HAD YOU ON MY MIND AND PRAYED FOR YOU
John 17:6-21
V:6. "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."
A. It is Jesus that
reveals the Father to us through the Word.
1. In the
beginning was the Word and Word was God and The Word was with God.
2. The Word,
Jesus, became flesh and dwelled among us.
B. God selected us
out of the world and gave us to Jesus to become His.
1. Through Jesus,
God gave us salvation to make us His forever.
2. It is obedience
to the Word that qualifies us as God's children, to be worthy
of all His
blessing.
a. We do not
have the power to be obedient to the Word in ourselves.
b. In Christ,
we have become new creations, empowered to be obedient.
3. Our acceptance
to the Body of Christ had nothing to do with us, but all to do with
the love of
God.
a. It is not
by works that we are saved, but by the grace of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.
V:7. " Now they know that everything you have given me
comes from you."
A. In our Christian
growth, we must come to the conclusion that all power
over heaven and
earth was given to Jesus by the Father.
1. We must come to
the conclusion that the Father and the Son are one.
2. It is our job
to study the Word of God to know Christ and the Father.
3. No one can
study or believe the Word for you.
B. Everything we have
came from the Lord.
1. God is the
creator and owner of everything.
2. We owe all
honor and glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
V:8. " 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."
A. Once we accept the Word of God as true, God accepts us as
His servants.
1. The first truth
we must accept, is Jesus was crucified for our sins.
a. His death
was the payment that God accepted for our sins.
b. The
Apostle Paul said, "I determine to know nothing but Jesus Christ
and Him
Crucified."
2. Once we have
accepted Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit goes to work on our
minds to enlighten
us to the whole body of Truth.
B. Once we began to meditate on the Word of God, we will over
time become
convinced that
the Word is true.
1. Our faith
grows as we began to trust the body of truth.
a. We have to
live by the Word to be convinced of it's truth.
b. Reading
the Word is not enough. We have to experience it in our lives.
2. Faith in the
Word leads us to observe our surrounding and to see the glory of
God's creation.
V:9. " I pray for them. I am not praying for the world,
but for those you have given me, for they are yours."
A. Jesus has us on
His mind and He takes the time to pray for us.
1. Notice, Jesus did not pray for the world, but just
His disciples.
2. Jesus sits at
the right hand of the Father and makes intercessions for believers.
B. Jesus prayed for
those that the Father gave Him.
1. We were given
by the Father to be saved by Jesus.
2. We do not have
free will to become a believer in the death and resurrection of
Jesus.
3. Only the Father
who is in heaven makes it possible for those He chose to become
believers.
C. There are two
classes of people, believers and nonbelievers.
1. God created the
classes; the world and those that are His.
2. We were born to
be reborn through Jesus Christ.
3. The world was
not born for the rebirth.
V:10. " All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.
And glory has come to me through them."
A. There is equality
between the Father and the Son
1. They both own
everything equally.
2. The two are
one.
3. The God head,
is one God in three persons. Rom 1:20 , Col
a. There is
God in the person of the Father.
b. There is
God in the person of the Son
c. There is
God in the person of the Holy Spirit.
B. We were created to
give God glory.
1. Every time one
of those predestined by God the Father is saved, the
angels in
heaven rejoice. Luke 15:10
2. We were created
for one purpose and one purpose only, to give God
glory and
honor.
V: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."
A. The disciples were
getting ready to go into a new phase of their mission.
1. They had communicated with Jesus face to
face.
2. After Jesus
death and resurrection, they would have to learn to communicate
with Him
through the spirit.
3. After Jesus
death and resurrection their faith would be tested.
B. In Jesus prayer,
He accepted His completed work on the cross.
1. Jesus
understood what His disciples would go through as He was put on the cross.
2. Jesus
understood that His disciples would have to take the lead in spreading the
Gospel.
3. Jesus
understood that as leaders of the Church, they would face persecution.
C. This is one of the
verses that the unity of the God Head is presented.
1. The work of
the God Head in the church is presented.
2. Jesus returns
to the Right Hand of the Father and sends the Holy Spirit to
empower the
Church.
3. The body of
truth is Jesus Christ. Rev. 19:13
4. We are united
in the body through the power of the Holy Spirit.
D. There is power in
the Word to protect us.
1. At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall
bow. Isa 45:23
2. If God is for
us, who can stand against us.
V:12. " 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."
A. Notice, when Jesus was in the world, He protected His
disciples.
1. We now have His
Word, which is Him and He still protects us.
Rev 19:13
2. Jesus promised
that If we abide in Him and His Word abide in us, we can ask
what we want and it
shall be done for us. John 15:7
B. Notice the proof of Jesus protection.
1. Jesus did not
lose to the world, any of the disciples that the Father gave Him
except for
Judas.
a. Judas was selected
from the world to stay in the world to betray Jesus.
b. The eleven
other disciples were selected out of the world to be with Jesus
forever.
2. LET'S SHOUT NOW!
Are you glad that you were chosen to be with Christ
forever?
a. You ought to SHOUT, because you don't
deserve God's choice.
b. All have
sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.
c. Yet, He chose
us to be in His glory.
V: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."
A. Jesus makes it possible for us to have a full measure of His Joy.
1. It is Jesus
that makes it possible for us to have joy in the mist of troubling
situations.
2. When we allow
Jesus to be the solution to our problems, we can have joy
in the mist of
troubles.
B. It is a good thing
to have Jesus, at the right hand of the Father, making
intercessions for us.
1. With Jesus at
the right hand of the Father, He sees all of us at the same time.
2. In the flesh,
we are subject to the trials and tribulation and always in need of
of the great intercessor.
V:14 "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."
A. When you live by
the Word of Christ, you will be at odds with the world.
1. It is not
strange, that the world hate you because you love Christ.
2. The world
loves evil and hate the righteousness of God.
B. We can't be like
the crowd because we don't fit in.
1. If you fit in
with the crowd, there may be a problem with your religion.
2. We can't be
silent with Jesus in our hearts.
a. Our job is
to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
b. We need
the joy of the Lord spreading the Gospel so other can see our
excitement.
c. When we
are excited about the Lord, others will get excited.
V:15. " My
prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them
from the evil one."
A. Jesus does not
always remove our problems, but helps us live through them.
1. When the world
is against us, Jesus is there to protect us.
2. The devil came
to steal, kill and to destroy.
3. The devil works
through those you come in contact with to destroy the
Gospel message
that is in you.
B. We have to be on
guard at all times, for the devil's devices will show up in our
lives.
1. We must be
mindful that Jesus is present to protect us from the devil and
his demons.
2. We must arm
ourselves with the Word to resist the devil.
3. The Word has
power over all the devil's devices.
a. We are
commanded to resist the devil and he will flee.
James 4:7
b. We are also
commanded to resist our evil desires and pursue righteousness.
2 Tim 2:22
V.16. " They are
not of the world, even as I am not of it."
A. Any man in Christ
is a new creation.
1. Being a new
creation in Christ makes us different from the world.
2. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us.
3. The world
cannot receive the Spirit of the Lord.
B. The Spirit of the
Lord gives us super natural powers.
1. The Word has
the power to change minds and behaviors.
2. Armed with
Word in love, we can change lives.
a. The world
hates change and loves evil.
b. The Word of
God changes lives to pursue righteousness.
V:17-18 "
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the
world, I have sent
them into the world. "
A. It is the Word of
God that cleanses us. John 15:3
1. It is by the
Word of God that we are set aside for God's use.
2. God gave us
His Word so that we can proclaim it to others.
3. In proclaiming
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we give God glory.
B. It is Jesus that
sends us into the world.
1. Jesus sends us
in the mist of demons to draw His chosen out of the world.
2. Jesus died for
our salvation and the salvation of those
yet to be saved.
3. We are the
messengers of God's Word.
4. We have to
come to the conclusion that we are ambassadors for Christ.
V:19. " For them I sanctify myself, that they too may
be truly sanctified."
A. The word sanctify
is the Greek word hagizo which means to make holy.
1. We are not holy in ourselves, but made
holy through our abiding in the
Word of
God.
2. The
righteousness of God is imputed upon us through our faith in Jesus Christ.
Rom 4:22-25
V:20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for
those who will believe in me through their message.
A. Jesus' prayer is still effective today.
1. He prayed that
the message of the Gospel be spread
through the disciple's
teaching.
2. Over two
thousands years later, the Gospel message is still being preached.
3. Over two
thousands years later, folk are still being saved.
4. Jesus prayed
for us, our children and our descendants for generations to come.
B. Jesus prayer is
universal. Matt 25:34, Eph 1:4
1. His prayer covers
all who were predestined to come to belief in Him for all times.
2. Jesus prayer is
exclusive.
a. His prayer
excludes those who were not predestined to become believers.
3. His prayer is
also inclusive.
a. It includes
all who will believe that were predestined before the foundation of
the earth
. Eph 1:4
V:21. "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."
A. The Lord prayed
for unity in the body of Christ.
1. The Word of
God is the authority.
2. Jesus desires
for all believers to have one mind and one heart.
3. We must study
the Word of God to understand His
commands.
4. We should
study together to come to a common belief.
B. The world is not
given an understanding of God's Word, but when
the world sees
the unity in the body of Christ they will believe that
Christ was sent
by the Father.
1. At the second
coming of Christ, the world will see Him in a cloud
in glory. Luke 21:27
2. The world will
believe because the Church will be taken up to be with Christ
and all that will
be left is none believers. I Tim
4:16-17
THANK GOD FOR HIS GRACE AND MERCY THAT HAS FALLEN ON US.
Rev. M. Mitchell, Asst Pastor of GMBC
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