The Village Church
Jesus Unplugged: His Disciples - Audio
open it to John 17 beginning in verse 9, this is God's Word. I'm praying for them, I'm not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours, all mine are yours and yours are mine, and I'm glorified in them, and I'm no longer in the world, but they are in the world, I'm coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that they may be worn, even as we owe them. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me, that have guarded them, and not one of them have been lost except the son of destruction that the scriptures might be fulfilled. Now jump down to verse 20, I do not ask for these only, for also for those who believe in the in me through their words, that they all may be one, just as you Father are in me and I in you. They also may be in us, so the world may believe that you sent me. The glory I have given them, the glory that you have given me have given to them, that they may be as one, even as we are one. I am them, you and me, that they may become perfectly worn, so the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them, even as you have loved me. This is God's Word, please pray with me. Father, as we come to Your truth, as we come to Your Holy Word, My prayers, what I pray every week, that Your Spirit will take what is preached and apply to the hearts of everyone that is here. I can't do that. I'm just a man, can't apply it to my own heart, need anyone else's. So Spirit of God moves me to the side so that Christ can be glorified. I pray for all this in His name, amen. I'm no longer in the world, I'm coming to You, says Jesus, to the Father. His disciples and His people will remain here. They are in the world. In a lot of this situation, Jesus offer up this request for His disciples. He says in verse 11, "Holy Father, keep them in Your name which You have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." He prays for unity. Unity amongst His disciples, His people, that they may be one. What does this oneness, this unity supposed to look like? First, the unity among believers is connected and centered in a common source. We share the same source when it comes to our unity. Jesus prays, "Holy Father, keep them in Your name." That is to preserve, to protect, to God. It's to cause one to stand firm. Here Jesus prays that the Father Himself will preserve His people to stand firm as they continue to live in the Father world, apart from Jesus, in a physical way. You see, while He was with them, Jesus says He kept them in the Father's name. That's what He says in verse 12, "He guarded them. He protected them. But now He's leaving. He would no longer have a physical presence with His disciples." So Jesus' concern is about their preservation, the preservation of His people. And notice He does not pray, "Father, help them to preserve themselves." No, He's asking the Father to be the agent. He's asking the Father to be the one who keeps them by means of His name, the Father's name. Now, what does it mean to be kept in the Father's name? See, God's name, it denotes both His character, who He is, holy Father, as well as His power and mind. Proverbs 18, 12 says, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." Think about this. You see, it's one thing to to to birth a child, but it's a whole different ballgame when it comes to parenting a child. Trust me, I know I'm living it right now. Parenting is a whole different ballgame. Whole different ballgame, because you've got to provide for your kids, protect them, shepherd them, disciple them, and even discipline them, right? So I want you to see Jesus' words, Jesus' request to the Father, as Jesus asking the Father, "Pare my people through this life." Keep them, parent them through this life. You see, God a Father, He's not just mighty to save and to redeem, but He's mighty to protect you and sustain you as well and discipline you when they be. Jesus' petition to Father to preserve you in your faith, people, in your knowledge of Him, in your understanding of Him, preserve you and be faithful to His word and faithful in prayer, preserve you and be a reflection of His character in this world, preserve them to be and to endure this race. Look at what Jesus says in verse 6. He says, "I have manifested your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world, yours they were. You have given them to me and they have kept your word and they know that everything you have given me is from you. I have given them the words that you have gave me, that they have received them, have come to know in truth that I came from you and they believe that you have sent me, preserve them in those hands, in the truth, and knowing who I am." Are you familiar with the Son He holds the whole world in His hands? He does, especially His people. You're in His hands. In verse 12, Jesus says, "Not one of them was lost except the Son of disruption that the scriptures might be fulfilled. This means only those who have true standing faith in Jesus are under the preserving power of God the Father, perseverance of the saints." Jesus says, "He would never lose any that the Father has given Him." Not one of them would be lost. One Christian says, "This is eternal security, not keeping you from trials and suffering, but through His power, believers will be kept from falling away from Christ." That's what He's asked in the Father to do. Keep you from falling away. Wonderful, wonderful. Now on the other hand, fakers and pretenders will eventually be exposed either in this life or the next life, just like Judas. Remember what I said a few weeks ago, "Knowing Jesus by association is not true saving faith. Knowing things about Him, knowing facts about Him is not saving faith. Saving faith is you surrendering everything to Him, your whole life, that saving faith. If you know Him as your Lord and Savior, then you at this very moment being preserved, being protected, being guarded in the Father's power that might surround Him. Keep them in your name that they may be once said, "Jesus, we share the same Father as believers. We are all being kept by the same Father." Sons and daughters, that's what we are in God's family, and that that is the source of our unity, His power, who He is, not who we are. It's Him. Our unity is connected and centered in God's power, not our own. Secondly, this unity among believers, we share a common reflection. He says, "Even as we are one." You see, the unity among believers is not a reflection of anything in this world. It's not a reflection of racial unity or reflection of sports fans, like all Alabama fans here and Auburn fans here and a Georgia fan here. It's not a reflection of political unity or cultural unity. The unity among believers is a reflection of unity between the Father and the Son. Period. What are we reflecting at the Villa Church? Who are we reflecting when it comes to our unity? We are to reflect the Father and the Son. That's what we're called to do. Keep them in your name that you have given me even so that they may be one, even as we are one. Think about that. Let those words taken to your soul. Let them listen to what He says in verses 20 and 23. He says that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me. We're to read a reflection of the oneness that Jesus and the Father has. All believers, if you are a Christian, this morning, you are a union with the Father and Son and fellowship with the Father and Son and what flows from that is a spiritual unity between other believers and that unity is supposed to be visible as well. Real, tangible. You are adopted into a family. You have many brothers and sisters and you're not the only child. And now all the kids look like you. Think like you. Believe like you. We're all different. Christians need to be in fellowship with other Christians. Do you believe that? God's Word teaches us that the church is the body of Christ for which Christ is the head of that body and all believers are individual members of that body and that body is supposed to a reflection of our head, period. While I was in college, I had a conversation with a campus minister who told me about a conversation he had with a pastor from South Africa. The pastor told the campus minister that the pulpit, the church, was where things were happening. That's how God is changing the world. But the campus minister told the pastor, "No, no, no, it's not through the pulpit. It's campus ministry." That's what God is doing. At the time they passed the campus ministry and told me this, I wasn't in agreement with the campus minister. Yeah, but I was wrong. There is no substitute for the church. There is no substitute for the church. Campus ministries and other ministries like it are not the church. There are an extension of the church and the mission of the church. And so, are you connected and involved with a local body of believers? Are you? Because if you love him, you will love his people. You should. You can't say I love Jesus, but I could care less about the church. Are those words of reflection of the unity between the son and the father? I think not. What role are you going to play in this church? You're either going to be an agent of unity and reconciliation, or you're going to be an agent of discord and division. You choose your path, your role. What's gonna be your role? I say reflect Christ. That's what I said. Now, don't think this unity among believers means that we are just clones of one another. Just line up in the row, have no things that are different. We're not. You see, the one that Jesus prays for is unity and fellowship in amidst the differences in diversity. Because we are. This means don't make your personal preferences biblical principles. And churches are filled with Christians that do that. My personal preferences have become biblical principles and that is not true. Don't make your cultural preferences and traditions biblical standards because we do that as well. That's the way we're always done it. We always done it that way. What do you mean we're not gonna do that anymore? My question is, is that biblical or is it this a preference? And usually it's just my personal preference. My wife, as I said before, everybody gives up something be part of this church. Everybody, period. Just the bottom line. My wife grew up in a traditional African-American Baptist Church in Thomas and Georgia just celebrated 80 years, 80th anniversary. And she knew by marrying me, she was gonna be giving up something. And it was hard for her. Because I was calling to the nomination that was very, very different from what she was used to. The music was different, the preaching is different, everything was different. And I gotta tell you, it was hard in the beginning when we started dating. It was hard for her. It was hard. But you knew what she pressed on. You know why? Because she loves me. And she knew I loves her. You see, our love for one another has to be greater and stronger than our personal preferences. If they're not, then we're gonna crumble and fall and divide. You choose. We your love for your brother and sister be greater than your personal preferences and your cultural traditions and practices. It's easy to say that now it's a conflict. I'm telling you, Mr. Conflict, put your personal preferences on the ground and love your brother and sister. Let's see what Paul says in Ephesians 1. Ephesians 4-1. Therefore, a president of the Lord, I urge you to walk in a matter worthy of the calling for which you have been called with. Our humility, gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain a unity of the spirit in a bond of peace. There is one body, one spirit, just as you will call into one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, the Father of all, who is over all in through all in all. That's it. That's it. What do you do what you can to fight for the bond of peace? You're into the spirit in the bond of peace. The unity of most believers, common source, common reflection, and finally, a common witness. The unity of my unbeliever, we share a common witness. What does that mean? It means we are a witness to the outside world, to those in the world who do not know Christ. Jesus says that they may all be one just as you, Father, and our and me and I and you, that they also may be enough so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Our unity is a witness to the world that Jesus the Lord and Savior of sinners. When Jesus says to the world and believe that you sent me, it's referring to Him being sent to Messiah, coming to accomplish the work the Father sent Him to do, which makes an atonement for us in, reconciling us to God the Father through His finished work. What kind of witness are we at the village church given to the outside world? What kind of aroma are we giving off? What's our smell? What's someone coming to you and visit? We give off a smell. What is it? We all have a smell. It should be the smell of genuine love for one another. Genuine love. The meditation that was on the PowerPoint last week says, "For us to be one with those who are unlike us is easy." It's easy. Well, give me an example. Republicans love other Republicans, Democrats love other Democrats, but he's talking about crossing the aisle. That's what I'm talking about. To be at one with those who are unlike us, it's possible only if a profound unity unaligned surface differences. Cicero or pagan though he was made a wise observation that love surpasses friendship. And that while friendship is a steam for one for one for another who agrees with you, love is a steam for one for another who differs from you. That type of love. When believers are loving each other well, we are having a healthy witness to the world. Jesus told disciples, "By your love for one another, the world we know, that you are my disciples." So this means I were serving of each other as a witness. Our walking alongside of each other is a witness to the world. Us walking along in each other's junk and baggage is a witness. Us not killing our wounded is a witness. Sharing one of those burdens. How a respond to conflict is a witness. Sharing this table is a witness as well. Witness to what? To that Jesus Christ was actually sent by the Father to make a torment for your junk, for your baggage, for your sin. And that his broken body was for you, his shed blood for you. And because of his finished work notice because of his finished work you are killed people. Because of what he did. And so if you have seven faith in Jesus this morning then guess what? You need this table. You need this reminder to be encouraged to find nourishment for your soul. But there is a warning. First the mill is for believers, those who profess faith in Christ. And second believers are to examine themselves so they would not take the table in the unworthy matter. That means if you know someone has something that gets you, you go get reconciled with that person first before you come to the table. Now here is the words of institution. The Lord Jesus, the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread and broke it. And having given things he broke it and gave it to disciples and said this is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And in the same manner he also took the cup and had given things. He gave it to disciples saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shared for men and for the remissions of sin. Drink for men. All of you. Before we take the elements, just have a time of silent confession. I'd like to call the elders forward please.