May 31, 2020 - Sanctified to Sanctify
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As we come today - to the close of John chapter 17...
we come to the close of the High Priestly Prayer.
This prayer by Christ was a prayer that He prayed…MOMENTS before His arrest...
and mere hours before His crucifixion.
And Jesus KNEW what was coming for Him...
He KNEW what was up ahead for Him...
WHICH PLAYS INTO how we approach chapter 17.
Jesus knew He was departing…and KNEW the ANXIETY that THAT caused the disciples...
And so ALL that He prays for in chapter 17, should be viewed with HIM understanding that.
What we’ve seen Him praying for so far in chapter 17 is:
That God the Father would glorify Him, so that He might GLORIFY the Father
He then moved into praying that the Father would KEEP believers from the evil one...
AND THEN - today - Jesus is going to ask several things of the Father...
Last week - we noticed that Jesus made it very clear who He was praying for...
9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
We saw that Jesus was praying - NOT FOR the world…but for those who BELIEVED in Him...
TODAY we’ll see that Jesus is also praying for ALL THOSE who would ever come to believe in Him...
And so LITERALLY - we can read this prayer in Chapter 17 - and KNOW that YOU and I are included in these verses...
It’s an AMAZING truth...
To give you an idea how today will play out...
We’re going to read through the text...
Jesus will highlight for us some important traits that we ACTUALLY SHARE with Him...
And then BASED on those things we SHARE in COMMON with Jesus...
We’ll walk through the BLESSINGS that Jesus is praying over us in our text today - AS HE prepares to depart...
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
So what we’ll do FIRST - is look to what Jesus ELEVATES as HAVING IN COMMON with believers...
Let’s go back to verse 15
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Jesus here - really MAKES AN ASTOUNDING statement about WHO WE ARE AS BELIEVERS IN HIM....!
We see in this verse that...
SLIDE: Common Trait We Share With Christ: Not of This World
Common Trait We Share With Christ
Common Trait We Share With Christ
Jesus - speaking to the Father says...
“They are NOT OF the world, JUST AS I AM NOT of the world.
Let that SINK IN...
When we think of Jesus Christ - NOT BEING OF this world...
I think we all can NOD OUR HEADS in agreement - and say - Yeah that makes sense!
But HERE - Jesus says - speaking of the disciples - IMPLYING ALL believers...
That WE are not of this world JUST AS HE is not of this world!
He elevates this TRAIT to be something we SHARE in common with Him!
In BIBLICALLY speaking - we SHOULD - as Christians - FEEL this in our lives...
We SHOULD feel like - ducks out of water...
Aliens in a foreign land...
Out of place - in this world
The Psalmist said, "I am a stranger on earth" (Psalm 119:19a).
The phrase, "wherever I lodge," in verse 54, literally means: "in my temporary house."
According to Hebrews 11, the "heroes of the faith" "admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth" (verse 13).
Peter describes his Christian readers as "aliens and strangers in the world."
So we as Believers in Christ - we SHOULD feel out of place in this world...
AND EVEN MORE SO when we read what ELSE we share in common with Jesus...
18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
Here we see ANOTHER common trait we SHARE with Jesus...
He’s speaking with the Father here and He points to...
SLIDE: Common Trait We Share With Christ: Sent Into The World
Common Trait We Share With Christ
Common Trait We Share With Christ
Jesus - praying to the Father, says - “As you sent ME into the world, so I have SENT THEM into the world”
This was one of the main aspects of Jesus’ message to the world...
that HE was sent by the Father...
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Jesus was TELLING EVERYBODY that He was sent by the FATHER...
So Jesus - having a crystal clear understanding of what’s coming...
…KNOWING He’s departing...
…KNOWING how anxious the disciples are...
KNOWING that HE’s sending them INTO a world that HATES them...
He then goes from HERE...
…laying a foundation of what BELIEVERS have in common with Him...
That believers are NOT OF this world...
AND...
That we are SENT into this world…that HATES us...
Jesus goes from that thought…TO...
Now praying different BLESSINGS over the disciples....and over ALL WHO WOULD BELIEVE AFTER THEM...
How do we know that?
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
He LITERALLY prayed for YOU.... in chapter 17.
YOU - were in His mind at the time He spoke these words...
So what does He pray for?
We’ll see that Jesus PRAYS to - EQUIP US
To equip us - so that we would BE SUSTAINED against the evil of this world...
And so it’ll be interesting as we JUMP BACK AND FORTH between our text today...
…and Ephesians 6 where the apostle Paul talks about - the Armor of God
The armor of God used to help EQUIP us in this world…!
Let’s walk through those blessings…and hopefully they will EMPOWER us...
First thing...
SLIDE: Jesus Prayed For You: To Be Sanctified In The Truth (Word)
Jesus Prayed For You
Jesus Prayed For You
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Now - what does it mean - to Sanctify...
Sanctify means to -
set apart
to make holy
to purify
So when Jesus asks the Father to SANCTIFY believers...
He saying - PURIFY them.... in the truth…in the Word
Now think thru this...
Just prior to this in verse 15, Jesus said this...
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
Jesus wasn’t asking the Father to send in a RESCUE helicopter...
to REMOVE the disciples from their HOSTILE environment...
He also wasn’t interested in wrapping them in some PLASTIC BUBBLE to keep them from ENGAGING the world...
His prayer was to PROTECT them from SUCCUMBING to the evil one…and his temptations...
In a WORLD that they would be - SENT INTO
And so A WAY to DO that is to EQUIP us WITH - - The Word of God!!
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Purify them WITH THE TRUTH!
And this will EQUIP them to BE SUSTAINED thru the EVIL of this world...
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
The Bible teaches us that the Word of God - is the SWORD of the Spirit...
Swords are - OFFENSIVE weapons...
TRUTH - the TRUTH of God - attacks ANY schemes the devil might throw at us...
So whatever it is:
Thoughts of wealth
… of prestige
… of power
… Lust
… whatever the world offers us...
The TRUTH of God attacks those things…and EXPOSES those things as “FLEETING PLEASURE”
ADORN yourself with the Word of God..!
How do we do that?
I think we can tell… (a good test for us would be how we handled this down time for the past 8-10 weeks)
How did we handle the TRUTH of God during that time?
Did we pursue it?
Did we SEEK to share it?
Jesus PRAYS that we would be EQUIPPED with the TRUTH....the WORD...
And listen to how Jesus explains the BASIS for our PURIFICATION in the Word...
19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
It’s important to know that the GREEK word here used for “Consecrate” is the same greek word used for “Sanctified”...
So Jesus tells us - I SANCTIFY myself so that they ALSO may be Sanctified in TRUTH!
NOW - Of course there are a million different implications here - most of which we’ll never unearth...
BUT - I believe something that is EVIDENT here and something that is highlighted here is -
DISCIPLE MAKING...
Jesus says here - My “SETTING myself apart” (obedience) will lead to the OBEDIENCE of others...”
And so what I see here - is...
The CHOICES I make - when it comes to my Sanctification… my begin purified by the WORD...
WILL directly impact others coming to be SANCTIFIED...
That THOSE AROUND ME - THEIR sanctification will be IMPACTED by the choices [I] make in my own sanctification…!
But what else?
What else does Jesus pray for?
SLIDE: Jesus Prayed for You: To be One With the Body of Christ
Jesus Prayed For You
Jesus Prayed For You
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Think back to our context here...
Jesus is about to depart...
He knows the TROUBLES that the disciples will face…the opposition...
And for us by implication...
And so - BECAUSE Jesus knows that there’s POWER in UNITY....He prays that ALL BELIEVERS would BE ONE...
And this UNITY is something we all need to LITERALLY STRIVE for...
How does Paul describe this UNITY....
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
Paul equates a life WORTHY of the gospel = with Christian UNITY…!
And it’s THIS UNITY that we know takes 2 kinds of strength...
Ultimately - and most importantly - Christ’s STRENGTH!!
But also...
Ours...
We KNOW the Bible teaches us that salvation comes by faith in the person and THE WORK of Jesus...
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
See - Salvation is about the Righteousness of Jesus!!!
HIS Goodness...
HIS work...
BUT - the Bible ALSO tells us...
“Work OUT YOUR OWN salvation!”
**RAVI Zacharias - His impact in this world is in direct correlation with his DEVOTION to God (moment by moment, choice by choice)
Christianity is about RECEIVING the Righteousness of God through FAITH!!
BUT ALSO…about
22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
So RIGHTEOUSNESS plays itself out in 2 ways in our lives…as believers!
The PERFECT righteousness of Christ IN US...
and also -
OUR IMperfect righteous living...
24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
And this points to a piece of the ARMOR of God...
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
STRIVING to be ONE…in the body of Christ...
THIS UNITY that Jesus PRAYS for - IN US...
That we would PURSUE UNITY...
Under the BANNER of Christ’s righteousness...
In HIS strength...
And in OUR RESTING in that strength....striving together...
THIS is the prayer of Christ...
that we would be PURIFIED in the WORD....sanctified in the WORD…
in UNITY with the body of Christ!
And ALL OF THIS - Held together by...
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Jesus here - prays that...
SLIDE: Jesus Prayed For You: To Reflect God’s Love to the World
Jesus Prayed For You
Jesus Prayed For You
All of this that Christ prayed for - FOR US - all of it - held together with the LOVE of God..
the SAME love that the Father LOVED CHRIST with!!
That we too would hear the words...
“Well done…this is MY CHILD - in whom I am well pleased!
The LOVE of God (Christ) - is a...
Sacrificial love
Love ROOTED in truth
ROOTED in Jesus
ROOTED in eternity
The LOVE of God ONLY flows through Jesus Christ...
So may WE be empowered by this High Priestly Prayer...
SUMMARY:
Jesus Prayed For You:
To Be Sanctified in the Truth (Word)
To Be One With the Body of Christ
To Reflect God’s Love to the World
Let’s Pray