Jesus Prays For Our Future
Notes
Transcript
Christian Unity
Christian Unity
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
Jesus shares that the unity that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have may be passed on to us. Christ desires that we have unity rooted in Him. We must understand Christian unity. It is not sacrificing truth for the sake of unity. It is finding truth in unity. There are three ways that I understand Christian Unity. They are Doctrinal, Functional, and Relational.
Doctrinal Unity
Doctrinal Unity
One may say how can Christians have unity when there are so many doctrinal differences. The answer is found in what we agree on and not what we disagree on. What we can agree on is Primary Doctrine. We believe in God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit three in one. We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture and that it is God’s Holy Word. We Believe that Jesus is God’s Only Begotten Son. We believe that all people are sinners. We believe that the death, burial, and resurrection satisfies the wrath of God towards sin for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. We believe in salvation alone by faith alone. Salvation cannot be earned. We believe in a literal heaven and hell. We believe that there is Satan and evil. We believe Christ has defeated Satan by making an atonement for sin. These are all doctrines that Protestants can agree on.
Secondary doctrinal issues are where most divisions occur. Issues such as infant baptism, predestination, when the church is raptured or if the church is raptured and many more that I do not know about.
Fact is that primary doctrine deals with issues of truth. Secondary issues deal with opinions. We must focus on that which we agree on and not be divisive on matters that we disagree on.
Functional Unity
Functional Unity
Functional unity is how we fulfill the commission of the church. The Commission of the church is Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Christ has called us to go make disciples. He has ordained the church to do this. The mission is the same for all, however how we accomplish the mission we may differ. For example, the way a church does worship may differ. Some people may worship with hymns others may find worship in contemporary music. The way we find unity is in respecting others ways of worship. Not allowing our personal preferences to divide worship.
The way we handle church business may differ. This is why we have business meetings to express our thoughts and ideas for accomplishing the mission. The way we find unity is in the majority. When a vote is taken by the church it should be unified. This doesn’t mean that you endorse it but you must support it. Where unity is broken is when a person causes chaos and disruption to the majority.
The way we handle church business may differ. This is why we have business meetings to express our thoughts and ideas for accomplishing the mission. The way we find unity is in the majority. When a vote is taken by the church it should be unified. This doesn’t mean that you endorse it but you must support it. Where unity is broken is when a person causes chaos and disruption to the majority.
We must be a church of functional unity. The way we do this is focusing on the mission and not our own personal preferences. Keep the main thing the main thing. Do not get sidetracked on the color of the carpet and other issues that do not contribute significantly to the mission. However, If you feel a decision of the majority significantly impacts the mission of the church then you should seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and take the appropriate action.
I had a person come to me with an issue regarding how to appropriate the resources of the church. They felt that excess resources should be allocated one way, but the church voted to allocate them a different way. He came to me and shared with me his reasoning and he was right but the timing was not right. His heart was in the right place but the church was not in a position at that point to accommodate his desire. I encouraged him to get involved with a church that was in a position to accommodate his desire. I am glad to report that he is thriving in that church and we remain close friends today! This is Christian unity.
Relational Unity
Relational Unity
Jesus gave the parameters for relational unity. He said in John 13:34
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Relational unity is of utmost importance because Christ commanded it. Christ loves us unconditionally. So we should love others in the same manner. Loving others displays that we belong to Christ. John 13:35
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
It is when we love one another that it demonstrates Christlikeness. When we don’t love well a lost and dying world rightfully is suspect of our faith.
We should love one another because we are going to spend a lot of time together when we get to heaven. Jesus asks the Father that we be with Him where He is.
Assurance of Salvation
Assurance of Salvation
“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Jesus prays to the Father that we would be where He is? So where is He? Hebrews 1:3
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in the kingdom of heaven.
who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
Jesus is reigning in heaven. Jesus wants us to join Him in heaven. So what is heaven like? Read Revelation 21& 22
There will be a new heaven & a new earth untainted by sin.
God will be among the inhabitants.
There will be no more curse of sin (tears, death, pain)
Only Christ Followers will be there
It will be a beautiful fortified city with high walls.
It will have 12 gates that remain open.
It will be 2.25 million square miles.
Everywhere you look will be extravagant beauty.
There will be no temple because we have direct access to Jesus
There is no sun or moon. There will be no night.
There will be no sin in heaven.
Evil will be eradicated.
Jesus wants us to see his glory
Jesus wants us to see his glory
Though heaven will be the most glorious sight you have ever seen, it will not be the most beautiful. The most beautiful sight you will see will be Jesus in His glorified state. John tried to describe Him in Revelation 1:13-16
and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
John could not capture in words how to describe Jesus in His glorified state. He did the best he could with language. Mercy Me has a song called I can only imagine that talks about seeing the glory of God.
I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk by Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes would see
When Your face is before me
I can only imagine
Yeah
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for You Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in Your presence
Or to my knees, will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship You
I can only imagine, yeah
I can only imagine
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine, yeah
I can only imagine
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees, will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine, yeah
I can only imagine
I can only imagine, yeah-yeah
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship You
I can only imagine.
Jesus prayed that we would see him in His glory. Do you long to stand in the presence the glory of Jesus Christ?
Love of God
Love of God
“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
The only thing that will cause us to live in unity and hunger for Christ is a love for God. This is why Jesus said the greatest commandment is Matthew 22:37
And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
Any other motivation for following Christ will fall short. Love will cause one to endure to the end.
I have been in ministry a long time and have often asked the question how can I get someone to love God? Because I know that when they love God as He commands then disciple-making becomes easy.
The answer is I cannot get anyone to love God. They must make that choice. My job and yours is to demonstrate the love of Christ so they will see an example of the love of Christ.