for the last few chapters of John.
So we're reading the whole of chapter 17,
although we'll be concentrating on the first verses in the sermon.
Starting at verse 1, chapter 17.
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've given him authority over all flesh
to give eternal life to all whom you've given him.
And this is eternal life,
that they know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you've sent.
I glorified you on earth,
having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence
with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
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.
Now they know everything that you've 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 sent me.
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.
Holy Father,
keep them in your name,
which you've 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've given me.
I've guarded them,
and not one of them has been lost,
except the son of destruction,
that the scripture might 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've given them your word,
and the world has hated them,
because they're not of the world,
just as I'm 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'm not of the world.
Sanctify them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I have sent them into the world.
And for their sake,
I consecrate myself,
that they also may be sanctified in truth.
I do not ask for these only,
but also for those who believe in me through their word,
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've sent me.
The glory that you have given me,
I've given to them,
that they may be one,
even as we are one.
I in them,
and you in me,
that they may become perfectly one,
so that the world may know that you sent me,
and loved them,
even as you loved me.
Father,
I desire that they also,
whom you've given me,
may be with me where I am,
to see my glory,
that you have given me,
because you loved me,
before the foundation of the world.
O righteous Father,
even though the world does not know you,
I know you,
and these know that you have sent me.
I've 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 I in them.
Amen.
All right, good morning.
If I haven't met you before,
my name is Rob,
and I'll be speaking for the next three weeks,
on the prayer,
on Jesus' prayer.
So it's going to be split up into three parts,
just so you're aware.
If you are new,
we have actually been going through the book of John as well,
and we've picked it up again this term,
and have been going through the last few chapters,
and we're up to this point now.
So if you have a Bible,
then please open it to John chapter 17,
and we will be focusing on verses 1 to 5.
I think it's been really helpful,
how the service was introduced by Matt,
and how Alex has prepared us for this passage with the kids talk.
Isn't it great how the kids talk really kind of opens things up for us,
even our adult minds?
And I think one of the things you might have noticed is that
there's something unexpected going on in this section of the Bible.
There's kind of a missing in communication between two different groups.
Now, I've been married for 24 years,
nine months,
and 23 days,
and I can tell you,
I can have a whole conversation with my wife,
and come away with very different expectations
of what was decided in that conversation.
I don't know about you.
Yes? No?
But the expectations that you carry into a conversation
very strongly shape what you expect as the outcome,
or what you think the outcome is.
There's all kinds of different ways this plays out.
I read some research recently that said that
when people test new flavours for potato chips,
what they discovered is
that the suggested flavour that they give you
when you taste the chip
strongly influences how you perceive that taste,
so much so
that your perception
is actually much closer to the taste
that they tell you at times
than it is to the taste
that it actually is.
We are so strongly wired
to kind of expect
and look for
the outcome that we desire,
or the outcome that we're fed,
that we actually anticipate
that's going to happen.
And that's what we find here
in this section of John.
Let me just recap by saying
that this has been a big week
for the disciples.
A big week in the sense
that they were hoping
and anticipating for.
It's festival week.
That's where they've arrived in Jerusalem.
At the beginning of festival week
and it began with a triumphal entry.
And you can read about that in John 12, 12.
The whole city gathered outside
to welcome Jesus
and threw their cloaks on the road.
And Jesus came in
from a particular entry point
that meant that he came down
from a hill that overlooked Jerusalem.
So not only could he see Jerusalem
laid out before him,
but the whole of Jerusalem
could look back up
and see this procession.
This noise,
this cacophony of noise
as people celebrated Jesus come in.
And as they did,
that crowd declared Jesus to be king.
Jesus agreed with the crowd
that it was time for him to be glorified,
but not in the way that they expected.
There seemed to be a disconnect
between what the people expected
on the one hand
and what Jesus meant on the other.
And so we have this festival week
playing itself out
and then we actually have the culmination
of that in festival night.
And this actually began
with a role reversal.
We all need to be washed by Jesus.
Do you remember that scene?
If you're not familiar
with the Gospel of John,
Jesus got down on his feet
and did something that the slave,
the house slave would do.
He washed the feet of his disciples.
And in doing that,
he taught them
that we all need to be washed by Jesus.
He then taught them
that all his disciples
will suffer like Jesus.
He promised that all his disciples
would receive the Holy Spirit.
But then he also said something
that was really contrasting
with what their expectations were.
You see,
Jesus,
who was supposed to be
the forever king,
told them that he must die.
So this conversation
keeps playing out
and it's frustrating, isn't it?
Because we know the ending.
We've had the spoilers.
We know what happens.
And we're listening
and reading what these disciples
are thinking and saying
and just thinking,
wow,
there's still this disconnect
between what the disciples expect
and what Jesus is actually saying.
And even as we have this,
the development of this,
this triumphal entry,
this festival period,
at the beginning of chapter 17,
we get a transition point,
a major transition point
in Jesus' life.
And John signals this transition
in verse 1.
So if you've got your Bible open
or your app open,
here it is,
verse 1 of chapter 17.
When Jesus had spoken these words,
and that's the words that,
the teaching that Catherine said
that he'd just been finished doing
before he prayed.
So even when Jesus had spoken
these words,
he lifted up his eyes to heaven
and said,
Father,
the hour has come.
This is a major transition point
in Jesus' ministry.
Up until this point,
he's been saying,
my hour has not yet come.
It's a repeated refrain
throughout the gospel.
In fact,
if you read in chapter 2,
verse 4,
4,
verse 21,
4,
verse 23,
5,
verse 25,
and 28,
7,
verse 30,
and 8,
verse 20,
then you'll see
that that's what Jesus says.
It's not my time.
My hour has not come.
And what that does
is it builds anticipation
for this hour.
When John says in verse,
chapter 12,
verse 23,
as he enters,
you know,
as he's entered Jerusalem,
he says,
the hour has come.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem
is the transition.
The focal point
of Jesus' ministry
is now.
But there's this disconnect
between what the disciples
expect that to mean
and what Jesus means
as he says it.
So we have this transition point
in Jesus' ministry,
this pivotal point
that come,
that distills right down
to this transition point
in the evening.
Remember Simon said
as he led us last week,
he introduced this
as the longest night
in the Bible
in terms of how many chapters
are applied to it.
It is the longest night
in that sense.
Bear in mind
that the Jews
actually determined
the days
by sunset,
not sunrise.
So for the Jews,
this was actually the longest,
this would have been
the longest day.
It would have been
a part of the next day,
which we'll discover
what happened
on that day,
on that whole day,
shortly.
But there's this disconnect
between,
still,
between what the disciples
expect
and what Jesus is saying.
And as we've watched
that conversation unfold,
we've seen in that confusion
that the disciples
barely cling
to the bare bones truth
that Jesus is from God.
They don't understand
what he's going to be doing,
but they can barely
hang on to that.
And even that belief,
if you know how
the story unfolds,
even that belief
will be tested
to breaking point
within the next few hours.
So Jesus prays.
Now, I don't know about you,
but I know that
if I was to consider
the things that I pray for
as Matt urged us to do
at the beginning
of the service,
and I was to consider
how I would like
to see my life unfold
into the future,
I've got to say
that there's a whole bunch
of stuff in my life
that I wouldn't have written in.
There's a whole bunch
of stuff that challenges
my understanding
of the goodness of God,
his loving care,
his fatherly concern
for me as an individual,
my expectation
of what it means
to be a beloved children
of the all-powerful
one true God.
Friends, if you have
any of those kind of
disconnects in your life,
then this prayer is for you
because this prayer
helps us to understand
who God is,
what he's about,
and why his way
is so much richer
than ours.
So Jesus prays,
and that prayer
has three parts.
First, Jesus prays
for himself
in verses 1 to 5,
and that's the bit
we'll be looking at today.
Second, he prays
for his disciples,
and that's in verses
6 to 19.
And then thirdly,
he prays for the believers
to come,
and that's in verses
20 to 26.
But for himself,
just in a nutshell,
Jesus prays
that the surprising glory
of God
would be revealed
in him.
Jesus prays
that the surprising glory
of God
would be revealed
in him.
Prayer means petition
or request.
And Jesus only asks
for one thing,
one request,
to receive glory.
glory.
He says in verse,
the second part
of verse 1.
So turn back
to chapter 17,
verse 1.
He says,
Father,
the hour has come.
Glorify your son
that the son
may glorify you.
That one request?
Glorify your son.
Now glory,
that means
to
clothe in splendor,
to make great,
to exalt,
to raise up high.
You could even say
glory,
to glorify someone
means to worship them.
Now I think,
as we think about that,
I think we take it
a little bit too literally.
So when we read
to clothe in splendor,
we start,
you know,
some of us really
spend a lot of time
on our appearance.
You know who you are.
Some of us actually
seek glory or greatness
for ourselves
and pursue
pathways that we believe
will actually fulfil that,
will deliver on that.
And some of us,
when we're thinking
about raising up,
if it's not ourselves
we're wanting to see exalted,
we're raising up
the wrong things in life,
making central
and vital
to our happiness
and satisfaction
things that just
can't deliver.
If we dig into this concept
of glory a little bit deeper,
as we think about
how we're misapplying it
and how we should apply it,
what I want to say to you
is this,
glory is a state
that can be seen
and glory is a status
that can be given.
There's two different aspects
in terms of how
the word works.
If someone is glorious
then we can see it
when we look at them.
If someone is glorious,
has glory,
then they can actually
give glory to others.
So let's think about
the state perspective,
seeing it in someone.
And I want to point you
back to an illustration
the Bible uses
because I think that's
one of the best ways
of seeing this.
In Exodus chapter 33
verses 18 and following,
Moses actually asks God
if he can see his glory.
Let me read out
these verses for you.
They're up on the screen
so you don't have to
flick back and look at it.
Moses said,
please show me your glory.
This is on top
of Mount Sinai
as he's having the conversation
about receiving
the Ten Commandments.
And God says to him,
I will make all my goodness
pass before you
and will proclaim
before you my name,
the Lord.
And I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious
and show mercy
on whom I will show mercy.
But he said,
you cannot see my face
for man shall not see me
and live.
And the Lord said,
behold,
there is a place by me
where you shall stand
on the rock
and when my glory
passes by,
I will put you
in a cleft of the rock
and I will cover you
with my hand
until I have passed by.
Then I will take away
my hand
and you shall see my back
but my face
shall not be seen.
What we discover here
is that God is glorious
by nature.
So glorious
that we cannot
look at him
and live
unless
he places himself
in the way
as we do see him.
So glory is a state
that we can see
and it's a status
that can be given.
It can be shared
with others.
God only allowed
Moses,
if we go on to that
and read that story
further on
when that event
actually does happen
so that's God
telling him
what he's going to do
and then shortly
afterwards
God actually does it.
God only allowed
Moses to get
that filtered glimpse
but it had an effect.
When Moses came down
off the mountain
where he saw
this glimpse of God
he glowed
and not just a little bit
so much so
and we can read
about this
in Exodus 34
verse 29
and following
if you'd like to
but so much so
that when the people
saw Moses
they ran from him
in terror.
He had to call them back
say no it's just me
and even that wasn't enough
then you know
him speaking Moses voice
and saying yeah
it's me
don't worry
calm down
they actually had to
introduce a rule
to cope
with his glowing
his glowiness
for want of a better word.
after Moses had been
up on the mountain
in God's presence
and when he came
back down again
from the mountain
he had to wear a veil.
God's glory can be seen
and in the presence
of God's glory
it actually pervades
the things around him
it pushes back darkness.
I can only imagine
what it must have been
like for Adam and Eve
actually walking
in the unfiltered
presence of God
what they must have
what life must have
been like for them.
What we read here
is that God's glory
can be seen
and it can be shared
with others.
But if Jesus is God
why is he praying
for glory?
Surely he has a right
to it.
He could have taken it
if he wanted.
And if we think back again
this is what Satan
tempted Adam and Eve
to in the Garden of Eden.
Not accepting the glory
that God gave them
as his image bearers
in the world
as his vice regents
to rule over the world
under him.
Not accepting that
but desiring
and taking more.
And this is what
Satan tried to tempt
Jesus to
in the wilderness
as well.
Not accepting
the Father's will
for him
but establishing
a kingdom of his own
under Satan instead.
And friends
this is what Satan
is tempting you to
every day.
Not accepting
the Father's will
for you
but thinking
that your plan
is better.
The source
of glory
if glory can be given
the source of glory
is vitally important.
And John makes
this point
in a little narrator's
insert in John
chapter 12
verses 36 to 43.
So he observes
that many people
believed in Jesus
but kept it secret.
why?
Because they love
the glory that comes
from man
more than the glory
that comes from God.
We read in chapter 12
verse 43.
They love the glory
that comes from man
more than the glory
that comes from God.
Where do you get
your glory from?
Jesus had a right
to glory.
He could have taken it
if he wanted.
But by praying
for glory
Jesus chose
to be dependent
on the Father
for glory
rather than
seeking his own.
To be guided
by the Father
toward true glory
rather than
finding his own.
One request
Jesus had
in that prayer
in that first part
of the prayer
for himself
that God
would glorify him.
But even
as he asks
to be glorified
Jesus had
his eyes
on something
beyond that.
His ultimate goal
wasn't receiving glory.
He was all about
giving it.
As surely
as he had
one request
he had one goal
and that was
to give glory.
And we read about it
in that verse
we just read
earlier
the second half
of verse 1.
Father the hour
has come
glorify your son
that the son
may glorify you.
Even in receiving
glory
Jesus' goal
was to give glory.
Receiving
was his means
of giving.
So in this
request
what we get
is more than
a glimpse
into the relationships
within the Trinity.
Father glorifying
the son
son glorifying
the father
neither seeking
what was rightfully
theirs
both seeking
to give
to share.
father
son
and holy
spirit
raising each
other up
exalting
each other
devoted
to glorifying
each other.
Friends
this has been
the goal
since the world
before the world
existed.
It's just
that
all of time
itself
has actually
been moving
toward this
specific hour
when that
glory
would be
revealed.
This moment
in Jesus'
life
this moment
in world
history
and it's
here
in these
verses.
Think about
Jesus praying
this prayer
and think
about the
kind of
ministry
that they've
actually seen
him in terms
of how his
ministry unfolds
and what
happens when
he prays
and when
he prays
prayers
prays.
I don't
know about
you but
we have
this tradition
where we
say grace
before meals
and there
are certain
times like
Christmas dinner
or things like
that.
I can remember
as a child
it was such
a trial
to sit
through grace.
Ever since
I've been
I can
remember
I think
there's a
difference
between grace
and prayer
and that
is that
grace is
only like
two sentences
long or less
and anything
longer than
that is
prayer.
Grace is
what belongs
before a
meal and
you'd be
sitting there
waiting for
this meal
to happen
and someone
because it
was a special
occasion would
take that
moment to
launch into
this huge
prayer and
you'd just
be wanting
to open
your eyes
and look
at the
food and
perhaps
even steal
some which
I used
to do
because prayers
couldn't get
that long
that I could
actually finish
chewing before
people even
noticed.
There are
times when
someone is
praying and
you're looking
beyond it to
the gloriousness
that's to
come and
you've got to
wonder what
did these
disciples think?
Were they
expecting something
to happen
here and
were they
almost tempted
to open
their eyes
and see
Jesus is
praying for
himself to
be glorified?
What in
the world
is going
to happen?
The people
already wanted
Jesus to be
king.
We want
Jesus to be
king,
they're
thinking.
Let's see
what Jesus
does as
he prays
his prayer.
I've got to
tell you now
that it's even
better than
what they
hope for.
This is more
than a
New Year
firework
show to
watch and
be wowed
by.
This mutual
glorification
is also
an invitation
to us.
in the
Trinitarian
relationship
we're getting
a glimpse
at something
that we're
actually being
invited into.
It's not
all about
Jesus becoming
king.
It's about
what that
king does
as a ruler
of our
lives.
See we have
one request
which is to
Jesus be
glorified and
we have
one goal
for Jesus
to actually
give that
glory to the
father as
much as the
father gives
it to him.
And then we
have this
plan behind
that glory
which starts
to unfold
in these
next verses.
And that's
to know
this glorious
God.
There's a
plan behind
this display
of glory.
Yes we
should look
at this
extraordinary
God and
marvel but
there's more
to it.
There's a
plan behind
Jesus'
request that
all of
history has
been moving
toward.
That we
might know
this God
of glory.
Jesus begins
to speak about
this plan in
verse 2 and
he says this
since you
have given
him authority
over all
flesh to
give eternal
life to all
whom you
have given
him.
Jesus'
request for
glory is
based on
God's
eternal
plan.
He's asking
for that
plan to
be fulfilled
in him.
So let
us look at
the requests
of verse
1 and the
basis,
the since
or because
of verse
2.
I think I've
got that
in a slide.
Have I?
Is it going to
show up?
Nope, it's got
boxes on it.
That's the one.
Yeah, okay.
So there you
can see,
glorify your
son that the
son may glorify
you on one
side.
And then you
have you've
given him
authority over
all flesh on
the other to
give eternal
life to all
whom you have
given him.
glory on the
basis that the
plan has
always been
that God
has given
him authority
over all
flesh to
give eternal
life to all
whom the
father has
given him.
When Jesus
asks for glory,
he doesn't
simply ask for
something he
wants.
He asks in
line with
what the
father has
planned.
It's a lesson
we can learn
there, isn't
there, about
prayer from
that example.
And the
plan in
verse 2 is
to grant
eternal life
to those the
father has
given him.
If they can
understand this,
then they'll
understand what
Jesus does
next.
It makes
sense of what
he's about to
do.
Where he's
about to
go.
And why
that has
anything to
do with
glory.
And just
in case
they're not
quite
understanding,
Jesus takes
a moment to
clarify things.
And he
actually explains
what eternal
life is in
verse 3.
He says
these words,
And this
is eternal
life,
that they
know you,
the only
true God,
and Jesus
Christ,
whom you
have sent.
life.
Did you
notice how
the life
Jesus gives
is expressed
in terms of
quantity,
eternal life?
But the
definition that
Jesus gives
is expressed
in terms of
quality.
It's a life
of knowing
God.
life.
It's the
fullness of
life that
Jesus spoke
of back in
John chapter
10 verse
10 when he
says,
I have
come that
you may
have life
and have
it to
the full
abundantly.
It's the
thing that
Satan stole
that Jesus
is offering
back.
Perhaps
Jesus speaks
in terms of
eternity to
give his
disciples a
bigger perspective
of his imminent
death.
Like this
particular day
he will die.
Perhaps he
uses the word
eternal this
time rather
than abundant
as he did
last time
because he
wants to
help them
through the
next three
days.
But the
bottom line
is this,
eternal life
is about
knowing God,
knowing the
one true
God and
Jesus Christ
whom he
sent.
God is
about making
himself known
and the
point at
which we
see God
in all
his glory
is at
the cross.
One
request,
one goal,
one plan
and one
result that
God is
glorified at
the cross.
Jesus
fulfills the
father's plan
when he dies
for us.
When Jesus
prays God
glorify me,
he's praying
bring on
the cross.
cross.
And when
Jesus dies
on that
cross,
we get
God for
eternity.
But more
than that,
we actually
see God
more clearly
than we
ever have
done before.
Throughout
all of
history,
this is the
point when
we see God
most clearly.
Through this
moment in
history,
we see who
God is
with
absolute
clarity.
In verse
4,
Jesus
prays,
he goes
on to
pray,
I glorified
you on
earth,
having
accomplished
the work
that you
gave me
to do.
And just
think about
this,
because though
it's past
tense,
what Jesus
is doing
is actually
speaking of
his whole
ministry
here.
It's
literally
hours away
from being
completed.
So he's
speaking about
it as if
it's all
done,
as an
entire
completed
work.
And in
its entire
completed
work,
it can be
summed up
as this,
a life
lived to
glorify the
Father.
The cross
is Christ
glorified.
At the
cross,
we come to
know the
one true
God like
never before
or since.
The way
God
describes
himself to
Moses
comes to
life in
Jesus.
If we
look back
at that
moment,
Moses did
get that
glimpse of
God back
in Exodus
chapter 34.
We read
these words,
Exodus 34,
6 and
following.
This is
who God
declares
himself to
be.
He says
this,
the Lord,
a merciful
and gracious,
slow to
anger and
abounding in
steadfast love
and faithfulness,
keeping
steadfast love
for thousands,
forgiving iniquity
and transgression
and sin,
but who will
by no means
clear the
guilty,
visiting the
iniquity of
the fathers
on the
children and
the children's
children to
the third
and the
fourth
generation.
The way
God describes
himself to
Moses comes
to life in
the person
of Jesus.
Merciful and
gracious,
slow to
anger,
abounding in
steadfast love
and faithfulness,
keeping
steadfast love
for thousands,
forgiving
iniquity and
transgression,
but who will
by no means
clear the
guilty.
It sounds
like a
contradiction,
doesn't it?
But friends,
even as we
talk about
this,
when you
think about
glory,
is this
where your
mind goes?
When you
think about
being raised
up high or
exalted,
when you
think about
being clothed
in splendour,
when you
think about
the greatness
there could
possibly be
in life,
even when
you think
about the
greatness of
God,
is the
crucifixion
seeing what
you imagine?
Is the
cross there
in your
thinking?
Every day
I walk
our dog
on Redhead
Beach.
I've got a
picture of
the last,
this is the
last walk
I went
on.
Every day,
it's different,
it's just a
different version
of beautiful.
Every day
that scene
tells me
something
about the
character of
God.
But the
cross,
the cross
introduces me
to him
personally.
Jesus
wanted us
to know
God
personally.
So Jesus
wanted
the glory
of the
cross.
He prayed
for it.
He asked
for it
because it
glorified the
father and
it rescued
us.
Only in
his work at
the cross
can he say
in verse
five,
and now
father,
glorify me
in your
presence
with the
glory that
I had
with you
before the
world
existed.
glorify me
in your
own
presence
with the
glory that
I had
with you
before the
world
existed.
You know,
later in
John's life,
he actually
got the
privilege of
getting a
glimpse into
the throne
room of
God.
It's in
Revelation
chapter five
that it's
recorded.
A part of
that vision
is recorded.
in it,
in that
throne room,
he saw a
lion who
looked like
a lamb
who had
been slain.
Friends,
Jesus,
God the
Son,
still bears
the marks
of his
glory.
And thank
God that he
does.
Because it's
only through
the cross that
we get to
know him for
eternity.
Jesus
prayed for
glory.
He chose
the cross.
We struggle
through life
enduring things
that we,
you know,
we find
almost impossible
to bear at
times.
Jesus chose
the worst
possible death.
And he
chose it
to show us
God's glorious
nature.
he chose
it as the
means of
ransoming
us.
Friends,
that glorious
cross is an
invitation to
know God
personally.
And as we
reflect on it,
when our
lives approximate
the life that
Jesus lived
and the glory
sought,
then God is
glorified in
us too.
Think about
this.
If this were
to shape our
lives,
to recognize
that there
is just
one way
in this
life to get
back into
relationship with
God.
How much we
would treasure
Christ and the
work that he
did on our
behalf.
How tightly we
would hold to
that as a
center point of
our lives.
How much it
would shape how
we live toward
each other.
No longer
grasping for
glory, no
longer seeking
greatness,
desiring to
exalt ourselves
or putting
our worth in
things that are
just so empty,
but delighting in
him alone.
no longer
grasping, but
giving.
I've got to
tell you that
one of the
things that I've
noticed as a
pastor is how
difficult it is
to walk with
someone through
a situation where
forgiveness is
required, where
one person is
wounded and
another person
is responsible
for it.
it is just
so, so
difficult.
But imagine
if we had the
mind of Christ
in this.
Imagine if our
lives were
shaped by the
glory that he
sought.
Imagine if our
absolute and
utter delight is
in being
reconciled, our
willingness to
overlook any
hurt or grief
or grievance
that we have.
not to ignore
it, but to
deal with it in
the context of
someone who so
wants to get
beyond it and
back to loving
that person,
that that is
what fills their
vision.
Wouldn't it be
wonderful if we
as a church
shaped our lives
on this kind of
glory seeking,
as we serve
each other,
as we eagerly
and earnestly
desire to see
each other
raised up?
What a
wonderful thing
that would be.
Friends, the
cross, the
cross itself is
the son glorified.
The cross is
the father
glorified.
And when our
lives approximate
the life that
Jesus lived and
the glory that
Jesus sought,
then God is
glorified in us
too.
Christ, let's
drink.
Thank you.