The Village Church
Jesus Unplugged: His Diciples, Pt 3 - Audio
to John 17. We're going to finish up the Lord's prayer today and in this high priestly prayer of Christ Jesus presents us with a situation and you know the situation we've been talking about it for several weeks now. Jesus is departing to the Father but it's disciples, his people, they will remain here in the world. And as I said before this prayer it's basically Jesus praying for things he want to see happen in your life. Things he want to see take place in your life as you continue to live in this world without him having a physical presence with you. He prays for unity amongst his people. He prays for your identity that his people's identity be wrapped up in him and finally he prays for us to be set apart. He prays for our mission. He prays for our home coming. So if we have the word we're going to begin with verse 17. Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world and for their sake I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in the truth. And jump to verse 24. Father I desire that they also whom you have given me may be where I am to see my glory that you have given me because you love me for the foundation of the world. O righteous Father even though the world does not know you, I know you. And these know that you have sent me. I may know to them your name and I will continue to make it known that the love which you have loved me may be in them and I and them. Just God for it. Lord as we come to your truth Father I pray for your spirit to move. I pray for your spirit to take what is preached by them and fly to my own heart, fly to the heart of everyone here. You know what we all need is. You know where everyone's at. You know where every marriage is dealing with. You know where parents are dealing with. You know. You know. So Lord I pray that you will speak truth into all of our situation. To all of our circumstances. And to all the consequences that we're dealing with from decision that we made. That your spirit will speak truth to everything that we're dealing with. And I pray for this in Jesus' name. In this prayer Jesus moved from praying from unity to identity and now to his disciples been set apart. He says in verse 17, sanctify them in truth. Your word is true. Jesus is petitioning the Father to sanctify his people. That includes you by means of the truth. The word. Now now what in the world is Jesus talking about this? What is he talking about when he says sanctify them in truth? Sanctify can't be used in two different ways in the New Testament. And of course y'all look at the context to understand how it's been used. Sanctify can be used to talk about moral behavior where the emphasis on a person's life. It can also mean set apart to be made holy for some religious task which reflects a person's consecration to God. And in our context in this verse 17, I think it's referring to that second use to his disciples have been set apart for particular tasks. This dedication of the disciples to the servants of God. Keep in mind the disciple of Jesus is not of this world. He's set apart. Do you see yourself there? You're not of the world. You're set apart from the world. This sanctifying this setting apart by the disciples is to be done by means of the truth. Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say sanctify them by a truth, a relative truth, a cultural norm or tradition. Now as he says sanctify them by what is socially accepted. But he says sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. Word here is referring to the revelation that Jesus revealed to the disciples. The Old Testament as well and everything he did taught them is three years with him. It's the word that he's been talking about in this prayer. The word given to him. The same word that you hold in your hands this morning. Word. As one Christian says this is the proclamation of Jesus and trusted to him by the Father. That's the truth. The word of God. Do you know what Hebrews 4 12 says about the word of God? The word of God is living there. Shoppered in any two-edged sword. Think about that. Shoppered in any two-edged sword piercing the division of souls and the spirit of joints and marrow discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That's Paul. That's the word of God. Second Timothy says all scripture is breathed out by God. All of it. Profitable for teaching, for reproved, for correction, for training and righteousness. For the man of God may be competent and equipped for every good word. That is what Jesus is asking the Father to do in you through his word. Those things. To use the word to empower you to strengthen you. And here is the fact about God's word. It is truth. It is absolute. It is an arid. What means is without error. It's a total revelation of God. And we don't make a memory to us. To our. You don't come to the words that I don't agree with that so me stretch that out and put something else there. No, it does that to our heart. I don't feel like it was in your heart. Let me stretch that out. That's what his word does to us. That's believers. It is our constitution. It is the ultimate standard by which a believer measures everything in their life. Your values, your convictions, your loyalties, your lifestyle is measured by this. Period. Period. Don't care what the world says. What does this say? What does this say? I don't care if it's uncomfortable. But what does this say? That's our standard. A Christian theologian says, whether he wishes or not, man as free creature must pattern his life according to some ultimate. Every person must center his life on some chosen ultimate loyalty. Man must commit his security to some trusted power. Man inevitably roots his life in something. That's every believer. That's every human being. Every nominee. We all have a standard people. I wish we do what we do. And for a believer, our life is rooted in God. And as such, our loyalty is to him and to his word. When you survey your life, when I survey my life, where is my life? Where is when we opened up my life? Where am I? Who has my losses? Who has my allegiance? Where is where all my eggs? But a Christian is in the basket of the Bible. They have two eggs here, two eggs in the world. Here, all where all when it comes to all of us. And I tell about interview this week. I shouldn't want to even know this. I've seen this president reveal that he now has a view of institutional marriage has now evolved over the years. He now supports gay marriage. And in our country right now, a lot of people upset. Some people are happy. Some people don't care. But his reality check for all Christians this morning. The institutional marriage has not been valued in our country for a long time. Long before gay marriage came on the scene. You didn't realize that. In fact, marriage hasn't been the same since Adam and Eve, man, so that's in the dark. So we need a little historical statement. The problem with marriage didn't start on Thursday night. They started way back in general situation. And if you understand that, if you understand that things that we're seeing now are just consequences of the fact that all of us were Adam and Eve did. It's true. Cohabitating or shacking up. If you want to call it that gay marriage, the marriage of safe divorce, all things, all consequences of Genesis 3, and all sin. This is what God's word teaches. But what has happened, mankind has now deemed certain sins as socially accepted. That's what has happened. And because mankind now function as his own authority to offer the standard, what he not deems is okay. It's okay. Because mankind says it's okay. But the question is, does God now bow down to what mankind deems is right? Does God over time evolve? Has God evolved since Genesis? One and two. Has his view of marriage changed since Genesis 2? To the place now, because he's a loving God that now whatever man says is okay, then I'm okay with it too. No. He does not do that. Because he is whole engine. And you want evidence of that? Look at the cross. The cross is proved that God will never embrace and accept sin. Many letters on son died. Even the sins that are now socially accepted, Jesus died for those two. The question is, will we embrace and accept the word of God teaches even when it's uncool and more? You can't expect the world to bow down in truth when they don't know Jesus. You can't do it. Expect that. But I expect every believer to make sure it's back to you. Because when the world of God collides with a sin that is socially acceptable, and it will, we were 100% of times sides of God's word every time. Because it's going to collide with something that is socially acceptable. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Stand up in the word of God to be otherwise the sign of world. To sign that you are living as if you are of the world. Not set apart from it. If this is you this morning, then guess what? Dearest with me. Not to beat yourself up. You can't. That's the spirit we could forgive you for giving us. God's word, His truth is the ultimate standard for the Christian. It's the truth that the spirit uses to set us apart, to sanctify us. And I believe Jesus words here implies that this standard part is a work of God's grace. It's a process that happens in our lives if we continue to live in this world apart from Him. But Jesus knows that when He prayed this prayer, He knew something else had to take place. Now in particular, this prayer, He's praying for the 12th, the 11th. That's His people we benefit from it and so He knew for them to be set apart like this, something else had to take place. And He says it in verse 19, "And for their sake, I sanctify myself." They themselves may also be sanctified in truth. What do you think Jesus is talking about there? What does He mean by saying for that sake, I sanctify myself. This is reference to what was getting ready to take place. It's a towing death in the car. This is Him in the office of high priest, freely and voluntarily offering up Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the sinful people. You see, as one Christian said, it's not what Jesus' executionists did to Him, but it's what He did Himself in self-awkward that makes it there for prevalent sacrifice for his sins. So Jesus consecrated Himself so that His people may benefit from that. His self offering on the cross is blessings to those who He was His enemy. Do you not realize that? If Jesus didn't die for Him, He didn't die for His no BFF. He died for enemies. He died for those who spit on Him, those who beat Him. You know the guy that beat Jesus, if He were repented later in life, He would have been saved. That's how right up for the cross is. You can see that? The man that depicted that nailed the cross, that person would repent it years later, he would be in glory to this pain. That's how radical it is. The blood. What He did on the cross. Blessings to us. I sanctify myself that they may be sanctified in the truth. We receive this action that may sanctify. Now how does what Jesus says in verse 19 relates to what He says in verse 17. I'm going to read what He said. Hebrews 10 says about this. I'll read it. Hebrews 10 again in verse 9 says, "Then he'd add, 'Behold, I have come to do your will.' He abolishes the first and orgs, establishes the second, and that by the will He have been sanctified through the orphan of the body." Let's start again, Alex. "Then he added, 'Behold, I have come to do your will. He abolishes the first and orgs to establish the second, and by that will we have been sanctified through the orphan of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily in his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Jesus had offered for all the time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down in the right hand of God, waiting for this time until His enemies should be made of footstool for His feet. For a single offering, He has perfected all time those who are being sanctified. For the Christian, it's a hard thing for us to understand, but the reality for us is that we have been sanctified, been made holy through Jesus' cross, but we're also being progressively sanctified by the Spirit to look more likely in this life. To have this person must first house, save your face and cross. You've got to know Jesus to have this blessing, to become it more likely, and transform more into Him. Loving what He loves, loving what He values. You've got to know Him. You've got to receive Him as your Lord and Savior. And the question is, do you know Him? Do you have that faith? As I have preached, Jesus did what the other priests could not do. You know, He was the priest and the lamb. And one person, the priest and the lamb. And one person. In His book, the Kings crossed. Tim Keller talked about a sermon preached by Ray Dillard that talks about what the high priest had to do on the Day of Atonement. And the Day of Atonement in ancient Israel happened once a year. And on this day, the high priest would enter the holy of holies in the temple. What took place in the holy of holies in the temple? Making an Atonement for the sins of the people. I want to read something to you of what all this high priest had to do to get ready for this day. A week before the high priest went into seclusion, taken away from his home, into a place where he was completely along. Why? So he wouldn't actually let me touch or eat anything unclean. Clean food was brought to you. He washed his body and prepared his heart. The night before the Day of Atonement, he didn't go to bed. He stayed up all night praying and reading God's word to purify his soul. Then on the Day of Atonement, He bathed head to toe, dressed in pure, unstained, white linen. Then He went into the holy of holies, an offering and a sacrifice to God to atone and paid the penalty for his own sins. After that, He came out and bathed completely again. New white linens will pronounce him. He went in again, this time, sacrificing for the sins of the priest. But that's not all. He will come out a third time, bathed again from head to toe, and dressed himself in brand new pearl linens and went into the holy of holies and atone for the sins. All Jesus did that with one sacrifice. No longer does we have to have a high priest go in to repeat the offer. Sacrifice for our sins once a year. On cavalry, it was all taken care of. All taken care of through Jesus Christ. One perfect sacrifice He made on your behalf. For your state, God made Him who knew no sin to be sinned, that you might become the righteous of God. She known that cross, the Father was not embracing and accepting and overlooking sin. He was punishing sin to the death of His Son, punishing Him. Jesus died as your substitute in your place, in your place. That's the substitute for a land. He satisfied God's wrath toward you. And when you receive Him as Lord and Savior, you get a new heart. A new heart. You are now freely justified before the Father, clothed in that righteous blood it was just sung about. And His Spirit lives in you. And by this Spirit, you're now being sanctified more and more to the image of Christ. Enneigh but more and more to die unto sins and live unto righteousness, all through this power of the Spirit. As believe it, you are set apart from the world. You're not of the world, but you are sinned to the world with an issue. You are sinned. Verse 18, "As you sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." We know why Jesus was sent into the world. The high priestly prayer has made that clear. He came to accomplish the work of the Father gave Him, to do the world of the Father, to give eternal life, to preach into the Word, to preach into the Kingdom. Jesus Himself says, "He always does, but pleases the Father." And the Father sent Him into the world. Now He has sent His disciples into the world as well. This verse is Jesus pointing to what He told the disciples after the resurrection. What did He tell the disciples after the resurrection? What did He commissioned them to do? To make disciples of all nations. Baptized of them and they were fathers and sons and the Holy Spirit. That commission was given to the disciples in particular, but it also was for us today in 2012. Do you consider yourself sinned to the world? The world Jesus has you at this moment, He sent you for a purpose, to have impact for the gospel, to have impact to let your light shine? Our life should bear witness to Jesus that He is the Christ. Second Corinthians 5 says, "All this is from God. We through Christ reconciled Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ, God was reconciled in the world to Himself. Now counting their trespasses against Him and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. If though God was making His appeal to us, we implore your Christ who has, be reconciled to God. Do you live as an ambassador for the Kingdom? Set apart. Unbelievable can't do that. Non-Christians can't do that. Non-Christians can't be ambassadors. Non-Christians don't have the ministry of reconciliation, only the church. When all we said it known it, all we were going on. When you're on vacation, when you're in your neighborhood, on your job, school, where you're by grocery, where you're involved in politics or in the hospital, wherever you are, are you an ambassador? Are the Kingdom or ambassador or will we represent? Or will we compromise on the worldly pressure? Will we take up the cross when it's uncomfortable? Will we go along with socialist, comfortable sins, because the world says it's okay, because you don't agree with it, you're just a bigot. But guess what? I guess I'll be a bigot. They persecuted Christ, and guess what? It's going to come to your glory. It's going to come to your glory. Servant is not beyond the matter. They're spinning his face, they're spinning him. They're talking about his back, they're going to talk behind him. That comes to the point of being a believer. Will we share the gospel with murder indeed? Will we love those that are hard to love? Will we speak the truth in love? You can speak the truth in love without damaging the person's dignity. You can do it. The spirit can give you power to do that. Will we have compassion? Will we have mercy? Paul says again, "Be thanks to God, who in Christ always leaves us in triumphful possession, through us spreads to fragrant to the knowledge of him everywhere. We are the aroma of Christ to God among those who have been saved, and among those who have perished. One, a fragrance for death to death, the other, a fragrance to life to life." Who is sufficient for these things? We are not like so many peddlers of God's word, but as man of sincerity, as commissioned by God, and as sight of God, we speak in Christ. Your life, as a believer, gives off a fragrance and a aroma. You just can't help it. It just flows from you. And Paul says, "For one group of people is going to smell good, for another group is not." No matter what you do, it ain't going to smell good. For those that are being saved, it's a aroma of life to life. For those who are perishing, it's an aroma of death to death. And you have to accept and embrace that. That everyone ain't going to be around your smell, because you will believe that when you take certain stances and positions on current issues, you're going to give off a smell that must have been going on life. We have to accept that, embrace that. But guess what? You're not powerless. You're not powerless. A lot of us think we are. See, preaching Andy is very supernatural. Supernatural. But there's a power living inside of you that the unbeliever does not have, he can't have. And that's the spirit of God, the spirit of truth, the helpful, the counsel. Most of us don't live in that power, because you don't have praise on it. Don't ask for it. The same spirit that came at Pentecost, the same spirit that lives in you, the same spirit that came through the disciples in the upper room, lives in you. If you need boldness, pray for boldness. Paul says to Timothy, "God, do not give us a spirit of fear, but want to power, love and self-control." Will you pray to him? And he will strengthen. Jesus cares about his people. Our unity, our identity has been set apart, our mission, and he also finally prays for our homecoming. And that's, oh, I can't wait to get to you. 24 and virtual 24 is as far out as thou that they also whom you have given me, may be with me where I am. To see my glory that you have given me because you love me before the foundation of the world. I just love Jesus. How priesthood in, priesthood in, that now as he sits in glory, he can't wait till you get there. I desire that may be with you and see me in my glory. And guess what? One day you will. One day you will see him in his glory. And until then, it ain't happening right now, we know. But until then, we press on. We press on. I encourage you to never want to. And Paul says, "He who began a good work in me would carry them to the dead price." You got a whole firm set upon us. What was the last name you said to the disciples before he ascended? Long with you, I will. He's very near you. He's with you through his spirit inside. You got a whole firm. So when you go out this week, pray the spirit and power you do what you can for. For the spirit of producing more fruit in you. For the spirit of give you a heart of compassion to love you. Call upon the name of the Lord and prayer. And he will come to the aid of his people. Father God, thank you for my high priest. That he's forever faithful. He is forever interceding on my behalf on behalf of all believers this morning. And I pray, Lord, as representatives of the kingdom, Lord, you help us to represent you well and what you have called us to do. And I pray, Father, that you enable us to stand firm on what we believe and believe and hold firm true without killing another person's dignity. Because everyone is creating your lives, even those that are hard to love, even those that disagree with us and we just may disagree with them. So we need your spirit, Father, to moving us, to change us. I pray for those who are sick and in need of health, I pray that you will heal them. I pray for those who have marriage problems or vocational problems that you will provide, Father, for every need. Do I pray, Lord, that you will pray for my friend, Frederick, who lost his car in the Christ in the last night. I pray for him, that you will provide for him, Lord. I pray for Waikita's coworker who just, who got diagnosed with breast cancer, that you will be with her, her family, Lord. There are many needs, Father, sickness, Lord, going around. Help these, help us to fall in our knees and call out to you more than we do in order. And I pray for you some questions. [BLANK_AUDIO]