Chapter 17 of John. Now, when
we were going to school, they used to tell us every morning when we were in grade school,
of course, they kind of had quit this by the time that we got
into high school because I think this kind of fell out of favor
with the courts of the land or whatever,
they kind of didn't like schools doing this sort of thing. But
they used to tell us that we were going to recite the Lord's
Prayer. And we would all stand up and
we would start off a prayer that says, Our Father which art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name. And they told us that was the
Lord's Prayer. In fact, if you asked 95% of the people in the communities
around us to tell you what the Lord's Prayer was, that's what
they would say. I mean, that's just kind of universal.
Well, that's the Lord's Prayer. Well, that wasn't the Lord's
Prayer. That was the Lord's model prayer. That was the way the
Lord taught His disciples to pray, but it could not possibly
be the Lord's Prayer. because he said, Father, forgive
us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Now, the
Lord was without sin. There was no guile found in His
mouth. That's not the Lord's prayer.
That's what the Lord taught His disciples to pray. So if anybody
asks you, How does the Lord's prayer start? It doesn't start,
Our Father which art in heaven. It starts like this, the hour
has come, glorify thy son, that thy son may also glorify thee."
Now, you see, that is the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ. That
is the Lord's prayer. The Lord did not ask for forgiveness. Why not? Because He didn't need
to. He lifted up his eyes to heaven,
the Scripture says. These words speak Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven. Now, the epitome of the man who
is justified before God, that illustration is given to us in
the prayer of the publican. And the Scripture says that he
did not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon
his breast, saying what? God be merciful to me, a sinner. And so we learn something very
important about this, is that there is no access into the presence
of the Father for any who have sinned. That ought to cause a man, Paul,
that thinks in his mind that he's going to make some kind
of excuse before God for his life, or he's going to tell God
all the good things he's done, because he's not going to ever
have the opportunity to do so. Because how is he going to enter
into the presence of God? Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? He that hath clean hands, and
a pure heart, who hath not sworn deceitfully, nor lifted up his
soul unto vanity." Now, that rules out everybody
I know. Who is going to ascend into the
hill of the Lord? He that hath clean hands. You know anybody
who has got clean hands and a pure heart? There is one man that
has ever lived that did. And he has ascended into the
hell of the Lord. And he is ascending to the hell
of the Lord right here. As he looks up into the heavens
and he says, Father. Now the Scripture says that no
man hath seen God at any time. The Lord said, No man can see
me and live. And yet the Lord Jesus Christ,
that man who was born of Mary's womb and came forth into this
world as an infant and grew up in favor with men or grew up
in favor with God and man, that one and that one alone is able
to look into the face of God, to approach unto the Lord, to
lift up his eyes to heaven and say, glorify thy Son." Now how out
of place would it be for you and I to come to the Lord and
say, Lord, glorify us. That would not be a proper thing
to do, would it? No. We are among those that would
beat upon our breasts and say, O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
So a man must know where he is at in the order of things. And
this is the problem, you see, that the natural man has is he
does not understand the place that he is in the order of things. He thinks that God is just sitting
out there waiting for him and he's just somehow or other kind
of on a plane. Well, he'll just go like he's
going to the principal's office. He'll knock on the door and open
it up and come in and he'll tell his case. Well, he has no standing
there. but the Lord Jesus Christ. You
see, this is the basis upon which our hope is built. Our hope is
built on nothing less than Jesus' blood paying for our sin and
His righteousness, that is, His ability to come into the presence
of God. Now, it is a most necessary thing
that Jesus Christ came into the world to pay for our sin on Calvary's
cross. But it is equally as important
that he has stood in the presence of God as a perfect man, perfectly
righteous without sin, and he has imputed to us his righteousness. You see, when he died on the
cross, that was the imputation of our sin to him. There was
no reason for him to die on Calvary's cross. except to fulfill the
righteousness of God in saving sinners. Now, the Lord loved His people
before the foundation of the world. He could have created
a world and created them without sin or ever being sinners if
it had pleased Him to do so. But it did not please Him to
do so. It pleased Him to subject them unto vanity. that He might
demonstrate the glory of His grace in their redemption. Now,
that's foolishness to the world. They'll tell you, you're crazy.
That couldn't possibly be true. Well, that just doesn't make
any sense. No, it doesn't make any sense to the natural man.
But it is a glorious revelation when the children of God see
that all of their righteousness, all of their hope, all of their
expectation is completely wrapped up in Jesus Christ, both in what
He did on Calvary's cross and what He did as a perfect man,
fulfilling the law in every jot and tittle. Because you see,
He walked according to God's law and did not slip up one time. Neither was guile found in His
mouth. And it is that perfection that
He has laid to our account. Now we stand before God, if we
stand in Christ, in His righteousness. And so when He said, Father,
glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may also glorify Thee, He included
us. Because you see, those whom He
justified, the Scripture says, He did what? He also glorified. And so it is, dear brethren,
that we are glorified in Christ as He has been glorified. The hour has come. Glorify thy
son, that thy son also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him
power over all flesh." Now the Lord Jesus Christ has power over
all flesh. Now what does that mean? That
means that He has the power to do with every man on the face
of the earth exactly according as it does please Him. He has
power over all flesh. If you had power over all flesh,
that means you could do anything you wanted to. And there wouldn't
be a thing in the world they could do about it. He has power
over all flesh. But what does He use this power
for? Now the natural man, he gets
mad in consideration that perhaps God, if we say that it is according
to God's purpose that He saves men, that it is that by which
He is pleased to perform in the behalf of those whom he loved."
Now, this is what he said, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him. Now, this is the Lord Jesus Christ
praying. He said, Father, I want to give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. He said that is
the purpose, that is the point, that is the glory of God, that
is the glory which the Father has wrought in the Son that He
might 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 in Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. How can we know God? Now the natural man, he says,
well, God, He's up there, and some people say He's Allah. Some
people say He's Isis. Some people say He's Ra. Some people say He's all these
different things. Why, we're all just, you know,
we're all serving the same God. Not so. Not so. There's one God. And there is
one measure and standard and one way in which man who is born
of woman can know God. And that only by the grace of
God as God is pleased to reveal Him unto him. And His name is
Jesus Christ. And that is what He said. And
this is life eternal that they might know Thee, the only true
God. and Jesus Christ, whom thou sent." Now, it's impossible that a man
should know God apart from knowing Jesus Christ. It's apart from
worshipping God. A man cannot worship God if he
does not worship Jesus Christ. Now, that's plainly what the
Scripture says. He says, I have glorified thee
on the earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. But wait a minute. Wait a minute. He hadn't yet
finished it, had he? He said he did. Because you see,
the fact of the matter is that the work was finished when he
came into the world. He came into the world as a crucified
Savior. He just manifested it so that
men could see, but in the purpose and unfolding of God's glory,
He was that Lamb, as the Scripture says, which was slain from before
the foundation of the world. So He did not come in time and
then decide what He was going to do, but He came for a purpose,
and He has accomplished it, and He said the hour has come, the
time is now. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And
now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was." Now only the
Lord Jesus Christ could say such a thing as that, who being in
the form of a man, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, and humbled himself unto death,
even the death of the cross. And he says here, Now, O Father,
glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I
had with thee before the world was. Now what John said in his
same book, How He Starts, in the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in
the beginning with God. Now, this is a mystery beyond
all mysteries. Talking about the mysteries you
mentioned there a moment ago, how can a man comprehend such
a thing? that God, who is eternal, should come and dwell among men
as a man, take upon Himself human flesh in the same fashion as
men, and walk among men, and yet never cease to be God, because He could not cease to
be God. And He said, Father, glorify Thy Son with Thine own
glory, with Thine own self, Glorify thou me with thine own self,
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." So
before the world was ever created, he identifies that he is that
eternal God. He says, I have manifested thy
name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Now
who is he speaking about? Speaking specifically about the
apostles. He says, I have given, I have
manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out
of the world. Thine they were. He said, they
belong to thee, and you gave them to me. They belong to you. You know,
that is one thing that men forget about when they get to boasting
about what they are going to do and say and the rights they
have. and what God wouldn't be right
doing this out of the other, and that is that the Lord owns
men. They belong to Him. The Lord gave His people unto
Christ for the work of redemption. He said, Thine they were, and
Thou gavest them Me, and they have kept Thy Word. I want us to think about that
for a minute. The Lord Jesus Christ praying
for His people. Now the Lord Jesus Christ did
not come before the Father and say, Lord, now you know and I
know that they are all fixing, because you see, they are fixing
to do something here. He did not say, Lord, I came
and You know how they are. They're going to all depart from
Me. Peter, he's going to deny you." No, he didn't tell them like
that, did he? He said, Father, I gave Thy Word to them and they
have kept Thy Word. Because you see, the people of
God stand in the righteousness of Christ. He does not see His
people as those that fell down, as those that departed and scattered.
He said they would. He said, when the time comes,
you're going to all scatter and run like a bunch of scared dogs.
What did Peter say? Not me, but you can count on
me. I'll be there when the last man's
there. He was one of the first ones
to go, wasn't he? And he was the main one that said, I do
not know him. Who are you talking about? But
what did the Lord Jesus Christ say about him? He said, Peter
is one of those you gave me and he has kept your word. He is perfect. He is in me. He is without spot. He is without blemish. He never
denied you. He kept your word! He was strong! He was able! Because you see, he said, they
belonged to me. Now isn't it a true thing that
you can take the old sorriest man that ever lived and put him
up in a courtroom and he ain't worth killing? They won't even
waste the time to put him in jail and yet his mama We'll stand
before the judge and she'll say, he's a good boy. Won't she? Because you see, there is a relationship
there. And she loves him with her whole
heart. And the Lord Jesus Christ says
of His people, they have kept My Word. Brethren, think of having an
advocate such as this standing before the throne of God pleading
our case. I don't want another one. I want
Him. I want that one who stands in
perfect righteousness before Almighty God without spot and
without blemish. I want Him. I want to be found
among that number of those whom He says they have kept My Word. And so it is. that we come this
day to remember His death. We come to remember His death,
the One who died for us, the One who prayed for us. We come, and He's given us a
privilege to remember Him. He's given us a commandment.
He said, Remember my death till I come again. Because it is in His death, dear
brethren, that we see our sin taken away as far as east is
from the west and remembered no more. And it is in His perfect
righteousness that we stand as those who are justified, called
by the grace of God. made to believe. Can you believe
anything else? If you can, then this supper
is not for you. If you can believe something
else, if you can believe that you've got some righteousness
of your own wherewith to come before God, if you believe that
you've got one smidgen of hope outside of the righteousness
of Christ, this supper is not for you. Not meant for you. This supper
is meant for the hoes that know themselves to be in need of a
Savior, that want to remember the Lord's death because they
know that it is in His death that their sins have been canceled,
taken away. And there stands no legal reason
why they are not justified before Almighty God. You see, we stand
in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
come to make us stand in Christ. We were in Christ when He came. He came to make us stand in perfection
before the law so that the law cannot condemn us. And that is
why He died. We are justified. And so it is
that we come this night to remember the Lord's death until He comes
again.