time zones of glory that Jesus references. Let me point it out.

[5:28] Verse five. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. Well, that's interesting. Jesus had a glory with God the Father before the world, the planet, before anything was created.

[5:50] Here's what he's getting at. Jesus has always existed. He is the eternal second person of the Trinity.

[6:01] He's the word. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. In fact, God the Father through God the Son created everything.

[6:15] And what we're learning here is Jesus had a praiseworthiness, a wonder prior to the creation of all things.

[6:29] He existed with God the Father and God the Spirit in glory. Glory carries this sense of splendor and majesty.

[6:43] If you look up the Hebrew word in glory, not to us alone, not to us, but to your name, give glory. The Hebrew word behind that actually means heavy, weighty.

[6:54] So when we talk about giving glory to someone, we're talking about giving them weight. It's reverence.

[7:05] It's worship. Jesus was worshiped before the creation of the world. He had a glory. And we know from Philippians 2 that when Jesus took on flesh, he became a man.

[7:20] He set that glory aside. as a servant for you and me. There's also an after glory.

[7:34] If you turn to 1745, no, there's no 45 in chapter 17. 24, we read this, Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me because you love me before the foundation of the world.

[7:56] Jesus here is talking about, okay, he's praying, he's just hours away from being crucified, he knows he's going to be leaving and going to his father, and he's praying for us, and he's saying, oh God, that they would see me with you in my glory.

[8:17] glory. It's a future glory. You could say it's a glory that comes after his present glory.

[8:29] That future glory, by the way, oh man. When all of the redeemed are gathered together and singing the praises of his name, which brings me to his present glory, it's what Jesus prays for in verse 1.

[8:50] Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son. The hour that he's talking about is the hour of his crucifixion, the hour of his death.

[9:05] It's a really interesting way to talk about his death. That may there be splendor and wonder and majesty to this brutal death.

[9:20] Exalt me through my death. It's what he had been anticipating in John chapter 12 when he would be lifted up. It's the reason why God the Father has sent God the Son.

[9:39] For God so loved the world, we sang it to start our gathering. For God so loved the world that he sent his one-of-a-kind Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

[9:51] You see, the unique glory, the particular glory that Jesus is talking about is not so much the glory he had beforehand, but it gives massive glory to the after glory.

[10:08] glory. You see, what Jesus does is he dies on the cross and through his death he gives us eternal life. He reconciles us to God. And so after he lives and he dies and he raised from the dead and he goes to his Father in heaven, he is now given a glory that includes his death and resurrection.

[10:31] worthy is the Lamb who was slain. What's interesting is he's here asking his Father to glorify him.

[10:46] Do you remember what he said of the Holy Spirit in John 16, 14? He will glorify me. The Trinity, the glorious Trinity is seeking to together spotlight Jesus the Son particularly in his death because it's through his death that he accomplishes God's plan for the fullness of time.

[11:15] The plan of salvation. His glorious plan of salvation. And you know what? There's a glory within the glory here.

[11:25] did anybody notice in verse 3 how Jesus defines salvation?

[11:40] And this is eternal life. That they know you. That they know you. Father, that they know you like I know you.

[11:52] That they know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent. It's striking to me that that Jesus prays that God would glorify him through his death and the result being men and women, boys and girls from all around the world being brought into a life-giving relationship with the God who made them.

[12:22] That's glorious. glorious. That's what we were all originally made for. To be in a relationship with God that is life-giving, soul-satisfying forever.

[12:35] Forever. this relationship, it flips you.

[12:51] When you are giving eternal life by the Son through his death, it flips you. It changes you. You're born again. You're made new.

[13:02] You're a new creation. And now you want to do something that you haven't wanted to do before, and that is to give glory to the one true God.

[13:14] It's a radical change of heart. We used to be seeking glory for ourselves, but with the breaking in of Jesus, we're flipped, we're repoed to give him the glory that's due his name.

[13:37] Not to us, oh Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your steadfast love and faithfulness most clearly demonstrated on the cross of Jesus Christ.

[13:53] So you know what this does for us who are in the world? it's our due north. The world does not live with its primary treasure, its primary glory being God.

[14:12] This sets us apart. This is good news for us in the world. We've been called out of the world, we're to be distinct from the world, and one of the ways that that happens is we now live for the glory of God.

[14:33] He is our one consuming passion, our all governing reality. He is the controlling center of our lives. We orbit him, he doesn't orbit us. That is what is so compelling about this.

[14:48] So we have the first priority of Jesus' prayer being God's glory and that priority is to shape our priorities. How we live in the world so that we're not of the world.

[15:04] Number two, we see in verse 6 and 19, Jesus moves from praying for himself to praying for his immediate disciples, and he prays for them that they would be set apart.

[15:19] Let me read verses 6 through 19. It's a little more extended of a passage. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were and you gave them to me and they have kept your word.

[15:33] Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you and they have believed that you have sent me.

[15:47] I am praying for them. I'm not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me for they are yours. All mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them and I am no longer in the world but they are in the world and I am coming to you.

[16:03] Holy Father keep them in your name which you have given me that they may be one even as we are one. While I was with them I kept them in your name which you have given me I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction that's referenced to Judas that the scriptures may be fulfilled but now I'm coming to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves I have given them your word and the word has hated them the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one they are not of the world just as I am not of the world sanctify them in the truth your word is truth and as you sent me into the world so I have sent them into the world and for their sake

[17:04] I consecrate I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified in truth in this section we we pick up Jesus concern for his disciples in verse 11 and I am no longer in the world he Jesus knows that his days are numbered and that he will soon be leaving the earth and I am no longer in the world but they are in the world he knows he's leaving the world but he's leaving his disciples behind these 11 disciples he knows that he's going to his father and so he prays out of concern for them holy father keep them in your name which you have given me I believe that which you have given me is actually a reference to his disciples that they may be one even as we are one

[18:06] Jesus out of concern for his disciples is praying to his father that his father would keep them in his name we'll talk about what it means to be in his name in a second but to keep them in his name to guard them to protect them when Jesus was with his disciples he kept!

[18:29] he guarded them he was present with them but now he's leaving so now they're exposed what's going to happen who do they need to be guarded from verse 15 the evil one the devil though he's been cast down by the cross of Jesus Christ he still wreaks havoc we need to be guarded from the world who hates us because they hated him brothers and sisters we have some similarities with the original disciples and one of the similarities is that we live in a hostile environment does anybody see the movie the martian who's the actor guy Matt Damon the actor whatever character he was when he was on

[19:30] Mars he was living in a hostile environment he had to prepare himself we live in a hostile environment brothers and sisters we used to be in the world we used to be part of the hostile environment to God but Jesus has called us out!

[19:47] and now we need help while we're in the world why does the world hate us? That seems rather extreme the world will hate us because we're no longer in the world we've been called out of the world we belong to Jesus now we no longer belong to the evil one the devil who we once followed the prince of the power of the air we've been called out of sinful humanity in organized rebellion against God that is no longer who we are do you know whose we are we belong to God now look at verse six I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world yours they were and you gave them to me look at verse 10 all mine are yours and yours are mine and I'm glorified in them we no longer belong to the world we belong to the triune

[21:11] God we are his and because that is the case it changes how we live but before I move on to what it means to sanctify us with truth can I just remind you of something wonderful our belonging to the father and the son let me just remind you of what Jesus said back in chapter 10 he says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand my father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hands

[22:14] I and the father are one we we belong to this God and we are unsnatchable nobody can take us out of God's hands it's an incredible sense of security but it also means we are to be unstained by the world because God is holy and we are to be holy the Bible has a different word for this group of people that God the father has given God the son the Bible will often use a word that's called the elect the elect of God these are the people that Jesus is talking about here in John 17 of who have been given from the father to the son unsnatchable and so when we turn to verse 17 sanctify them in the truth your word is truth do you know what do you know what

[23:20] Jesus is praying for Jesus is saying like this father keep them in your holy name and keep them in your holy name by sanctifying them in the truth that's what keeps us in the holy name of God and this truth is none other than the word of God the words of Jesus the words of God throughout the whole entire Bible this book in us sanctifies us it transforms us it makes us like God in holiness so for example maybe when you were of the world you were sleeping around you were part of all sorts of different kinds of sexual sins well that's not true of you anymore you don't belong to the world anymore you belong to the holy triune

[24:29] God of the universe and you are to be holy and you are to live out his sexual ethic with joy because it's good his word sanctifies us maybe your speech is a kind of speech that doesn't build people up in love but tears people down God's word he wants to sanctify your tongue to make you holy as he is holy that you have a holy speech that builds people up maybe you've been smoking weed maybe you've been getting drunk God's word says you know what all things may be lawful for us but you will not be dominated by anything be dominated by the grace of God live for him live in the freedom that he has given us so

[25:30] God's word sanctifies us it makes us like God it keeps us in God it abides in us and we bear much fruit God like fruit Christ like fruit this sanctifying God God this is good news for those of us God at work in us keeping us making us holy helping us live for his glory praise for all who will believe verse 20

[28:12] I do not ask for these only but also for those who will believe in me through their word through their witness and verses 20 through 26 Jesus prays something very specific for us it's captured in one word that they may all be one verse 21 22 that they may be one verse 23 in them and you and me that they may become perfectly one that we glorify God that we're sanctified by his truth and that we are united unified one Jesus is praying for our unity now when you hear unity don't hear uniformity

[29:15] Jesus isn't saying oh may all the men have the same haircut may all the ladies have the same kind of blouses or whatever may they all like the same foods may they all like the same music may they may they all have the same kind of interests!

[29:35] tastes tastes that's not what he's he's not praying for uniformity he's praying for unity a shared mind and heart a unity that is that is knit around who Jesus is and what he's done knit around the glory of God being sanctified by him this unity is distinct of us it marks us and where Jesus grounds our unity is remarkable in verse 21 that they may all be one just as you father are in me and I in you verse 22 that they may be one even as we are one verse 26 I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and

[30:40] I in them you see our unity is built upon the unity of the triune God we reflect his unity unity of essence the three different members of the Trinity are all God distinctly essentially God we don't share God essence none of us has God in the room but we do share a new birth essence we do share the status of sons and daughters of God we have a shared essence of being made new a belonging to God God has shared relationship we pick up on verse 26 this love between

[31:40] God the father and God the son as well as God the spirit they love one another they delight in each other and we share in a union of love Jesus has taught on this already in John 13 this new commandment that he gives us that we are to love one another just as he has loved us we are to love one another this way it's to distinguish us we're united on mission God has a mission the missio day we see in Ephesians one that God the father he he ordains salvation God the son he accomplishes salvation and God the spirit he applies what Christ has done to individual believers unites churches on mission for the glory of God and we share in that mission too verse 18 as you sent me into the world so

[32:47] I have sent them into the! the great commission go make disciples worshippers of Jesus of the nations this is this is a compelling unity it's a distinct unity and something else that Jesus points out here is it's a functional unity not just to build us up as a church it gets something else done look at verse 21 that they may all be one just as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me look at verse 23 I in them and you and me that they may become perfectly one so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you love me you see our unity that's built on the trinity speaks a word of validation to

[33:51] God's mission you following that the way that we love one another the way that we live for God's glory and live sanctified lives together that will either validate the gospel to a world around us or invalidate it the way that you conduct yourself with another Christian matters not just because it's right or wrong because it speaks a word of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus that God sent him to change us why does Jesus pray for our unity because he knew he knows that our unity will be regularly challenged from outside of us and from inside of us because he knows the schemes of the devil he knows the devil is trying to discredit him and so he prays for us that we would aspire and work towards peace together we're to be in the world but not of the world we're to be in the world living for

[35:20] God's glory seeking to be sanctified by his truth and seeking to be united together in peace through love there's this passage in Ephesians that's packed full of the word one listen to this chapter four I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called with all humility and gentleness with patience bearing with one another in love eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace there is one body and one spirit just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call one Lord one faith one baptism one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all all for one because that one is for all unity does not come easy think about our unity this way it's blood bought

[36:34] Jesus shed his blood not just to save us to himself but to reconcile each of us to the other our peace is a blood bought peace our love is a blood bought!

[36:49] love so the question is do you take our unity as a church seriously God certainly does I'm not sure if you know this but I've been to the hospital a few times I love to ride my mountain bike and I love to ride it a certain way and I've changed a little bit but I've spent some time in the ER I've been x-rayed there's this machine that looks into my body to determine whether there are any broken bones or joints kind of out of whack the church is the body of Christ and this little word of unity is like the x-ray of God's word saying is there anything out of whack

[37:50] Christ the King Church any breaks of bones any joints out of whack any strains you know recently we we announced that we were canceling the Christmas Eve meal and that's been received by some it's been hard news by others they understand but it can affect our unity as a church let's talk about it after the service I'll be downstairs I'll be in the tie dye room which is next to the kitchen if you want to talk about that let's talk about it but we want to work towards unity together in order to glorify God to be sanctified by the truth and to share this this this oneness in Christ before you pick a fight with another

[38:51] Christian ask three questions is this loving is this holy and does this glorify God the point of all of that what Jesus is praying here is he's asking his father to do a work so that ultimately we would be in the world but not of the world that we would share in his glory that we would share in his holiness that we would share in his unity and that these three priorities would define us on mission that the world may know that Jesus is the savior of the world how are we to be in the world but not of the world glorify

[40:00]  God together be sanctified by the truth together and to love one another fervently from the heart protecting our unity we are to be in the world but not of the world in order to proclaim Jesus to the world and isn't it good to know that Jesus is praying for us now let's pray Lord Jesus thank you so much for this prayer for us thank you for interceding for us now Lord we would ask that you would make us a people who seeks your glory above all else that we would be a people who delight in being sanctified we would be a people who are are passionately pursuing peace together unity all for the glory of your name amen