A Relationship of Glory

So, we're in John 17, the second week of this short series called The Great Prayer.

I have a very, very small, like this, a very small black book, which belonged to my father.

And my father passed away just coming up to about a few days' time, 12 years.

And what's significant about this tiny little black book that belonged to my dad is that he wrote different notes in it.

It was for performing.

And what I found in it only a few years ago, because I got it off my mum, excuse me, was that he had notes in it for his speech at my wedding.

Isn't that nice?

I was thumbing through it and he had song notes because he was a singer.

And then John Owen Leanne's wedding, 1992.

And so super significant little book, because he said some nice things about his son 30 years ago.

It was nice to just have that insight into what dad was thinking.

And then, of course, I heard the speech.

Well, we're studying the Great Prayer of John 17.

And today we will see that it's a significant prayer, and it's a significant prayer for many reasons.

One of them is because he says some really nice things about us.

Two thousand years ago, he prays things about you and I, that we can experience and receive from God the Father today.

He begins by praying for his current disciples.

So we'll see it as we work through.

And then he prays for those who would believe their message.

So that's many of us in this room.

He prays that his disciples would understand the Father's sovereignty.

They would know the Father's protection.

They would experience profound transformation.

He prays for our unity and witness.

And he prays that we might be known and loved.

Sovereignty, protection, transformation, unity and witness.

Relationship and love.

If you didn't catch last week's message, I just commend to you to check it out online.

You can watch the video or listen to it.

It's on our website.

Because this prayer that we're studying, and I talked about this last week, it's really significant.

If you have a Bible there, look at verse one of chapter 18.

It sort of puts it in context.

This is the last prayer that Jesus prays.

I mean, he does a very short prayer in the garden, but this is the last prayer of substance that he prays before he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane.

It's just, in timing, it's so significant.

Just before he goes to the cross, this is what he is thinking and what he's bringing before his father in heaven.

This prayer is the closing prayer of the greatest small group session that ever happened.

He has done Palm Sunday, Mel talked about it before.

They've met in the upper room.

He's washed his disciples' feet.

He's taught on the Holy Spirit.

He shared the Lord's Supper.

Now, in this most significant of prayers, he has just prayed for the father to glorify him, that he might give the glory back to the father.

And he's revealed through his prayer that eternal life is all about relationship, relationship with the father and the son.

And now, Jesus prays that his disciples might firstly understand the father's sovereign care.

Let me read from verse six.

I have revealed you, father, 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'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.

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.

Do you notice that this prayer has a lot of you gave me's, doesn't it?

You gave me's, referring to God's sovereign action.

And then Jesus finishes with an acknowledgement that Jesus was sovereignly planned, Jesus, Judas, was sovereignly planned to be the betrayer.

God's sovereignty.

I find it interesting that at this great, poignant, significant prayer, he goes straight to God being in charge.

When you think about the sovereignty of God, where does that sit for you in your theology?

Because depending on your background in Christianity, it will have a higher place or a lower place.

Some people have a super, super, super high place of the sovereignty of God.

Now, even to say that sounds strange.

Of course, he's sovereign.

He's the creator.

He can do whatever he likes.

But for some of us, we see God as a divine structural engineer who has worked out every detail of our life and human history and, of course, is therefore, because he's worked everything out, he is the sovereign chooser of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.

Total sovereignty.

That's called double election.

And what I find is not that many people want to own that position, but it's where you sort of have to go if you say, you can't repent unless he causes you to repent.

Like, he's utterly sovereign in every way.

And this passage is used as one of these passages to push that argument.

God gave the ones who would be disciples, and he gives those who will be saved, and he decides who's going to go to hell before anyone lives.

And if that's your position, you know, more power to you.

A lot of people hold that position.

But for many others of us, we see that this passage is describing a particular event in history.

The disciples of Jesus and the betrayer of Jesus have been chosen.

I don't think this prayer means that everyone, everyone like your husband or your wife who doesn't know Jesus, is necessarily, as an unbeliever, destined for destruction by God before time began, because that's where double election goes.

And the reason I believe that is not just because I would hope it to be the case, but there are so many passages like 2 Peter 3,9, the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.

Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The fact is, there are so many passages of scripture that talk about an onus of responsibility on a human being to repent.

Amen?

They're never going to repent unless God graciously draws them, which he has in the gospel.

And he has in general revelation as well.

God is sovereign.

And he is also incredibly open to anyone, Romans says, anyone who will call on his name.

Jesus says thank you to his father in heaven for his sovereign care of both the disciples and his own life.

And of course, so should we.

So sovereignty, the sovereignty of God.

Massive, massively important part of our life in following Jesus.

What does that mean for us today?

The sovereignty of God.

It means that God knows exactly what you're going through.

He knows exactly what you're going through.

And he is not biting his fingernails over the outcome.

Amen.

He's not.

He's not desperately going, oh, what's going to happen next?

I have no idea.

He is in charge.

And mysteriously and wonderfully, he engages us and invites us to express free will with him as he is sovereign over our lives.

And there is this interplay.

But I think we can find immense encouragement from Romans 8.28, that he is working all things together in his sovereign care, all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purposes.

Amen?

Our sovereign God, it's what Jesus prays.

And then Jesus moves directly from God's sovereignty to the protection which comes with the name of the Lord.

Holy Father, Jesus prays, 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.

And then a little bit later we read, my prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.

Jesus prays for protection for his disciples.

And that clearly happens when you look at the Book of Acts.

But who has discovered that the whole idea, like sovereignty as a theme to dwell on, the whole idea of the protection of God over his people, that's a mystery too, isn't it?

Like you just think of stuff that happens in our lives to our loved ones, to the world, and you scratch your head and you think, it doesn't look like that's protection, but I also know that you are a God who protects.

So we live in this tension.

And Jesus is praying right into that tension here.

And he's just claiming it.

He's stating, you are a God who protects your people by your powerful name.

Are you familiar with the power of the name of Jesus to protect his people?

Are you familiar with that?

It's what we find in Philippians 2.

Christ humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.

That in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess, acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, the name that is above every other name.

What's your experience with the authority of the name of Jesus?

I was 27 years old when I first had my first encounter with a manifesting demonic presence.

I was in Zambia near Fawali Hill, which was a Baptist missions compound, and I was out with one other guy for a week in a rural setting, and we were doing pastoral ministry with some Zambian pastors, and it was a real highlight of my life.

And one time we had a pastoral visitation.

A woman came who we were told was affected by the demonic.

And the pastors started praying, and it was quite disturbing what happened next.

She sort of fell to the ground, and she started writhing like a snake in such a way that I thought, that's not normal.

That looks like her back's going to break.

It was just a really awful thing to see.

But what I noticed was that the pastors were so loving in their way of dealing with it, I could hear them using the name of Jesus.

And of course, my friend and I, we were praying in the name of Jesus.

And we saw this woman at the name of Jesus, in the power and authority of the name of Jesus, this demonic presence was forced to leave.

And this woman was left completely at peace, and I remember seeing her the next day at church and thinking, wow, what a transformation.

And in the years that followed, the decades that have followed, I have had many experience of spiritual protection and seen the authority of the name of Jesus break chains and protect people here in Australia and other parts of the world, because there is power in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

There is power and protection when we invoke the name.

And you might have heard me say that in the opening prayer.

I did that on purpose.

We don't often use the word invoke, but that's what we're doing.

When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are invoking the very power of the presence of the one with the authority.

When we pray in the name of Jesus, it's not just a tagline.

It's in your name.

May you come with your authority here in this place.

And so that's what we're believing is happening here.

That the power and presence of Jesus is here by his spirit, not just in a in a hopeful way, not in a religious way, in a tangible spiritual way.

The Holy Spirit is with us and he brings the presence of Jesus himself.

So we are invited, like the disciples, to pray in the strongest of names, the name of Jesus.

And the response that he gives to us is up to God because he is sovereign.

And that's why you'll hear us pray in Jesus' name here, and we'll have prayer after the service very frequently, because we so believe that there is a power available to us and actually a special power.

You know, I was joking about the anointing here, but I think there is something very special when the people of God meet together.

They bring their hearts together.

They lift up the name of Jesus and they say, we are here because you're the only one we can find help from.

Wouldn't you agree?

I think we should pray more after church.

I think we should believe more because the presence of Jesus is here.

And he is good and so kind and loving and wants to bring transformation.

That's what he prays for next, verse 13.

He prays, I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I'm still in the world, so that they, my disciples, may have the full measure of my joy within them.

Isn't it just weird that he is going to the cross and Hebrews says he goes for what?

The joy set before him.

He endured the cross.

He knows his disciples have got a tough gig in front of them, but he prays that they might have the full measure of the joy Jesus has 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 the world.

Sanctify them, father.

Transform them.

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.

Sovereignty of God, protection.

Jesus wants us to be transformed into his likeness.

Sanctification is a fancy word for make holy, isn't it?

And in a way, when you become a Christian, you are made holy instantly.

And yet there is also a progressive conformity to the likeness of Christ that happens over our lifetime.

Jesus prays that his disciples would be transformed.

They would know purity of heart.

They would be holy and filled with joy.

And we know this happens through grace, fuel, obedience.

So let me ask you another question.

Have you discovered the joy of personal holiness?

Have you discovered the joy of personal holiness?

It's weird that the world, the flesh and the devil try to deceive us.

They try to tell us the world, the flesh and the devil.

When I say the flesh, it's like our flesh.

They try to say that nothing could be further from the truth than being holy would give you joy.

That's the last place you could find joy.

That's what the lie of the world, the flesh and the devil is.

The world, the flesh and the devil would say, doing right and living right by the grace of God could only be boring, lifeless, desireless, stingy, self-righteous, judgmental, restrictive.

But who has discovered that the exact opposite is true?

Is anyone?

Well, there is a profound freedom when we embrace obedience through grace, through repentance, through our failure acknowledged before our holy God, through the cross.

We come to him and we say, Lord, teach me how to live.

And then we put that into practice by his grace.

It feels good.

Hallelujah.

Have you discovered the utter relief of honesty?

Anyone?

Honesty feels like it's restrictive, but it's so freeing to be honest.

When you're just an honest human being, you don't have to think, what did I say last time?

You just go, I'm just shooting from the hip.

I'm just saying whatever comes to mind because I'm just telling you the truth.

It's freeing.

Holiness is so freeing.

And you know, the only reason that Jesus can fulfil this mission to the cross is that he did exactly this himself.

Didn't he?

This is called the high priestly prayer.

The high priest in the Old Testament had to go through this whole rigmarole once a year to go into the holy of holies, that he could be, you know, so called holy, set apart and represent the people.

This is Jesus.

He's led a whole entire life that's completely holy, sanctified, perfectly obedient.

So he's about to go into the holy of holies on Calvary's Hill on that cross.

And not only is he going in to offer the sacrifice, he is the sacrifice.

He is the Lamb of God.

So this high priestly prayer is an interesting one.

He's praying about what he's about to do, but he's also the sacrifice the high priest needs to offer.

And then he prays for those who would believe his message.

This is the little black book part that means us.

Sovereignty, protection, transformation.

And then he says, my prayer is not for them alone, God.

I also pray for NorthernLife.

That's what it says, isn't it?

I pray also for those who would 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.

The world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

How would you summarize what Jesus prays for us?

I think it's simply praise for unity and that unity might be a powerful witness.

It's interesting.

I find it fascinating that most of us are Protestants.

Maybe we've had a Catholic background, but this is a Protestant church.

You know what Protestant comes from?

Protesters.

We don't get on with people as Protestants.

We argue, we tell the Catholics they're wrong.

You know, I agree with that in the Reformation, part of what they were on about.

But we disagree with everyone.

That's why we have so many denominations.

We're Protesters.

We try to be as lacking oneness as we can.

I'm being facetious with a wink, you know, with a tongue in the cheek, because it's sort of real, isn't it?

We struggle.

We struggle to have the exact thing.

He prayed this prayer.

The one thing that came to mind, I was like, Oh, Father, help, please.

Son, what do you want me to do?

Help them be one.

They struggle so much and they will struggle.

I think we enjoy a wonderful sense of unity.

It's not perfect in our church, of course, but one of the aspects of unity that I so appreciate at NorthernLife is our cultural diversity, our age diversity as well.

But when Jesus went back to heaven, the last thing he said was go into all the world and make disciples.

And now I look around the room and a lot of the world has come here.

A lot of the world is in this room.

So could we sort of indulge ourselves in a small celebration of our diversity, as a different way to get the idea of unity in our heads and our hearts?

I wonder if we've done this once before and it was so meaningful and impacting even for people far away online.

I heard news back, they said they were so moved.

We have lots of people who speak a different language and it represents our diversity.

So I just wonder, could you say, if we brought the microphone to you, could you say, Father, make us one, as you are one with the Lord Jesus, but in your mother tongue or the language you speak?

So this is in Hindi, one of the official languages in India.

Prabhu, aap hume ek kare, jaise aap humse ek hai.

I am Vifi, this is Indonesian.

Bapak, jadikan kami satu, spati engkau satu dengan Tuhan Jesus.

Make us one, as you are one with the Lord Jesus.

All these languages represent nations, don't they?

Countries that have people in this period of time meeting together on Resurrection Sunday.

You reckon there's power in that?

I think the Father loves hearing that.

I think that would have brought a smile to his face, to the Lord Jesus.

Well, thank you, Benny and Matt, and Mel.

And thank you for sharing that.

Father, make us one, as you are one with the Lord Jesus.

Jesus prays this prayer because he believes it.

What he's saying is that our unity in the grace of Jesus is required for our witness.

Our unity in humility, in a common need for a saviour, washing each other's feet, loving the world in the name of Jesus.

Following his example, Jesus says, your genuine loving relationships, they're going to be a witness for me, of the authenticity of Christianity.

Unity for witness, sovereignty, protection, transformation, unity for witness.

Are you feeling the weight of this prayer?

I mean, I can race through them, but I've been trying to stop in it and think, I think I sort of came up with this summary, but I think it's true.

I think that's what's in the text.

It matters the sovereignty of God.

It matters that we come under him and say, Lord, we are nothing, but you are everything.

You give and you take away.

And we need his protection and we need to be transformed.

It's what Jesus prayed for.

We need to be holy people, set apart.

And we need to be one for witness.

We need it.

And finally, verse 24, Jesus prays, 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.

Jesus waits until the last sentence of his great prayer to give the most extraordinary punchline.

Are you aware of this punchline in John 17?

Jesus, who gets his prayers answered, he's a really important prayer.

He prays this, that the love God has for him may be in us.

That means that we, if we are Christians, have had Jesus pray that we feel as loved as he feels loved.

Does that encourage anyone?

I remember hearing that about 30 years ago, and it blew my mind, it did.

I was like, is that true?

Can I actually know the Father, like Jesus, like you know him, knew him?

Can I know that the Father loves me like you know he loves you?

That's nuts.

It puts a spin, a fresh spin on one of our core values, known and loved, doesn't it?

Jesus prays that you and I, by faith, would know we belong in the family.

Know we are loved.

Know we are esteemed, the same way Jesus knows this from God the Father.

You know, I really appreciated finding dad's little book.

And he literally said stuff that every great father should say to his son.

He said, I love my son.

I, I'm proud of him.

And he actually said, I was good at some stuff.

And that's a classic three-part thing that God the Father gave Jesus.

I love you, son.

I'm so proud of you.

And hey, everyone, listen to him.

He did.

He said those things.

And I so appreciated.

And he also said that he was thankful for who I was marrying.

And he got that right.

He got that right.

But Jesus wants us to know this in his little black book of prayer.

God is in charge of tomorrow.

He is sovereign.

He's praying this for us.

Two thousand years ago, it's his little book.

God the Father is good and he protects his people.

So believe it.

He will transform you and make you holy if you'll let him.

So never believe a lie that says I'm spoiled.

It's not true.

And he wants us to not just get on.

He wants us to find the joy of unity in him.

And he wants us to know that we are loved when we place our faith in Christ.

I hope you are one of the redeemed today.

Because if you're not, you need to repent and give your life to Jesus.

Can I herald to you the good news?

He's died so that you can know God.

He's paid for your sin.

You need to repent of your sin as we have, those of us who follow Jesus, and receive his forgiveness and say, Lord, Holy Spirit, come and have your way in my life.

I want to belong forever.

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