continuing our study of our Lord's
prayer for those that the Father had given Him. And let me say
this, when I said at the beginning
of the First Service that we are on holy ground, when we just
consider reading what He said, we can only pray according to
the light that God's given us. That's all we can pray for. I
can pray, Father, I pray that you'd have mercy upon those that
you've given the Son. I don't know who they are. So
what I do when I preach, I tell all men, all women, come to Christ. Come to Christ. If the Spirit
of God gives any man, any woman a heart to come, then it will
be made manifest salvations of the Lord. I don't know who. Somebody asked Charles Spurgeon
one time. They said, well Mr. Spurgeon, if you say God is going
to save His elect, why don't you just preach to just the elect? He said, well you just put a
big E on their heads so that I know who they are and I'll
preach to just them. We don't know who they are. God
knows. Here's what I'm commanded to
do. I'm commanded to be faithful to preach these scriptures according
to the revelation of God. And be faithful here. If I be
found faithful, a faithful preacher of the gospel, then God's blessing
is on the message. If I'm an unfaithful preacher,
God's message is not blessed. It's not honored. In this second
service, I'd like to deal for a few minutes on what the Lord
has prayed for. I know the fact of the matter
is He said, I pray for them. For that, I thank God. He said in all things give thanks.
We bow to that. We have no right to question
Him. Who are we? Who are we? I pray for them, I pray not for
the world, but for them which Thou hast given me, for they
are Thine. Four things that I can find out
of this chapter, and I'm going to just touch on them, and then
as we continue through this blessed chapter, we'll deal with them
in a little bit more detail, but I want to find four things
specifically that he prayed for. When he said, I prayed for them,
it would be my question, Lord, what did you pray? What did you
pray? I try to pray and I don't even
know what to pray for. That's what the Spirit of God
said. He said, we know not what to pray. The Spirit helpeth our
infirmities because we don't know what to pray for. None of
us know what to say. Thanks be unto God that the scriptures
reveal that our prayers of the saints are presented before the
throne of God by our great intercessor. And in his merit, our prayers
are accepted. And only in his merit. I don't
know what to say. I don't know what to ask for.
He does. And listen to what he had to
pray. Here's the first thing. He prayed for the sheep's protection
and preservation in this world. Verse 11. He said, and now I
am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I
come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one
as we are. Father, concerning those, as
he said, that thou hast given me." Did you notice how many
times he says that? Those that you've given me, those
that you've given me, those that you've given me. I'm praying
for him, praying for him. Keep through thine own name. The literal of that, keep through
thine own name, that's a hard phrase for us to perceive what
he's saying. Here's what it is. in yourself
or in the knowledge of yourself. Keep in the knowledge of yourself. Father, keep those, knowing you. Isn't that a precious request? Father, I pray that you keep
those that you've given me knowing you. He said, he said in verse
3, this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only
true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. And then he prays,
Father, keep them knowing you. Cause them to know you. Watch over them. Guard them. Keep them from loss. Keep your
eye on them. Keep your eye on them. You that have children, you ever
have them out somewhere and just kind of keep an eye on them? I remember when the kids were
growing up, about two years apart, 1, 2, 3, 4, that would be the
way I'd do. I'd be out somewhere with them
and it was constantly 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. One day in Virginia, we were
at a theme park and all of a sudden, 1, 2, 3, and I missed Hannah. And buddy, man, I'm telling you,
it took me about 10 seconds to find her. That was a long 10
seconds. Man, I was looking for that kid. Father, I pray, keep
through thine own name, keep them knowing you. You know why
we that know him continue to know him? The Lord asked. prayed that the Father would
keep us. Keep through thy own name. I need. You need. I don't have
the ability to keep myself. I need his watchful eye over
me. Keep me. Why? I'm prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. prone to leave
the God I love. If He left me to myself, you
know, a sheep. Sheep, that's what He calls us.
Sheep. And they are the most ignorant
animal on this earth. No sense. No sense of direction. Just ignorant, stupid animals. They need a shepherd. Psalm 33,
18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is
upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. Father, keep them. Keep them
knowing you. Look at verse 12. While I was
with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. I kept them. Those that thou gavest me have
I kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition that
the scripture might be fulfilled. I kept him. Father, I'm praying,
I'm coming back to you. Father, I pray you keep him.
Trust in him. What a prayer. What a request
that the Father always hears, always honors. Look at verse
15. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. The Lord in his high priestly
prayer He does not ask that we be taken out of this world, obviously,
until the time of our appointed departure. It's appointed until
man wants to die. But we have a calling in this
place. And we're in this world. God
Almighty calls out His people. How does He call them out? Under
the preaching of this gospel. That's what Paul said. Romans
1.16. He said, I'm not ashamed of the
gospel. Free grace. Sovereign grace. Sovereign grace. Salvation is of the Lord, not
of man. Under the sound of the gospel,
He calls His people out. And after He calls them out,
He feeds them with the same gospel. You that's heard this gospel
for years and years and years and years and years, you know
what you want to hear? The same gospel. If I was up
here preaching something other than the gospel, you'd pick up
on it in a heartbeat. And I'll tell you what you'd
do, you wouldn't hear it. You'd listen to somebody be dishonorable
before God. Dishonorable in this gospel right
here, and you'd think, that grates on me. Be honorable unto the
Lord. Father, keep them. I don't pray that you take them
out of the world, but thou should keep them from the evil, from
the power of Satan. There's some fiery darts. There's
the wickedness of this world. There's the old nature in me. That old man in me that doesn't
change. That's why Paul said, Romans
7, 24, old wretched man that I am. What believer wouldn't
admit? There's an old nature in me that
still desires to rebel against God. There's an old man. He prays
that they be kept. Secondly, he prays for our unity. and to one another. Look at verse
11 also. And now I'm no more in the world,
but these are in the world. I come to thee, Holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that
they may be one as we are. Believers, God's sheep, are the
body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. I was talking to a pastor yesterday
and he made a statement and I thought, that is a great, that's a great
thought. He said that someone came up
to his house, his house is right next to the church. You can start trying to figure
out how many pastors we know. Parsons is right next to the
church and figure out who I'm talking about. But his house is right
next to the church. He said, can I help you? The guy said, yeah, I'd like
to go in the building over there and pray. Can I do that? He said,
well, I suppose you could. He said, why do you want to go?
He said, well, I want to go over there and meet with God. He said,
well, then you can't go. He said, what? He said, no. The church meets until believers
meet together. He said, God's not in that building
anymore than He's right here, Jeff. He said, where two or three
are gathered together in my name, I'm in the midst of you. You
think God meets together with His people in His body. Everybody leaves this building.
This is just wood. That's just wood and lights and
fans. God is in His people. They are the temple. This building
has got nothing holy about it. God Almighty prays for our unity
to Him. To Him. Believers are the body
of Christ. We are the bride of the Lord
Jesus Christ, eternally betrothed to Him and found in Him. And He prays that we might be
united, kept, made one with Him and to one another, praying that
they may be one even as we are. I told you before, this hand
is in agreement with this hand. And in agreement with my two
feet and my face, I'm in agreement with me. Why? This is me. This
is my body. One. We're one. We're brethren. That's what Abraham
told Lot. Remember when they were having
that squabble between their herdsmen and everything about how much
grass the flocks needed and where they'd do it. And Abraham came
to Lot and he said, we're brethren. What's grass? We're brethren. He told Lot, he said, you take
what you want, I'll take the rest. There was Abraham trusting
God, waiting on God. Lot, you know what he did, he
said, his eyes to Sodom. You know the rest of the story.
Oh, we're one. kept one with Him and one with
one another by the effectual prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 21, 22. That they
all may be one as Thou, Father, art in me and I in Thee, that
they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that Thou
hast sent me, and the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them,
that they may be one even as we are one. Now, let me ask you
something. You take that 22nd verse right
there. And that reads so quickly. But let me ask you something.
What was he saying in verse 22? Look at verse 22 again. And the
glory which thou gavest me, the glory that the Father gave the
Son, I have given them, that they may be one even as we are
one, I speak only as far as I can
tell the Spirit of God has given revelation to my heart concerning
the true interpretation of that scripture. But I'll tell you
what I think it's saying. You know, there's a lot of scriptures
that we read and if we're honest about it, we're going to say,
Lord, there's some things there that I just don't perceive. I
just don't know the depth of what you're saying. I can't understand
or perceive the Trinity of God. One God, three persons. Father,
Son, Spirit. I know it. I believe it. I don't
understand the depth of election. I know it and believe it. God
said it. But all according to His will,
I don't understand. This one right here, and the
glory which thou gavest me, I've given them. Turn to Ephesians
4, 7. And I'll tell you what I think.
And if I'm wrong here, I pray the Lord reveal it to me. if I'm wrong that he would correct
me. But I think what I'm about to read to you has got some real
validity to it, to the interpretation. Ephesians 4 verse 7, But unto
every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the
gift of Christ. Now, the Lord has given to every
person a measure of something. What is it? Look at 1 Peter 4.14. 1 Peter 4.14. 1 Peter 4.14. If ye be reproached
for the name of Christ, happy are ye for the Spirit of glory
and of God resteth upon you. On their part he's evil spoken
of, but on your part he's glorified." Now, the part that I want you
to see is the spirit of glory. The spirit of God's glory. The spirit of God's person. The spirit of God. The spirit
of glory. Now, knowing that he's spoken
of as the spirit of glory, and that in Ephesians 4.7 there was
a measure given to every one of us, a portion. I can't hear
again, I can't understand the depth of it, but when you go
back to John 17.22, and the glory which thou gavest me, how much
of the spirit of glory was given to the Lord Jesus Christ? All of it. All of Him. The Spirit
of God was given unto Him without measure. And the same Spirit
that was given to Him without measure, He has given to us in measure. That's what Scripture says. But
to everyone is given the measure. the Spirit of Glory, the same
Spirit of God that was given to the Lord Jesus Christ without
measure, we have. We have. But you know this, the
Spirit of God has not been given to us without measure, only to
Him. We know in part, He's omniscient. We prophesy in part, He knows
all things. I'm telling you now, when we
start talking about what we know, we know in part. We prophesy
in part, but He's prayed, Father, I pray that they might be one
with us. The glory that Thou gavest me,
I've given them. Why? That they may be one even
as we are. Same Spirit that was given to
Him without measure is given to every one of God's people.
Same Spirit, same Lord. In one of these days, this flesh
is going to be put off and we'll be in perfect knowledge, perfect
union with Him. We'll see Him as He is and be
like Him. Third thing, He prays thirdly
for our growth in grace. Look at verse 17. Sanctify them
through thy truth. Thy word is truth. That word sanctify is the word
that we get saints from. It's the word that means holiness.
Holiness. Now, first of all, let me say
there is a state of sanctification. That's a big word, but it means
set-apartness. Set-apart. Holiness. There is
a state of sanctification in which no believer grows. There
is a state in which we do not grow. Listen to this, 1 Corinthians
1.30, But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us, the Lord Jesus Christ. God Almighty concerning the Lord
Jesus toward His people. He is made unto us by the Father,
but of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. Wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. The Scripture
says, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And Colossians 2 10 says, and
ye are complete. That is leveled up. You get a
glass of water and you just start filling it up and filling it
up, and when it gets to the top and when it will hold no more,
it starts running over the side. It is leveled up. It's complete. No more is going in it. Ye are
complete in Him. which is the head of all principality
and power. John 1.16 says, And of His fullness
have we all received, and grace for grace, or grace upon grace. Grace upon grace. So there is
a state in which we do not become more holy. And it's His righteousness,
not ours, His. But of God are we in Christ Jesus,
who is made unto us. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
redemption. There is no greater state than
being in Him. But there's a growth in our knowledge
of it. There's a growth, and our Lord
prayed, Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. There is a state in which we
increase in knowledge. Not in the state of being, because
we're complete in Him. But there's a state in which
we grow in grace. That's what Scripture says. But
grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. We come
together today. Why? I want to hear what God
has to say. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to
me. I told you about that person. He was dying. A man was dying.
Brother Henry Mahan went to see him. He said, how are you doing?
The man was on his deathbed. And the man told Henry, he said,
if you've been truthful with me, I'm doing okay. If you've
told me the truth, I'm doing okay. I'm telling you, Somebody stands up from the pulpit
and starts talking. Buddy, be like those at Berea.
You search the scriptures. Go back, get this golden sermon
audio. Lord willing, Linda will have
it on there or Nancy will have it on there in the morning. Go
back and listen to it and take the scriptures and run them down. Find out if what I've said is
so. If it's not so, come tell me. If you prove to me that what
we've said is not so, I'll apologize. I will. But if it's so, fourth thing. Here's the fourth
thing he prayed for in closing. He prays for our eternal presence
with him. Verse 24. John 17, 24. Father,
I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with
me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given
me for thou lovest me for the foundation of the world. What a thought. Here is a will that I know is
going to be honored I may ask something. Father, if it be your
will, would you save my kids? Lord, save my kids. Lord, I'm
going to say as that leper said, Lord, if you will, you can make
my grandchildren clean. Lord, have mercy, if you will.
Here's a will that I know is going to be done. Because the
Lord Jesus Christ never prayed apart from the will of His Father.
It's the same will. Father, I will. One day, that which He prays for is going
to be realized. I can tell you based on the Word
of the Lord. John 6, 37. John 6, 37. All that the Father giveth me.
How many times has he brought that up in this chapter so far?
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. All that the Father giveth me.
John 6, 37. John 10, 15, I lay down my life
for the sheep. Father, I will also, they whom
thou hast given me, be with me where I am. Brethren, one day,
that which we only know now by faith, we're going to know by
sight. According to the will of our
Lord, that which He's prayed, I pray that they might be with
me where I am, that they might behold my glory, that glory that
thou gavest me before the foundation of the world, that you loved
before the foundation of the world as the mediator, as the redeemer, God-man. I pray that they might be with
me, that they might behold the glory as the substitute as the Savior of His people.
That glory that the Father gave Him. Look at verse 5 in closing. And now, O Father, glorify Thou
me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee
before the world was. As God He's always been with God. In
the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the
Word was God. And verse 14 of John 1 says,
and the Word was made flesh. God was made flesh. So as God,
His prayer is that He might return into the presence of the Father
with His delight, and also to be in the presence of the Father
as the Son of Man. That's an amazing thought. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. Here is the victorious Savior
of sinners. His people. Those that the Father
has given Him. Specifically praying that God
keep them. That God make them one. That
God sanctify them. And that Almighty God bring them. That they might behold His glory. Glory that He had with the Father
before the foundation of the world. Precious, precious Word. Lord, teach us today for Christ's
sake. Amen.