Go with me if you would back
to John 17. John 17, a moment ago in our
Bible study, I told you that we would be in John 17 all day,
all day today. Three things stood out to me
and I felt led to divide them into our three messages. In the
Bible study, we just looked at what the Father gave to Christ. What God the Father gave to Christ. In verse two, he said, you have
given me power over all flesh. And to that we say, thank God,
really. And he said, you have given me
the ability to give eternal life. Thank God. And he said, you have given me
all of our elect people. Thank God. He said, you have glorified me
in that. And he said at the end of verse
one, my desire is to in turn glorify you. Verse one, these words speak
Jesus. and lifted up his eyes to heaven
and said, father, the hour is come, glorify thy son, that thy
son also may glorify thee. As thou has given him power over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
has given him. He said, because you did that
for me, this is what I have done for you. And that's the subject
of our message this morning. What Christ did for his father. What Christ did for his father.
The father sent Christ to do something. And he now says to his father,
I did it. I did it. Now, eight times in
this chapter, Christ said to his father, I have those two
words. Eight times. He said, I have,
this is his prayer. I have, that's what I want us
to look at this morning. What Christ did for his father. We're not going to look at every
word. Our brother just read, read the whole chapter for us.
And we're not gonna look at every word. For this message, I wanna
focus on the two words, I have. We're just gonna go through and
see what He said He did. That's our outline. Eight things
that the Lord Jesus Christ declared that He did for His Father. All right, let's begin reading
in verse one again. It says, these words spake Jesus and lifted
up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent." If the Lord will open that up to us, I believe
we'll see that in a way we never have. This is what He said. He said, this is life eternal. That's what He said. This is
eternal life. This is eternal life. Knowing
God. That is eternal life. We talk about eternal life. We
talk about, we think about eternal life. He said, this is eternal
life. Knowing God. He didn't say this
is what secures eternal life. He's about to declare to us what
secured eternal life. He said, this is eternal life,
knowing thee. That's eternal life. He said,
the only true God and the Savior that God sent, that's eternal
life. Now, verse four, this is the
first I have, all right? The first one in our outline.
He said, I have glorified thee on the earth. What an I have
that is what an I have, what an announcement, what an accomplishment. He said, I have glorified thee
on the earth. Every person knows that in order
to go to heaven, God has to be happy with them. Everybody knows
that. In order to go to heaven, God
must be pleased. And that's why men stand up and
in ignorance and in error, encourage people, now you better do better.
You need to do better. Are you glorifying Him? Is He
glorified in your life? Because He needs to be glorified. Well, Christ said, first thing,
He said, I have glorified thee on the earth. That's a glorious
I have. I have glorified thee on the
earth. At the end of verse one, he said,
glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee. And in
verse four, he said, I have. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I've done what no other man was able to do. I have glorified day. What is
impossible for a mortal sinful man to do? He said, I've done
it. I've done it. Look with me at
Romans five. That's just making me smile at the moment. I love
that. I really love that. He said,
I did it. Romans 5 verse 17, for if by
one man's offense, death reigned by one, Adam sinned, and that's
why you and I are gonna die in the flesh on this earth. That's
the whole reason why. By one man's sin, it infected
everybody. You wanna talk about contagious? This disease infected everybody. He said, much more they which
receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness,
they that receive that shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offense
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, Even so,
by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. What no sinful man could ever
do, which is glorify God, glorify God with sinless perfection,
perfect righteousness and holiness. Christ said, I've done it. I've done it. Number one, he
said, I have glorified thee on the earth. All right, now back
to our text, John 17. Verse two, he said, or number two, he said in verse
four, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. I've
glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do, the work of this hour. In the Bible study
a moment ago, we saw how everything in his life led up to the work
of this hour. Everything. For this declaration
that he gives right here, let me quote two things that he had
to say about it, all right? Two things. Let me quote the
first thing he had to say and the last thing he had to say
about it. When he was a 12 year old boy, earthly speaking, when
the eternal one, a body was prepared for him and
he came and he was 12 years old, he said
to his earthly parents, know ye not that I must be about my
father's business. Those are the very first words
recorded in the scripture that he ever said. That's the first
thing recorded that he ever said. I must be about my father's business. That's the first thing he said.
And his last words recorded from the cross are, it is finished. It's finished. I must be about
my father's business. I must get this job done. I must get this job done. I cannot rest until I accomplish
my father's business. And from the cross of Calvary,
with the dead of his people fully paid, he cried, it is finished. You can rest now. Remove it from
your mind. Totally remove it from your mind. Remove it from the list of the
things that need to be done. It's finished. We're building a building. All
right, we're all working on a building. And different jobs we're doing
together. We did the HVAC. We all showed
up over there, we did the HVAC. But it's not done. You know that? What that means
is we can't remove it from our mind. We can't be set free from
the thought of it. We can't be set free from the
work of it. It's still there. It's not finished. Brother Tony did the plumbing
by himself. And I'm so grateful, plumbing rough in. But my heart
breaks for him because it's not done. It's still just a few things. He got a list going, just a few
things. We've been working for a month, month and a half, trying
to prepare the basement for concrete. And last Saturday, buddy, we
were working, or two Saturdays ago, we were working And we laid probably 50 sheets
of wire. But we didn't have enough material.
We were three short. We got to go get three more pieces. Those three pieces did not go
down. A form needs to be formed, right? Three pieces of wire need
to go down. A form still needs to be formed.
And the thresholds on the doors need to be checked. Should we
call the concrete truck? Should we call the concrete truck?
No, it's not finished, but you've done almost all of it. I mean,
when you look at it, there's wire everywhere and plastic everywhere. Should we call the concrete truck?
It's not finished. There's still a T that needs
to be crossed and an I that needs to be dotted. Therefore, the burden is not
gone. We're not set free from the weight
of it. We're not set free from the work
of it, even though it's almost there. Once those last little things
are done and it can honestly be said, it's finished. Really? Have you double checked
everything? Really? We dotted all the I's and crossed
all the T's? Yes, it's finished. Call the
concrete truck. Set it in stone. Go ahead and
set it in stone. It's finished. Now when it comes
to the work of our salvation, A man will never be free from
the weight and the bondage of it, even if he thinks it's almost
all the way done. If there's still one little dot
or one little cross until it's all finished, he'll be under
the bondage and the weight of the work until he hears the voice
of Jesus Christ say to his heart, it's finished. Call the concrete
drop. Cement it in. Set it in stone. The work is done. That's a glorious
announcement. I finished the work. I saved our people. Father, I
earned a righteousness. Is the debt settled? All of it.
All of it? All of it. Is the righteousness
earned? All of it. You mean enough for
all of eternity righteousness? All of it. I finished the work you gave
me to do. Here's number three, verse six. He said, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. I have manifested. man effested
thy name." I've revealed who you are according to your name.
He repeated this in verse 26. He said, I have declared unto
them thy name. Matthew 11 verse 27 says, no
man knoweth the son but the father, neither knoweth any man the father
save the son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. He said,
I have revealed what the name Jehovah means to our people. All through the Old Testament,
the names of Jehovah, God. Through that Old Testament, we
read about God, I am God. The names of the Lord are mentioned,
and it's names like Jehovah-Jireh. That's what Abraham said when
he took his son up on Mount Moriah to slay him. And God said, don't
do it, there's a ram. Slay that ram instead. Jehovah-Jireh,
that means the Lord will provide. He'll provide everything needed.
He'll provide a sacrifice. Jehovah Shalom, that means the
Lord is my peace. Jehovah Rapha, that means the
Lord is my healer, the one that healed me. Jehovah Nisi, the
Lord is my banner. He's who I'm looking to. The
Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my help. The Lord
is my righteousness. All of these names, he said,
I have manifested thy name. Father, all of those characteristics
can be seen in me, all of them. We see our provision in Christ,
don't we? We see our peace in Christ. We
see our help. We see our righteousness. We
see everything that the name of Jehovah is for his people
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, if you've seen me, you've
seen Jehovah, you've seen the Father. Number four, verse eight,
he said, I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. He said, everything that you've
said to me, I've said to them, I've hid nothing from them. He
repeated this in verse 14. He said, I have given them by
word. The glory of that is in spite
of them. In spite of the fact that their
flesh wouldn't hear it, their flesh didn't want it. I've still
given them by word. Turn with me if you would to
Deuteronomy 18. Deuteronomy 18, verse 15, the
heading at the top of my page says, Christ the prophet is to
be heard. That capital P, that's Christ
the prophet. Deuteronomy 18, verse 15, it
says, the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet. That's Christ. From the midst
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me. He's just like me. Unto
him shall you hearken according to all that thou desirest of
the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying,
Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let
me see this great fire any more that I die not. And the Lord
said unto me, they have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet
from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words
in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him. And it shall come to pass that
whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak
in my name, I'll require it of him. The deadness of our flesh wouldn't
hearken to it, wouldn't hear it, but God, but Christ. In Psalm 40, the Lord Jesus Christ
said to His Father, I delight to do thy will. Oh my God, yea,
thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness
in the great congregation. Lo, I have not refrained my lips,
O Lord, thou knowest. I've not hid thy righteousness
within my heart. I have not kept it right here.
I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation. I have not
concealed Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth from the great
congregation. I gave it to them in spite of
them." I gave it to them in spite of them. Yesterday, Brother David
Edmondson was preaching. And he told a story of a little
boy, a family that was attending under Brother Henry Mahan. And
the parents wanted this little boy to listen to the message.
They kept telling him, listen to the message. Now listen to
the message. And after it was over, they asked the little boy,
they said, did you listen to Brother Mahan's message? And
he said, well, I tried not to, but I did anyway. And that's
how it is with us. That's how it is with the flesh.
Flesh tries everything it can not do. But thank God, he said,
I gave them your word anyway. I put your word in them. I've glorified thee on the earth.
I've finished the work you gave me to do. I've manifested thy
name unto the ones that you gave me out of the world. And he said,
I've given unto them the words you told me to give to them.
Back in John 17. Verse nine, this is number five. Verse nine, he said, I pray for
them. This is the only one that is
not in past tense. Everything else, he said, it
was done. That's done, that's done, that's done. Not this one. This one, he said, I'm still
doing it. I pray for them. I've prayed for them. I will
pray for them. My little children, this is 1
John 2 verse 1, these things write I unto you that you sin
not, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous. That's good news. Hebrews 7.25,
it says, wherefore he's able to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. Ever lives to pray for them.
First Timothy 2.5 says, there is one God and one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus. I pray for them. Number six,
it's in verse 12. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition
that the scripture might be fulfilled. The father sent Christ to redeem
his people because that's what the father wanted to happen.
That's why He did that. That's why He sent Christ. That's
what the Father wanted to happen. And He said, Father, Christ said,
Father, I'm very happy to announce that's what has happened. I have
kept them. They're already kept. All of
the elect, already kept. None of them is lost. None of
them. He said back in John 10, I'll
read this to you, He said, My sheep hear my voice, I know them,
they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. I and my Father are one, they're kept. They're
absolutely kept. I've given them eternal life,
and that's what they're gonna have. Eternal life. None shall perish. They have
been, they are being, they will be kept by the power of God. There's a song that says, under
the blood of the Lord Jesus, safe in the shepherd's fold.
Under the blood of the Lord Jesus, safe while the ages roll. Safe
though the worlds may crumble, safe though the stars grow dim,
under the blood of the Lord Jesus, I am secure in Him. And we are,
we're kept in Him by the power of God. Number seven, verse 18. He said, as thou hast sent me
into the world, Even so have I also sent them into the world
as witnesses, as lights, the scripture said. Our Lord said,
go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. The apostle Paul
said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power
of God unto salvation. It's the means God has chosen
to use. to call out his people. And our
Lord said, Father, as you sent me to deliver the message, I've
sent them. All right, last one, number eight. Verse 22, and the glory which
thou gavest me, I have given them. I'm not gonna even try
to enter into that. the glory which thou gavest me,
I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one,
I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one
and that the world may know that thou has sent me and has loved
them as thou has loved me. He said, the same glory that
you gave to me I have given to them. Father, as I am, so are they."
If our Lord had not said that, I would feel that it was blasphemy
to say something like that. As I am, how perfect is the Lord
Jesus Christ? He said the same perfection,
the same righteousness, the same holiness. Think about this, the
same image. What does that mean? I don't
know, but that's what he said. The same image. Romans 8 says,
whom the father did foreknow every soul he elected. He also
did predestinate. to be conformed to the image
of His Son. The Father sent Christ to accomplish
that for His people. He said, that's what I want their
end result to be. I want them to be just like you. He won't be finished until they're
just like you. And the Son, after the accomplishment
of this hour, with great delight, He cried, Father, it's done.
The glory that you gave to me, I have given to them. John said, beloved, it doth not
yet appear what we shall be. What does that mean, his image?
I don't know. John said, it doth not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we
shall be just like him. for we shall see him as he is. And that's all because of what
Christ did for his father. That's the reason why. Now, if
the Lord's willing, we'll come back tonight and we'll see what
the result of all that means for us. Because Christ accomplished
what he did for his father, we're gonna see what the result of
that means for us. All right, let's all stand together.