Amen.
As I prepare to preach this morning, I have to tell you that I have a full heart.
And that's always a little dangerous for someone like Tim Knoyer because my emotion may complicate the beauty of the Scriptures.
And I trust that you will pray.
By the way, that is your job. You know that, right?
You know that.
Okay.
You will pray because the Scriptures tell us that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the glory may be of God and not of us.
And I have to tell you, the passage this morning is phenomenal.
What are we going to do this morning? Do you know?
We're going to take the Lord's table.
And you who are informed by the Scriptures understand that taking that bread and taking that cup really doesn't make us saved or make any difference.
I'll get this out of the way so I don't trip on it at some point.
It doesn't make any difference in terms of getting extra points in heaven.
Would you understand that? Would you agree with that?
We take communion to remember Jesus.
And when we say we take communion to remember Jesus, it's not like, oh, yeah, there is a Jesus.
That's not the idea.
The idea is that in the process of taking the bread and taking the cup,
that it is a deliberate and a conscious, a careful thoughtfulness on our part that draws our affections and draws our mind to think carefully and more critically of Jesus.
And when I say critically, I don't mean, yeah, right.
I'm talking about thinking carefully.
And as we turn in our Scriptures this morning, I'm going to ask that you go to John chapter 17.
John 17.
And as we come to the passage that I'm going to be opening to you this morning,
I have to share with you that I have started doing some background study to what I trust should the Lord tarry eventually is where we go next.
That would be the book of John.
It's my second most favorite book right now because my favorite is, guess what?
Ephesians.
But doing a little bit of background study in the book of John and reading Martin Lloyd-Jones,
I was struck by a statement he made at the introduction of the series of sermons that he preached on John.
He said that really none of us have an adequate or an adequate grasp of the person and work of Christ.
None of us have an adequate grasp of the person and work of Christ.
And I, having read that and recognizing that Dr. Jones was not one to make kind of careless statements just for the sake of shock value,
I began thinking a little more carefully about that subject and finding the Spirit of God convicting and challenging my thinking.
And as I pondered what he had to say, I found myself in prayer going back to that passage in Philippians chapter 3 verse 10,
where it says that I might know him, that I might know him.
And adding to my prayer, the things that I have prayed for often are,
first, Lord, I want to grow in understanding your love.
I want to know more about the depth and the breadth and the height and the width of the love of Christ.
But then also along with that is the Philippians chapter 3 passage in which Paul the apostle said,
I count all things but lost, but my desire is that I might know him.
And so I want to ask you this morning as we began here at the very start of really this question,
how well, how well do you know Christ?
How well do you know Christ?
As I think about it, I have to tell you this.
Indicators of how well you know Christ are,
how happy you are.
Do you follow that?
How happy you are is a direct reflection of how well you know Christ.
How moody you are.
Can I say that again slowly?
Because I have to tell you that in a previous life,
I used to be a very moody person.
How many of you know what moody is?
I have a skunk in my neighborhood.
That skunk lets me know when it's moody.
How well you know Christ can be determined by your moodiness.
How well you know Christ, are you listening?
Can be determined by how sincere your affections are for others in the body of Christ.
Stop just for a second.
Do you have anybody right now that you wish God would change besides you?
With whom you have a dispute and a misunderstanding or there's an attitude there and you feel a little uncomfortable around them.
How well I know Christ determines how I relate to the body.
Well, with that as a start, I want you to look with me at the text itself and we're going to be in John chapter 17, verse 10 and 11.
Let me just read the passage to you.
All mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them.
And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I'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.
And before we actually go to the text itself, I want to encourage you to remember that one of the characteristics of Bible truth is that those who really know it are changed by it.
Does that make sense?
Those who really know it are changed by it.
And so, with the goal of growing to know Christ, we are looking at this passage in John chapter 17, which is commonly referred to as His high priestly prayer.
Accurately, we could say that this is the Lord's Prayer.
Now, when we think Lord's Prayer, some of you remember the Lord's Prayer to be that little recitation from Luke chapter 11 and also in Matthew, I believe it is,
where Jesus taught His disciples to pray this way, our Father who art in heaven, etc.
And that is the example prayer.
This is the Lord's Prayer.
And by the way, follow with me just as we think about this subject of prayer just for a moment.
Jesus died for me.
He rose again.
He lived for me.
These are all historical issues, and I'll not deal with all the theological aspects of it, which are rich beyond imagination.
But here's another thing.
He lives for me today, and what is He doing today for me?
I love what it says in Hebrews.
Do you know the passage?
How many of you know the passage that I'm referencing in Hebrews?
It ought to make your hair stand on end.
He ever liveth to make intersection for the saints.
It doesn't get better than that.
And what we are looking at here in John chapter 17 is the high priestly prayer of Christ.
This tells us what He's doing for me today.
I like that.
Well, setting is important, particularly when you kind of step into a passage.
Everybody knows, right?
Context is pretty important.
So when pastor drops out of the sky onto John 17, we ought to be thinking, yeah, what's the context?
Well, let's talk about the setting of Christ's prayer for us.
John 17 is really His last prayer after His final sermon to His disciples.
I'm going to give you a brief rendition of the text in broad terms.
You'll go back in your minds to John chapter 13, and it says,
And when the supper was ended, He took a towel and He wrapped it around Himself,
and He washed the feet of His disciples.
It was during the Last Supper again, again, again, that He made it clear to them that He was going to die for them.
And we know from the Scriptures that their hearts were traumatized by the thought of this prospect
because they had grown to love Jesus.
They were persuaded that He indeed was the Messiah.
And it is evident that Jesus here sensed their anxiety and the uncertainty of their hearts.
And so He makes a very interesting statement at the very beginning of John chapter 14.
Do you know what He says?
He says this,
Let not your hearts be troubled.
You believe in the Father.
Believe in Me.
And then what He does in John chapter 14,
John chapter 15,
John chapter 16,
is He takes the time to give them a reason for not being troubled.
Years ago, there was one of these dingbat songs called,
Don't Worry, Be Happy.
I mean, it was a one-hit wonder, you know?
It was great.
You know, a guy made it up, I think, sitting in the shower or singing in the shower.
And anyway, when he sang, Don't Worry, Be Happy, it was just kind of, be that way.
When Jesus says, Don't let your heart be troubled, He gives us a reason.
Amen.
And the reasons are laid out in these three chapters.
Let me kind of summarize them for you.
For one, He says, Hey, I'm going ahead to prepare a place for you.
So that where I am, you can be also.
I love what the apostle said,
Absent in the body, what?
Present with the Lord.
Tim Kenoyer is not afraid of dying.
I happen to like where I am.
I happen to like the people I'm around.
But let me tell you something.
When I take my last breath,
I will not take it with anxiety and uncertainty
because I know that when I leave this place,
I will be in the presence of the Lord Jesus.
Second thing that He made clear to His disciples
is that He would be also sending them the Holy Spirit to indwell them,
and the presence of the Spirit would be to their advantage.
One of the very interesting statements,
and you'll have to stay around until we get to the book of John,
and we'll be several years to get to John chapter 15.
But Jesus, I meant that.
Okay.
Jesus said this.
He says,
It's to your advantage that I leave.
And He says,
Because if I don't go,
you're not getting the Holy Spirit.
I don't know.
If this morning,
you have not already stopped and said,
Lord,
I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit.
I am so thankful that He indwells me.
This morning as I was praying about our time together
and my ministry to you
and praying for other people in our fellowship,
one of the things that I was doing,
man, Lord,
I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit.
And Holy Spirit,
thank you for indwelling me.
Now help me today.
Jesus said,
Number one,
I'm going to make a place for you.
Number two,
you're going to get the Holy Spirit.
And then the third thing He says is,
I'm going home to pray for you.
And so I found myself kind of pondering,
so how significant is it
that Jesus is praying for me?
Two different passages came to mind.
And by the way,
when we think about a question,
the first thing we want to do,
everybody smile with me
because this is the way I think
God wants you to develop your mind.
When you think about something,
you want a scriptural basis for the answer.
I'm not talking about math,
right?
I'm talking about life.
So,
when we think about
how important is prayer
and how important is it
that Jesus is praying for me,
I want you to think with me
just for a moment.
You may want to turn to your Bible
for a second
over to Luke chapter 22.
Luke chapter 22,
verse 31 and 32.
Just look at it with your own eyes.
We're not going to delve
into the text this morning.
But remember,
Jesus says to Peter,
hey,
Satan wants to trash your life.
Now,
when Jesus says something
that significant,
I bet you it gave Peter
a little bit of a pause.
and he says,
relax,
I've prayed for you.
Nevertheless,
I've prayed for you
and after you're converted,
strengthen your brethren.
So,
we find,
in one instance,
we find here's Satan
trying to destroy
the life of one of the disciples.
Is Satan trying to destroy
your life this morning?
And what is the answer?
Yes.
He wants you to be
a spiritual train wreck.
And the scriptures tell me
that he ever lives
to make intercession
before the Father for me.
The passage that I just recited
is actually there
in Hebrews chapter 7,
verse 25,
where we read this.
It says,
since he always lives
to make intercession for them.
I want to remind you
that in the Old Testament,
the high priest
and all the priests
were actually involved
in the sober,
the significant responsibility
of praying for God's people.
That's what they did.
They offered sacrifice,
but they also prayed.
So,
having brought
these three chapters
to a close,
remember he said,
don't be troubled,
don't be worried.
This is a good thing.
He says,
because I'm going
to make a place for you.
Number two,
you're getting the Holy Spirit.
Number three,
I'm going to be praying for you.
And he says,
let me show you
what that's going to be like.
And that's kind of the background
to John 17.
This is what
he is praying for.
And I'm going to step
into the middle of it,
help you understand
that earlier
he explains
what the believer is
and what the believer
is to be involved in.
But then in verse 10 and 11,
he explains
what is the believer
meant to do?
What am I supposed
to be doing?
And we find here
that the believer
glorifies Christ.
The believer
glorifies Christ.
I want you to put your finger
just for a moment.
Do it physically
if you would.
Put your finger
on the last part
of verse 10.
And there it says,
it's stated by Jesus himself.
He says,
I am glorified
in them.
And so,
if you are sitting here
this morning
and you are
in truth
a disciple
of the Lord Jesus,
you're a believer
by grace,
you are someone
who Jesus
believes
glorifies Him.
Now,
is he ever wrong?
What's the answer?
No.
It is a little
challenging
when I stop
and look at myself
in the mirror
and I think,
you're glorified
by me.
Jesus said it.
It's true.
So,
let's think just for a moment
about how it is
that we glorify Him.
And I'm not going to cover
the broad scope
of things
that are legitimately
worthy of study.
But let's recognize
that for one,
we glorify Him
by knowing Him
and believing in Him.
Go back to verse 3
if you would
just for a moment.
And it says,
this is eternal life
that they know you,
the only true God
and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.
Our knowing
and believing Him
glorifies Him.
If you're sitting here
this morning
and you do not know Christ,
the reason is
you have chosen.
You refuse to believe
the truth of the Scriptures
and the convicting power
of the Spirit of God
and you're sitting there
thinking,
well,
he's an okay guy
and maybe I can even believe
that he came
and was a good example,
but do I believe
he is the Savior
of the world
and do I believe
that His blood
is satisfaction
for my sin?
We glorify Him
where we believe in Him.
Secondly,
we glorify Him
by believing
that there is salvation
in no other.
How many of you
are around people
on a regular basis
that believe
most everybody
gets to heaven
by doing their best?
One of the very,
very common things
I hear when I,
not when I'm doing
a funeral,
but when I go
to hear other funerals done,
I hear people say,
well,
they're in a better place.
Now,
that's not always true.
How many of you
realize that?
The Bible makes it clear
that there is salvation
in no other name
but Jesus.
Over in Acts chapter 4,
the disciples,
even under pressure
of persecution,
they said,
there is no other name
whereby men may be saved.
And so,
we glorify Him,
when we say,
listen,
Jesus is the only way
that men and women,
boys and girls,
can come to faith
and have their sins forgiven
and have no reason
to fear their eternity.
And we come to a third thing.
We glorify Him
by modeling
His transforming power
and clearly pointing to Him
as the reason
that we are different.
a recurring theme
in all of John's Gospels
is that each miracle
confirmed the glory
and the person of Christ.
By extension,
my Christian testimony
and your Christian testimony
should serve the same purpose
of making the deity
and the glory of Christ
evident.
Two illustrations.
Remember Samson?
What was the deal with Samson?
He was pretty strong.
And remember how
they figured out
that Samson's strength
was not really something
that was directly attributable
to Samson's physique.
He didn't look like
Mr. Atlas or Universe
or whatever.
He was strong,
but we get the idea
artistically
that he was this
gargantuan hulk,
you know,
that just had a little
extra long stringy hair.
The reason people
kept on wondering
what is special
about Samson
is because he was
completely off
the Richter scale
when it came to strength
and nobody
could figure it out.
And remember how
he kept on messing with them?
Well,
if you tie me with ropes
that haven't been,
it'll work.
If you do this,
it'll work.
If you do that,
and every time,
what did he do?
Bang!
He snapped them like bang
and he was up.
And finally,
Delilah got him to say,
it's my hair.
See,
Samson's strength
lay
in his obeying
the word of God
which had said,
don't ever cut your hair.
Probably another illustration
is over in the book of Acts,
and I'll not have you
turn to it,
but you remember
when they brought
Peter and John
before the Sanhedrin,
and these were the guys
who had their PhDs
in Jewish theology.
And they were asking him
all these questions
and giving them,
just giving them
what for about,
and, you know,
they couldn't figure out
where did these rude,
ill-informed,
untaught fishermen
come up with being
so smart
and understanding
of the Scriptures.
And here's what they said.
I like this part.
They'd been with Jesus.
Do you act
in such a fashion
that the people
who know you
are trying to figure out
why you're the way you are?
I'm not talking
about your background.
I'm not talking
about the fact
that you grew up
in the particular home
you did.
I'm not talking
about the education
you received.
I'm talking about
the fact that the glory
and the supremacy
of Christ
is manifested
in your life,
and people are wondering,
why is he so kind?
Why is he so encouraging?
Why is he so forbearing
when everybody else
is in a pout
and in a frumpy mood?
Why is he like he is?
Well, it must be
because he's been with,
what?
He's been with Jesus.
It follows then
that if we glorify him,
that we are not people
who are sulky.
We are not people
whose conversations
are as rude
and as crude
as unbelievers.
Isn't that right?
It follows him
that our posts
on Facebook
are not dishonorable
and questionable.
It follows him
that our conversations
and our affections
belie the character
of the one
who has changed
our lives.
Now I come to exactly
what Christ's request was.
You look there
and in verse 11,
he says,
listen, Father,
I want you to keep them
in your name.
Keep them
in your name.
I will tell you
ahead of time
that I will come back
to this,
Lord willing,
and should he tarry
and allow me to preach
on the passage.
We'll deal with it
in the future
when we get to John
eventually,
but I want you
to understand
that Jesus is praying
for his disciples.
He says,
I'm glorified in them.
Now here's the deal.
I want you to do
something for me,
Father.
I want you to keep
them in my name.
Being kept
involves his work
of shepherding us
through his word,
through his spirit,
through his people.
Being kept
involves his shepherding us
through his word,
through his spirit,
through his people.
But let's come
to one more piece
before we actually
come to the table.
And I want you
to recognize
the objective
of Christ's prayer
is unity.
Verse 11,
he says,
keep them
in your name
which you have
given me.
Now here's what
I want you
to have the boldness
of character
to do.
Underline
the words
that follow
that they may
be one
even as
we
are
one.
Our thoughts
on unity
tend to be
rather shallow,
beloved.
We're far
too
comfortable
grousing
about
one another
or nurturing
an inner
spirit
of discontent.
When Jesus
prayed
that his
believers
would be
kept,
the immediate
following
interest
was that
they would
be one
like we're
one.
And so
I want you
to understand
Christ
prays
that our
unity
would be
like the
unity
of the
Godhead.
That's
amazing.
Do you
follow that?
So how
did Jesus
and the
Father
get along?
Huh?
They
tolerate
each other
because they
were on a
common
mission?
They had
to share
the same
pew?
No.
He says
I want
them to be
one like
we are
one.
being
polite
in the
lobby
and
churlish
in the
car
may not
give us
away to
everyone
but can I
tell you
that your
children pick
up on it?
Do you know
something about
children?
There used
to be a
show
in a
previous
time
where
who was
the guy
that said
kids said
the
darndest
things?
Who was
it?
There you
go.
You knew
it and I
didn't.
I didn't
grow up
at TV
in America
but I
knew about
it.
So kids
say the
darndest
things.
Your
kids
tell other
people what
your real
attitudes
are.
Hey!
Hey,
how are
you doing?
In the
lobby.
In the
car.
I'm
hoping God
changes that
person.
Back we
go.
Back we
go.
Here's
Jesus
praying that
our unity
would be
like the
unity of
the
Godhead.
Ooh.
So when
we come to
the Lord's
table this
morning,
I want you
to consider
that Jesus
today,
this is the
most exciting
little piece
of news I
can give
you.
He's
praying for
you.
I want
you to
understand
that.
Do you
know how
weak you
are?
No, I
don't.
But I
know enough
about me to
understand I
need somebody
helping me,
right?
And guess what
the scriptures
tells me?
It tells me that
Jesus is praying
for me.
He's praying
for me.
He ever
lives to make
intercession
for me.
me.
And as you
come to
this table,
I want you
to pray,
honestly,
where you
are, I
want you
to pray,
Lord, help
me appreciate
the fact you
pray for me.
Oh, by the
way, and
since I'm in
this business
of making you
look good,
glorify you,
go ahead and
put the smack
down on me
when I have
the attitudes
that just
dishonor you.
One of the
things that I
know has
unnerved some
of our dear
fellowship is
when I encourage
people to pray
this way,
Lord, do
whatever it
takes to
help me
change.
And I've
had people
say, I
really don't
want to
pray that.
In other
words, you're
really satisfied
with being that
spiritual jerk,
right?
Someone send
me an email
on that later.
But, you
know, here's
the deal.
I want to
change.
Bring it
on.
I want to
have a heart
for Christ.
I want to
have a heart
for His
people.
I want to
have a heart
that glorifies
Him.
I want you to
come to the
table.
We'll have our
men come this
morning as we
gather.
And as the
men are coming,
let me say a
word of
encouragement,
that this
table is open
to all those
who know the
Lord Jesus
Christ in
truth.
In 1 Corinthians
chapter 11, it
says that we
are not to
take the
table carelessly.
Now, what that
means in essence
is this, is that
when we take the
table, when we
take the bread and
we take the cup,
what we are doing
is we are going
on public record
to say, I have
come to faith in
the Lord Jesus
Christ.
I believe He
died for my
sins.
And I am
willing to
go on record
to say, Jesus
is the only
one that I am
trusting in, and
I know Him as
my Lord and
Savior.
In the early
church, when they
would take the
bread and take the
cup, the word in
the Greek, show
forth, that's the
English translation,
actually means to
say publicly, I
know Jesus as my
Savior, I want
everybody to know,
you go ahead and
know, I trust in
Jesus, and God
help me, my life is
going to be different
to make Him look
good.
All God's people
were thinking,
amen.
But, you know,
you're welcome to
this table.
We want to take a
minute and pray
quietly, and if
you're here today
and you have not
come to faith in
Christ right now,
you can call upon
His name.
Father God, I know
that I'm a sinner,
and I need Christ
as my Savior, and
I'm done messing
around and thinking
that I can work
this out by my own
good.
I am a sinner
broken before you,
and I ask Christ to
be my Savior.
There might be some
of you here today
that know Christ,
but your life is
filled with anger,
with bitterness,
with a matter of
unrepentance in
certain areas of
your life, and I
would plead with you
this morning to
quietly humble
yourself as I
pray, and ask
Christ to give you
a repentant spirit
that renews your
affection for Him
and your desire to
obey, that we can
take these elements
with a clear heart.
Let's pray.