WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.120 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:15.300 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:22.660 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:34.780 Good morning, everyone. I am Cherubha Prabhakar, and I have been attending Christ Church for almost seven years. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:40.799 Today's reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter 17, as printed in your bulletin. 00:00:41.620 --> 00:00:45.359 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed, 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:51.939 Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:59.239 For you granted him authority over all people, that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:06.140 Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 00:01:06.739 --> 00:01:10.680 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:17.579 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. 00:01:17.579 --> 00:01:22.799 I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:27.379 They were yours. You gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word. 00:01:27.859 --> 00:01:31.079 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:34.819 For I gave them the words you gave me, and they accepted them. 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:39.859 They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:41.319 I pray for them. 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:46.059 I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 00:01:46.679 --> 00:01:52.759 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine, and glory has come to me through them. 00:01:53.739 --> 00:01:58.899 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. 00:01:59.699 --> 00:02:06.379 Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 00:02:06.379 --> 00:02:11.579 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. 00:02:12.180 --> 00:02:17.000 None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction, so that scripture would be fulfilled. 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:22.460 I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:26.019 so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:29.900 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, 00:02:30.019 --> 00:02:32.919 for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:38.699 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. 00:02:39.419 --> 00:02:42.139 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 00:02:42.739 --> 00:02:44.419 Sanctify them by the truth. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:46.159 Your word is truth. 00:02:46.679 --> 00:02:49.699 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 00:02:50.339 --> 00:02:54.819 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:57.919 My prayer is not for them alone. 00:02:58.619 --> 00:03:02.259 I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. 00:03:02.259 --> 00:03:04.399 That all of them may be one. 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:07.739 Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:12.280 May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 00:03:12.799 --> 00:03:17.699 I have given them the glory that you have given me, that they may be one as we are one. 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:22.180 I in them and you in me, so that they may be brought to complete unity. 00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:27.560 Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:34.039 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory. 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:38.879 The glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:45.920 Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you and they know that you have sent me. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:56.399 I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:58.699 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:03:59.259 --> 00:04:00.899 Praise to you, O Christ. 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:09.040 Good morning, Christ Church. 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:10.879 My name is Andrew, one of the pastors here. 00:04:11.500 --> 00:04:14.719 Will you pray with me as we go to God's word? 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:22.019 Lord, we come before you this Palm Sunday remembering our King, 00:04:22.939 --> 00:04:28.960 our King who prayed to you for his disciples and even for us. 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:37.859 Would you strike us with what an amazing thing that is that the King of Palm Sunday got on his knees and he prayed for us. 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:48.120 Impress upon us just how gracious of a God you are, how loving of a God you are, how generous of a God you are. 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:51.179 As we look at your word this morning, we pray in the name of Jesus. 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:52.500 Amen. 00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:59.500 You know, as a pastor, I get asked to pray for people probably more than average, right? 00:04:59.620 --> 00:05:00.800 It comes with the territory, right? 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:03.879 That couple struggling with infertility. 00:05:04.500 --> 00:05:07.420 Could you put in a word with the big guy upstairs, the husband says to me. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:11.959 Or others, maybe some of us have asked me, you know, pray find a spouse. 00:05:12.819 --> 00:05:14.139 Pray I pass my exams. 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:16.439 Pray I win my basketball championship. 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:17.939 It's one of the more recent ones. 00:05:18.620 --> 00:05:19.540 And hey, I'm down. 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:23.379 Of course, I don't want us to be treating God like a magic genie. 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:29.140 But if it's not, you know, absolutely contradictory to what the scriptures teach about God's will for us, I'm down. 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:30.040 I'll ask for that. 00:05:30.580 --> 00:05:36.040 And not to brag, but Eli Gilbert's middle school basketball team, they did win their city championship a couple weeks ago. 00:05:36.180 --> 00:05:38.759 So, Eli, wherever you are, you're welcome, all right? 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:47.920 But, you know, these kinds of prayers, prayers asking for more than our daily bread, prayers for things we really, really want. 00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:57.379 A child, a spouse, the fulfillment of our career or academic or our hoop dreams, things God doesn't necessarily promise us. 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:02.779 You know, with these kinds of prayers, I know that I'm at best, I'm shooting 50-50, right? 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:03.579 At best. 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:07.419 And I wonder if many of us feel that way about prayer in general. 00:06:07.599 --> 00:06:10.180 Like, prayer is only mildly effective. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:13.479 Not a guaranteed way to get what we want. 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:20.539 For many of us, even when it's nice to hear people tell us that they're praying for us, you know, it's nice to know that they're thinking of us. 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:22.579 It's nice to know that they're wishing us well. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:24.120 How many of us actually get our hopes up? 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:30.819 How many of us become filled with expectation that these prayers for us might actually be answered? 00:06:30.819 --> 00:06:40.240 You know, even when a pastor as righteous as Jonathan St. Clair prays for us, it's like, well, better than nothing, right? 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:41.519 But we'll see. 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:43.439 We'll see what happens, right? 00:06:44.180 --> 00:06:48.920 Well, today on Palm Sunday, we're in John chapter 17, looking at a prayer that Jesus prays. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:57.279 It's five days after his entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, after all the palm branches, after all the celebration around his arrival as the Messiah King. 00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:02.199 Here in John 17, we have Jesus' final prayer with and for his disciples. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:05.279 And maybe you're like, okay, Jesus prays, right? 00:07:05.339 --> 00:07:09.139 And water is wet and gardeners garden, standard stuff, right? 00:07:09.139 --> 00:07:17.719 But what if I told you that what we have here in John chapter 17 is a model for the kind of prayer that God always says yes to? 00:07:18.599 --> 00:07:23.459 And what if I told you that in this prayer that Jesus offered in his final free moments of life, 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:28.199 what if I told you that this final prayer that came not just from his lips, but from his very heart, 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:32.279 what if I told you that Jesus prayed not just for his disciples then, 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:40.559 but for all who'd ever follow him, even those not yet born, even those not yet following him, possibly even for you? 00:07:41.599 --> 00:07:48.500 If I told you that King Jesus prayed from his heart in the last moments of his life a prayer that his father would surely say yes to 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:55.079 and that he very possibly had you in particular in mind, wouldn't you want to know about this kind of prayer? 00:07:55.079 --> 00:08:01.120 Well, that's what we have here in John chapter 17, sometimes called Jesus' farewell prayer. 00:08:01.259 --> 00:08:07.360 It's the longest prayer of Jesus recorded in the scriptures, more commonly known as his high priestly prayer. 00:08:07.479 --> 00:08:13.259 Here in John chapter 17, we have the good news that if you are a follower of Jesus, 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:17.060 or if you will someday become a follower of Jesus, 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:22.379 you can know, you will know that King Jesus prayed for you. 00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:27.379 He's more than a prophet king who merely speaks to you on God's behalf. 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:31.620 He's a priestly king who speaks to God on our behalf. 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:36.580 And by the way, the God he prays to also happens to be his adoring father, 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:41.340 his father who always loves to say yes and amen to all his son's prayers. 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:43.939 And this is the good news of John chapter 17 today, 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:49.779 that the exalted King of the universe is also our great high priest who pleads on his knees 00:08:49.779 --> 00:08:54.299 for our good before his loving and listening father in heaven. 00:08:54.860 --> 00:08:57.120 Now, to put that more succinctly, this is the main point today, 00:08:57.620 --> 00:09:01.860 is that King Jesus prays to his father for our good. 00:09:02.379 --> 00:09:05.459 King Jesus prays to his father for our good. 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:06.299 So let's dissect that. 00:09:06.339 --> 00:09:08.860 Let's talk about how King Jesus prays. 00:09:09.439 --> 00:09:11.620 Now, again, it's five days from Palm Sunday, 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:15.559 and everyone's expecting this Messiah king to get to work, 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:16.819 to establish the kingdom, 00:09:16.820 --> 00:09:18.700 because everyone knows what kings are supposed to do. 00:09:18.760 --> 00:09:20.560 They're supposed to get stuff done. 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:24.080 Meanwhile, Jesus knows that his time is running short, right? 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:26.200 He's about to be arrested and crucified. 00:09:26.379 --> 00:09:28.320 The hour has come, he says in verse 1. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.440 And yet, this Messiah king who is rightly expected to establish the kingdom 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:33.980 and to save the world, 00:09:34.100 --> 00:09:36.800 what does he do with only a few hours left to live? 00:09:36.800 --> 00:09:37.580 Verse 1. 00:09:38.280 --> 00:09:40.540 He looked toward heaven and prayed, 00:09:41.380 --> 00:09:41.680 Father. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:46.919 See, as we remember the kingly reception of Jesus on this Palm Sunday, 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:50.879 John 17 also reminds us that we have a king, 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:53.019 we have a king in Jesus, 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:54.979 a king who's on his knees, 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:57.939 that we have in Jesus a praying king 00:09:57.939 --> 00:10:01.179 whose gaze was set upward toward his father in heaven. 00:10:01.239 --> 00:10:02.099 And I want us to linger, 00:10:02.439 --> 00:10:04.059 I want us to linger on this today, 00:10:04.579 --> 00:10:07.179 this notion of a king who prays, 00:10:07.579 --> 00:10:09.539 this notion of the one true king of kings 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:10.899 who's responsible for saving the world 00:10:10.899 --> 00:10:14.559 and yet spending his final breaths in prayer. 00:10:14.699 --> 00:10:15.799 Think about that for a second. 00:10:16.439 --> 00:10:17.019 Think about it. 00:10:17.839 --> 00:10:19.740 Like, this is an imperfect illustration, 00:10:19.939 --> 00:10:23.360 but what if nuclear missiles were headed toward this nation 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:26.419 and our only hope was that the commander-in-chief 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:29.459 would devise and execute a plan to save us? 00:10:29.779 --> 00:10:33.299 Now, how would you feel with nukes dropping in just a few hours 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:37.539 if your commander-in-chief's only move was to pray? 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:41.419 Not figure out how our, you know, missile defense systems 00:10:41.419 --> 00:10:43.019 might protect us, mitigate the damage, 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:46.199 not figure out how to evacuate or shelter the population. 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:49.899 What if you saw that all that they did was just pray? 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:52.599 You probably feel frustrated, right? 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:53.699 Disappointed? 00:10:54.379 --> 00:10:55.099 Maybe hopeless? 00:10:55.379 --> 00:10:56.099 Like, that's it? 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:56.639 Prayer? 00:10:56.779 --> 00:10:58.819 Is that all you have to offer me? 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:00.879 What kind of leader are you? 00:11:02.139 --> 00:11:04.699 But a question I want to challenge us with this morning, 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:07.040 the question I want us to consider is, 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:08.460 what if it's actually better? 00:11:09.020 --> 00:11:11.080 What if it's actually better than anything else 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:13.240 that Jesus, the King of Kings, 00:11:13.340 --> 00:11:15.460 spent his last moments in prayer? 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:18.000 Let's think about this. 00:11:18.160 --> 00:11:19.460 Why did the King of Kings pray? 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:23.320 And how might that actually be better news than we think? 00:11:23.400 --> 00:11:25.320 What does it indicate about our King? 00:11:25.420 --> 00:11:26.920 What does it indicate about prayer 00:11:26.920 --> 00:11:28.400 that instead of doing anything else 00:11:28.400 --> 00:11:29.860 in his final moments of life, 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:32.700 he looked toward heaven and prayed to his Father? 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:35.840 You know, I think the reason so many of us 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.420 are underwhelmed by people's prayers for us 00:11:38.420 --> 00:11:39.960 is because we think of prayer often 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:43.360 as just some kind of resignation to fate or chance 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:46.020 or some kind of last-ditch effort, right? 00:11:46.060 --> 00:11:48.360 Just a last-ditch effort to get what we want. 00:11:49.020 --> 00:11:50.500 Like, think of the nuclear illustration. 00:11:50.700 --> 00:11:52.180 If our Commander-in-Chief only prayed 00:11:52.180 --> 00:11:54.300 as nuclear missiles came toward us, 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:56.140 most of us would assume that he or she 00:11:56.140 --> 00:11:57.680 had just given up, right? 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:00.559 And honestly, this is how many of us see 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.000 and how many of us use prayer. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:06.139 We only pray or ask people to pray for us 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:07.939 when our lives and our circumstances 00:12:07.939 --> 00:12:10.919 very apparently have gotten outside of our control. 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:12.639 And it's just a last-ditch effort 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:15.419 to try to get things back under our control. 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:17.879 But you see, this is not at all 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:20.439 what Jesus is doing here with this prayer. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:23.279 He's not throwing up a Hail Mary to heaven 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.299 because this is his last resort. 00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:28.179 No, even for King Jesus, prayer is option one. 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:30.099 It's the first play in his playbook 00:12:30.099 --> 00:12:32.000 when it says in verse one 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:33.519 that he looked toward heaven and prayed. 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:34.719 This wasn't the first time 00:12:34.719 --> 00:12:37.939 or it wasn't even the most desperate time 00:12:37.939 --> 00:12:39.179 in his life that he did this. 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:42.399 Now, King Jesus, precisely as the king, 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:46.120 he was always looking up toward heaven to his Father. 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:48.419 He was always in a posture of prayer. 00:12:48.539 --> 00:12:50.059 Prayer was his lifestyle. 00:12:50.219 --> 00:12:51.799 Here in John 17, he is doing 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:53.399 what he had always been doing, 00:12:53.779 --> 00:12:54.799 praying the same prayer. 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:55.500 What was he praying? 00:12:55.779 --> 00:12:57.399 Our Father in heaven. 00:12:58.719 --> 00:13:00.319 He lived his whole life 00:13:00.319 --> 00:13:03.000 in perfect and continual communion with God. 00:13:03.079 --> 00:13:05.639 For Jesus, prayer wasn't a last resort 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:07.439 or a wishful means to an end. 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:10.039 It was a way of being in the world. 00:13:10.839 --> 00:13:12.559 Even an act of defiance toward a world 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:13.679 that tells all of us 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:15.559 that we need to constantly be on our toes 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:19.199 and sweat and toil to hopefully gain salvation. 00:13:19.479 --> 00:13:21.759 Jesus wasn't exhibiting his resignation, 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:23.220 but faith. 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:26.799 Faith that God would indeed use him even unto death 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:28.620 to still save the world. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:29.980 He was getting things done 00:13:29.980 --> 00:13:32.259 the way he'd always gotten things done, 00:13:32.980 --> 00:13:35.600 with confident dependence upon his Father. 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:38.019 Unhurried and unworried, 00:13:38.139 --> 00:13:40.580 with eyes fixed as ever on his loving Father in heaven, 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:42.659 Jesus chose to be still 00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:45.199 and to know that God was God. 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:48.399 Jesus chose to be a king on his knees 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.299 and by faith trusted that what was actually 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:55.000 the very way that the world would be saved 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.199 would be through prayer. 00:13:57.699 --> 00:13:58.480 Would be through prayer. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:02.060 And so an application question for us this morning is, 00:14:02.680 --> 00:14:05.340 if the King of Kings spent his final moments 00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:07.620 not trying to eke out one last task, right? 00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:09.480 One last sermon, one last miracle, 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:11.220 but spent it on his knees, 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:13.840 looking up to his Father in heaven in prayer, 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:15.399 how much more reason do we have 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:17.420 to devote ourselves to prayer? 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:20.659 And honestly, this is a convicting word for me. 00:14:21.399 --> 00:14:23.700 You know, Jonathan's sabbatical coming in just two weeks, 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:25.159 the gravity of pastoring here 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:26.639 for the following four months. 00:14:26.719 --> 00:14:28.480 It's really starting to hit me, right? 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.019 And I've found myself trying to work ahead, 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:33.319 examine possible inefficiencies 00:14:33.319 --> 00:14:34.439 and how I use my time, 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:36.419 try to figure out how much sleep do I actually need, 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:38.240 strategize about what relationships 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:40.579 and responsibilities and ministries 00:14:40.579 --> 00:14:41.759 I can give less time to, 00:14:41.819 --> 00:14:44.399 identify, you know, who I can delegate this or that 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:45.899 to, ultimately try to figure out 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:48.219 how to maximize myself 00:14:48.219 --> 00:14:50.379 in order to accomplish more. 00:14:51.579 --> 00:14:53.059 And there is a place for diligence, 00:14:53.059 --> 00:14:55.939 but the way of Jesus here in John chapter 17 00:14:55.939 --> 00:14:58.299 has really convicted me over the past couple weeks 00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:01.459 about how little thought and time and passion 00:15:01.459 --> 00:15:04.439 I've resolved to commit to just praying. 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:07.079 Like what if what Christ's church needed 00:15:07.079 --> 00:15:08.539 was a praying pastor? 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:14.539 What if God actually desires, right? 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.500 What if God actually desires to accomplish more? 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:22.599 What if God is actually more extravagantly glorified? 00:15:23.059 --> 00:15:24.559 By people on their knees 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:26.839 than people on their toes. 00:15:27.859 --> 00:15:28.639 What if, right? 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:30.899 I mean, can you imagine if, 00:15:31.539 --> 00:15:33.319 what if we as the church, right? 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:35.619 If we as followers of Jesus were known, 00:15:35.819 --> 00:15:37.479 not just for whatever good things 00:15:37.479 --> 00:15:38.939 we've accomplished in this city, 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:40.639 but what if we were known as the people 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:42.759 whose prayers God answered? 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:45.739 Far beyond our imagination. 00:15:46.579 --> 00:15:48.019 What if we gave our final, 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:49.659 most crucial crunch time moments 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:50.860 and our most mundane, 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:52.279 everyday moments, 00:15:52.959 --> 00:15:53.399 to prayer? 00:15:54.219 --> 00:15:55.000 To being, 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:56.259 just being with our Father. 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:58.179 Not to just looking out 00:15:58.179 --> 00:15:59.620 at all the stuff that we want to accomplish, 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:00.899 but to looking up, 00:16:01.459 --> 00:16:02.179 like our Savior, 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:03.259 to our Father, 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:05.819 apart from whom we can do nothing. 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:07.519 What if, right? 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:09.959 Now, maybe you're here today 00:16:09.959 --> 00:16:12.240 and you're not even sure you believe in God, 00:16:12.319 --> 00:16:13.360 let alone prayer. 00:16:13.459 --> 00:16:14.519 And maybe you don't even understand 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:15.519 what it means to look up 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:17.899 to a Father in Heaven in prayer. 00:16:19.299 --> 00:16:20.500 Well, could I suggest to you 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:23.179 that prayer might not be as foreign 00:16:23.179 --> 00:16:25.519 or as strange as you might think. 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:27.639 Maybe you don't roll out your prayer mat 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:28.220 every morning, 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:28.980 fold your hands, 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:29.779 close your eyes, 00:16:30.059 --> 00:16:31.100 say these and thous 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:31.840 and light candles, 00:16:31.980 --> 00:16:32.779 but all of us, 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:33.659 all of us, 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:36.079 we develop dependent relationships 00:16:36.079 --> 00:16:37.600 with the things we believe 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:38.460 will save us. 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:39.600 And this is what prayer is. 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:42.139 You might not go up to your boss at work 00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:42.500 and say, 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:43.080 oh Lord, 00:16:43.179 --> 00:16:45.240 please save me from financial insecurity. 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:48.480 But maybe you are looking up 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:50.539 with a prayer-like dependence 00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:52.759 on your career and your income, 00:16:53.019 --> 00:16:54.139 hoping they will save you 00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:55.220 from financial ruin. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.340 You might not say to your significant other 00:16:58.340 --> 00:16:59.159 or your spouse, 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:01.639 Lord, please save me from loneliness. 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:04.319 But maybe you are looking up at them 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:06.460 with a prayer-like dependence 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:08.019 on your romantic partners, 00:17:08.879 --> 00:17:10.099 hoping they will save you 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:11.059 from loneliness. 00:17:12.140 --> 00:17:12.620 And see, 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:13.480 what I'm getting at is, 00:17:13.700 --> 00:17:14.280 Christian or not, 00:17:14.360 --> 00:17:15.200 religious or not, 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:16.300 we're all looking up 00:17:16.300 --> 00:17:18.000 to something that we believe 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:19.160 to be heavenly. 00:17:20.120 --> 00:17:20.900 And I'm just asking, 00:17:21.040 --> 00:17:22.020 what is that for you? 00:17:22.580 --> 00:17:23.500 What is that for us? 00:17:23.520 --> 00:17:25.040 And can we trust it to deliver? 00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:26.520 Can we trust it to answer our prayers 00:17:26.520 --> 00:17:28.500 and to actually save us? 00:17:29.500 --> 00:17:30.460 For King Jesus, 00:17:31.280 --> 00:17:32.380 even he looked up. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:34.060 But you know who he looked up to? 00:17:34.600 --> 00:17:36.060 His Father in heaven. 00:17:36.840 --> 00:17:37.940 So now let's talk about 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:39.140 how King Jesus prays 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:41.320 to his Father. 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:43.319 Now it might seem superfluous, 00:17:43.399 --> 00:17:43.539 you know, 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:44.339 unnecessary to mention 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:45.460 that Jesus prays to his Father 00:17:45.460 --> 00:17:46.579 because to some of us it's like, 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:48.500 well, who else would he pray to? 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:50.059 But it's super important 00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:51.339 we don't gloss over this 00:17:51.339 --> 00:17:52.419 and take it for granted 00:17:52.419 --> 00:17:53.480 and miss the implications 00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:55.740 of this Son of God 00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:58.480 praying to his God and Father. 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:00.139 We cannot miss this 00:18:00.139 --> 00:18:00.619 because remember, 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:02.159 John's Gospel has gone to great lengths 00:18:02.159 --> 00:18:03.679 to try to persuade us 00:18:03.679 --> 00:18:05.179 that Jesus is indeed God, 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:06.480 the Word who was with God, 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:07.159 who was God, 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:07.960 who was in the beginning, 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:09.519 and by whom all things 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.500 were made, right? 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:12.799 And so when Jesus prays 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:13.240 to his Father, 00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:14.360 if we're paying attention, 00:18:14.980 --> 00:18:16.140 this can be quite confusing, 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:16.680 right? 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:18.279 Like how does this work? 00:18:18.340 --> 00:18:19.460 If there is only one God 00:18:19.460 --> 00:18:20.380 as Jesus himself 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:21.440 surely would have believed 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:23.759 as an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:25.880 how can it be that he is God 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:28.240 and also prays to his God 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:28.819 and Father? 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:30.620 Well, see, 00:18:31.140 --> 00:18:33.039 what Jesus is implicitly 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:34.220 acknowledging here 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:37.100 is the explicitly Christian confession 00:18:37.100 --> 00:18:38.480 of the Trinity. 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:41.400 Jesus' prayer opens up for us 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:43.140 a window into the essence 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:44.740 of who God is. 00:18:44.819 --> 00:18:45.920 His prayer acknowledges 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:47.819 the ultimate foundational reality 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:48.960 of the triune God 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:50.299 who eternally exists 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:51.259 as one God 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:53.200 and somehow also 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:54.519 as three persons, 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:56.600 Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:18:57.440 --> 00:18:58.100 Now we could talk about 00:18:58.100 --> 00:18:59.180 the Trinity forever, 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:00.799 but the one thing 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:02.240 I want to show us today, 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:03.480 I hope to show you today 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:04.860 from Jesus' prayer 00:19:04.860 --> 00:19:05.920 to his Father. 00:19:06.660 --> 00:19:07.720 The one thing that shines 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:09.539 especially brightly here 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:10.099 in this prayer 00:19:10.099 --> 00:19:11.400 is the glorious beauty 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:13.339 of the triune God. 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:14.640 And I hope you'll bear with me 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:15.279 because we're about to get 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:16.500 a little bit theological, 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.099 but please give me a second, 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:18.380 all right? 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:19.660 Because we have to understand 00:19:19.660 --> 00:19:21.720 that the God of the Bible, 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:23.160 the God of Abraham 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:23.960 and of Israel, 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:25.019 the God revealed to us 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:25.779 in Jesus Christ, 00:19:25.860 --> 00:19:27.079 he is not some generic, 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:28.860 monotheistic God. 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:29.640 He isn't just some 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:31.299 transcendent, unknowable, 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:33.000 first cause and creator. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:33.859 He isn't just some 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:35.099 impersonal force 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:36.400 or energy in this world, 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:38.200 nor is he the monotheistic 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:39.480 Allah of the Quran 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:40.599 who our Muslim neighbors 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:41.299 worship. 00:19:41.819 --> 00:19:43.880 No, he is the triune God 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:44.900 revealed to us 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:46.700 in the pages of Scripture. 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:48.200 So we're going to spend 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:49.059 some time on this 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:49.640 because the Trinity 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:50.859 is not only absolutely 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:51.740 foundational 00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:53.319 to the Christian faith, 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:55.119 but it's mind-blowingly 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:55.660 profound. 00:19:56.339 --> 00:19:57.160 And it's the basis 00:19:57.160 --> 00:19:58.180 of all that is real 00:19:58.180 --> 00:19:59.380 and beautiful 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:00.599 and harmonious. 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:02.119 And this is really 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:03.219 beautifully highlighted 00:20:03.219 --> 00:20:04.699 here in John chapter 17. 00:20:05.699 --> 00:20:06.259 All right, so look 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:07.919 at Jesus' very first ask, 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:08.859 his very first petition 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:09.419 of his Father 00:20:09.419 --> 00:20:09.939 in this prayer. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:10.759 In verse 1, he says, 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:13.439 glorify the Son. 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:15.879 Does that strike anyone 00:20:15.879 --> 00:20:17.159 here as odd? 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:18.559 I mean, how many of you 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:19.059 who pray, 00:20:19.699 --> 00:20:20.319 how many of you 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:21.179 begin your prayers 00:20:21.179 --> 00:20:21.740 by saying, 00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:23.039 our Father in heaven, 00:20:23.439 --> 00:20:25.099 hallowed be my name. 00:20:25.639 --> 00:20:25.819 Right? 00:20:26.439 --> 00:20:27.439 Glorify me. 00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:28.299 Make much of me. 00:20:28.419 --> 00:20:28.980 Exalt me. 00:20:29.099 --> 00:20:30.259 Bring me all the glory 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:31.039 and all the honor 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:32.000 and all the praise. 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:32.879 Bring it all to me. 00:20:33.539 --> 00:20:34.799 Anyone here pray like this? 00:20:35.579 --> 00:20:36.719 Jonathan, do you pray like this? 00:20:37.439 --> 00:20:38.559 Maybe sometimes, right? 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:40.699 What the heck is Jesus 00:20:40.699 --> 00:20:41.659 praying here? 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:43.179 Wasn't he the one 00:20:43.179 --> 00:20:43.919 who taught us to pray, 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:44.839 our Father in heaven, 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:46.980 hallowed be your name, 00:20:47.379 --> 00:20:48.019 thy name? 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:49.119 How could Jesus 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:50.099 be so self-centered, 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:51.299 so occupied 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:52.359 with his own glory? 00:20:52.459 --> 00:20:53.299 Isn't this counter to 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:54.700 everything that we 00:20:54.700 --> 00:20:55.619 know about Jesus, 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:56.539 the selfless Savior 00:20:56.539 --> 00:20:57.619 who gave himself 00:20:57.619 --> 00:20:58.980 to save the world, right? 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:00.740 How in the world 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:01.720 could he begin his prayer 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:02.000 with, 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:04.740 Father, glorify your Son? 00:21:05.879 --> 00:21:06.419 Shouldn't it be, 00:21:06.659 --> 00:21:08.079 Father, glorify yourself? 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:10.019 Well, actually, 00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:11.319 that's exactly 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:12.419 what he is doing here 00:21:12.419 --> 00:21:13.319 if you understand 00:21:13.319 --> 00:21:14.119 the Trinity. 00:21:14.919 --> 00:21:15.419 In verse 1, 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:15.680 he says, 00:21:16.019 --> 00:21:17.240 Father, glorify your Son. 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:17.480 What? 00:21:17.879 --> 00:21:18.399 That, 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:20.079 that your Son 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:21.440 may glorify you. 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:23.099 See, his chief aim 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:24.500 is still to glorify 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:24.959 his Father. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:25.619 It's still the glory 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:26.019 of his Father, 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:27.439 but look at how it works. 00:21:27.919 --> 00:21:30.539 It's a Trinitarian glorification. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:32.599 It's a Trinitarian glorification. 00:21:32.699 --> 00:21:33.319 And don't miss this 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:34.240 because it's so important. 00:21:34.659 --> 00:21:35.659 What Jesus is revealing 00:21:35.659 --> 00:21:36.339 to us 00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:37.719 is that the glory 00:21:37.719 --> 00:21:38.639 of the Father 00:21:38.639 --> 00:21:40.019 is tied 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:41.199 and wrapped up 00:21:41.199 --> 00:21:41.879 and bound 00:21:41.879 --> 00:21:42.839 reciprocally 00:21:42.839 --> 00:21:44.159 to the glory 00:21:44.159 --> 00:21:44.839 of the Son. 00:21:45.919 --> 00:21:46.519 And you see, 00:21:46.619 --> 00:21:47.500 this is the essence. 00:21:47.719 --> 00:21:48.399 This is the beauty 00:21:48.399 --> 00:21:49.059 and the harmony 00:21:49.059 --> 00:21:49.919 of the Trinity. 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:51.119 Look at what Jesus says 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:51.759 in verse 5. 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:53.199 And now, Father, 00:21:53.679 --> 00:21:54.519 glorify me 00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:55.739 in your presence 00:21:55.739 --> 00:21:57.219 with the glory 00:21:57.219 --> 00:21:58.459 I had with you 00:21:58.459 --> 00:22:00.619 before the world began. 00:22:00.679 --> 00:22:01.539 Do you realize 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:02.899 what Jesus is revealing 00:22:02.899 --> 00:22:03.899 to us about God 00:22:03.899 --> 00:22:04.539 right here? 00:22:05.639 --> 00:22:06.219 He's saying that 00:22:06.219 --> 00:22:06.939 at the center 00:22:06.939 --> 00:22:07.659 of who God 00:22:07.659 --> 00:22:09.159 has always been 00:22:09.159 --> 00:22:11.059 is a Father 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:12.059 and a Son 00:22:12.059 --> 00:22:12.639 and a Spirit. 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:12.939 Yes, 00:22:13.179 --> 00:22:14.439 receiving glory 00:22:14.439 --> 00:22:15.179 from one another 00:22:15.179 --> 00:22:16.079 as God rightfully 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:17.039 should receive glory, 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:17.859 but how? 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:18.740 Well, 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:19.679 because at the center 00:22:19.679 --> 00:22:20.379 of who God is 00:22:20.379 --> 00:22:20.939 is a Father 00:22:20.939 --> 00:22:21.799 and a Son 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:22.199 and a Spirit 00:22:22.199 --> 00:22:23.459 not just receiving glory 00:22:23.459 --> 00:22:24.219 from one another, 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:25.399 but a Father, 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:25.879 a Son, 00:22:25.919 --> 00:22:26.319 and a Spirit 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:27.979 giving glory 00:22:27.979 --> 00:22:29.259 to one another. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:30.740 Now, 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:31.879 try to process that 00:22:31.879 --> 00:22:32.699 for a second. 00:22:33.699 --> 00:22:34.359 That at the center 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:35.199 of who God is 00:22:35.199 --> 00:22:35.919 is a divine 00:22:35.919 --> 00:22:37.279 receiving of glory 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:38.819 because at the center 00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:39.719 of who God is 00:22:39.719 --> 00:22:40.639 is a selfless 00:22:40.639 --> 00:22:42.399 giving of glory 00:22:42.399 --> 00:22:43.539 to one another. 00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:44.799 And see, 00:22:44.899 --> 00:22:45.839 this is the beauty 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:47.119 of our triune God. 00:22:47.179 --> 00:22:48.179 It's absolutely profound 00:22:48.179 --> 00:22:49.919 if you let it marinate. 00:22:50.139 --> 00:22:50.879 Just let it marinate. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:51.099 Now, 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:51.959 to help us appreciate 00:22:51.959 --> 00:22:53.199 just how profound 00:22:53.199 --> 00:22:53.799 this is, 00:22:53.859 --> 00:22:54.279 maybe it's helpful 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:54.819 to consider 00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:56.599 the impossible alternatives. 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:56.919 Like, 00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:57.539 what if God 00:22:57.539 --> 00:22:58.199 were one 00:22:58.199 --> 00:23:00.339 but not triune? 00:23:00.919 --> 00:23:01.879 I want us to think about that. 00:23:01.939 --> 00:23:02.720 What if God were one 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:03.619 but not triune? 00:23:03.659 --> 00:23:04.720 If God were a static, 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:06.259 monadic being, 00:23:06.779 --> 00:23:08.079 solitary in and of himself 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:09.119 without three persons, 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:09.559 right? 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:10.519 Like, 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:10.759 sure, 00:23:10.859 --> 00:23:12.079 he might be all-powerful, 00:23:12.699 --> 00:23:13.720 but he wouldn't be 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:14.919 essentially relational. 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:16.220 He wouldn't be 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:17.420 essentially harmonious. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:18.200 He wouldn't be 00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:19.240 essentially loving 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:20.240 or active. 00:23:20.900 --> 00:23:21.580 Think about it. 00:23:22.120 --> 00:23:23.180 Who would glorify 00:23:23.180 --> 00:23:24.300 and exalt him? 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:26.120 He would either be 00:23:26.120 --> 00:23:27.400 glorifying himself 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:28.480 like a self-centered 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:29.740 megalomaniac 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:30.980 or 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:32.340 he would need 00:23:32.340 --> 00:23:33.140 and depend 00:23:33.140 --> 00:23:34.480 on his creatures, 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:35.560 his creation 00:23:35.560 --> 00:23:36.560 to glorify him. 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:38.060 But think about 00:23:38.060 --> 00:23:38.600 these two 00:23:38.600 --> 00:23:39.779 impossible options. 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:40.980 If he were 00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:42.180 a unitarian God 00:23:42.180 --> 00:23:42.940 who was glorified 00:23:42.940 --> 00:23:43.580 only through 00:23:43.580 --> 00:23:44.940 self-glorification, 00:23:45.820 --> 00:23:46.920 he and all those 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:48.080 made in his image 00:23:48.080 --> 00:23:50.120 would by their very nature 00:23:50.120 --> 00:23:52.700 be self-centered beings, 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:54.019 seeking their own glory 00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:55.220 above all else, 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:56.320 which is also known 00:23:56.320 --> 00:23:57.380 as the very thing 00:23:57.380 --> 00:23:58.059 that's wrong 00:23:58.059 --> 00:23:58.779 with this world, 00:23:58.860 --> 00:23:59.039 right? 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:01.220 But with option two, 00:24:01.320 --> 00:24:02.820 if he didn't glorify himself, 00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:05.019 but was dependent upon, 00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:05.940 in need of creation 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:08.019 to glorify him, 00:24:08.019 --> 00:24:09.759 then he wouldn't be 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.440 worthy 00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:11.940 of glory 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:13.279 in and of himself. 00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:14.980 For how could we 00:24:14.980 --> 00:24:16.000 meaningfully call 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:17.139 a creator who needed 00:24:17.139 --> 00:24:18.180 its creation 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:20.039 a self-sufficient God 00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:20.839 worthy 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:21.859 of all glory? 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:23.519 But see, 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:24.460 the beauty of the Trinity 00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:25.480 is that God 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:27.119 is inherently relational 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:28.299 without being needy 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:29.940 and inherently glorious 00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:30.799 without being 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:31.660 egotistical. 00:24:32.460 --> 00:24:33.279 He didn't need 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:33.940 to be 00:24:33.940 --> 00:24:35.139 self-centered 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:36.480 and glorify himself 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:38.680 or to create a world 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:40.040 that would glorify him 00:24:40.040 --> 00:24:40.840 because the Father 00:24:40.840 --> 00:24:41.860 and the Son 00:24:41.860 --> 00:24:42.440 and the Spirit 00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:43.560 have joyfully known 00:24:43.560 --> 00:24:44.840 and actively loved 00:24:44.840 --> 00:24:45.460 one another 00:24:45.460 --> 00:24:46.240 to the fullest 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:47.680 from all eternity. 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:49.140 And man, 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:51.060 if this doesn't delight you, 00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:52.200 if this doesn't at least 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:53.259 intrigue you, 00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:54.100 I'm sorry, 00:24:54.180 --> 00:24:54.840 I've just failed. 00:24:55.180 --> 00:24:56.340 And I wish I was a better, 00:24:56.740 --> 00:24:57.020 clearer, 00:24:57.160 --> 00:24:58.140 more compelling preacher 00:24:58.140 --> 00:24:59.080 and maybe this was 00:24:59.080 --> 00:24:59.880 just too abstract 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:00.860 or in the words of my wife 00:25:00.860 --> 00:25:01.520 when I was trying 00:25:01.520 --> 00:25:02.160 to run this by her, 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:02.320 I said, 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:03.060 is this too much, 00:25:03.140 --> 00:25:03.360 Chelsea? 00:25:03.560 --> 00:25:03.900 She said, 00:25:04.220 --> 00:25:05.020 it's pretty deep, 00:25:05.019 --> 00:25:05.759 don't spend too much 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:06.420 time on it. 00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:08.700 So I'm sorry, 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:09.139 Chelsea, 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:10.299 and anyone else 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:10.980 who thinks the same, 00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:12.400 but I just had to, 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:13.859 I just had to say all this. 00:25:14.379 --> 00:25:15.079 I just had to 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:16.519 because I so want us 00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:17.259 to understand 00:25:17.259 --> 00:25:19.180 this profound truth 00:25:19.180 --> 00:25:20.759 about the triune God 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:21.420 because you know why? 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:22.639 And this is the bottom line, 00:25:22.759 --> 00:25:22.960 all right? 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:24.160 This is the bottom line. 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:25.480 Love. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:27.160 True love. 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:28.460 Selfless, 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:29.460 self-giving, 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:30.759 affection and care. 00:25:30.819 --> 00:25:31.500 The kind of love 00:25:31.500 --> 00:25:32.819 that weaves itself 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:33.559 into a rich 00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:34.440 and beautiful harmony 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:35.279 where unity 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:36.380 isn't at the expense 00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:37.039 of diversity 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:37.660 and diversity 00:25:37.660 --> 00:25:38.759 isn't at the expense 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:39.440 of unity. 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:40.539 This kind of love 00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:41.180 is eternal. 00:25:41.340 --> 00:25:42.019 This kind of love 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:43.019 is essential 00:25:43.019 --> 00:25:44.039 only if 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:46.200 there is a triune God 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:47.860 at the heart of it. 00:25:48.860 --> 00:25:50.360 Only if there's a triune God 00:25:50.360 --> 00:25:51.420 at the heart of it. 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:53.180 The dynamic 00:25:53.180 --> 00:25:54.360 and harmonious unity 00:25:54.360 --> 00:25:55.640 that all of our hearts 00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:56.660 yearn for, 00:25:57.160 --> 00:25:58.640 the sacred union 00:25:58.640 --> 00:25:59.440 and communion 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:00.700 that we all long to have 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:01.820 with something bigger, 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:03.059 greater than ourselves, 00:26:03.059 --> 00:26:03.740 with God, 00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:04.899 with each other, 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:06.399 with the whole creation. 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:07.079 All of this 00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:08.220 only makes sense 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:09.779 if there is 00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:10.759 a triune God. 00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:11.980 A creator 00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:12.799 who is himself 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:14.379 the archetypal unity 00:26:14.379 --> 00:26:15.179 and diversity, 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:16.779 the archetypal union 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:17.500 and communion, 00:26:17.659 --> 00:26:18.119 the world 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:19.019 as we all know 00:26:19.019 --> 00:26:19.919 it ought to be 00:26:19.919 --> 00:26:21.639 only makes sense 00:26:21.639 --> 00:26:22.740 if there is 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:23.819 a triune God. 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:25.460 Because behind 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:26.019 and underneath 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:27.059 all that is living 00:26:27.059 --> 00:26:27.799 and loving, 00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:29.019 good and glorious, 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:30.899 happy and harmonious, 00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:32.280 is a father 00:26:32.280 --> 00:26:33.780 glorifying a son, 00:26:34.140 --> 00:26:35.000 glorifying a spirit, 00:26:35.360 --> 00:26:36.200 glorifying a father 00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:36.960 from before 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:37.940 the world began. 00:26:38.940 --> 00:26:40.060 This is the triune God 00:26:40.060 --> 00:26:40.860 of the scriptures, 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:42.840 the most fundamental reality. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:43.720 And isn't that beautiful? 00:26:44.820 --> 00:26:46.340 Isn't that profound? 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:48.120 Isn't that amazing stuff? 00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:49.340 That the highest glory 00:26:49.340 --> 00:26:50.220 of God himself 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:51.700 is at the same time 00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:53.360 a dynamic of self-giving, 00:26:53.660 --> 00:26:54.300 love, joy, 00:26:54.420 --> 00:26:54.840 and delight 00:26:54.840 --> 00:26:55.640 and admiration 00:26:55.640 --> 00:26:56.440 expressed within 00:26:56.440 --> 00:26:57.740 the union and communion 00:26:57.740 --> 00:26:58.360 of father, 00:26:58.759 --> 00:26:59.019 son, 00:26:59.019 --> 00:26:59.779 and spirit. 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:01.819 And that this is 00:27:01.819 --> 00:27:02.660 the kind of God 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:04.379 who made the world. 00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:06.279 That this is the kind 00:27:06.279 --> 00:27:06.720 of God 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:07.819 who made you 00:27:07.819 --> 00:27:08.799 and me. 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:10.519 And don't you want 00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:10.960 to believe 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:12.099 in this kind of a God? 00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:13.059 And don't you want 00:27:13.059 --> 00:27:13.519 to believe 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:14.359 in a world 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:15.779 made by this kind 00:27:15.779 --> 00:27:16.579 of a God? 00:27:18.099 --> 00:27:18.700 And I mean, 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:19.720 as much as this 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:20.660 may seem abstract, 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:20.980 right, 00:27:21.059 --> 00:27:21.980 and mysterious 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:23.420 and so paradoxical 00:27:23.420 --> 00:27:24.319 and mind-boggling 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:25.579 and just hard to believe 00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:26.480 that God is one 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:27.079 and three 00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:27.960 at the same time, 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:29.500 can I just ask, 00:27:30.059 --> 00:27:31.160 if it were not true, 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:32.500 who could make 00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:33.220 this stuff up? 00:27:34.860 --> 00:27:35.799 Who could be 00:27:35.799 --> 00:27:36.840 so profound? 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:38.559 Or on the flip side, 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:39.700 if this were not true, 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:41.259 who would make 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:42.100 this stuff up? 00:27:42.779 --> 00:27:43.480 Who would be crazy 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:44.000 enough to actually 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:44.440 think they could 00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:44.960 fool people 00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:45.920 into believing this? 00:27:47.120 --> 00:27:48.079 This is the glorious 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.740 reality that's in view 00:27:49.740 --> 00:27:51.579 here in Jesus' prayer 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:53.640 in John chapter 17 00:27:53.640 --> 00:27:54.279 as he prays 00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:54.779 to his Father. 00:27:55.860 --> 00:27:56.299 And I know 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:57.220 we're only in verse 1. 00:27:58.619 --> 00:27:59.980 But let me close here 00:27:59.980 --> 00:28:01.819 by talking about, 00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:02.619 let me talk about 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:04.759 why this all matters, 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:05.339 all right? 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:07.399 That King Jesus 00:28:07.399 --> 00:28:08.859 prays to his Father 00:28:08.859 --> 00:28:10.579 for our good. 00:28:10.619 --> 00:28:11.519 Now you may be wondering 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:13.139 if the glorious, 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:14.500 self-sufficient, 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:15.559 triune God 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:16.579 didn't need the world, 00:28:17.240 --> 00:28:18.299 why did he create it 00:28:18.299 --> 00:28:18.859 at all? 00:28:18.899 --> 00:28:19.599 If he didn't need 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:20.859 more glory, 00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:22.619 what was his intent? 00:28:22.619 --> 00:28:24.239 Well, the Bible 00:28:24.239 --> 00:28:25.099 doesn't give us 00:28:25.099 --> 00:28:27.139 a very explicit answer 00:28:27.139 --> 00:28:27.819 to this question, 00:28:27.919 --> 00:28:29.279 but here in Jesus' prayer, 00:28:29.639 --> 00:28:30.939 we get a broad hint. 00:28:31.479 --> 00:28:32.859 So let's read closely again 00:28:32.859 --> 00:28:33.839 from verse 1 again. 00:28:33.939 --> 00:28:34.759 Jesus prays, 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:37.079 Father, the hour has come. 00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:39.000 Glorify your Son 00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:39.940 that your Son 00:28:39.940 --> 00:28:41.200 may glorify you. 00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:43.339 For you granted him 00:28:43.339 --> 00:28:44.920 authority over all people 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:46.759 that he might give 00:28:46.759 --> 00:28:47.740 eternal life 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:48.900 to all those 00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:49.779 you have given him. 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:52.119 Now this is eternal life, 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:53.619 that they know you, 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:55.019 the only true God 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:55.879 and Jesus Christ 00:28:55.879 --> 00:28:56.779 whom you have sent. 00:28:57.079 --> 00:28:58.180 I have brought you glory 00:28:58.180 --> 00:28:59.200 on earth 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:01.000 by finishing the work 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:02.180 you gave me to do. 00:29:02.180 --> 00:29:03.120 Do you realize 00:29:03.120 --> 00:29:04.220 what Jesus 00:29:04.220 --> 00:29:05.539 is indicating here? 00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:07.440 He is indicating 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:08.640 that for some reason, 00:29:09.560 --> 00:29:10.400 though our Father 00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:10.860 in heaven 00:29:10.860 --> 00:29:11.539 was content 00:29:11.539 --> 00:29:12.900 from all eternity 00:29:12.900 --> 00:29:14.320 with the triune 00:29:14.320 --> 00:29:15.200 hallowing 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:16.320 of his own name, 00:29:17.420 --> 00:29:18.460 he still willed 00:29:18.460 --> 00:29:20.279 to glorify the Son 00:29:20.279 --> 00:29:21.900 on earth 00:29:21.900 --> 00:29:23.180 as in heaven. 00:29:24.519 --> 00:29:26.120 Even though he had it all, 00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:27.720 he willed 00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:29.380 to glorify his Son 00:29:29.380 --> 00:29:29.960 on earth 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:31.299 as it is in heaven 00:29:31.299 --> 00:29:32.980 out of love for us. 00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:34.379 He chose to do so 00:29:34.379 --> 00:29:36.079 by sharing eternal life, 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:37.159 his communion, 00:29:37.339 --> 00:29:37.759 his joy, 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:38.419 his love 00:29:38.419 --> 00:29:39.799 with his creatures, 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:41.200 his chosen people, 00:29:41.319 --> 00:29:42.559 even us. 00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:44.059 Like, look at us. 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:45.559 Do we look worthy 00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:46.940 of this kind of communion? 00:29:48.339 --> 00:29:49.259 I don't. 00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:51.659 Do you realize 00:29:51.659 --> 00:29:52.299 what this means? 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:53.839 Do you realize 00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:54.299 what this means? 00:29:54.339 --> 00:29:55.139 Look at verse 13. 00:29:55.919 --> 00:29:57.180 King Jesus prays 00:29:57.180 --> 00:29:58.460 that we might know 00:29:58.460 --> 00:29:59.480 the very joy 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:00.460 of the triune God. 00:30:01.380 --> 00:30:01.860 Verse 20. 00:30:02.099 --> 00:30:03.400 King Jesus prays 00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:03.960 that we, 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:04.539 his creatures, 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:05.380 creatures who've all 00:30:05.380 --> 00:30:06.160 walked in darkness, 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:07.980 that we might be in him, 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:09.420 united as one 00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:10.819 with the triune God. 00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:12.400 Verse 24. 00:30:12.660 --> 00:30:13.860 King Jesus even asked 00:30:13.860 --> 00:30:14.740 that we not only 00:30:14.740 --> 00:30:15.460 be with him, 00:30:15.660 --> 00:30:16.200 but get this, 00:30:16.339 --> 00:30:17.319 that we would see 00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:18.700 his glory. 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:20.299 The eternal, 00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:21.759 triune glory 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:22.480 that he had 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:22.940 and enjoyed 00:30:22.940 --> 00:30:23.460 from before 00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:24.319 the creation of the world. 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:25.380 The glory that Moses 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:26.120 and all of Israel 00:30:26.120 --> 00:30:27.140 could not even bear 00:30:27.140 --> 00:30:28.440 to see and still live. 00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:31.000 This is mind-blowing stuff 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:32.220 and perhaps most 00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:33.200 mind-blowing of all. 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:33.980 Look at verse 23. 00:30:34.280 --> 00:30:35.000 Jesus prays, 00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:36.040 I in them 00:30:36.040 --> 00:30:37.020 and you in me, 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:38.540 then the world 00:30:38.540 --> 00:30:39.020 will know 00:30:39.020 --> 00:30:39.960 that you sent me 00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:41.560 and have loved them 00:30:41.560 --> 00:30:43.040 even as you 00:30:43.040 --> 00:30:44.520 have loved me. 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:45.860 Yo! 00:30:47.320 --> 00:30:48.920 Do you have any idea 00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:50.180 how much the Father 00:30:50.180 --> 00:30:51.500 loves the Son? 00:30:51.500 --> 00:30:54.960 Do you have any idea 00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:56.559 how much the Father 00:30:56.559 --> 00:30:58.099 loves the Son? 00:30:59.140 --> 00:30:59.779 It's more 00:30:59.779 --> 00:31:00.839 than we could possibly 00:31:00.839 --> 00:31:01.539 imagine 00:31:01.539 --> 00:31:02.559 and guess what? 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:04.140 He wants us 00:31:04.140 --> 00:31:05.140 to know that love 00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:06.059 as well. 00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:07.920 He wants you 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:08.640 to know 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:09.359 that love 00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:10.059 as well. 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:11.519 This prayer 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:12.420 in John 17 00:31:12.420 --> 00:31:13.559 is the good news 00:31:13.559 --> 00:31:14.920 that King Jesus 00:31:14.920 --> 00:31:15.819 prays 00:31:15.819 --> 00:31:16.880 to his Father 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:18.000 for our good 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:18.480 and not just 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.980 for some superficial good. 00:31:19.980 --> 00:31:20.559 He doesn't pray 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:21.559 we can afford a house, 00:31:21.900 --> 00:31:22.620 find a partner, 00:31:22.860 --> 00:31:24.220 or even enjoy good health. 00:31:25.259 --> 00:31:26.180 The Son of God 00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:27.099 asks his Father 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:28.299 who has eternally 00:31:28.299 --> 00:31:29.000 adored him, 00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:29.900 his Father 00:31:29.900 --> 00:31:30.480 who has always 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:31.440 said yes to him. 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:32.940 He asks his Father 00:31:32.940 --> 00:31:34.360 that we might be 00:31:34.360 --> 00:31:35.180 united with the 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:36.480 triune God, 00:31:37.319 --> 00:31:37.940 communing with 00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:38.319 Father, 00:31:38.740 --> 00:31:39.019 Son, 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:39.740 and Spirit 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:40.860 in the eternal life, 00:31:41.180 --> 00:31:41.480 love, 00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:42.059 joy, 00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:42.579 and glory 00:31:42.579 --> 00:31:43.720 that we never deserved 00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:45.559 but always longed for. 00:31:46.660 --> 00:31:47.400 And guess what? 00:31:47.900 --> 00:31:48.880 He doesn't just pray 00:31:48.880 --> 00:31:50.380 for us to be united 00:31:50.380 --> 00:31:51.620 in the glory 00:31:51.620 --> 00:31:52.980 of the triune God. 00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:55.100 He dies on a cross 00:31:55.100 --> 00:31:56.560 for sinners 00:31:56.560 --> 00:31:57.860 like us 00:31:57.860 --> 00:31:59.380 to be united 00:31:59.380 --> 00:32:01.300 in the glory 00:32:01.300 --> 00:32:02.760 of the holy 00:32:02.760 --> 00:32:03.800 triune God. 00:32:04.800 --> 00:32:06.420 The self-giving 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:06.940 Son 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:08.800 who gave himself 00:32:08.800 --> 00:32:09.600 to the Father 00:32:09.600 --> 00:32:10.720 from all eternity 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:11.380 with his whole 00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:12.540 Spirit in heaven, 00:32:13.460 --> 00:32:14.540 this same Son 00:32:14.540 --> 00:32:15.860 gave himself 00:32:15.859 --> 00:32:17.599 to us 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:18.879 with his whole 00:32:18.879 --> 00:32:19.359 Spirit 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:21.000 on a cross 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:22.559 here on earth. 00:32:23.479 --> 00:32:24.719 And this is the gospel. 00:32:25.939 --> 00:32:26.899 This is the gospel. 00:32:28.339 --> 00:32:28.859 Now Christchurch, 00:32:28.959 --> 00:32:30.019 what if we believe this? 00:32:30.899 --> 00:32:32.219 What if we believe this? 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:33.799 That the Son of God, 00:32:34.659 --> 00:32:35.419 Jesus Christ, 00:32:35.579 --> 00:32:36.379 prayed this kind 00:32:36.379 --> 00:32:36.879 of a prayer 00:32:36.879 --> 00:32:38.419 to his loving, 00:32:38.939 --> 00:32:40.099 listening Father 00:32:40.099 --> 00:32:41.619 for us 00:32:41.619 --> 00:32:43.459 and at his own 00:32:43.459 --> 00:32:44.419 expense? 00:32:45.459 --> 00:32:46.679 How then might we live? 00:32:47.459 --> 00:32:48.179 Will you pray with me? 00:32:53.479 --> 00:32:53.879 Lord, 00:32:53.979 --> 00:32:54.719 blow us away 00:32:54.719 --> 00:32:57.339 with all that you are. 00:32:59.379 --> 00:33:00.119 Blow us away 00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:00.759 with the truth 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:01.519 of who you are, 00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:02.599 the triune God, 00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:06.000 perfectly content, 00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:07.299 self-sufficient 00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:08.399 in and of himself, 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:09.960 glorious and beautiful 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:12.820 love itself. 00:33:14.820 --> 00:33:15.840 Blow our minds 00:33:15.840 --> 00:33:16.560 that you would 00:33:16.560 --> 00:33:17.220 invite us 00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:18.400 into that fellowship. 00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:21.180 That you would 00:33:21.180 --> 00:33:22.259 send your Son 00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:23.960 to pray 00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:25.420 that we might be 00:33:25.420 --> 00:33:26.640 grafted in, 00:33:26.940 --> 00:33:27.620 united to 00:33:27.620 --> 00:33:28.920 this wonderful, 00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:30.240 harmonious 00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:31.900 reality. 00:33:34.040 --> 00:33:34.880 Strike us, 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:35.080 Lord, 00:33:35.140 --> 00:33:36.060 with what a privilege 00:33:36.060 --> 00:33:36.660 it is 00:33:36.660 --> 00:33:38.800 that Jesus Christ, 00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:39.300 the King, 00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:40.420 prayed for this 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:41.580 for us. 00:33:42.620 --> 00:33:43.380 And that he didn't 00:33:43.380 --> 00:33:44.200 just pray for it, 00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:45.500 but he wanted for us 00:33:45.500 --> 00:33:47.860 by dying for our sins 00:33:47.860 --> 00:33:49.740 and rising again 00:33:49.740 --> 00:33:51.240 and giving us 00:33:51.240 --> 00:33:52.100 his very spirit. 00:33:54.100 --> 00:33:54.500 Lord, 00:33:54.560 --> 00:33:55.160 who are we? 00:33:56.540 --> 00:33:57.460 Who are we? 00:33:59.720 --> 00:34:01.040 The world would tell us 00:34:01.040 --> 00:34:01.740 we are nothing. 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:03.920 And if you were 00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:04.900 only a holy God, 00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:05.500 you would tell us 00:34:05.500 --> 00:34:05.940 the same, 00:34:05.940 --> 00:34:06.840 though we are nothing. 00:34:08.380 --> 00:34:09.840 But thanks be to God 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:10.820 that you are a holy 00:34:10.820 --> 00:34:11.840 and gracious God. 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:12.599 And you tell us 00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:13.760 that though we were nothing, 00:34:13.880 --> 00:34:14.780 you made us everything 00:34:14.780 --> 00:34:15.639 and you brought us 00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:17.179 into yourself 00:34:17.179 --> 00:34:19.559 in a love 00:34:19.559 --> 00:34:21.360 that we can't even imagine. 00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:24.059 Make us people 00:34:24.059 --> 00:34:24.840 who believe that, 00:34:25.019 --> 00:34:25.119 Lord. 00:34:26.300 --> 00:34:27.240 Help us to live 00:34:27.240 --> 00:34:28.200 like we believe that, 00:34:28.300 --> 00:34:28.679 we pray. 00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:29.900 In the name of Jesus, 00:34:30.720 --> 00:34:30.940 Amen.