Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of John chapter 17. John 17. I'd like to consider verses 14-15
this morning. Our Lord is praying this high
priestly prayer. I've purposefully Try to go very
slowly in this prayer, not to go over too quickly. Verse 14,
15, I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them
because they're not of the world, even as I'm not of the world.
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but
that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. Oh, how tender is the Lord in
the care of his people. In this side of glory, we'll
never know how much, how tender. He prays for them. I would desire that you would
pray for me. I would ask you to please pray
for me. As I, you know, cross your mind,
I would ask that you pray that the Lord give me wisdom to pastor. Wisdom. to follow after him,
seek his word. I desire that. But to know that
he prays for me. That he's beseeching the Father
in his merit, praying for me. He prayed, he said, I pray that
thou keep them through your own name. Keep them according to
your character. That's what he prayed in verse
13. He prayed that they might have
his joy fulfilled in themselves. Now just to remind you what he
prayed for then. He said, I pray that they might
have my joy, verse 13, my joy. And what was His joy? What was
His joy? I pray that they might have my
joy. It was the joy of obeying the
Father. My meat, my food is to do the
will of Him that sent me. That's what I feast upon, my
joy. And saving them. That was the
Father's will. This is the Father's will. All
that He has given me, that I should lose nothing. That was His Father's
will. That was His joy. His joy. And He prayed. I pray that they
might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. That they might truly
be saved. And know it. And know something. I know we see through a glass
darkly. But praying. Our Lord in His care for His
people had given them what they needed. Look what He gave them
in verse 2. Thou hast given Him power over
all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou
hast given Him. He's given them life. Life. And let me tell you the sad part
about this. I am so insensitive. to appreciate
it. Someone would say, well, the
Lord's given me life eternal. I don't even know how to be thankful
for that. And you know if you're honest,
you don't either. Now, isn't that so? He prayed
in verse 6. He said, I've manifested thy
name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. He's
taught them something about God's character. That is authority. Look at verse 8. He said, I've
given unto them the words which thou gavest me. He said, I've
taught them your doctrine. I've taught them concerning electing
and redeeming. Regenerating grace I've given
them your words See what he said verse 8. I have given unto them
the words Which thou gavest me now, let's look let's look in
verse 14 I've given unto them thy word Now don't you notice
something verse 80 said I've I've I've given unto them the
words Verse 14. He said I've given them thy Word. In verse 8, what he said in verse
8, he said, I've given them the words which you've given me. He spoke unto them the truths
that Almighty God had set forth, the doctrine. He taught them
God's truth out of the Old Testament. He told them what God had to
say, the good news. He's taught them what God had
to say. That word though, I've given
them the words. He spoke something to them. He
told them something. John 3.34 says, For he whom God
has sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto Him." He knew what the Father had to say. Why? He's God. He's God. He knows what God the Father
has to say. Those are His words. But remember,
He's humbled Himself. He made Himself of no reputation.
He never relinquished his deity. I've given them thy word, your
words. I've told them. And a lot of
people heard those words. Many people heard what the Lord
Jesus Christ had to say. They heard the words, but here
the Lord is telling them, He's given them God's words as far
as telling them what God has to say. Many hear the words this
morning. You hear what the Lord has to
say. But then He said in verse 14,
But I've given them thy word. That statement right there means
something other than. Now verse 8 is needful. How are we going to hear without
a preacher? How are you going to believe in one you haven't
heard? Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing
by the Word of God. We've got to hear. You've got
to hear. You know that. There's no salvation
apart from hearing the Gospel. God Almighty has been pleased. through the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. So you must hear. There's no
doubt about it. But he said here in verse 14,
I've given them thy word. And that statement right there,
he said, not only have I told them what you said, but here
I've revealed to them what you mean. There's the difference.
Many people hear the words, but it's by the grace of God
that we understand them. That God Almighty will tell us
what they mean. Verse 8 is something spoken. Verse 14 is something meant,
understood. Their hearts were made willing. in the day of God's power. Turn
over to 1 Thessalonians 1. This is borne out. What I just
said right here is borne out right here. This is what the
Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, is saying. A
lot of people hear the words. I've given them your words. Here
he said, I've taught them. 1 Thessalonians 1 2-6 We give
thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in
our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor
of love, patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the
sight of God and our Father, knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God Because, for, that's what he said, for, for. We know our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power. and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were
among you for your sakes. And you became followers of us
and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with
joy of the Holy Ghost." There's a difference in hearing the word
here and hearing it right here. I've given them thy word. This is what David meant. He said, Thy word is a lamp unto
my feet, a light unto my path. I walk by the grace of God, David
said, according to your word. Now you know that an unbeliever
is not going to say that. They might say it, but they don't
mean it. A believer walks according to God's Word. In his heart,
he desires it even. And grieves over his inability
to do it as he would. He does. But I'll tell you what,
a believer is concerned with God's Word. Your Word. Your Word. That Word that's heard
in the heart. That Word that's precious. And back in John 17, He said,
I've given Him Thy Word. And look at the effect of having
Him give His Word. A Word that a believer cherishes,
that he must hear, that he longs after. Teach me, teach me, teach
me Your Word. Here's the effect of it. And
the world hath hated them, because they're not of the world, even
as I'm not of the world." The world hates him. A regenerated saint. He's got a new spirit. That's
what the Lord said. He said, I'm going to give you
a new heart, a new spirit. He's got a new love. He loves
God's Word. He loves God. He loves God's
people. He loves the Gospel. He's got
that new affection, new interest, he's got a new master. The world
hates him because I gave them your word, because I taught them,
and they walk after it. They've been delivered from the
cares of this present evil world. A believer is concerned with
what God has to say. They're not under the dominion
of Satan's dictates and the world hates them because they're not
the same. They're not the same. Hated because
they're different from what they used to be. Same
old nature that's there. That old nature hadn't changed,
but that old nature doesn't have dominion over them anymore. And
what they readily loved before, they loved themselves is what
they did. They cared about themselves.
That's all any of us do. We care about us. But there's
a new nature. And that new nature cares for
the things of God. and will take God's side against
himself. We're so selfish by nature. You
know that. We're just so self-centered.
I was sitting in the services the other night. I was telling
you about being there in Danville. And I was listening to the different
ones. And the thought went through
my mind. Oh, what an evil and wicked man
I am. I'm sitting here listening to
these glorious truths that are set forth concerning the truth
himself. And I'm thinking, how easily I just, you know, these
things that just so should just grip my heart. And I think, Lord,
But for your grace, where would I be? The world hates a believer
because a believer is not of the world. Hebrews 11, 7, By faith know
of being warned of God of things not seen as yet. God told him
it was going to rain. God said, I'm going to send a
flood. I'm going to send a flood. You go back and read it, it had
never rained. It had never rained up until this time. Never rained.
It had never seen rain. And God said, I'm going to destroy
this world. And he told Noah, he said, I
want you to build an ark. By faith, Noah being warned of
God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear. with respect
for God's Word and prepared an ark to the saving of his house
by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness
which is by faith. Built an ark, 120 years it took
him to build that ark. And he preached the gospel for
a hundred and twenty years. And you know how many got saved
out of that flood. Noah and his wife, his three
sons and their wives, and he saved a select group of animals
out of it. And preserved, preserved what
he had made by grace. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. God Almighty preserved. He was
a sinner. Noah was a filthy, rotten, sinner. And every thought and every imagination
of his heart and mind was evil. Continually. That's all Noah
ever thought about. He was an evil, evil thinking
man. Wicked, wicked man. But, God Almighty had given him
a new heart. And Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. And God gave him a new nature.
And Noah believed God. And Noah warred within himself
just like you and I do. And he obeyed God. And he walked
after obedience before God. And he built an ark. And in the
building of that ark, and in the preaching of the gospel,
he condemned the world. He made their rebellion. to be greatly magnified. 120 years and their rebellion became
more and more obvious. Let me tell you how a sinner's
rebellion, and I'm talking about all of us, let me tell you how
rebellion is made to be in such an open and obvious light is
when obedience is displayed. Obedience displayed. There was
a man, there was Noah, he was just like anybody else, but God
showed mercy to him. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord, and Noah had nothing to glory in except God's grace,
that's it. That's it. But let me tell you
what was so obvious in his obedience. Their disobedience. And they
hated him. They hated him. Hated him. Ridiculed him, laughed at him.
Didn't believe God. All who love not the truth hate
those that God shows mercy to. And those that God shows mercy
to have nothing to glory in, save that God showed mercy to
them. And they know it. They know it. Verse 15, I pray
not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that
thou shouldest keep them from the evil. I know this. There's a time to be born and
a time to die. But while we're here, we're here
this morning and the only reason we're still here this morning
is because the Lord is not done with each one of us according
to His purpose. If He were, if He were done with
any of us or all of us here, I'm telling you, we wouldn't
be here. He would take us. Matthew 28, 18-20, the Lord has
given us a commission. And this is what the commission
is to every believer. I know he's speaking to his apostles
here, but every believer Jesus came, spake unto them, saying,
All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye, therefore,
and teach all nations, that is, make disciples, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you. And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
Now, we have here, we have a commission. And our commission is this. We have one purpose. Assembly. This is a local assembly, a local
body. God raises up local churches. And this is where God speaks,
right here. This is where He speaks. This
is where the Lord has promised, I'll meet where two or three
are gathered together in my name in this assembly. He said, I'm
in the midst of you. I'll meet with you there. The
reason that we're here today is to preach and to hear the
gospel. To magnify the Lord Jesus Christ. And our commission is to go into
all the world and preach. God's going to save His people.
And the preaching of, and the support of, and the support of
this local assembly right here. By attendance, by prayer, by
giving, by the support of this body right here. Let me ask you
this. Almost 60 years that this assembly
has been here. Oh, what hath God wrought in
60 years? You say, well, I don't really
know what he's doing right now. I tell you what he's doing, whatever
he's pleased to do. Sixty years. How many out of
this congregation right here has the Lord been pleased to
call out of darkness? Because of His mercy and grace. And He raised up a pastor. And gave a pastor that was no
different than anybody else. Except God Almighty was pleased
to call him by grace. Gave him a heart. Wanted to preach.
Kept him. Kept him. And I'm telling you,
take it from me. But for the grace of God, Brother
Scott would have quit just like anybody else, and I would too.
I would too. Unless Almighty God gave me or
any other preacher a heart. Why? Why be ridiculed? Why? Why? Oh, but if God Almighty gives
a man or woman a heart for Christ, Nothing else matters. You'll
take His side and preach and support the gospel of God's grace. His word. His people are kept. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. The evil of unbelief. A sower went sow. Four kinds of people heard it.
Four different kinds. Same sowing. Same seed. It was the gospel. Some of them
heard it and it just fell by the wayside. The birds came and
plucked it up and it was gone. Some hear the gospel and it doesn't
make any difference to them. Some, it falls in stony, kind
of stony ground. Not a lot of earth there, but
just a little. Ever look, just driving down
the road, and I was coming back yesterday and it's just a bunch
of rocks where they cut it out, but you just see a little bush
coming out of the side of a rock. Why? Well, there was a little
dirt there. There's something there and it supports something. Some of it fell in stony ground.
It sprang up quickly and it was excitement. But when the son
of affliction, because of the gospel, Whenever the affliction
of the gospel comes, it withers. Why? Because there's no earth
to support it. It withers. It's just not there.
Some of it fell on thorny ground. I've told you before, this is
probably the most fearful one to me, as far as being an unbeliever. Thorny ground. Thorny ground. It springs up because it looked
like it was good ground, but because it was thorny ground
when the thorns, the cares of this world, the cares of this
world, chokes the Word. Now, if God keeps a man, keeps
a woman, those cares are still there, believe me, but the Lord
will keep them. He'll keep them. But I'm telling
you, if God Almighty does not sustain His people, I'll tell
you what's going to happen. Things begin to matter that didn't
seem to matter at first, but they do. It was always there. But as the Lord removes that, it becomes obvious. It's obvious. The cares of this world. Well,
I'm just too busy. I'm just too busy. too busy. Somebody told me one
time about telling somebody that, you know, well, I've got so many
things to do. I'm just too busy. They said,
well, then if you're too busy to hear the word of God, then
you're just too busy. If this were your last day today, what else would be more important?
than hearing what God has to say. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. Keep them from withering under
the persecution of the world. For the Word's sake. Kept from
apostasy. Here's some good news. God's
people are kept. If you have this morning a heart,
a heart that loves Him, loves His Word, loves His Gospel, loves
His people, loves the fellowship of the saints, that's by the
grace of God. Kept by the power of God. I love
this scripture in closing. Jude 1.24. Now unto Him. that's able to keep you from
falling. You know what that tells me?
That if he didn't, I would. Unto him that's able to keep
you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence
of his glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior
be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and ever. Amen. God's people, they hear
His voice. And they believe Him. They believe
Him. They're in the world, but they're
not of it. God has given them His Word. He's given them the words, but
He's given them a heart to believe it. And they're kept, in this
world, kept from falling. He's able, not only to keep them
from falling, but to present them faultless. There's another one, I just can't,
I cannot, I don't know what it's like, you don't either, I don't
know what it's like to not think evil thoughts. And I cannot keep
myself from thinking of them. There are times, I'm serious,
I will just absolutely reprimand myself. I say, that's just, that's
evil. That's evil. And I cannot keep
from thinking of them. Lord, keep me. Lord, robe me. Lord, keep me from falling. Present
me faultless before Him. For Christ's sake, Amen.