Sermon Tone Analysis

·         Ramy Evening 02-07-06                                Bible Reading John 17

 

·         Theme *– Christ's desire for our souls John 17:24*

·         Intro

·         Jesus is coming to the end of his life – these are some of his last words to the disciples before the events of the cross.

·         Throughout this chapter he has been preparing and encouraging the disciples for what lies ahead.

·         He reminds them of those things he has done for them while he was with them; he also reveals those things that are his by divine right but he has shared with them in order that they may continue in the work of the gospel when he has gone.

·         We can see what Christ has shared with them: -

·         V13.

His Joy

·         V14.

The Word

·         V15.

His Fathers Protection

·         V16.

His Association with us

·         V18.

His like commission – we are sent like he was

·         V19.

His life so that we can be saved and sanctified

·         V21.

His unity

·         V22.

His brotherhood we are joint heirs with him

·         V23.

His fathers love

·         When we get to V.24 he now wants to add one last thing to this list but it would be one that would never be fully realised in this life.

·         Again it is something he wants to share with them, but this time after death, or after he has returned and judged the world.

·         24 *¶  "Father, I desire* that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

·         Christ here has a desire, and that is that we might be with him in heaven, and that when we are there we might see him as he really is.

·         Only on the mount of transfiguration had they seen anything of the glory of Christ, but this was only a shadow of the glory he would receive from his father after the cross.

·         This he prays to his father, he wants us to experience as well, and has a desire that we will be with him in heaven.

·         This evening let us look at this desire, and Christ’s request that when we die we share heaven with him.

·         *Our Desire – let us first look at this desire for heaven*

·         BBC interview where they where looking at what is mans greatest desire - three psychologists, Jung, Freud, and Adler.

For Freud, man's greatest desire is for sex.

For Adler, its power.

For Jung however, man's greatest desire is for immortality, to live forever.

·         What happens after death and where will I be is probably the question that has crossed every ones mind at some time or other, when we have suffered or witnessed a serious illness, or when someone we know has died.

·         I am sure for most people it is their desire to go to heaven; it is something that we would all want.

·         We all would like to know and understand that our eternal future is safe and secure; we all would like to think that when death has taken us and we stand before God and are judged by his divine standard we will be accepted by him into heaven.

·         We would all like to have that assurance that nothing will stop this from happening that we are not living in hope; hoping at the end of our lives that God looks at what we have done and finds it acceptable.

·         If you have read anything of scripture, or understand anything of what Christ taught we should realise that the consequences for falling into the hands of a holy God, will only bring us trouble.

·         It was Jesus who told us more about hell, about what the punishment for sin is than any other writer in the bible.

He spoke often regarding the judgement man faced for the way he lives his life.

·         So I am sure from a genuine concern for our eternal security we all would desire to go to heaven –* if that is going to be a reality is another thing.*

·         When we use the word desire for us it means - longing, craving, yearning an aspiration

·         But it also has an element of doubt attached to it, like a child wanting a new toy from their parents, they long for it, they crave it, they yearn for it, they will pester and nag for it, but they are reliant on the goodness of others to get it.

·         We can yearn and crave and desire heaven all our lives but it does not mean we will get it.

·         Sometimes we endeavour in our own efforts to get something, we have a strong desire for it, but often the reality is that it is like a dream, it was never something we could obtain or get.

·         We could never get what we want because it is beyond our control, outside of our abilities to obtain it; we have not the necessary means to purchase it.

It is beyond our grasp – like the child we live in hope that we will get it.

·         This is the attitude for the most of the world, they live in hope, they have a desire to get to heaven, but the reality is that it is just a hope, *(an element of doubt attached to it)* they presume upon God accepting them for what they have done.

·         Unfortunately it is a fool’s hope, it is a false hope, though in all sincerity they might desire it; in and of themselves they are unable to attain it.

·         *Paul  & Moses Desire*

·         We can look at two examples from scripture, two men who understood this, thousands of years separated these men but they both had the same desire, but this time it was not that they get to heaven but that others might go in their place.

·         But these where frustrated requests because they both understood that there was only one way it had to be God’s way.

·         Paul and Moses both understood that in our sin, in our present condition we would not be allowed into heaven, they understood this for themselves they understood this also for their fellow country men.

·         Both Paul and Moses had a desire that there fellow countrymen would be  accepted by God, but they both understood that this was not possible

·         In fact their desire was so great they both were *prepared to sacrifice their own eternal security in exchange for their fellow countrymen*, and even though this was a sincere gesture they both also knew that this was a vain thing.

Even such an offer though noble in itself was in reality of no real value to God.

·         Paul writing to the Romans 8 at the end of chapter he is summing up the safety and security we have in Christ and Christ alone.

Nothing can separate him from his saviour.

·         He goes into chapter 9 with this in mind and straight away his concern is for his fellow countrymen,(who have not this security)  he says that before Christ, and the Spirit that knows my conscience I wish (desire) that my fellow countrymen be saved.

·         He says that he would be prepared to forgo his own salvation for their sakes; he was prepared to be cursed by God so that they could be forgiven.

·         Roman 8:38 – 9:3 

·         Paul understood and knew that even though he had this great desire it was not enough, they would never and could never be accepted by God unless they came through Christ.

·         His dilemma was that they had rejected the Christ and so rejected there only means of forgiveness.

·         Moses had a similar experience when he was up on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments; because he had taken a long time and was delayed the people turned to their old ways and made an idol out of gold and started to worship it.

·         God saw this sent Moses back down the mount and 3000 people died in judgement that day.

·         Moses understood how angry God was and decided that he would plead to God on their behalf,

·         Exodus 32:30 - 33

·         And again we see Moses like Paul willing to exchange his life for the eternal security of his fellow brethren.

·         Moses had the same desire that those whom he loved his brethren be saved like he was, and be with him in heaven, but no matter how strong a desire it was it would not be enough.

·         It did not stop God from punishing those that had worshipped the golden calf, they were not only killed but also lost all eternal security, and they were blotted out of the book of God.

·         So it may be our desire to get to heaven and it may be others desire that we get there but at the moment we are struggling to get their in our own strength– we must as the question why can we not – what is stopping us.

·         *God’s Desire – this is what is stopping us*

·         God has laid down two conditions for you and I to be accepted into his heaven, firstly you need to be absolutely perfect, so that you cannot defile it, and secondly you need to be in the lambs book of life.

·         This is God's desire for heaven, and because he is God, he is not limited like us; there is no element of doubt attached to the desire of God.

His desire is his law.

·         Rev 20 vs. 11 – Cht 21 vs. 8 – here we have a vision of that day God has set aside for all of us – his judgement day when man will stand before God and either be accepted or rejected.

Read

·         Rev 21: vs. 9 - 26 – John is given a vision of Heaven, the New Jerusalem and is shown in some detail its construction.

·         But when we get to vs. 27 we see the conditions set down by God, this is how you are to enter his Holy city.

·         Revelation 21:27  But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

·         This is his desire for those who will be accepted, if you and I want to enter this eternal city, we can only be accepted by being perfect and by being written in the lambs’ book of life.

·         This is the will and desire of a sovereign God, this is how it has always been and will always be.

·         So we might desire heaven with every once of strength, there might be others that desire it for us and they may even be prepared to give up what they have in exchange for us, but we can only get there God’s way.

·         *Christ's desire*

·         24 ¶  "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me *where I am*, that they *may behold My glory* which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

·         Here in this verse we see Christ's desire for us, he prays to his father and reveals to us that it is his desire that we be where he is, this is his request.

·         Father there are those that you have given me, and it is my desire that they be with me in heaven, I want them to not only see my glory, but father I want them to share in it as well.

·         So if we apply the information that we already know, we desire to be in heaven, Moses and Paul understood the need to be in heaven and want us to be there also, Christ himself wants us to be in heaven, and yet we know that only those who are perfect and are written in the lambs’ book of life will get to heaven.

·         So was this a false desire by Christ, was it just a wish that has an element of doubt attached to it, he really had no real control over it, he had a longing and a craving that the disciples and so us today might be with him in heaven and yet no real control over the matter.

·         Christ is actually praying this prayer as though the cross is finished, as though he has been raised form the dead and ascended up to heaven, he is praying as though he is seated at God's right hand and crowned in glory and yet he was still hours away from the cross.

·         He had not been to the garden, he had not been on trail before Herod and Pilate, they had not scourged him, or nailed him to a cross, he had not died, rose again and lived among them for 40 days, but yet he prays this as though he is there experiencing the glory of heaven, and wants us to share in it as well.

·         Because he is in heaven in this prayer his desire is that we are there as well.

*How do we balance this?

How can Christ pray this and have us be with him in heaven and still meets the requirements of his father.*

·         The clue is in this word desire!

We need to examine it a little more; in our language we understand that it means a strong craving or yearning.