I would like you to turn your Bibles this morning to Matthew chapter 5.
!
Wednesday evening, as we were enjoying the ministry of missionaries that are going to
be serving the Lord in England, I was listening to the preaching of the Word and I fell under
conviction for something that had been said on last Sunday, something that I said on last
Sunday.
And pastors don't get to bury retractions on the ninth page of the newspaper.
When it happens at the pulpit, it should be declared at the pulpit.
It's inappropriate for a pastor to be sympathetic with people who are struggling with depression
in his office and then be sarcastic in public preaching of the Word.
And I ask your forgiveness for that.
Turn in your Bibles to John chapter 17, verse 6 through 19.
Let me read the passage and have you follow along with me as we hear exactly what God has
spoken to us here in this passage.
I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world.
Yours they were, and you've given them to me, and they have kept your word.
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 sent me.
I am praying for them.
I am 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 no longer, 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 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 the Scriptures might be fulfilled.
But now I am 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 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.
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.
Join me in prayer.
Father, we unite together as your people
with one common desire,
that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our God and Savior,
would be lifted up this morning,
and that we seeing Him would grow to be more like Him,
and that we would grow in our affection for Him.
I'm thankful that both the preaching of the Word of God
and the comprehension of the Word of God
are things that we may ask the Holy Spirit's help for this morning.
And I pray that your people would join me in praying
for the work of the Holy Spirit
in both the declaration of the Word
and then in our comprehension and appreciation.
I pray also, Father, for those that are here today
that perhaps have never come to saving faith.
They know perhaps the words of truth.
They've heard the Scriptures,
and yet they've never been drawn to the cross
to repent and confess their sins
and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And just as we pray that believers would be strengthened,
so we pray that sinners would be converted,
that Jesus, the Lord of life,
would be made much of today in this place.
And we ask in Jesus' name, amen.
This lesson here in John chapter 17,
beginning in verse 6 and carrying through to 19,
is the second of three parts of Jesus praying
after He had had the Lord's table
and just before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane.
And you remember last week,
one of the things that I commented on
is that it's appropriate for us
to kind of remind ourselves of the sharp differentiation
between this prayer here,
where Jesus is praying for Himself,
for His disciples, and for us.
And then moments later,
when He goes into the garden,
and He pours out His heart,
and He says, listen,
if it is possible,
let this cup pass from Me.
Here we see the Lord praying
with this kind of divine overview
and interest that kind of transcends the moment
that was going to take place
in the very hours to come.
And He is praying about things
that were very, very close to His heart
and His interest,
namely,
His reunion with the Father,
namely,
the disciples that He had loved and cared for,
and namely for us
who have come to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
because of His ministry
and because of the ministry of the disciples
that He prayed for.
It would be difficult for me,
and many of you have heard me on occasion
say this is my favorite passage.
It's almost become kind of a joke
because seldom is there a Sunday that goes by
that I don't come to the text thinking,
man, this is really good.
And I have to tell you,
Thursday when I hit the print button
and I heard it click out there in the copy,
Connie, are you in here working in the nursery?
Yeah.
Connie, what happened?
I just, wow!
Man, I've got to wait until Sunday.
But it's a good passage.
Just bear with me.
It is really good.
And the thing that makes this passage so precious
is that it informs us of the heart of Jesus.
Now look at me.
You know, at the heart of our religion
and at the heart of our faith
is not just a set of rules.
Now rules aren't all bad.
But listen to me.
At the heart of what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ
is a very real, personal, genuine relationship.
And one of the sure tests
of the authenticity of your relationship
is your affection and interest
in the person you have it with.
Would you agree with that?
Judith, my bride.
There she is.
She was sitting behind Chris.
And Chris is too tall.
Sorry, Chris.
I'm glad.
Did you notice, Chris, that she moved over here?
I saw her and I went back to let her know.
She works in the nursery once a month, you know.
And so I was like, that's always a bad Sunday for me
because I like to see her.
And then she decided she's not one of those people
who likes to sit at the very front, you know.
She likes to kind of be in the back.
And she was sitting behind Chris.
And Chris is just too tall.
And I told her, honey, you have to move so I can see you.
Here's the point.
If you have a relationship,
now, if you have a relationship,
there has to be some affection with that.
Would you think so?
Well, and so when we step into this passage,
we have an opportunity to understand a little bit more
about how Jesus loves us.
And understanding that, listen to me,
understanding that will whet our appetite for him
and cause us to love him more.
So, if you're sitting here this morning
and your heart, very frankly,
is just about stone cold to Jesus,
I'm really not all that interested
in how many Bible verses you have memorized in the past
or whether you were baptized
or whether or not you go to church on a race.
I'm really interested if you love him and you know him.
Because at the heart of what we are engaged in
is relationship with the Lord of glory.
And as we look at this passage,
we are getting an opportunity
of looking into the heart of Jesus
and understanding how he loves us.
Truthfully, today,
we are looking more at how he loved the 11.
But here's the interesting note.
If he did fairly well at loving the 11,
and what do we know about the 11?
Just follow me here, okay?
The 11 were the most famous
and most significant men in the ancient world.
Phenomenal, spectacular,
men of renown and repute
and incredibly brilliant, right?
I mean, how are we doing so far?
They were low-life fishermen,
flunky tax collectors.
I mean, just a bunch of rude guys.
I mean, it's like,
Jesus, are you kidding me?
These are the guys you picked?
Well, here's the deal.
If Jesus can love those kind of guys,
he probably will do a fairly decent job loving me.
You.
You got it?
So when we look at how Jesus loved the disciples
and prayed for them,
our hearts should be encouraged to know
that he cares for us the same way.
So let's look this morning at,
first of all,
who Jesus was praying for in this passage.
This is called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus.
I want you to know,
just because I have to say this,
we're going to cover John 17 in three sermons.
Next Sunday,
Pastor Shearer is going to be preaching.
Pretty good.
I like that.
To cover John 17 in three sermons
is just about over the top for me.
Marcus Rainford has written a book called
Our Lord Prays for His Own.
It's 476 pages long,
and it's just phenomenal.
But I have to get this done in this sermon.
Okay, who was Jesus praying for?
I have manifested, verse 6,
your name to the people whom you gave me
out of the world.
Here in John 17, verse 6,
and carrying down through verse 9,
we're going to see Jesus lay out
some of the markers,
the characteristics of the men
that he was praying for.
First thing we see here
is that these are men
that the Father had given him.
Now remember that Jesus
had manifested the Father's name publicly.
He had preached the kingdom
and repentance to all kinds of people.
He had healed individuals.
He had performed miracles.
He had fed the multitude.
He had done all kinds of things,
and people had seen and seen
and heard and heard,
and nevertheless had really not come to faith.
And here we have 11.
And Jesus identifies
that these individuals
are ones who were a select group.
Now look what it says there in verse 6.
It says,
whom you gave me
out of the world.
I want you to understand
that these 11
were individuals
that the Father
had given to Jesus
as disciples,
but they are also individuals
that the Father
had given to Jesus
as converts,
as believers.
Now we know
that Jesus chose 12.
And I don't want you to think
that Jesus,
in choosing Judas,
had made a bad pick.
because it tells us
and we can take the time
at another moment
and kind of look through
the life and work of Judas
and his role
in the plan of redemption.
I just want you to understand
that the 11
that are being referred to here
are the ones
that God had given to Jesus
sovereignly as His own.
It's interesting to mark
how often we see this issue
of God being the one
who gives individuals to Christ.
You find it three times
in John 17.
Put your finger there
on verse 6.
Put your finger then
on verse 37.
I'm sorry.
Hold it, hold it.
What am I doing here?
John chapter 6,
verse 37 and 39.
That's my mistake.
Go there for a second.
John chapter 6,
verse 37.
All that the Father gives me
will come to me
and whosoever comes to me
I will never cast out.
How is it that people
come to Christ?
Oh, just arbitrarily decide
one day.
No, it says here
they come because
the Father gives them.
There, verse 39.
It says this,
And this is the will
of Him who sent me
that I should lose
nothing of all
that He has given me
but raise it up
on the last day.
Look at John chapter 10,
verse 29.
Those who Jesus
was praying for
were those that
the Father had given Him.
John chapter 10,
verse 29.
My Father who has
given them to me
is greater than them all
and no one is able
to snatch them
out of my Father's hand.
Now stop just for a moment.
There's a little sidebar.
A little note.
To believe in
eternal security
means that you're
ultimately resting
on the same
theological foundation
that the doctrine
of God's sovereign grace
in choosing rests on.
Does that make sense?
Jesus makes it clear
over and over again
that the Father
is the one who gives
and He doesn't lose them.
And so if you're sitting
here this morning
and you're a believer,
I want to encourage you
to know this.
The reason you've
come to faith
is because of His call
and His enabling
and you are incredibly blessed.
Furthermore,
you are not going
to fall away.
I like that.
Second thing
that I want you to mark
about these individuals
that Jesus was praying for
is that these are those
who have kept
the Father's word.
Look at the last part
of verse 6.
And they have kept
your word.
In addition,
to the fact
of the sovereign will
of God
in choosing those
that He would give
to Jesus,
we see that there
is another marker
given to us
in the text
about the characteristic
of these individuals
who are genuine believers.
What is it?
They obey the word.
They follow the word.
They do the things
that the Father
has called them to do.
And so I want you
to recognize
that there is no accident
that there is
this close correlation
or connection
between divine appointment
and willing obedience.
There is no denying
the fact
that one of the characteristics
of those who are
genuinely called
is that they are wired
and God is at work
in helping them
grow in obedience.
Do you follow that?
Now listen to me.
Just an illustration.
I got to tell you
for me to sit
I was sitting right over there
wrestling with
the bad words
that I'd said
on Wednesday
and kind of thinking
do I really want to stand
in front of God's people
and say
that was wrong?
Now how many of you
think that was
yeah, yeah
I can't think of anything
more exciting.
But here's what.
I who have been saved
by the grace of God
have no other call
but to be obedient
to the word of my Savior
and I had to choose
between whether
I was going to play
to my pride
or I was going
to humble myself
and exalt him
whose word
is my command.
And as we look
at the passage
Jesus makes it
very, very clear
that those
who he was praying for
are those
who kept
the word.
And so if you're
sitting here this morning
and you're one
of those individuals
who you grew up
in a Christian home
you learned the vocabulary
you got it all down
but the fact of the matter
is this
you do not see
a continuing path
of obedience
you do not see
growth in obedience
I would ask you
to double check
your birth certificate.
Where's the proof?
If you're his child
there will be
a growing interest
in obeying him
regardless of the cost.
Third
I want you to mark
that those
who Jesus was praying for
were those
who'd received
the word as gods.
Now they know
verse 7
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 sent me.
When Jesus prayed
for these
eleven disciples
he wasn't praying
for those
who had merely
believed
in the physical
evidence
that they had
enjoyed
when Jesus
fed the five thousand.
I mean do you
follow that?
Here you are
stuffing your face
with bread and fish
and you have to say
well this is pretty
spectacular
I mean hey
we started out
with one little boy
with his lunch
and we're all eating.
I have to admit
I believe.
But did they believe
in Jesus
as the Savior?
Did they believe
in Jesus
as the one
that they were trusting
for their salvation?
No.
In the vast majority
of cases they didn't
and here's Jesus
saying
these who I am
praying for
are those
who have received
the word
that I have given
as God's.
They heard
what Jesus said
and they accepted
that it was
actually God's word.
They didn't just
nod and grin
they obeyed it.
Next thing
that I want you
to mark
is that those
who Jesus
was praying for
are those
who believed
that Jesus
had been sent
by the Father.
Here's Jesus
praying specifically
for his eleven.
Now I'm not going
to get over
into the issue here
but remember
Judas by this time
had left
to betray Jesus
and it tells us
later in the passage
that Judas
was the son
of destruction.
he was the one
who had been
ordained providentially
by God
to do the thing
he did.
Now if you're
sitting here
trying to put
all the pieces
together
let me know
when you get there
because
but it's true.
Mark the fact
scriptures tell us
of the reality
of human responsibility
but also of God's
sovereignty
and the way
he does things
and so we kind of
humble ourselves
and say okay
in this case
what we're looking
at however
is not the issue
of Judas
but the ones
that Jesus
is praying for
and his prayer
was this
that they
who he
was praying
for would
believe
they'd been sent
by the Father.
What's the emphasis
here?
That they would
be locked
into the reality
that Jesus
had been sent
on a divine
mission
by God
to accomplish
a particular
purpose.
You got that?
Now stop
just for a moment.
I want you
to move forward
in the passage
just a little bit
okay
to verse 18.
As you sent
me into the world
so I have sent
them into the world.
what's Jesus
saying?
Back up
just for a moment
because we
want to understand
this.
Here is Jesus
saying I want
these people
to really
understand
and the ones
I'm praying
for get it
that you
sent me
into the world.
Aren't you
glad that Jesus
came?
Are you glad?
For real?
He sent you
for exactly
the same
reason.
I had
an epiphany.
Do you
know what
an epiphany
is?
How many
of you
like cartoons
where the
little bubbles
kind of
represent people
that are
thinking and
not saying
it?
Okay.
An epiphany
is a bubble
moment.
I was driving
down the road
and you're
kind of
thinking to
myself
about 14
months away
from retirement
and what am
I going to
do when I'm
retired?
I thought
I'm going
to do the
same thing
I'm doing
now.
I'm going
to serve
God.
Is there
no change?
Do you
understand
that?
That was
a bubble
moment.
It's like
what?
You mean
I don't
get to do
just one
and one
go fishing
and hunt
all the rest
of my life
and maybe
garden a
little bit?
No.
I'm going
to do
the same
thing I
was doing
before.
I'm going
to serve
Jesus.
Just the
same thing.
Why?
Because
he sent
me.
His sending
doesn't stop
when I turn
70 if I
get that far.
Do you
follow that?
You got
that?
Here is
Jesus saying
listen I'm
praying for
these guys
and I'm
really glad
that they
believe you
sent me.
By the
way I
am sending
them.
So before
we go on
from this
little who
is Jesus
praying for
let's kind
of put our
heads around
this for a
second and
let's ask a
couple practical
questions.
Just kind
of put it
out there and
have you chew
on it a
little bit.
hey am I
someone who
actually is
following what
Jesus says?
We live in a
messy messy
world.
Do you
realize that?
We really
do.
the greater
concern I
have today
is not
about the
unregenerate
world around
us.
But the
fact that so
many people
who have been
called by Christ
to be salt
and light are
not the least
bit interested
in anything
but their
own private
agenda.
And I
got to tell
you when the
salt stops
being salt
the meat
goes bad
quickly.
And that's
what we're
seeing.
So are you
one who is
obedient to
Christ?
That's a
practical
question.
Another
question is
this is that
hey you and
I are tickled
pink that
Jesus was
sent to be
the savior
of the
world.
Now look
at what it
says there
again.
Just put
your finger
on it.
Verse 18
as you
sent them
into the
world.
The Greek
word there
is kathos
which means
in the
same manner
in the
same manner
that you
sent me
into the
world
I have
sent them
into the
world.
So practical
question is
this is
your life
as wrapped
up in the
glory of the
father and
in the work
of redemption
that he
came to
accomplish
and sent
us out
to be
messengers
of or is
it all about
your personal
comfort and
preferences and
all the little
nuanced details
that reflect
you?
Coming back
just for a
moment.
Hebrews chapter
1 verse 1
and 2 it
says this it
says that God
at various
sundry times he
spoke through the
prophets etc etc
and then he says
in verse 2
but in this
last day he
has spoken to
us through his
son.
What it's saying
is this is what
Jesus says has
got some weight
right?
It's got some
weight and so
Jesus is saying
to you I'm
sending you out
for the same
purpose the
father sent me.
Well let's come
to another
profoundly encouraging
part because the
first part is a
little heavy.
let's look at
what Jesus
prayed for.
Verse 11
Jesus says I'm
no longer in the
world but they
are in the world
and I'm coming
to you holy
father keep them
in your name
which you have
given me that
they may be one
even as we are
one.
I have to tell
you having asked
earlier for
forgiveness for
sarcasm I want to
be very careful how
I tread with this
but listen to me.
I am flummoxed.
I'm stymied.
I'm confused.
And I don't know
what else to
attribute the
deficiency to other
than a general lack
of Bible knowledge.
Here's what I'm
talking about.
That was a long
wind up but here's
the point.
I just cannot
believe I was
watching TV the
other night a rare
occasion that I was
doing it and I
happened to watch
an advertisement
send in for free
miracle water.
Some of you are
smiling but I
hope you didn't
send in.
Our fountains are
cheaper than that.
Send in for free
miracle water and
one person after
another immediately
after the send in
for free miracle
water I sent in
with my free
miracle water and
I got a Lexus
and God blessed
me with he healed
me.
I'm thinking to
myself if Jesus
was really
interested in
healing us with
free miracle water
in the 21st
century could he
could he have
done it?
What's the answer?
Nod your heads.
Here's Jesus
praying for us
praying for his
disciples.
What is he really
interested in?
that we move up a
tax bracket or two?
That we have you
know what is he
interested in?
Okay well let's get
to it.
Number one that they
be kept in the
father's name.
That they be kept in
the father's name.
That they be kept in
the father's name.
Now the name of God
is more than vowels
and consonants.
It's more than
letters.
His name refers to
his character and
his truth.
In Romans and in
2 Peter we find
that the way in
which we behave as
believers ends up
reflecting on his
name and when we
misbehave we cause
his name to be
blasphemed.
It's no accident
that the first thing
that Jesus prayed
for as he was
praying for his
disciples was this
that they would
remain in the
center of the
character and
nature and glory
of God.
In essence when
Jesus said what he
did there keep
them in your name
he was praying
that his
disciples would
stay zeroed in
would stay focused
would remain
interested in the
glory and the
person of God.
What you think
about God and how
often you think
about God makes
all the difference
in the world in
how you act and
what you say.
Isn't that right?
I am a Baptist
pastor actually
seven days a week.
Now some days I
wear jeans and
some days I wear
shorts and some
days and sometimes
one of the things
that I always find
curious is that
you know I'm
working around the
yard or I'm
somewhere at Home
Depot a lot of
times and you know
and someone will
get to talking to
me and the next
thing that happens
is they say
something that is
a little off
color or a little
inappropriate.
I don't say
hey don't do
that I'm a
Baptist pastor.
I just kind of
go on go on go
on and a couple
minutes later I
say so what do
you do?
well I'm a
pastor.
Oh I didn't mean
to say that.
I'm sorry.
What I think about
what you said is
really irrelevant.
I'm checking out of
here soon.
It's what God
thinks that counts.
okay.
So it's the
desire of the
Savior that his
disciples stay
within focus and
interest in the
glory and the
supremacy of God.
Second thing that
we find here.
Jesus prays that
they will be one.
Look at verse
11 that they may
be one even as
we are one.
Hey.
I have the
privilege of being
father to four
children.
They are no
longer at that
point in life where
we all get in the
car together and we
say or I would say
from the driver.
Well actually I would
say from the
passenger seat because
Judith usually drove
for good reason.
I no longer say hey
where do you want to
go?
But I can tell you
when we used to say
that in the car I
ended up with five
different opinions.
I want to go to
McDonald's.
I want to go to
Arby's.
Everybody had an
opinion.
It's like stop.
Unity is not
something that we
are hardwired to do
because of our
depraved little
souls.
Would you agree
with that?
Huh?
Getting along?
Huh?
No?
Here's Jesus.
He says let me read
it again.
He says that they
may be one even as
we are one.
Here is Jesus
praying.
What's he praying
for?
That his disciples
be one as he is
one with the
father.
Jesus cared very
much for the
well-being of his
disciples.
Listen to me.
And in
relationship to
that interest he
prayed that his
children, his
disciples would be
in unity with one
another.
Being in unity is
not in our human
nature, in our
depravity.
It is the work
of grace and it
is the work of
the cross.
In essence, to
put it together
this way, and it's
not the only thing
that could be said
about biblical
unity, but unity
is something that
comes about when we
are persuaded that
the glory and the
name of the
father is more
important than our
personal preferences.
Let me come to
one more point here
just for a second.
Not one more, so
you'll think I'm
done.
I want you to
mark also that
Jesus said, I'm
praying that they
will have their
joy fulfilled.
I want you to
recognize that when
Jesus is praying
that they have
their joy
fulfilled, he is
interested that his
disciples have a
joy, an abiding
joy that transcends
the moment.
What's going to
happen very soon is
that they're going
to watch their
savior betrayed, and
they're going to
abandon him, they're
going to know of the
crucifixion, and
they'll be pretty
disappointed and
grieved.
And yet here is Jesus
praying, and his
prayer is this, that
they would have their
joy fulfilled.
They would be full of
joy.
Let's think about that
just for a moment.
Where does joy come
from?
For one, it comes
from who you know.
And I have to say
this, that a
characteristic of a
believer whose heart
is marked by a sense
of the presence and the
glory of God is not an
unhappy person.
There are moments of
sorrow and their
heartache and their
days of shadow, but the
characteristic of a
believer who is
walking with the Lord is
marked by joyfulness.
joyfulness.
There's another thing
that I want you to
understand in relationship
to this issue of joy, and
I want you to go back
just for a moment to
John chapter 15, verse
9 through 11.
John chapter 15, look
at the passage, if you
will.
John chapter 15, verse
9.
As the Father has loved
me, so have I loved you.
Abide in my love.
If you keep my
commandments, you will
abide in my love, just
as I have kept my
Father's commandments and
abide in his love.
These things I have
spoken to you, that my
joy may be in you, and
that your joy may be
full.
Now listen to me.
Everybody wants to be
happy.
Would you agree with
that?
I mean, just try it.
You're in the checkout
line at Walmart.
You come up to the
lady who's standing
there waiting for you to
scan your stuff or
whatever else, and you
say, hey, would you
like to be happy today?
Or when you drive up to
McDonald's and you order
your food at the window
and just say to the
lady, hey, would you
like to be happy today?
No, I'm really hoping I
can be pretty unhappy
today.
Today's a day for
unhappiness, and I'm
really into it.
I want to do my best at
it.
People want to be happy,
but here's the deal.
There is a correlation.
There's a connection.
There's a link between
obedience and happiness.
Do you follow that?
There really is.
The other day, I found
myself in the process of
putting something together,
and I have changed.
One of the advantages of
growing older is that you
learn things the hard way.
And I was actually sat
down, and the first thing
I did was I took out the
instruction manual.
The first thing.
I used to think that I
could figure it out.
It didn't make any
difference what it was.
I figured it out.
And I've had so many times
where I would be about
three-quarters of the way
through the project and
suddenly realize that this
wasn't working.
And so back to the manual.
So now I'm at the point
where I've made this
connection between
following instructions and
getting it right seems to
be really close.
It makes me happy.
Now listen to me.
There are some of you out
here who just, I mean, you
can't figure out why
happiness just seems to be
elusive, but you are living
in perpetual, ongoing
disobedience to the Word of
God, and it isn't going to
work until you follow Him.
The fullness of joy and the
circle of obedience go
together.
Mark what it says next.
We find Jesus there in His
prayer saying, I'm coming to
you, okay, and I've kept
these ones, but I am asking
that you would guard them,
that you would protect them.
And so I want you to
understand as we think about
this fact that Jesus is not
praying that we'd be taken
out of the world, but that
we'd be protected.
I can't help when I read
from day to day of the
things that believers are
suffering all around the
world to not think that the
day is coming when people
here in America are going to
suffer very realistically for
their faith.
Do you realize that?
It's coming.
And interestingly enough,
we find that Jesus didn't
pray that we would be kept
from difficulty.
difficulty.
His prayer was that we
would be kept through it.
Last thing that I want you
to mark here, going down,
if you will, to verse 17,
it says, sanctify them in the
truth.
Your word is truth.
My Bible reading last Thursday
was through a portion of
Leviticus covering the
the ordination process and the
sanctifying process of Aaron
and his sons.
I mean, it was impressive.
Went on for seven days.
And what that did actually was
set Aaron and his sons apart
for the responsibility of
serving God.
The word sanctify means to set
apart, put apart for some
specific purpose or be appointed
for something.
And in the ceremony in the
Old Testament, the priest
put on special garments.
He offered specific sacrifices.
He had blood put on the right
lobe of his ear and on the
right thumb and on the right
toe, okay?
And it was all put together in
such a fashion that that
individual was set apart for a
particular responsibility.
That was their job, their call.
And here is Jesus praying for
his disciples and he said,
listen, I want them to be
sanctified in the truth.
I want them to be set apart.
Now listen to me.
The thing that makes us
different
is the word of God.
The thing that makes us
different is the word of God.
It's no accident that the
central part of our worship
today is the word.
And next week when Pastor
Shearer preaches, you'll have
someone who doesn't have gray
hair, who's a little younger and
a little slimmer standing up here.
But you know what's going to be
exactly the same?
It's going to be the word of God.
And the thing that
characterizes, now listen,
because this is something that
seems to be missing sometimes.
The thing that characterizes
authentic worship is that it's
never separated from the
centrality of the preaching of
the word of God.
Do you follow that?
Our singing is what it is
because of the word of God,
not despite, not apart, but
because.
And so here is Jesus praying that
his disciples would be
sanctified by the word.
The word.
So practically speaking, let me
ask you this.
You're sitting out there.
We're coming towards the end.
How important is the word in
your life?
How important?
Well, I read three verses in the
morning.
You know, pretty much that's all I
can get in.
Really?
Okay.
So when you have a question,
where do you go for information?
Well, I Google it.
So I got you there, didn't I?
Okay.
So where's the word in all of
this?
Do you follow that?
Malachi, to the law,
Isaiah chapter 8, to the law and
the testimonies that they speak not
according to this, it's because there
is no truth in them.
Jesus says, listen, I want you to do
something for these 11 that I love.
I want you to sanctify them in the
truth and your word is truth.
Listen.
Jesus prayed for his 11 and he's
praying for you today in the same way.
If you want something that is an
incredible comfort, yes, it is a
comfort to know that Jesus died on
the cross for my sins.
But it says in Hebrews that he ever
lives.
Do you know what it says?
To make intercession.
Intercession.
Thank you, Mary Ellen.
To make intercession for us before
the throne.
I got to tell you, it gives me cold
chills to realize that Jesus is
praying for me today.
It doesn't get much better than that.
So practically speaking, listen to me.
If you are here and you know Jesus as
your Savior and you're kind of playing
loose and careless with obedience, are
you listening?
You're messing with the wrong Savior.
Because the one who is interceding on
your behalf is bent on bringing it
about, right?
Having begun a good work in you, he
will keep on putting the heat on until
you get the memo.
So don't mess with him.
If you are here this morning and you do
not know Jesus, let me tell you, now is
the appointed hour to cry out to him and
say, listen, my life's a mess and I
cannot make it and I need Jesus as my
Savior.
Now's the hour.
Let's close in prayer.
Our Father God, this morning as we take
the word in hand, we are thankful for
the blessing of the scriptures that you
have given to us that declares truth and
tells us of the Lord Jesus and his
ministry on our behalf, even today as he
intercedes for us before the Father.
I pray that as we sing this song in
closing, that those who are here that do
not know Christ would be drawn to the
cross, that today they would recognize the
burden and the darkness of their heart has
no remedy apart from crying out to Christ.
And believers that are discouraged,
believers that are uncertain about the
moment and the future would find comfort in
this, that the one who saved them,
even at this moment, intercedes for them
before the throne.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.