For a scripture reading, turn
with me to John 17. John chapter 17, verses 20 through
24. Let's back up one verse. Let
me read verse 19. And for their sakes I sanctify
myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word,
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, I in them, and thou in me, that they
may be made perfect in one that the world may know that thou
hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. 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, where thou lovest me
before the foundation of the work. May the Lord add his blessing
to the reading of his word. If you will turn back with me
now to John 17. If I have a targeted verse in
these verses, it would be verse 24. And it's from that that I've
taken my title with me where I am. We've been reading and looking
into these wonderful words of our great intercessor as he pours
out his heart to his father concerning the salvation of our souls and
the glory of God as it's manifested in his accomplishment of it.
This is what this prayer is all about. This is what intercession
is all about. He's not up there pleading our
cause. He's up there pleading the very
glory of God. And this morning I want us to
look at verses 20 through 24 on this subject with me where
I am. He says, Father, I will. You reckon he's going to get
his way? I will. Boy, I tell you, when God says,
I will, you can write it down. That's how it's going to be.
He said, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, those
who are going to believe on me through the words of these apostles. I will that they also whom thou
hast given me be with me where I am. Here's why. That they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation
of the world. The preeminent word throughout
this prayer is the word give. Give. He uses that more than
any other word. Give. It's used in almost every
form of the word. Given, gavest, give. Salvation is the gift of God. That's what the scripture says. It's the gift of God. God gives
it to you. He gives it to you. And it's His gift to chosen sinners. What do I mean by that? I mean
those chosen and set apart by God Himself according to God's
purpose, God's way, given us, chose us, predestinated
us under the adoption of children, set apart by God Himself, chosen
in His Son and blessed in that election and predestination beyond
anything. that we could possibly imagine. We want to look at these little
tidbits and call them blessings, and surely they are. Surely they
are blessings. I don't want to take away from
that. But these blessings that he's talking about back here
in the eternity past, these are real blessings. These are the
blessings that bring about those little blessings in time. These
big blessings. He blessed us with all spirit. The Apostle Paul quotes from
Isaiah 64, 4 in his letter to the Corinthian church. And he
said, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him. It's beyond your imagination.
I'm telling you, you can't It's never entered in. We know in
little bits and pieces from the Word of God. But he said, God
hath revealed them unto us by Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God. You and I are here this
morning receiving a great privilege of God. I don't know if we realize
that, but we need reminded of it every week, don't we? This
is a great privilege of God. He has, by an act of great mercy
and kindness, assembled us together here. How did he do that? Through his providence. He arranges
all that. Arrangement was made in all of
its little, you can't even, it's like a maze. I mean, you start
looking back on it or try to look forward to it, it's like
a maze. You go down here, no, you go
here, you can't see it. But in every detail, he arranged
all things that would be assembled here this morning. In this place,
in this building, at this time. You believe that? He's assembled us here in this
place to hear what no other ear can hear without it. They're
not going to hear down here. They're going to meet. They're
going to assemble. A man's going to stand and preach,
and they're going to sing hymns just like we did. Probably better. They'll have an orchestra. They'll have real entertainers. But they won't hear. They won't
hear. All they're going to hear is
a man stand up and who knows what he's going to talk about. Here's what the Lord said. How
shall you hear without a preacher? The Lord said that. He said that. The Holy Ghost
inspired this man Paul to pen those words. How shall you hear
without a preacher? But he didn't stop there. He
said, how shall he preach if I don't send him? He can go. And he can beat the air. Paul
said, I'm not as one of them that just beats the air. You
know what that is? He gets all excited and waving
his hands around, blabbering his lips and talking about nothing.
When he gets done, he said nothing. I just kept, I went into a church
one time and I sit there and I listened to this man. It was
a funeral. I listened to this man and I kept waiting on him
to say something. He never said anything. He just,
he just talked. Talked about what he thought
and what he felt. This is a great privilege of
God, and He has by an act of mercy and kindness assembled
us here in this place to hear what no ear can hear apart from
Him. How shall you hear without a preacher, and how shall he
preach except it be sin? And there is a divine glory attached
to the assembling together in the preaching of the gospel.
There's a divine glory. He said we speak the wisdom of
God in a mystery. Listen to this, even the hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. There's a glory attached to this
thing. What kind of glory? Well, Paul said, God hath from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of spirit
and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. How do you obtain that glory?
How do you become partakers of it? Through hearing. Faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. We speak the wisdom of God in
a mystery, which none of the princes of this world knew, for
had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
Glory. But there's a difficulty here
that escapes the average hearer. And it might be the greatest
deterrent to the salvation of men and women, and that is the
mind of a sinner. He talks about a lot in the Scriptures.
Could be we've read it and just read over it. Maybe we ought
to pay some attention to it. I think it's there for a reason.
Listen to this. The carnal mind. What mind is
that? That's the one you're born with.
That's the one that the teachers, what's the word I'm hunting for,
appeal to. Natural intellect. The carnal mind is hostile. It's enmity against God. That mind you're born with. The
carnal mind refuses to reason on God's terms. It won't do it.
Now, you can stack scripture up around sinners like cordwood,
and they'll just keep yelling, yeah, but, yeah, but, yeah, but,
and they'll never get past that. They'll just go on and on and
on. The carnal mind refuses to reason
on God's terms. It refuses to bow to God's way. It'll take any other way. I look at some of the things
that they have men do today, walking down the aisle, signing
pledge cards. That's to be sure they got enough
money to build those big cathedrals. That's why you have to sign that little card. Kneel down
and pray at a bench. Shake somebody's hand. Join a
church. Some require that you speak in
tongues, and then they teach you how to do it. We'll do anything. Any other way except the way
of God. We'll take anything. Moses went
up on the mountain to receive the law of God. And while he's
gone, they all got together, had a council meeting, and said,
look, we don't know where he went. He's up there somewhere
pretending to talk to God. We don't know anything about
him. Just leave him alone. Here's
what we're going to do. You're going to make for us a golden
calf. And then we're going to sit over here on the pedestal,
and then we're all going to take our clothes off and get naked,
and we're going to dance around the calf. Do what? That's just how ridiculous it
is. And that's how ridiculous worship
is apart from the Spirit of God. absolute impossibility, this
carnal mind, its enmity against God. It refuses to reason on
God's terms. It refuses to bow to God's ways.
It refuses to submit to God's means. God saves men by means. He doesn't just save them any
way that you can conjure up in your head. He saves men a certain
way. And He tells us what the way
is. Does He not? The carnal mind refuses to submit
to God's means. It refuses to follow God's directions. God says, do this. He says, wait
a minute. No, there ain't no wait a minute. Do this. That's what He said. Do this. No, I'm going to do
something else. The carnal mind. You see what
I'm saying? There's a great difficulty here
and we don't even think about it. We don't even talk about
it. It's the carnal mind. There's a way, he said, that
seemeth right unto a man. It's got no foundation in the
Word of God. It has no bearing on the person
and work of Christ. It's got no eternal history or
divine purpose. It has no power but that of a
sinner. But it seemeth right unto a man. Paul writes to the saints at
Ephesus, and he tells them, in the spirit of your mind. Because what's in there is junk. It's junk. Everything Paul had
in his mind, he called it rubbish and he took it out and put it
on the dome heap. Oh, may the Lord be pleased this
morning to deliver us from thinking and reasoning in our flesh. to make us meet to be partakers
of the inheritance with enlightened saints. Now back in verse 19
of our text here, John 17, the Lord says, and for their sakes
I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through
the truth. This sanctification of himself
that he's talking about is an offering of himself, a substitutionary
sacrifice for chosen sinners. the just for the unjust that
He might bring us to God. And by way of this vicarious
death, He conveys that spiritual knowledge necessary for eternal
life. How am I going to know what God
requires? All I have to do is look at the
cross. There it is. There it is. How do I know God
loves sinners? Look at the cross. How do I know
God will punish sin? Look at the cross. How do I know
God's just? Look at the cross. Everything
worth knowing, we learn from that. And Christ said, I sanctify
myself that they might be sanctified through the truth. All truth
is coming from that cross. That's why Paul said, I've determined
to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
If you ever come to know that, you won't have need to know anything
else. That would be sufficient. All truth bubbles up from that. He sanctifies himself that we
might be sanctified through the truth. The mind of Christ, that's
what he calls it all through Scripture, the mind of Christ.
We have the mind of Christ. And the mind of Christ serves
the law of God, seeing that law fulfilled in Christ. I tell you,
the law can do nothing to you in your natural state but condemn
you. It's your worst enemy. You that seek to be under the
law, Paul said, do you hear the law? Do you hear what it's saying? No flesh is going to be justified
by the law. But where do people run? To the
law. going over to Mississippi one
time to preach to that little group over there and I can't
remember the name of the town. It's one of the first ones outside
of El Dorado, whatever that is. There's a church there on the
left and it has a sign that looks like a scroll. Maybe you've seen
them before. But a big white sign out there
and it's shaped exactly like a scroll and has the Ten Commandments
on it. And down at the bottom it says
the Ten Commandments are enough for us. Oh, they do much for
me. Do you hear them all? The only way you can serve
the law of God is with the mind of Christ. You see that law exalted. You see that law honored. You
see that law completely fulfilled in Him. He's the priest. He's the King. He's the sacrifice. He's the blood. He's the temple. He's all things. That law fulfilled
in Him. When you're looking at Him, you're
looking at the law honored and exalted. And with the mind of
Christ, I can serve the law of God. It's the only way you can
do it. The only way you can do it. It serves the law of God,
seeing that law fulfilled in Christ and the justice and righteousness
of God satisfied in His life and death. on the cross. Now
with these things in mind, I want us to look at verse 24 and consider
three things. I want us to see a present and
active application to this verse. I want us to see a godly exchange. And finally, an endearing prospect. So let's look first of all at
a present and active application. Most of what we pray for is in
the here and now. Present troubles, present needs,
present feelings. But as our Lord uttered these
words, it was from that time until time shall be no more.
Heaven and earth are going to pass away, he said, but my words
aren't going to pass away. They'll have as much meaning
then as they do now. And here's what he said back
in verse 20, neither pray I for these alone, but for those also
which I believe on me through their work. This is the way God
calls sinners out of darkness. Paul said, He called me by His
grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among
the heathen. He was an apostle, and as an apostle he was called
and taught by Christ Himself. And so it was with all the apostles.
And Christ prays to His Father concerning these men given to
Him, and tells us that I have manifested Thy name unto the
men which Thou gavest Me out of the world. I have given unto
them the words which Thou gavest Me, and they have received them.
And now I pray for those also which shall believe on Me through
their words. The words are recorded in this
book, the words are divinely inspired, and the words are the
very foundation on which our faith is built. Built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets. And so it is that all
who preach the gospel preach their word. The word here is singular. Not words. Word. It's singular here because it
sums up the gist of the writings to him give all the prophets
witness. Witness to what? That through
his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission
of sins, Acts 10.43. Through this man, Paul said,
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that
believe are justified. from all things from which you
could not be justified by the law of Moses. Faith cometh by
hearing, hearing by the word of God. This is God's way, this
is how it's going to be until Christ returns. Sanctification of the Spirit,
revealing, teaching, enabling, enlightening, and belief in the
truth. And he tells us how shall you
hear without a preacher. And our Lord prays for this to
be effectual, and so it shall be unto the end. I pray for them
also which shall believe on me through their word. This is an
active and present activity, isn't it? This is what's going
on. This is what's going on. What our Lord asks of the Father,
He receives, and here He asks that their gospel may be effectual
to the saving of every sinner given to the Lord Jesus Christ. And to what end, 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
is, men and women in the world may believe. God has a people He chose in
His Son, blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Him. It's a catchy saying adopted
by this generation to say at restaurants and grocery stores
and now even lumber companies, have a blessed day. I hate that. I just hate that. Every day for
those chosen in Christ is a blessed day. That's what he said. He blessed
us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly blessings in Christ
according as he's chosen us in him before the foundation of
the world. We're blessed. Every day is blessed. The worst of circumstances leading
up to their birth is a blessed genealogy. Read the genealogy of Christ.
You might be shocked. Find out who's in that genealogy. Whores, tax collectors, my soul,
really? Even our troubles are blessed.
Are they not? We glory in you, Paul said, for
your patience and faith and all your persecutions and tribulations
that you endure, we glory in you. We know it's for your good
and his glory. There's an end to these things.
And it's a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God
that you may be accounted worthy of the kingdom for which you
also suffer. Even our troubles are blessed. And he says when we're weak,
that's when we're strong. Even our weaknesses are blessed.
Oh, weary pilgrim of God, he that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all that? We have a blessed birth, a blessed
life, a blessed death, and God's people are a people blessed in
Christ with whom full provision has been made. They're going
to be saved. Oh, what if? What if? What if? Take all them what ifs and put
them on a silver cord and hang them on the neck of Christ. What
if? There is no what if. You think
God forgot something? No. Oh, blessed birth, blessed life,
blessed death. God's people are blessed in Christ
and their adoption is predestinated according to the good pleasure
of His will. And that was in Christ too. It says, in Him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and we're complete in
Him. What a blessing. The chosen of Him are a family. And the family, they're the family
of God. They're God's children, His children,
His heirs. And they're one. They're one
with the Father. We have one Father in common.
We're one with the Son, one with the Spirit, one in a blessed
union of God, one in understanding, one faith, one in eternal destiny. And this oneness and collective
ministry of Christ is a means whereby this world is enabled
of God. There's no other way you can
be saved of God than to be one with Him. And not every individual in the
world, he's already said he's not praying for the world as
to its entire population, but for those given him out of the
world, given him by the Father. And the world here is set in
contrast to the chosen of God. It's in contrast. When God appeared
to Abraham, what did he tell him to do? You remember? He said, get out of your country. Huh? What's wrong with my country? Why can't I do here what you
want me to do there? Get out of your country. Listen to this. Here's the second
thing he told them. Get away from your kindred. Why would God tell them that?
Because they're his greatest enemies. They should be they
of your own household. And oh, listen to this. Get out
of your father's house. Your father is an idolater. You ever had to come to grips
with that? I did. My dad was a Nazarene preacher.
He was an idolater. I had to come to grips with that.
You're not going to be welcome in your father's house. Boy,
I come home smiling, happy. Oh, my soul, my sins were taken
away. They're all taken away. And I
come home and told him the good news, and I might as well stuck
a hot poker in his stomach. Oh, his face turned red. He was
angry and mad. Thought I'd been down to see
a cult somewhere. Get out of your father's house.
And from that day, Abraham began a sojourn in this world, looking
for and rejoicing in the world to come. God has won people. They are blessed people and they
will exist together from all eternity. They will be together
forever. Verse 23, I in them and thou
in me that they may be made perfect in one. All made perfect the
same way in Christ. All called by the same Spirit.
All hear the same gospel. Oh, may the Lord open our eyes
and ears to this blessed reality. It's current, and it's active.
Right now. Alright, here's the second thing
he tells us. He shows us here a godly exchange. Verse 22. The
glory which thou gavest me, I have given them. Oh, what an exchange. that they may be one, even as
we, Father, are one. What's this glory which is given
him, and in return he gave to us? Well, it's not the glory
of his deity. That glory belongs to God alone. And it's not the glory of his
appointment as the one mediator between God and men, for it says
expressly that there is but one mediator. the man Christ Jesus. And the
glory here spoken of is his glorious gospel. It's the revelation of
his person and work. The way God saved sinners, I've
given unto them the words which thou gavest me. Words of salvation,
words of life. And they have received them,
and they've known surely that I come out from them. And they
have believed that thou didst send Let me show you this over
in 2 Thessalonians 2. I quoted this a while back, down in verse 13. Right in the middle of the verse, he said,
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you
by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ conveys the light of the glory of God. It's the light of the glory of
God. What's missing out here in the
ministry? The glory of God. Ain't no glory. It's all self-glory. God's glory
is not in it. Well, what's he talking about?
The glory of His name, the glory of His mercy and grace, His love,
His kindness, His justice, His righteousness, the glory of God.
And we obtain this glory in the hearing of the gospel, and by
faith we become partakers of the inheritance with other enlightened
saints. That's our inheritance. What was given to Christ was
given to Him to give to us. And what's given to us is given
to us to give to as many as the Lord our God shall call. And then lastly, he prays, verse
24, 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 before the foundation of the world. Now he prays here that by all
the means set in place and ordained of God, that all his elect be
with him where he is. Where is he? Huh? He's going to have his way. He didn't say, I hope, he said,
I will. I will. And they shall, because
he will. Let me give you three things
to think about. With him where he is. First of
all, he is at the Father's right hand, sitting upon the throne
of Zion. Having accomplished our redemption,
provided for us a perfect righteousness, having reconciled us to God,
He ascended back into glory where He ever liveth to make intercession
for us. We're with Him where He is in
holy union. Right now. Right now. He said, I will that they be
with me where I am. And it says in the Holy Scriptures
that when He raised up Christ, He raised us up together with
Him. Why? That we should be with Him
where He is and behold His glory. Full provision was made in Him
and full provision given. And even when we were dead in
sins, He quickened us together with Christ and has raised us
up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.
To be with Him where He is is to be in a saving union with
the Son and to be with Him, or in Him, if you will, as our representative
and substitute. To be with Him or in Him by an
act of God's quickening powers, to be with Him from the beginning,
all the way back to the covenant of grace, in His incarnation,
in His divine obedience, in His suffering and death, and in Him
in His exaltation. Of God, Paul said, are you in
Christ Jesus? How did you get in Christ? Well,
I got in Christ when I walked down the aisle. No, you didn't.
Of God are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Why? According as it is written, he
that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. Secondly, to be with
him where he is speaks of the last day. When this world is
dissolved and as the elements begin to melt with a fervent
heat and eternal judgment begins to fall, he prays that his people
be raised from the dead and ascend up to meet him in the air. You
reckon they will? He said, I will. And they shall. that all those still living shall
do the same, and that every believing soul be with him where he is,
and be with him forever and ever. Oh, to see him as he is. Wouldn't
that be something? See him as he is. Not in his
humility, we've already seen that, but to see him in all the
glory of his Father's house. It said we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is. And then thirdly, where is he?
I will, Father, that those whom thou hast given me be with me
where I am. Where is he? He's on the throne
in glory. There's a divine union. We're
with him in that respect. But where is he? Matthew 18,
20. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I. in the midst of them. What's God's will in this matter
of assembly? Huh? He already told you to be
with Him where He is. Why are we gathered here today?
I want to be with Him where He It's the will of our sovereign
Savior that we be with Him where He is. He said, Father, I will
that that comes. To what end? Why should I come where a bunch
of saints are gathered together? Why is that so important? To
see His glory. Where is He going to unveil His
glory? Out in the wilderness? No. No, in the tabernacle. In Israel. Nobody else is going
to see it. That they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation
of the world. What is this blessed treasure
carried in these earthen vessels to which men and women discover
the excellency and the power to be of God and not of man?
It is the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It is His unveiling of the mysteries
hidden from generations. How many times have you heard a preacher
stand up and say something at a conference or somewhere and
you say, that's what that means. It was a mystery to you. You
read it and you had some thoughts about it, but you knew that wasn't
it. And all of a sudden, boom, out it comes. That's it. Peter read Joel. He read the
prophecies of Joel. He was raised a Jew. He heard
the reading of scriptures. But he didn't know what Joel
was talking about until the day of Pentecost. And God gave him
the words. And he said, this is what old
Joel was talking about. These men are not drunk like
you suppose. This is the spirit of the living
God being poured out on his church. This is what Joel was talking
about. How many times? Have you heard a preacher say,
here's what Isaiah was talking about? Boom, it just comes to
light, don't it? Huh? He unveils His mysteries,
deep secrets, hidden from this world. Had the princes of this
world known it, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of Glory. But He reveals them unto us by
His Spirit. Paul said, we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves, your servants, for
his sake. You having trouble trying to
find the will of God in this matter? Father, I will. That's
pretty plain, ain't it? That's pretty plain. Oh, I'll
hang on to my excuses. You go ahead. You go ahead. But if you're looking for the
will of God, here it is. Where two or more gathered in
my name, there am I in the midst. That's where you need to be.
Where is he? He's in the assembly of his saints.
He's in the midst of the seven candlesticks. Where does he walk?
In the midst of the candlesticks. What's that? That's his churches.
That's what he says. What about his preachers? Oh,
he holds the stars in his hands. Holds them in his hands. What's
a star? It's put there for direction. There was a day when nobody could
find anything apart from stars. That's how they navigated, isn't
it? Stars. They're there for direction.
They're there for light. They're there for light. And they're there till the end
of time. He's in the assembly of his saints.
He's in the midst of the seven candlesticks. He holds the stars in his hands.
Let me say this and I'll quit. I'm not trying to sell you on
anything. I'm not. What I'm trying to do is declare
the message of this book. What you and I do with it is
between us and God. I'll take my stand with Paul
the Apostle who said this about what he preached. By manifestation
of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God. You take what I said, and you
look at the Word of God, and I'll let that stand on your own
conscience between you and God. You make up your own mind. But is not this prayer a call
to every member of this church? Be here. as often as you can."
Huh? Isn't that what he said? And he said, I will. I will. You want to know the will of
God? There it is. Be here. Oh, may the Lord burn these words
in our hearts. And even more than that, make
us obedient to Him. Only He can. Only He can. He can give you an appetite.
I tell you, when I'm really hungry, I'm not going to be late for
supper. When I get hungry, I'm pacing
the floor. I open the door. What time is
supper going to be ready? I'll get it. Well, I know, but
what time? When? I'm hungry. I'm hungry. Oh, that God will
give us an appetite for His gospel.