The Lord's Prayer

I'm preaching to you this morning on the Lord's Prayer. Some of you when you saw that title said, okay, I know what that is. Our Father, which art in heaven, how would be thy name? Thy kingdom come. The... Actually, that's not the Lord's Prayer. That is more accurately titled, the disciples' Prayer. That prayer that we often call the Lord's Prayer and is often recited in churches as the Lord's Prayer could never be prayed by our Lord because it talks about having forgiven others, their trespasses, so asking God to forgive us, our trespasses, the Lord had no sins to be forgiven of, so that can never be prayed by our Lord. It was never designed that way, never intended to be a wrote memory, repeated prayer in church, nothing necessarily wrong with that. That's not why the Lord gave it to us. The Lord gave us that prayer as a model prayer for us to know the kinds of things we should pray for. That's the disciples' prayer. That's our prayer. The Lord's Prayer is the one we're gonna look at this morning in John chapter 17. That's the prayer our Lord prayed. And since it's been a couple of weeks, since we have been in John's Gospel, let me bring you up to speed a little bit on what's happened and where we are. The scene is Thursday evening before Jesus will die on the cross the next morning. We are within hours of Jesus being placed on the cross, possibly less than 12 hours before Jesus will be hung on that cross. In the upper room, that evening, Jesus has observed the Jewish Passover feast with his disciples. He has washed their feet in an act of servitude that he said should serve as an example to us in how to serve one another. He has told them that one of them would deny him, and shortly after that, Judas indeed left to do that very thing. He celebrated the Lord's supper and instituted the Lord's supper from that Passover feast with the 11 remaining disciples. He predicted the denials of Simon Peter. And then following all of that, which took place in chapter 13, he launches into what we call the upper room discourse. And that is the series of teachings the Lord left his disciples in chapter 14 through 16. And in those three chapters, we have seen that Jesus is reminding his disciples of some basic truths, comforting them, encouraging them, helping them to know how to grapple with what they will face when he leaves. And they cannot go with him. And they're in charge with the ministry that he's going to give them in the book of Acts. And so he encourages them, he challenges them, he comforts them in those words, great words as we have seen. But verse 1 of chapter 17 says this, after Jesus said this, all of this in three chapters, after he has said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed. And this prayer is indeed an amazing prayer. This is one of the great chapters of the Bible. This is a Psalm 23 Romans 8 category chapter. If you find lists of people who say, these are my favorite chapters in the Bible, you'll often find this one mentioned. It is a phenomenal prayer, often called Christ's high priestly prayer, because he is in a sense praying for his people, much as the high priest of Israel would bear the people of God before the Lord in the Old Testament. Jesus is doing that here for us. Sometimes this is called the Holy of Holies in Scripture. We are entering with our Savior into the very presence of God. But more than anything, what I want us to see this morning, is that we have the great privilege of listening as the Savior prays. Think of that. Of listening to Jesus actually pray. We have the great privilege of listening in as Jesus prays. And we need to listen well because I believe this may well be the way that the Savior still prays for us today. As he intercedes for us in heaven, as he prays for us at the right hand of the Father even now, this may still be the way he's praying. And so let's listen carefully and understand and grasp and embrace the prayer of Jesus for us. The prayer, as Karen mentioned earlier, does not really begin with a prayer for us. It begins with a prayer for him. He prays first of all for his glory in the first five verses. Then the rest of the prayer is a prayer for his people. So let's look first of all at what he prays for himself. It is a prayer for his glory, verse one, after Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed, and the Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you. What does it mean, the glory of God, and to glorify the Son of God for Christ to be glorified? Well, it means that he would be revealed in all of his glory for who he is and what he is, that he would be seen in his glory and his holiness, in his majesty, in his holiness. That's what it means, his perfection. Jesus is the exact representation of the Father's glory. Hebrews chapter one and verse three tells us that very thing, that Jesus is the exact representation of the glory of the Father. Everything that the Father is in Himself, all of His majesty, holiness, His power, His glory, is reflected in Jesus. And it is shown forth in all of the perfections of God and of Christ. Now, when Christ left heaven to come to this earth, He laid aside the outward expression of that glory. And so now he's asking that he be glorified once again, that he be willing and able in the Father's presence to demonstrate all of that glory. But how is his glory seen? How is his majesty and perfection and holiness really seen? Jesus mentions three ways that it is seen, first of all, it is seen through His cross in verse one. He says, Father, the hour has come. The hour that Jesus has often mentioned in this very epistle throughout His ministry, Jesus oftentimes when He would be attacked by the Pharisees or some harm would be threatened to Him, He would say, my hour has not yet come. I believe there are five occasions. He refers to the fact that His hour has not yet come. And now He says, the hour has come. The time has come. He's looking at the cross within 12 hours. He will be hanging on a Roman cross, dying for our sins. And so He says, now the hour has come. The time has come. I'm going to the cross. And then in verse four, He describes it this way. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Now, obviously He's talking about the completion of His ministry, the finishing of His earthly ministry, but His work was not really finished until the cross, because that's the reason for His earthly ministry. That's the reason why He came. He came to this earth with the expressed purpose of dying on the cross. And so Jesus would complete the Father's work by going to the cross. And so it is the cross which demonstrates His glory. He asks to show the Father's glory and to bring in glory by finishing the work and the work would be finished on the cross. Yes, Jesus showed the glory, the perfection, the majesty, the holiness of God in His ministry. But He showed it best at the cross. God's majesty is seen there. God's holiness is seen at the cross. The fact that God hates sin. And He refuses to compromise with sin is seen by His pouring out of His wrath on our sin at the cross. God's glorious shown there. God's glorious scene at the cross, because with there we see, not only God's holiness, we see God's justice. The fact that God cannot tolerate sin. He cannot just brush sin off to the side. Sin must be punished. Even if it requires putting His own son to death, He will punish our sin even in the person of His son that shows His justice. He will not just wink at sin and wish it away. He will punish it even at the life of His own son. The cross shows God's justice. But all the cross shows God's glory in another way. It shows His love. God's so loved the world that He gave His one and only son. The ultimate cost to pay for our sin is the death of His son. And that redeems us, that saves us. And so it shows His love as nothing else in this universe shows it. The cross shows the glory of God. It demonstrates all of His beauty and perfections. So how does God get glory? How does Christ get glory? How does Christ glorify the Father through the cross? But it is also through His gift. Jesus' glory is seen and this prayer is answered through His gift. That gift is referenced in verses 2 and 3. For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. Now this is eternal life. That they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Christ's glory is seen through His gift. And that gift is eternal life. It's clear in verse 2 that gift is eternal life. Eternal life is life that lasts forever. It's life that never ends. It's life that continues the moment you receive Jesus as your Savior. And God grants you that gift of life eternal and it continues on. Through out eternity it never ends. It never stops. The life that begins with Christ in our hearts goes on forever in heaven. And it is the joy of knowing Jesus. It's what we long for is life eternal. We have a desire to live forever. And we often wonder people often wonder. I hope you know the answers to this. But people often wonder what will happen to me when I die? What will happen? Where is this life end? For the believer life never ends. Life just transitions out of this body to Christ in heaven. And the hope that we have in Him. It's eternal. But I want you to know it's a gift. Jesus describes this eternal life as a gift. You granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life. To all those you have given him. Notice the emphasis on the Father's initiative, God's initiative in our salvation. We are given to the Father. We are the Father's love gift to his son, his bride. And to those who have been given to the Father, we are given eternal life. It is a gift. You do not earn eternal life. You do not deserve eternal life. And neither do I. It is a gift. It is given by the grace of God. By his own love he gives us eternal life. And then eternal life is described as knowing him. Verse 3, this is eternal life. That they know you. Only true God. And Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Eternal life is to know Christ. It is to know Him. And that knowledge has several layers. It first of all means that we must know about Him. We must know the story. We must know who He is. We must know about God and about His son Christ. And what the Bible teaches about Him. That's where the knowledge begins. But it begins there. And that part of our knowledge is so critical in our culture today. Because we are so quickly moving away from the foundations of this book. And of who God is. What is done for us in Christ. Our culture is so far removed now from basic Bible knowledge that people need to know who God is. What is done. And who Christ is. And what He has done for us. And so knowing Him begins with that knowledge about Him. But it cannot stop there. It must progress to a personal knowledge. And embracing of Him. A personal knowledge of Christ. Taking Him as our Savior. By faith. And there's a tremendous difference in those first two kinds of knowledge. They're both important. It's important to know the truth of who God is. And who Christ is. And what He did for us. Without that, you cannot embrace Him by faith. But if all you know is something about God. If all you have is a mental awareness of who God is. Or of who Jesus is. And what He did because you've heard it in Sunday School all of your life. If you never personally have made that decision to commit your life to Him. And to trust Him as your Savior. Then you still don't know God. You may know about Him. But you don't know Him. Last night in the adult care facility where my mother is. Bob, my brother-in-law, Bob Wilkerson. And I were talking with a lady that had come by and was checking to see how mom was doing. And she actually has been mom's roommate there. And in mom's passing through this valley of the shadow of death. They've moved her to another location and allowed us together there as family. Bob initiated the conversation with this dear lady. She began talking about her knowing the Lord. And Bob asked her more specifically. And I was had the joy of joining in the conversation. Of do you really understand the difference between knowing about Him? Because that seemed like what she was talking about. And really knowing Him personally as your Savior. And after a very interesting discussion, I think Bob, we gained the assurance that she did know Jesus personally as her Savior. There's a big difference in just having some kind of religious faith, some kind of awareness of who God is. And awareness of what who Jesus is. There's a great difference in that. And then moving to the level of knowledge where you understand that Jesus died for you on the cross. And you embrace Him as your Savior. And now you know Him personally. Do you know Him personally? That's what it takes to have eternal life. To know Jesus in that personal way of receiving Him by faith. And then it doesn't even stop there. There's a growing knowledge once we come to know Jesus as our Savior. A growing knowledge of Christ, a growing knowledge of who He is, and what He's done for us that deepens and becomes more rich and more precious over the years. To know Him is to have eternal life. My friend, I hope you know Jesus. Jesus is glorified. It's what He prayed for. Not only through His cross, but through His gift, through His gift of eternal life, but He's also glorified through His exaltation in verse 5. And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Jesus prayed as He approaches the cross. I've glorified you through the work I'm completing out the cross. I've glorified you by giving this gift of eternal life. And now Father, I'm asking that you glorify me again in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. You see, when Jesus stepped down out of heaven and came to this earth, He laid aside that outward display of His glory. Please don't misunderstand. He did not lay aside His deity. He was still God every moment He walked on this earth, but His deity was robed in a human flesh, a human body with a human nature. And so that outward display of glory of His majesty and perfection and holiness that was seen by all the angels in heaven that had been covered up, that had been laid aside as He came to this earth. And now He's looking forward to having that restored to being in His Father's presence, to having that glory restored in the presence of God, in the very presence of His Father. And that prayer was answered. Paul would say in Philippians chapter 2 after talking about how Jesus laid aside that glory and made Himself nothing and took on the nature of a servant. And it was made in human likeness and humbled Himself to death. He goes on to say, therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name that if the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And so Jesus asked, Lord, I'm looking forward to that glory that I will share with you in your presence in heaven. And that prayer was answered when Jesus was resurrected and ascended to the right hand of the Father and sat down in all of His glory. So He prayed first of all for His glory, the glory that is seen through the cross, through His gift of eternal life and would be visibly demonstrated once again in His exaltation to heaven. He prayed for His glory, but I'm so glad His prayer didn't end there. And Jesus, He prayed also for His people and Jesus begins in verse 6 to pray for us actually in verses 6 through 19, He prays for the 11 disciples who are left in that upper room. And then beginning of verse 20, He prayed for you and He prayed for me. He prayed for all of us. I appreciate what Karen said. I'm so grateful that the night before He died, He thought about me and prayed for me and He thought about you and He prayed for you. Jesus prayed for us. And although the first part of this prayer is directed especially for His disciples, I want us to see how it all applies to us. It all applies to you and it all applies to me. He was praying for us that night. And in verses 6 through 10, He identifies who He's praying for. He says, I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of this world. They are yours. You gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you've given me comes from you where I gave them the words that you gave me. They've accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I'm not praying for the world. But for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. Jesus tells who He's praying for. It is those who have been given to Him by the Father. He mentions it in verse 6, again in verse 9. Those that you've given me, I'm praying for them, those believers that you've given me, the bride that you've given to me and presented to me, I'm praying for them. And He says, these are the same people that have accepted your word for seven. They know that everything you've given me comes from you. I gave them the words you gave me. They accepted them. So we're given to Christ by the Father and then we hear His word and we accept His word and then we place our faith in Him, verse 8. They knew with certainty, middle of verse that I came from you and they believed that you sent me. So when we receive His word, those of us who've been given to Christ by the Father, we receive His word and we accept Him as our Savior. Those are the ones He's praying for. So I ask you this morning, have you ever realized that Jesus Christ came to die for you? Have you accepted what the Word of God teaches about that and have you placed your faith in Him? You believe that God sent Him to die for you and Jesus is praying for you here. You're among that number that He's praying for. And as He prays for you and as He prays for me and as He prays for those disciples in that upper room that night, He prays for four things. Let's look at them quickly. First He prays for our protection. For our protection. In verses 11 through 15, He will mention the word protect. He will ask God to protect us three times. Three times, He'll use that word. So it's clear this is a prayer for protection, but there are four things in these verses that He prays for our protection for verse 11, first of all, protection from this unity. Verse 11, I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world and I am coming to you. 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. Jesus prayed for protection from this unity that we would be one. The ones that the Father's giving him, those of us who are believers that we would be one. He knew the trouble we would cause. He knew the problems we would have. He knew the trouble that we would make the mess we would make of things. He obviously just listened to his disciples arguing in the upper room about who's going to be the greatest. So he knew that we would fight and argue and fuss about everything. They're even fussing about who's going to be on the right hand, the left hand, who's going to be the greatest. Jesus is serving them and comforting them and they're still fighting with one another. And Jesus knew that we would do that. We would fight over the history of the church. We would fight over how to baptize people. We would fight over issues of Christian liberty and what you're supposed to wear and what translation you use. And what kind of music is right, wrong or neutral. He knew we would fuss about all that. He knew we would fuss about the color of the carpet and the kind of lights and all that. And so Jesus says, Father, keep them one. Keep them one because they're going to fight. They're going to fight with each other. He's praying for protection from this unity. And he even indicates what should unify us and what should bring us together. Notice what he says in that verse. He says, 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. I think the name he's talking about here, the name that had been given to him to share with us is Holy Father. It's the only time this name is used in the New Testament. It's the only time Jesus refers to God as the Holy Father. But I think that very name communicates what binds us together. It is the fact that we have one father that we know our father through faith and Christ. And we have that unifying us that we are fellow members of the body of Christ, members of the family of God. We know him as our father, but we are also on a lifelong pursuit for holiness. I'm not talking about some kind of mystical stage that you meet. There are two kinds of holiness in the Bible. First of all, the holiness or righteousness that we have given to us, the standing that we have in Christ, which is perfect. We are already set apart for God in Christ by we have salvation. But then we are to pursue that in our lives practically on a daily basis the rest of our lives. And so those of us who have been declared righteous and holy and made holy in the Father through Christ through salvation, we've been set apart to be his own possession. That kind of holiness. We are to be pursuing that and we're on the same lifelong pursuit. We're all striving to become more like Christ to exhibit that holiness more in our lives every day. And so why don't we pull together? Why don't we run together rather than fighting over this and that and that and that? Just pull together in unity in Jesus' praise. Lord, by this very name, knowing that you are their father and that you are a holy father who is calling them toward heaven in a lifelong pursuit of holiness to be more like you and to be more like me. Help them to stay one in that knowing you and following you. He prayed for protection from this unity, but then he also prayed for protection from destruction in verse 12. He says, while I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost. Thank God. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that scripture would be fulfilled. He's talking there about Judas. Judas is called the son of destruction or one who's doomed to destruction a couple times in this gospel. He is one who was doomed to destruction because of what he did. He betrayed Christ, but not just because he did that. He didn't lose salvation. The Bible makes it clear, especially in John chapter 6, that he was never one of the disciples in heart. He was never truly a believer. Jesus says in John chapter 6 that he knew from the beginning the one who didn't believe in him. And that was Judas. He'd never trusted Christ from his heart. He never really knew the Savior. And because of his unbelief, because he never trusted Christ, he is doomed to destruction. As is everyone who does not trust in Christ. And so those who don't trust in Christ, yes, are doomed to destruction. Those who do know Christ, Jesus never loses one. None of the eleven were ever lost. He protected them from destruction. The only one who was destroyed is the one who did not trust Jesus as Savior. And my friend, that's one reason why I believe his power keeps us spiritually safe. And he prayed for that. He prayed that we would be protected. Even as he protected those who really knew him while he was with them, he's praying for our protection as well from destruction. Thirdly, he prays for protection from despair. From despair. Verse 13, I am coming to you now. But I say these things while I am still in the world so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. The full measure of my joy, protection from despair, Jesus is praying. He wants us to know him in the full measure of joy, his joy, a heavenly joy, a joy of knowing that we know him and that we're headed to heaven. And that frees us from despair. There is no despair in the heart of a believer who knows Jesus and knows that heaven awaits us. Yes, there's sorrow. Yes, there's, there's the sorrow right now watching, watching my mother died and those others in the family who are gathered around or even this morning watching her gasp for breath, watching her die is not. I hate to see her that way, but there's no despair. There's joy because I know she's going into the presence of the Lord and I hope it will be soon. I hope her Alzheimer's will be a thing of the past and she will be restored in the presence of the Lord. There's great joy in that. There's no despair. There's joy. And that's what Jesus prayed we would have. One of the reasons we can have that is because we know him. Because we know Christ, we don't despair. We saw our not as others that have no hope because we have the hope of heaven. And so there's joy. Jesus prayed that we would be delivered from despair and fourthly prayed that we would be protected from the devil. Verse 15. I mean, my prayers not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. We live in this world. Jesus could have saved us and immediately taken us to heaven. If the only reason for you being saved was to escape hell, you could have gone directly to heaven the moment you trusted Christ and that would have been accomplished. But we've been left in this world for a number of reasons, but we've been left in this world. The realm where Satan works. The realm where Satan is active. Jesus did not want us to be taken away from this world, but he did pray that we'd be protected from the evil one. Aren't you glad for that? Aren't you glad that no matter how Satan attacks us, no matter how much he may thwart us, no matter how much he may oppose us, he cannot have us. Because we belong to the one who said, I'm praying that you will protect them from the evil one. So he may do a lot of damage, but he can never claim your soul. You belong to Christ. If you know Jesus as your savior, the answer to Christ's prayer is that Satan can never wrap his ugly clutches around you and drag you to hell. You will be in heaven with Christ. You will be protected from the evil one. So Jesus prayed for our protection, but that's not all. He also prayed for our testimony. He prayed for our testimony because what he prays for next in verses 14 through 19 is our relationship with the world. He talks about our relationship with the world. I believe I counted last night seven times that he prayed about the world seven times. He mentions the word world in these verses. So it's clearly our testimony to the world. What kind of testimony is it to be? Well, not isolation. He doesn't want us to be isolated from the world. Verse 15, my prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. Now we just focused on the last part of the verse. Let's go back to the first part of the verse. Jesus never intended for us to be taken out of the world. He did not want us to withdraw from the world. Lost people need us. It has been the temptation of people through the centuries to withdraw from lost people to isolate ourselves from the world. And Jesus said, I don't want that. I'm not praying for that. The Pharisees were guilty of that. The Pharisees thought they were so much better than these sinners, these people who live in sin and these tax collectors who betrayed the Jewish people to the Roman Empire that when Jesus started hanging out with them and taking the gospel to them and saying the sick people are the ones who need a physician. They're the people I'm going to go to. What are the accusing of? You're a friend of centers. Friend of centers. That's a branch. A badge. We ought to wear proudly. I hope someone calls us friends of centers because then we identify with Jesus. We are not to be isolated from the world like hermits or monks in a monastery hanging out with Christians all the time having as little contact with unbelievers as possible. Sealing ourself off in Christian subcultures so that we never have to touch the world. Christ prayed that we would not do that. He prayed that we would invade our world that we would not be isolated from the world. But that's not all he prayed. He prayed not isolation, but he also prayed not assimilation. Don't blend into the world either. Don't become like the world either. Look at verse 14, back up a verse. I've given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of this world anymore than I am of this world. My prayers not that you take them out of the world, but you protect them from the evil one and then he goes on to say again verse 16. They are not of the world. Even as I am not of it. What he's saying there is don't just assimilate, don't just blend in and think and believe and live just like the world. Remember we saw earlier when Jesus was talking about the world in chapter 15 and 16. He's talking about an organized system of belief, thought and values. It is an organized system a way of thinking about life and thus a way of living out life that is opposed to what the Bible teaches. And it summarized very well in first John chapter 2 and verse 16. The same writer who wrote this gospel would write in the first epistle of John for everything that is in the world. Okay, he's going to give us a clue of everything that this world system is involved in. These are the three foundational practices, values, belief system, philosophy, whatever you want to call it, world view, whatever you want to call it. This is how the world believes, thinks and acts. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life. John said it, that's everything in the world, that's the package. So what is that? Lust of the flesh, flesh speaking of the sinful nature, lust, strong desire is what the word means, the strong desire to fulfill the sinful pull of your sinful nature. In other words, do whatever you want to fulfill your sinful nature. That's the lust of the flesh. The world operates that way, the world lives that way. Second, the lust of the eyes, the strong desire that's generated by the eyes, the desire to have whatever your eyes see. If the first is pleasure, this is possessions. And it's not wrong to have possessions. That's not what he's talking about. It's the lust of that, the strong desire, the ambition, the focal point of your life, the aim of your life to get this world's stuff. And so all the cars and houses and trinkets and toys and all the latest devices and whatever, whatever this world comes up with, I want it and I want more of it and I want the newest and the best because I want to beat the guy next to me. That ambition in life, that's why the world operates. The Bible says we are not to live that way. Pride of life, that's popularity, recognition, position, prestige, the desire to have my name known, the desire to have what I do known and recognized by others. And that can come across in very subtle ways even in Christian circles. The desire to be known for what we do. The desire to be recognized. Jesus says, I'm not of that and you are not of that and he prayed we would be protected from that that we would not assimilate into the culture around us. We need to live a different kind of lifestyle, have a different outlook on life that is not all about satisfying the desires of the simple nature, that is not all about just accumulation of possessions and that is not all about me being number one and being recognized for it. Jesus said, if you really want to be the greatest in my kingdom, what do you do? You serve, you serve others and you don't do it so you can blab about it and be recognized for it. You just do it. You just do it. You serve. So we're not to assimilate into this world. So it's not isolation, it's not assimilation, then what is it? Where's the middle road? If I'm not supposed to isolate myself from the world, but I'm not supposed to blend in and be like the world, then where do I find that middle that true, true purpose of what Jesus wants my testimony to the world to be? Well, it's not isolation, not assimilation, it is sanctification. So boy, that sounds like one of those words I'm supposed to be sanctified and sealed by the Holy Ghost, right? I'm supposed to get full of spirit and speaking tongues and all that. That's what a lot of people mean by sanctified. That's not what the word means. Jesus uses it quite a bit here in verses 16 and 17, actually 17 through 19. Look at 17. sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I've sent them into the world. For them, I sanctify myself that they may be truly sanctified. The meaning of the word sanctified literally, the root meaning of the Greek word that is translated by the English word sanctified here means to be set apart. It means to be set apart for a holy use, a use that God wants us to be used for in this world. It's to be set apart for a holy purpose. Now, Jesus explains how that's done and what it's for. He says, first of all, to be sanctified, we are sanctified by the truth. In other words, God sets us apart for a holy purpose by the truth and he clarifies what the truth is. Your word is truth. So we are to be set apart for a holy purpose through the word of God. As believers get their hands on, wrap their minds around, embrace with their hearts, the truth of God's word. Then the Bible says, our minds are renewed. We begin to think more like Christ. You see, we begin to adopt a different way of looking at life. That's how we're not assimilated into the world culture. We begin to think about life differently. We begin to think more radically. We begin to think of how we can use whatever we have to serve God. And that comes from exposure to his word and embracing the truth of his word. We are set apart for holy purposes by the word of God, but it doesn't stop there. We are set apart for truth or by truth, but we are set apart for mission, mission in this world to serve. See how Jesus says it in verse 17, He says, sanctify them by the truth. That's how the process happens. We are set apart as we grasp what God's word tells us to be and do. As we become more like Christ through the word, then He thrusts us out, verse 18, as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them, for these believers, I sanctify myself. I'm setting myself apart for this holy purpose of going to the cross, He says, so that they too may truly be sanctified. What does it mean to be sanctified? Obviously, just to be set apart to do what God wants us to do. We get the motivation of it through the word of God, but if God's word really grabs your heart and mind, it's not enough just to know more of it. If God's word really grabs your heart and mind, you won't be sitting around saying, well, that was interesting. I'm glad I learned that. Pull that going away in my little file, and I learned more of God's word. Aren't you proud of me? And Jesus would look down at you and say, no, not proud of you, not until you go out like I did and use it. So we are sanctified by truth, but we are sanctified for mission to be sent out into this world. And so God wants us to move out into our world to impact our world. What does that mean for you? I don't know. It may not mean the same that it does for me. We all move in different circles and have different contacts and opportunities. But where is your world that Jesus is thrusting you out into? It may mean for some of us, rather than being isolated from the world, we need to get involved in something where we can be around unsaved people. Take a class where you are going to be exposed to people who do not know Jesus, get out of your Christian subculture and get around some pagans, some unsaved people. It may mean that you need to start working out at the fitness center for a number of reasons. But for one reason, say you can get around some unsaved people, start chasing unsaved people around at track. And start rubbing shoulders with some unbelievers. It may mean you need to get involved in your PTA, your local school, and get involved with some parents who don't know Jesus. It may mean you need to start interacting with the people you do business with, rather than just doing business with them and making it so formal, begin to get to know them. It may mean that you need to coach one of those teams. What do they play these days? Is it soccer? Is that what it's called? Soccer. Yeah. It may mean you need to coach your kid soccer team or T-ball team or baseball team or little league football team so that you can get in there with some parents who don't know Jesus. It may mean you need to join a service club or accept an invitation to a committee in town where you'll be on there with a bunch of unsaved people. And you can start rubbing shoulders. It may mean you need to start witnessing to your barber. Be careful with that. Wait till after the haircut. Or you may get surprised. It may mean you need to start witnessing to your hairdresser. It may mean you need to get involved and celebrate recovery and reach out to people with herds, and habits, and hang-ups, and say we want to love you to Jesus. It may mean you need to invite your friend who's gone through a divorce to divorce care or invite your neighbor who's lost a loved one to come to Greece share or invite that young mother that's struggling with those 20 young kids to come to mobs and get a break. It may mean you just reach out to some unsaved people. Jesus said this is how you're sanctified. You're sanctified. First of all, by being filled with the truth of God, but if it never moves beyond that, you haven't- you've short-circuited the process. You haven't completed the process. Go out into the world. Jesus is praying to the Father. As you sent me, I have sent them. So he's wanting to thrust us out into the world. So he prays for our testimony to the world. It's not to be isolated. It's not to be assimilated. But it is to be sanctified. To be set apart by God's word, to be fueled with a motivation to reach the world for Christ. Our time's gone, and Jesus is still praying. But just quickly, he prays for our unity in verses 20 to 23. And I just want to say this. This unity is not some kind of organizational, ecumenical movement whereby every denomination and every church in the world lays down all their differences and says we want to get together in the name of Jesus. That's what this text is often used to mean. But I would just point out to the fact two things that Jesus says about unity here. He says, first of all, verse 20, it's for those who have believed in the apostles' message. So those who have accepted the message of these men, he says, my prayer is not for them alone. He says, verse 20, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. The message of the gospel given by the apostles, the truth of the word of God. This unity is for those who believe God's word and who have accepted the message of the gospel. It's not to link up with everybody who has any way of salvation possible. Salvation through a church, salvation through a sacraments, salvation through whatever you do to earn your way to heaven. No, no, it's for people who know Christ, who have salvation through the message of the apostles, the message of the word of God. So it's grounded in truth and it's also a unity that is a unity in nature because two or three times in these verses, he says, I want them to be one as we are one in the Trinity. So that's not only a doctrinal unity, the Trinity doesn't have any doctrinal disagreement. It is also a unity in nature. In the Trinity there are three separate persons but one nature. They share the same nature. And the unity we have in Christ is because we share the same nature being the children of God. And so this unity is talking about is children of God who subscribe to the message of the apostles that we are to be one and the testimony of that to the world is amazing. He says basically in 21 and 23, if you do this, the world will believe that I was sent from the Father. The world will believe, the world will come to know Jesus if they see people who are unified in Christ and around the message of the word of God. And then lastly praise for our security verses 24 to 26. I love what he says in verse 24. I want those, Father, I want those you've given to be with me, given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory. If you're part of the bride of Christ, you've been given to Christ by the Father. Okay. So what he's talking about here. How do you become part of the bride of Christ? Trust Christ is your savior and you're part of the family of God, the bride of Christ, you're one of the sheep, all those figures of speech. So all you need to trust Christ is your savior to be included in this prayer. And when he says, I want those you've given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory. That means Jesus prayed for me that I would be with him someday and see his glory in heaven. So you know what that means? That means I'm going to be with him someday and I'm going to see his glory in heaven because Jesus prayer is going to be answered. Eternal security. If you know Jesus as your savior, the only way you can lose your salvation and not see him in glory is if God says, I didn't like Jesus prayer. I'm not going to answer that. You imagine that? Of course not. His prayer is that you would see him in glory and you will if you know Jesus as your savior. I believe Jesus is still praying for us. In fact, the Bible says he's still praying for us. Hebrews 7.25 says it this way. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him. Why? Because he always lives to intercede for them. Jesus is living right now seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you and me praying for you and me. And it could well be he's still praying for these very things, praying for our protection, our testimony, our unity, our security. Did you know today you could become part of the answer to his prayer. He prayed for those the Father would give him as his bride, those who would trust in him as savior except his word, all of that he said here. And for those he prayed these various requests. You could become a part of his answer today if you would trust Christ as your savior. If you've never done that, my friend, I want to challenge you to do that today. I want to challenge you to know Jesus as your savior to realize that he came to die for you on the cross that he paid for your sins there. I want you to trust him as savior. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this glorious prayer that our Savior prayed for us. Thank you, Lord. For praying that for us. Father, I pray that if there's anyone here this morning that's never trusted Jesus as savior that today they would recognize their need of Christ, that they're sinner, they need Christ as savior, and that today they would come to him. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.