Looking at this amazing chapter,
John chapter 17, the high priestly prayer, we get a little glimpse
into Christ our Savior and our King praying to our great God,
Jehovah the Father. The name of the message tonight
is Christ prays for his people. Christ prays for his people. Tonight, we'll continue our study
in this wonderful chapter of the book of John chapter 17,
again, which is called the High Priestly Prayer of our great
Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Open your Bibles, if you would,
to John chapter 17. And by God's providence, this
prayer appears in the scriptures. And it's for our learning, beloved.
Even though it was uttered 2,000 plus years ago, it's for our
learning. And it gives us again a glimpse
into our great King, the Lord Jesus Christ, praying to the
Father. And it manifests as we read the
words of this high priestly prayer. And as we see, as we get further
and further, it manifests the eternal love of God the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit for those who Christ came to
redeem. And known in the Scriptures as the elect. the elect of God. Some people don't like that word
but it's a Bible word isn't it? Amen. Me too. I thank the Lord
for that too brother that he chose us because we never would
have chosen him. Let's read John 17 verses 1 to
9. Our text will be found in John chapter 17 verse 9, but
I'd like to read verses 1 to 9 to get the context. Actually,
let's read verses 1 to 10. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify
thy son that thy son also may glorify thee. As thou has given
him, that being Christ power over all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this
is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God
in Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. 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. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all
things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given
unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received
them, and have known surely that I come out from thee And they
have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. And all
mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. My, what words. And that's just
the first ten verses. We still got a whole bunch more
to go in this study. But tonight we're gonna look
at verse nine, a little bit into verse 10. We'll look at verse
10 a little bit more in depth next week. But tonight, verse
nine. Now who's praying this prayer?
Well, from our studies, we know that it's the Lord Jesus Christ
who's praying this prayer. He says, I pray for them. So
he's speaking about a certain people, isn't he? I pray for
them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou has given
me, for they are thine. Now, this doesn't tell us not
to pray for our enemies, because this prayer that he's praying
here is him praying as mediator of his people. We know from the
cross, he said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do about his enemies. So it's not telling us not to
pray for people in the world, because we don't know who the
elect are, right? But this is his prayer as mediator, so he's
speaking about the people that God gave him specifically. And
if you read this chapter with that in mind, knowing that God
has a people that he chose in Christ, then the whole prayer
comes together. See, this is, Norm Wells said
this is the chapter that he heard least preached on in religion.
Because it just manifests the election of God, that he has
a chosen people. Now for us, who are the elect,
right, we rejoice in this. I'll tell you what, I can't get
enough of this. I was in awe even after studying
for today. I have been in awe the last 12
studies, or 14 studies, just in awe of what Christ has done
for us. It's absolutely incredible. He
says, I pray for them, meaning, well, let's back up. Let's back
up a little bit. And we know, he says, now they
have known that all things whatsoever thou has given me are of thee,
verse seven, for I have given unto them the words which thou
gavest me and they have received them and have known surely that
I come out from thee. And they have believed that thou
didst send me. Now we know the first five verses
he's talking about himself. The second section, which we're
in, he's talking about the apostles. But I also had brought forth
in the other studies that there's portions where he's speaking
of all the elect of all the ages, which is what this verse here
is about. He's not just speaking about the apostles. Look what
he says. I pray for them, I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. So He's praying for all the elect
of all the ages here. Now, does that not fill your
heart with joy and comfort? He prayed for us. He prayed for
each of us. In this corporate prayer, He
prayed for every one of us, everyone who the Father gave Him. And
He knows every one of us by name. And do you know where ever before
Him? wherever before him. Do you know
that the high priest, when he went into the Holy of Holies,
he had on the breastplate written with the names of the Israelite
tribes? Well, who's the Israel of God?
God's church, right? So when he enters into the presence
of God, Scripture says too that our names are engraved in the
palms of his hands. Jean-Claude said one time, that
means wherever before him. wherever before him, beloved."
Isn't that incredible? Wherever before him. And so the
Lord Jesus Christ is the one who's speaking these words. The
sent one, right? We've learned that in this study.
The sent one. The Messiah. Because the Messiah
was sent by God the Father to redeem a people that no man can
number. The one in whom the prophet spoke of, the word of God, the
eternal son of God. Emmanuel, God with us, is the
one speaking these words. He's speaking these words. He
has come to save all those whom the father has given him in eternity
past. And we clearly have seen that
fact in this wonderful prayer so far, haven't we? He gives
eternal life to all that the Father gave Him. It's Him. It's not the sinner. It's Christ
who comes to us, just like that parable He gave of the lost sheep.
He went and found that sheep. It's what Christ does for every
one of His people. God incarnate here. God incarnate
in the flesh, the one who has all power and might. is praying
in his office's mediator here for all who the Father gave him.
And if you're one of the elect, that includes you, that includes
me. Wonder of wonders. You and I
who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, this includes
us. He prayed for us. before he went
to the cross, beloved. Again, he says, I pray for them.
I pray not for the world, but for them which thou has given
me, for they are thine. They're his. And then look what
he says, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am
glorified in them. You know, I never knew any of
this before the Lord saved me. I didn't have a clue. I was groping
around in the dark thinking I was okay. And here I was, nothing
but a lost sinner in desperate need of Christ. And because I
was one of His, He rescued me. He saved me from my sins. And He did that for every one
of His people, didn't He? There was a time in your life,
remember we looked at on Sunday? There was a certain time when
you heard the gospel. Ordained by God to be right in
the place where he had planned and purposed for you and I to
hear it. Amazing grace. God's grace is truly amazing. Take note of again how our Lord
prays for his people. Here again we see the great high
priest coming into the presence of God with the names of his
people on his breast. engraved on the palms of his
hands. And when he offers himself up
as a sacrifice, For our sins is the only atoning sacrifice
for sinners by the shedding of his precious, precious blood.
It is for the Israel of God. It is for the elect of God. It's
for those whom the father gave him. Think upon these precious
truths as we read these words right here again. I pray for
them. I pray not for the world, but for them, which thou has
given me. We were the father's possession.
We still are. We've been entrusted to Christ. I was reading an old time preacher and he said,
when the father gives a bride, that bride is still his daughter. Even though he's giving her to
another, that bride will ever be his daughter. will always be the apple of his
eye. Always. He doesn't give up being
the Father, does he? Oh no. And look at that. He says, I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou has given me, for they are thine. And he's
praying. He prays here for his people.
And note they're given to him. They're given to him by the Father.
We're chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world,
but we see here that we were given to him. Precious in his eyes. Just like, Dave, you had, what,
four daughters? Five? Four daughters. You gave
them to the groom, right? You gave them to him. You walked
them up the aisle and you gave them to him. My oh my. He's given his bride
to Christ. Isn't that amazing? What a beautiful
picture. And as you love your daughters,
the Father loves the people he gave to Christ. Even more and more and more so. to a level that we can't even,
Brian, we were talking about that, we can't even fathom it.
Our finite minds cannot fathom how much God loves us. We just
can't, we hear it, and we rejoice in it, but we're just scratching
the surface, beloved. But that little bit, isn't it
wonderful? Isn't it glorious? Oh my. And then the bridegroom
offers himself up. to purchase his eternal, his
bride with his blood, to purchase eternal salvation for them so
that they can be with him forever. My, it's amazing. Spurgeon brings
forth of this verse, this just knocked my socks off, that Christ
loves us more fervently because we are the fathers. Because we're the fathers. You
see, everything the father loves, the son loves. Everything the
father and son love, the Holy Ghost loves. With the same love. But Christ loves his people more
than anything in this world, beloved. He gave his life for them. And
because we're the Father's first, because we were given to Him
by the Father, that sheds even more beauty upon us. Scripture
says we're black, which means our sin, and yet calmly in the
Old Testament. That calmly is beautiful in the
Hebrew. So at the same time we're black
with sin, we're beautiful in Christ. Isn't that amazing? Oh my goodness. It's absolutely
incredible. And because we belong to the
Father, therefore the Savior pleads for us with all the greater
earnestness at the throne of grace. He intercedes for us with
a love that we can't even fathom. Because we've been given to Him
by the Father, And if we're precious to the Father, I'll tell you
why. We're precious to the Son, and we're precious to the Holy
Spirit of God. Now, we don't see ourselves that
way, do we? And this humbles us, doesn't
it? It really humbles us. I was talking to Marcus today
through text, and we were talking a little bit about this. And
Marcus says, that humbles me, brother. And I said, amen. But
yet, let us rejoice. Let us rejoice that we are We
are God's chosen people, not of anything in ourselves, but because the Father chose
us and it pleased Him to do so. It pleased Him to do so. My, so what love, what love is
manifested in this little verse? What love is manifested to the
people of God in these words. And marvel again at the fact
that God incarnated in the flesh is praying for us over 2,000
years ago. Does he not know every one of
his sheep for whom he died for? Every one, by name, amen. By
name. Remember Zacchaeus? He didn't
know. As far as we know, Zacchaeus never met him. Hey, Zacchaeus,
come down from that tree. You're one of mine. You're one
that the Father gave me. Come on down. Salvation's come
to your house today. Hallelujah. Oh my. Isn't it wonderful? And now,
right now, he intercedes for you and I. Right now. He intercedes. Takes our prayers
and makes them acceptable to God. Oh, it's wonderful. I'll tell you, it don't get more
wonderful than this. So what comfort, then, is found in these
words for us, for we who are the people of God, the beloved
of God? The Lord's our surety, too, which means He's our guarantor. He's our surety to those who
were given to Him by the Father. And what did He do? He purchased
eternal salvation for us, didn't He? He purchased it. And we see here in verse 2 that
He has all power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given Him. Why does He have the power
to give eternal life? Because He purchased it. It's
His rightfully by the shedding of His blood. My, given of His
life. And He just gives it to us freely.
Nothing for us to do. Look and live. Look to the Savior
and live. Come. Come rest in Him. Oh, it's
glorious. It's glorious. So He purchased eternal salvation
for us by the shedding of His precious blood. And He undertook
to preserve those who were given to Him by this prayer. He's praying for us. Later on,
He prays for the Father to keep us. My, oh, my, for our preservation. And he has secured eternal salvation
for us. Guaranteed eternal salvation
for all those the father gave him by the giving of his life
and the shedding of his blood at Calvary's cross. And it can't
be lost. Because it was purchased by God,
wasn't it? God in the flesh. Now, if we had anything to do
with it, man, we'd mess it up so much, we'd be in trouble the
first, first, what, second, we'd be over. Gone, Jesse, like Donny
Bell says. But that's not so, is it? Salvation's
eternal salvation, in Christ Jesus and Him alone, with absolutely
nothing done by us. You know, He looks upon the sheep
of His pasture as belonging to the Father. Because they were given to him
by the father See again, we're still the father's possession
end with the son's possession number one by creation, right?
But also by redemption beloved by purchase by purchase for his
My The father put him put the father
put all those he gave to christ in his care Do you know we're in the care
of Christ Jesus our Lord? My, that Allstate commercial,
you're in good hands. No, those ain't good hands compared
to God. Perfect hands, hands of the perfect
man, hands of God. The Lord Jesus Christ. And the
Father says, of thine hand will I require them. He has a responsibility
then. If we're in the hands of the
Son of God, can anyone bring a charge against
us? Can anyone say, well, that guy's
a sinner? Yeah, yeah, we did it for the first time. Yeah,
I am, but I'm saved, hallelujah, by the grace and mercy of God.
And you can't change that and I can't change that. And I wouldn't
want to. Oh my. This prayer by Christ for his
people brings forth again the value in his eyes of those who
the father gave him. We're valuable in Christ's eyes. We are so valuable that he gave
his life, the shedding of his blood. We know the, the, the,
the, The life, our life is in our blood, isn't it? You lose
all your blood, what happens? You bleed out, you're dead. Christ shed his blood for you
and I, beloved. Gave his life willingly. He gave
up the ghost, remember? Sin had no claim on him. He's
a sinless, spotless lamb of God. And there he is, dying in the
room and place of his people. my oh my what a savior what a
savior and then you know what he's going to do because he's
surety of his people because he's the guarantor of his people
you know what he's going to do he's going to gather us all together
and present us as one to the father blameless faultless spotless
clothed in his perfect righteousness Because all because the father
gave us to him And we are so valuable to him Isn't that amazing
That's wonderful It's absolutely wonderful So we've clearly seen
then that the one who's praying here is god incarnate in the
flesh the what the sent one of god the messiah who was sent
to save his people and which is all that the Father gave him.
That's his people. It's not the whole world. He
didn't die for the whole world. We see here he doesn't even pray
for the whole world. But he does pray for those the Father gave
him, doesn't he? Those are the ones he died for. He says, my
sheep hear my voice. They follow me. And then he says,
I'll give my life for the sheep. Well, that's the people he's
speaking of here. He's the Messiah sent to save his people from
their sins. Now let's consider who he does not pray for. It says here, I pray for them.
I pray not for the world, but for them, which thou has given
me, for they are thine. Now again, he's speaking his
role of mediator here. He's speaking in his role as
mediator of God's people. And note, in that role, he does
not pray for the world. He does not pray for the world.
Again, as I said earlier, does that mean we shouldn't pray for
our loved ones? No, absolutely. Keep praying. Pray as much as
you can, that if it be the Lord's will, that He save them. Just
keep praying. Just keep lifting them up, because we don't know
who His people are. He knows, but we don't. But here,
we have to approach this specifically that he's praying for those who
the Father gave him. So he's in his role, again, as
mediator. There's one God between God and
man, right? The man Christ Jesus. There's
only one mediator between God and man. And why does he not then pray
for the world? Why does he only pray for his
people here. Well, again, he's praying his
meat-eater, but the world hates his people. The world hated him, didn't it?
And he said, marvel not if the world hate you. Yeah, it hated him before us. Right? Marvel not. And they the world spoken of
here the unsaved world And he's speaking of those who
will not come to christ who's going to perish in their sins They hate him and they hate the
church to live in god and again They hate him so much that the
lord prays to the father to keep them to keep them. What a striking contrast we have
here that our Lord makes between his
church and the ungodly. Now remember, we can't lift our
heads up in pride because we were the ungodly before the Lord
saved us and we're still sinners saved by the grace of God. We're
taken out of that number. But oh my, we see here that the
Lord draws a line, doesn't he? He draws a line here. He's bringing
forth God's distinguishing grace right here before us. Why am I the only one in my family
saved and all the others are lost? Because it's God who made
me to differ. Dave, it's the same for you.
Or, well, no, you have a few folks in your family who the
Lord saved. But why not all the family members? Because, yeah. Yeah. Why not our children? It's
all, now we keep praying for them until they breathe their
last breath. But we don't know who God's chosen
and who he hasn't. But we see here, the Lord's making
a distinction here. He specifically prays here for
those who were given to Him by the Father in eternity. For those He would soon go to
Calvary's cross and redeem. For those He would die as their
substitute in their place before God's law and justice, shedding
his precious blood to redeem them. Then he says of the world
here, first he says, I pray for them, speaking of those who the
father gave him. Then he says here, I pray not
for the world. Well, the world hath hated his
people. Why? Because they're not of the
world. We're in the world, aren't we?
But we're not of this world. Beloved, we're on a pilgrimage. And as we said, Brian, every
day, brother, we wake up every day, we're a day closer to that
pilgrimage and being finished. My. Last week, Brother Newell's
pilgrimage was finished. Now he's home in glory. And we
rejoiced for him. I saw some pictures of him, and
I had some very emotional time. I saw some pictures of him, and
it just flooded back into my heart and soul how much I loved
the man. But I would never, ever, ever
want him to come back to this sin-cursed world. He's in glory,
beloved. He's beholden the king face to
face like we will one day by the grace of God. Oh, amen. So he says here, I don't pray
for the world. He's not of the world. He's from
heaven, isn't he? His people are in the world,
but we're not of the world. So if the world hated our king,
we should not marvel that the world hates us. I had one fellow tell me, this
whole town would be better without this church, because of what
I preach, the free grace of God. He said, it'd be better if that
building burned down. I said, well, we just built another
one, you know. But that veminence, and this
man's a religious man. Isn't that tragic? It'd be better if the sovereign
grace of God wasn't preached anymore at that place? Whoa. God forbid. Amen, brother. It's
the gospel. It's the one true gospel, isn't
it? Oh, my. But I didn't marvel when he said
it. I was just like, well, I've expected that for years because
I've heard that for years. But I did tell him, I said, you
better be careful. You better be careful speaking
against God's people. You better be careful. I'll tell
you what, I've seen too many times, I've seen people who speak
out against God's people, against his church, doesn't work out
well for them at all. Not at all. And also note the personal union
here between Christ and his people. Let's read verses nine and 10
together. Look at this personal union. And note how the Lord
delights in us. This is incredible. As I was
studying this, one commentator brought forth, look at how the
Lord delights in his people by the words that he uses. And note
the possessive pronouns that he uses here. It's incredible. Let's look at this. Pray for
them. I pray not for the world but
for them which thou has given me for they are thine Right and
all mine are thine look at the possession there, right And thine are mine again more
possession And I am glorified in them. Oh My I'll tell you
what Isn't that wonderful We're the Lord's beloved. We're his. No wonder he said, no wonder,
after reading that, no wonder he said, no man can pluck you
from my hand, from my father's hand or my hand. No wonder he
said that. We're his. We're in his hand. Bought and
paid for, secure. Oh, it just gets better and better,
doesn't it? And the Lord, we see the Lord,
he's delighting in this union, isn't he? Look at the words spoken
here. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I'm glorified
in them. He's delighting in his people
here, beloved. He's delighting in the fact that
they are his. In Mark, that he dwells on this
precious truth. He even tells us in verse 10,
or verse 9, that we're given Right? For they are thine. He says, thou has given them,
given me for they are thine. And then look at, again, look
at all these, look at all these possessive pronouns. And all
are mine and all mine are thine and thine are mine. And I'm glorified
in them. My, it's wonderful. This, I'll
tell you what, the more I learned about our King, And how much
he loves us, the more I'm amazed. The more I'm amazed. And he dwells here. We see him
dwelling on this personal union, right? Between him and the father,
and between the father and those the father gave him, and between
himself. in those the father gave him.
So we see both the marveling that were the father's possession
and marveling that were the son's possession. He delights in that
fact. He delights in that, beloved.
Now bring it home. He delights in me. He delights
in you. My, you're telling me God delights in me? If you're one of those spoken
of right here, yes, it's true. It's absolutely true, because
this is the words of God in the flesh. These are not my words. These
are the words of God in the flesh, beloved. And there's possessive
pronouns going on there. It's wonderful to show that God
looks upon his people as his portion, as his portion, his
possession, his property. Now, you say that, somebody say,
well, you're saying you're God's property? Uh-huh. Well, that's
not a very good way to say things. Like nowadays, people say, oh,
you're, that's his property, or they say, well, it sounds
like you're a slave. I'm no slave. No, I'm a child
of God, by God's grace. I'm a willing bond servant. I've
had my ear bore. Right to the door, yeah. Woo,
it's true, isn't it? In our hearts, we have. And I
like what one, I think it was, I think it was Robert Hawker,
he bought this for us. Note that in verse 10, that our
Lord seems to have the seal in his hand, like, remember the
old stamps? The old stamps. And he stamps it all over his
peculiar possession. They are thine. And all mine
are thine, and thine are mine. He's just stamping it, hey! Oh, it's wonderful, isn't it?
Isn't it wonderful? It's just amazing. They shall
be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my
jewels. Jewels in the eyes of the Lord. Now every man and woman has something
they value above all the rest of the things in this world. And here the Lord, by reiterating
these words, signifies his possession and proves that he values us
over anything else in this world. Over anything else. So much so that he gave his life
for us. So much so that he shed his blood for us. So he's, not only has he spoken
his love for us and our value to him, he proved it. At Calvary's
cross, didn't he? He proved it. And all we can
say is glory be to God. And when you read this chapter
on your own, take note how he dwells upon the fact that those
whom the Father gave him are his. And his Father has an interest
in them, the Holy Spirit has an interest in them, and God
the Son has an interest in them. Salvations of the Lord, right?
That's wonderful. And what an honor and a privilege
to be called a child of God. What an honor and a privilege.
We're nothing but unworthy sinners. That's what we are. We're nothing
but unworthy sinners in our natural state, but not in Christ's eye. When we were dead in trespasses
and sins, his eye was upon us. Objects of his eternal love. And when the day came, the time of love, remember that
baby? Ezekiel, the time of love, he passed by us. But he didn't
leave us there, did he? It was our time of love, beloved. A time when we'd hear the shepherd's
voice. Oh my, now we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God.
Now we're his safe sheep. We were once his lost sheep.
Now we're his safe sheep. And He sought us out and saved
us, and one day we'll be with Him forever. Forever. Forever. There will be no end
to that time. No end at all. It's going to
be amazing. And what do we say? Well, to
God be the glory. Great things He had done, right? Oh, it's
wonderful. And He prays in verse 9 here. If he didn't pray for us to stand,
we'd be gone. We'd be gone. But rejoice, child
of God, we who are robed in the perfect, spotless righteousness
of Christ have a union with him, all because the Father gave us
to him. And note how the Lord has marked
a difference between his people and the world. Let's read that
verse again. I pray for them, I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou has given me, for they are
thine. Again, he delights in his people. He makes a difference here between
his people and the people of the world. And who's the only
one who made us to differ? God the Father. God the Father. Should we then, as the people
of God, not rejoice? Oh, we should rejoice, shouldn't
we? Oh, we got lots to rejoice for and about. Let us rejoice
this week in this wonderful fact of God's distinguishing grace. We have no merit in ourselves.
No merit in ourselves for this favor. We have no merit in ourselves
for this mercy. We have no merit in ourselves
to be justified before God. We have no merit in ourselves
to have the Lord redeem us and shed his blood to purchase our
eternal souls. It's all by God's grace and by
God's mercy, because it pleased him to do so. And he is the only
one, God's distinguishing grace, Is the only one only one god's
the only one who's made us to differ He is the only one From all the world from the world
that's spoken of in this verse Let's read it again. I pray for
them. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou has given
me for they are thine How these verses should cause
us to bow in adoration to our great God and King. What a privilege to be a child
of God. What a privilege to be a subject
of this wonderful prayer in the fact that we're spoken of as
I pray for them, which thou has given me for they are thine. There's two subject people spoken
of in this text, right? Those who the father gave him
in the world. Millions are passed by and unprayed
for. But what tender care and love
is manifested in these words for those who belong to the little
flock. It is they who are held up by
him before the throne of grace right here. One of the disciples asked, Lord,
how is it that thou will manifest thyself unto us and not unto
the world? Well, we may ask, how is it that
thou would pray for us and not for the world? Unworthy sinners that we are. There's many more accomplished
people than us. There's many more people that
have a more pleasing demeanor than us. There is many who put us to shame
daily in many ways, and they are left
out, and we are taken, taken in. Our finite minds, even our regenerated
minds, can discover no answer, right? All that we can say is
it was the sovereign grace of the sovereign God who singled
us out to be objects of his distinguishing love and grace. Singled us out, beloved, because it pleased him to do
so. Therefore, let our lips be filled with praise and honor
and glory to our great God and King for showing us such mercy,
such mercy, such grace. And it all comes to us in and
through the Lord Jesus Christ, the very one who's praying this
prayer. And let us lastly consider The
last question, which has already been answered in this message,
who is Christ praying for? Well, he's praying for all those
people who God the Father gave him in eternity. That's who he's praying for.
The ones who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the
world. Those who are called in the scripture, the elect of God,
which just means chosen in the Greek. And think of this, too. When
that sacrifice was offered in Israel, when that high priest
went in with the breastplates with the names of the tribes
on, did he go in for the Egyptians and the holy of holies? Did he
go in for the Assyrians, the Syrians, the Greeks? Did he go in for them? No, he
only went in for Israel. That's a picture of Christ only
interceding for his people, which we see right here. And note, there's only two groups
of people in this world. Those who are of the world and
those who are in Christ. Let's read this verse one more
time with that in mind. I pray for them, that being those
who the Father gave him. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou has given me, for they are thine. So then
we ask ourselves this question. Am I of the world? Or by grace,
am I in Christ? Here are some questions for all
who will hear this message. At death, it won't matter if
you were rich or poor. At death, it won't matter if
you owned a place to live or lived on the street. At death, it will not matter
if you were educated or uneducated. None of these differences in
society will matter. You know why? Because death is
the great leveler. All must die. It's the great
leveler. And there's only one distinction
that will matter. On our deathbed, that is whether
we belong to the world or whether we belong to Christ. That will be the only thing that
matters on our deathbed. All other things of this world
will be utterly insignificant. They will not matter. They will
not matter. I pray that if you do not know
Christ, that he would manifest himself to you and give you grace
and faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.