UNITY IN JESUS: Jesus’ Prayer 9-11-22

UNITY IN JESUS: Jesus’ Prayer 9-11-22

Jesus’ prayer life

Someone has said, “God had only one Son who lived without sin, but He has had no sons who have lived without prayer.”  Jesus was constantly in prayer.  He prayed before He ate, before great decisions, and in the Garden of Gethsemane before He went to the cross.  Sometimes He prayed all night.  Jesus lived the most beautiful life that was ever lived by a human being, and He did this by saturating His life with prayer.

Granny Lackie

Jesus’ prayer before He was betrayed

Unity

“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 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. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. 

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am 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. 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. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. “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. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. 

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.””

‭‭ John‬ ‭17:1-26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I.  JESUS’ PRAYER FOR HIMSELF

"The disciples had learned to understand something of the connection between Christ’s wondrous life in public and His secret life of prayer. They had been with Him and had seen Him pray. They had learned to believe in Him as a Master in the art of prayer. None could pray like Him. And so they went to Him with the request, "Lord, teach us to pray."

Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer

“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 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. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

John‬ ‭17:1-5 ‭NIV‬

A.  Glory

B.  The work

II.  JESUS’ PRAYER FOR HIS DISCIPLES

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am 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. 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. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. “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. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

John‬ ‭17:6-19 ‭NIV‬

A.  Prayer for his followers

B.  Protection for his followers

Certain Native American tribes had a rite of passage for their teenage boys. At age 13 a boy would be blindfolded and led to a certain spot in the woods. He would be forced to sit down while the men of the tribe returned to their camp. The boy would be required to sit all night with his blindfold in place. He was forced to listen to the frightening sounds of the night. Once he felt the warmth of the sun as it rose in the east, he was allowed to remove his blindfold. The first thing he saw when he removed it was his father sitting across from him. The boy's father would sit with him all night, protecting him from the animals of the wilderness, yet he was not seen by his son.

C.  Sanctification for his followers

III.  JESUS’ PRAYER FOR ALL BELIEVERS

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

John‬ ‭17:20-26‬ ‭NIV‬

A.  Oneness (unity)

There can be union without unity: tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline. There you will have union, but certainly not unity!

B.  Glory

"Grace is but glory begun, and glory is but grace perfected."

Anonymous

J. S. Bach said, "All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul's refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub."

He headed his compositions: "J. J." "Jesus Juva" which means "Jesus help me."

He ended them "S. D. G." "Soli Dei gratia" which means "To God alone the praise."

(Kingdom Conflict, J. Stowell, Victor, 1985, pp. 77ff)

C.  Love

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-8‬ ‭NIV‬

"The fruit of the Spirit begins with love...love is the first thing, the first in that precious cluster of fruit. Someone has said that all other eight can be put in terms of love. Joy is love exulting; peace is love in repose; long-suffering is love on trial; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love at school; and temperance is love in training. So it is love all the way; love at the top, love at the bottom, and all the way along down this list of graces."

Anonymous

CONCLUSION

Jesus prays for himself, his disciples, and all believers. 

CHALLENGE

What will you do with what you have just heard?  How will you respond to the Holy Spirit working within you?  The Challenge is intended to give us an opportunity to contemplate what God is calling us to do in our lives.  Consider these questions and write down your answers.  

1.  Do you glorify your Heavenly Father?

2.  Do you trust God’s protection?

3.  Do you feel the unity of all believers?

4.  How are you contributing to the unity of the church?

5.  What does a divided church communicate to the world?

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.