If you will, turn back in your
Bibles to John chapter 17, and as we prepare to enter into our
text for this hour, we are at our last message in the gospel
of John chapter 17. Not that it should be stopped
here. We should really be investigating this anthem of rich, redemptive,
mediatorial, intercessory work on the part of our magnificent
Savior Jesus for months. We really should be addressing
every line in John 17, specifically and particularly, exegetically
and expository with the greatest of interest and care and concern
about our inheritance in God and in Christ, since he has pulled
the veil back to allow us to ear hustle in on his great love
towards us and the great love of the father towards us in Christ.
We should want to know everything about John 17. Because John 17
is a composite of everything that Christ has taught his disciples
from John 1 to John's gospel chapter 21. Everything in John
17 has already been stated to the apostles. They are now hearing
it in a concentrated form fixed particularly in the goal of our
master Jesus Christ to return back to the father so that all
of the blessings that the father has for his people might be poured
out to them through Jesus. And that's why we are there at
the veil. So that we might know, that we
might know, that we might know that we have eternal life and
that eternal life is secure in Christ. Again, I am stating,
there is nothing in John 17 that these men have not already heard.
They will now get it in a very pocketed form by their master
as he appeals to his father on their behalf. And when they walk
away from this experience, which will happen some five days later.
Remember, we are about to go to the brook Kidron, chapter
18. Cross over that brook into the garden of Gethsemane, where
our master will pray one more time in the most vigorous and
intense prayer any human being could pray, since he is our surety
and our substitute, and will be bearing the weight of our
sin. just in a few moments in such
an agonizing way that he will sweat profusely drops of blood
as he appeals to his father. Is there any other way? And heaven
will say, you're the way you're the truth. You're the life son. No one's coming to me, but by
you. And then our Lord will move on
in his regal glory as our savior to the cross, upon which hanging
on that cross in agony, he will utter seven sayings that you
and I have already contemplated during the time of the resurrection.
And one of those seven sayings will be specific to where we
are in our text. And it is, it is finished. It is finished. and he will lay
his head down on his shoulder and he will give up the ghost
and he will return to his father and everything that John 17 is
speaking to us about will come to pass. Now what in essence
is Christ doing in John 17? He's doing three things in general
in John 17 for us. He is seeing to it that there
is a security in the life of the believer. that the believer
is secure, that no matter what you go through in this life,
it's all going to work out. That's what he's doing. He's
securing the believer. Father, keep them in thine own
name. The second thing that he's doing
in John 17 is making sure our success in the calls of the gospel,
our success. Father, I'm praying for them.
that they might successfully manifest my glory to the world
that those who hear and see them might believe that I came from
you and that I am one with you and that you are one with me
the success of the gospel even as it is in this place today
and then finally what he is praying for is the total consummate salvation
of all his people to be with him where he is that they might
enter into the fullness of his earned glory That's what we learned
this morning. Didn't we? He longs for us to
be With him, that's your mediator. That's the one who's praying
for you now the end game for Christ For you and for me is
that we would be with him. I love the way the Lord Jesus
Christ is speaking here in John 17 I have considered him under
two concepts. One is the first Adam. We know
Jesus is the last Adam, is he not? The first Adam, I call the
scattering Adam. The scattering Adam. That means
Adam messed this thing up and he scattered us to the four winds. And whenever you read through
your Bible, you see Adam one scattering. Whenever you read
through your Bible, the last Adam is gathering. He's gathering. The last Adam is the gatherer.
The first Adam is the scatterer. Can y'all work with that? The
scattering Adam and the gathering Adam. And the gathering Adam
is gathering in John 17 in his appeal to his father, all of
his people from every part of the world. And every day that
goes by, Christ is gathering unto himself by his spirit, according
to his father's prerogative, everyone that's in him. Do you
believe that? He's gathering. He's on his throne, exercising
his mediatorial rights, and he's gathering. And those of us he
has already gathered, guess what he's doing? He's keeping us.
Because if he let us go, we'd scatter again. Am I making some
sense? If he let us go, we'd scatter
again. He ever lives to make intercession for us. So my first
point falls out like this. The goal of his request, the
goal of his request, that's our first point with our subpoints
under it. The goal of his request is fundamentally
to make sure that the believer knows that he is secure, he will
be successful, and total salvation is theirs. And so under that
thought of the goal of his request are three sub points that I want
to quickly work through. They're further sanctification
and usefulness. their further sanctification
and usefulness. You know, whenever you're saved,
God has sanctified you. Do you know that? Whenever you're
saved, when you're actually saved, we call that personal sanctification.
He did sanctify us before the world began. When the Father
placed us in Christ, we were sanctified. Was that not so?
But he's sanctified when he came to us in the gospel and he brought
us to himself. We were sanctified. That's why
we're called what saints, even though we don't look like it
or act like it. We're called saints of the most
high God. You have to wait to get to heaven
before you call the same. When you're in Christ, you're
a saint. And so as Christ called His disciples to Himself and
sanctified them unto Him, so He calls us to Himself and sanctifies
us unto Him. Are we saints? And in that, what
our Master is saying in John 17 to the Father is, Father,
continue the process of sanctifying them and make them useful. Look
at verses 17 through 19 with me. Here's the appeal of our
Master to us. That means I'm ear hustling in
on and I am intimately concerned with what he says about me and
I want this to come to pass in my life. Verse 17, sanctify them
through thy truth. Literally, it's in thy truth.
What is the truth? Thy word is true. Sanctify them
in thy word. In fact, what we are doing right
now is bringing to pass that request. As you sit under the
word of God, right now you're being sanctified. Do you believe
that? If I were to speak more intently and critically about
that proposition, the word here is Christ. He is the word of
God incarnate. He is the word of God personified.
And we are being sanctified by the gospel right now. The gospel
is the means by which we're sanctified, but it's through the word of
God. So the word of God is always a necessary tool in the hand
of God by which you and I come to know God and are shaped by
God and then finally used by God because the reason for which
you and I are to be sanctified saints is to be used. Did you
know that? God sets you apart to use you.
Look at verse 18. And as you have sent me into
the world, even so I have also what? Sent them into the world.
See what he did. He came and got us. He cleaned
us up. He qualified us. And then he
sends us back out. He came and got us. He cleanses
up. He qualifies us. And then he
sends us back out. And this is where our Lord is
intently speaking to his father on the behalf of the 11 and you
and I as well. Verse 19. And for their sake,
I sanctify myself. Do you see it? For their sake,
Father, I sanctify myself, that they also might be what? Sanctified
through thy truth. Now, saints right here is what
we call an allusion to the cross. For their sake, I go to the cross. For their sake, I die on the
cross. For their sake, I shed my blood. When he was hanging there, the
centurion took his sword out and pierced his side. And straightway
came out what? Blood and water. Those two emblems by which the
church is justified by the blood, sanctified by the water, cleansed
and made useful in the kingdom of God. Is that true? For their
sake, I go to the cross that they might be sanctified in the
truth. It was the cross of Christ that
sanctifies us. Otherwise, why all the lambs? Every lamb from the beginning
of time to the end of time speaks to our sanctification. are purging,
cleansing, justification, are being brought near to God. Without
the shedding of blood, there is no what? And God's not going
to countenance you and me in his presence without the blood.
This is what Christ is saying. I'm going to the cross for them. That's glorious. That's love, isn't it? This is
why the same author would tell us in John's epistles, 1st John,
2nd John, 3rd John, here in his love, not that we love God, but
that he loved us and gave his son a propitiation for our sins. The epitome of God's love to
you is his death on the cross. The epitome of God's love to
you is his death. the cross. So the first point
is the further sanctification and usefulness of his people.
I want you to see this more fully under Hebrews chapter 2 verses
10 and 11 where the Hebrew writer is speaking to the Jewish people
who understand the rules and protocol of the satirical system
of sacrifices and sanctification and cleansings and washings the
Hebrew writer says in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10 listen to
it for it became him this is God the Father for whom are all
things and by whom are all things and bringing many sons unto glory
now what do we call sons are we not what is our aim glory
is it not Watch this to make the captain of their salvation
who is our captain Jesus who is making our captain The father
is making the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering
you see look at verse 11 this look at verse 11 because the
Hebrew writer wants us to understand that the sanctification of which
Christ is speaking in John's gospel is nothing less than his
crossword for both he that sanctify it and And they who are sanctified
are all what? Of one. This is the unity that
Christ was talking about in John 17, is it not? The father and
the son being one and the believer in Christ being one with the
father and the son in this sanctification work. Magnificent in its implications. There's a real sense in which
when Christ went to the cross, I went to the cross with him.
There's a real sense in which this sanctification that appears
exclusive to Jesus is really not exclusive at all. But all
of his elect are part of that process. Again, listen to the
language. For both he that sanctify it,
that is the father, and they who are sanctified are all, that
is Jesus rather, for he that sanctified Christ and they who
are sanctified, his people, are all of one, that is the father,
which cause he is not ashamed to call them what? another key
component to the passionate love of Christ in John 17. And that's
this, he views us as his brethren. Isn't that what we learned this
morning in the Genesis account with Joseph and his brothers?
Did y'all hear that? This is the theme that runs through
the scripture. What I love about what's taking place here in Hebrews
chapter 2 verses 10 through 12 is really the heart of Christ
appealed to the Father. They were yours and you gave
them to me. Because when we look at verse 12, pull up verse 12,
listen to how verse 12 underscores this process of sanctification.
Listen to verse 12. It says this, saying, I will
declare thy name unto my what? the mist I'm sorry we jumped
we didn't finish verse 11 for he is not ashamed to call them
brother and saying I will declare thy name unto my brethren in
the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee can you
see Jesus singing praises verse 13 and again I will put my trust
in him this is the cross work of Christ and I love this last
line here it is and again behold I and the children whom you have
given me Isaiah chapter 8 verse 18. The point is Christ always
knew those whom the father had given him were the children I
love it too in the way in which our master talked to the disciples
as he was mentoring them and as They were his protégés and
as he protected and cared for them. He frequently called them
children That was the endearing term that he used when they apostatized
and went back to fishing Children, do you have anything to eat?
In other words, for Christ, it didn't matter what they did.
He knew who they were at all times, and he only engaged them
according to their true identity in him. No matter how messed
up they were, he called them children. Now, mama and daddy,
you know how we get when our kids act a fool? We go to playing
with their head. Are you my child? Did I have
you on, did somebody, I got to go back and check and see, did
they switch you at the hospital? Cause the way you acting, you
can't be mine. Now God never does that to us. God never does
that to us. This is good, isn't it? All right,
let's keep going. I need to get past my points.
The Hebrew writer is making it clear that this unity of purpose
between the father and the son and the sanctifying work of the
cross is not exclusively to the father and the son, but to the
father and the son and the children who were with the father before
the world began, who had given them to the son to secure their
eternal glory. This is the love of God. Are
you guys enjoying this? Has this series blessed you?
Alright, let's keep going because it's very important for us to
move on. I said under our first point, the goal of this request
is our further sanctification. I'll admonish you right here.
Stay in the Word. Quit playing games with God.
Make sure you spend time in the Word. Because you will not be
sanctified effectively or efficiently outside of the Scriptures. I know you think you can do the
will of God by only reading your Bible on Sunday morning. You
can't. Sub point two. The deeper awareness of Christ
and the Father's oneness to him is what he prays for. The deeper
awareness of Christ and the Father's oneness. Going back then to John
17, I want you to mark this. Notice what he says in verse
22. This is what he says. And I'm speaking now to what
Christ's goal is for you and me experientially. Verse 20 and
21, rather, in John 17. Are we there? He says, neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their words. This little hint of clause in
verse 21, in order that they may all be what? Now watch this. And he's going to now describe
the oneness. It's not your generic oneness
of the kumbaya I talked about last week. It's not a social
oneness. It's not an emotional oneness.
It's not a political oneness. It's a oneness that rises to
the level of God. It's a oneness that rises to
the level of God. This is what makes the gospel
a scandal. God help me. This is why you
should have your eyes fixed on God all the time. And it takes
grace to do that. It takes grace to do it. Because what the gospel
is talking about is actually affirming our being the family
of God. Here's what he said, I'm praying
for the apostles, but not for them alone, but for all who will
believe on me through their words, that they all might be one in
this sense. Watch the sense in which he is
talking about this in verse 23, verse 22 in the, I'm sorry, verse
21, that they all may be one as you father are in me and I
in thee. This, this humbles me that they
also may be one in what? That the world may believe that
you sent me. This is crazy because what he's
saying is if we comprehend our unity with the father through
the son properly, our evangelism will be successful. If you get it, if you understand,
see, cause look, unless you, unless you know, that you are
a king and a queen, and God, the hell you gonna go through,
gonna have you throw away your card, get rid of your Bible,
stop publicly identifying yourself with the Savior, and you're gonna
go to hiding. But when you know who you are
and whose you are, and you know that the goal for which God left
you here is to stand and declare to the world that there's one
God and one Lord and one gospel and one faith and one kingdom,
That is the way we witness to the world because everything
in John 17 anticipates hell coming after the believer. Everything
our Lord is praying in John 17, he's praying because they know
they are going to take the fury of the whole world against them. He knows that. He knows that. Are you with me, saints? And
so you and I have been made for opposition. We've been made for
opposition, but you and I cannot enter into that glorious mortification
process unless we know whose we are. Unless we are walking
in the benefits of our union with God at a level that causes
us to be able to stand and tell the truth where it counts. Are
y'all hearing what I'm saying? So this is really not about emotional
feel-good compromising of the gospel ecumenical unity. That's
blasphemous. This is about the unity that
you need so you can plug in to omnipotence as the son or daughter
of God and stand by faith and tell men and women, Jesus is
mine and I am Jesus, no matter what you say. This is really
where we are in this, that the world may believe that you sent
me. Isn't that amazing? that the
world may believe that you sent me." So our further sanctification,
then a deeper awareness of Christ and the Father, which will work
out to our being confident. Listen, if you don't know God
like you ought to, your faith is going to be weak. Listen to
the way Jesus puts it in John chapter 13, verse 31 and 32.
Here's what he says in relationship to the unity between the Father
and the Son. As we're working our way through,
I'm going to repeat again what I stated in the opening of my
message. When I read the whole book of John carefully, what
I noted was that every verse in John 17 was already quoted
by Christ in one way or another, in a term or a concept or a theological
construct, in one way or another, all through John. What's being
revealed in John 17 for the apostles is simply being reaffirmed. Christ
already stated these things. He already stated these things.
Here's one way he stated it in John chapter 13 verse 31. Here he is being told about a
group of men from the Gentiles wanting to come and hear of him.
He knew that was an allusion to the gospel going to the Gentiles.
So he went head on and told his disciples, disciples, now is
the hour of the son of man coming. I know that I'm about to be crucified
now because the Gentiles are coming to me. And here's what
he says in verse 31, which is an amazing statement. They may
have gotten it in part. I don't know if you do, do, but
we have to get this verse 31. Therefore, when he was going
out, that is Judas Iscariot, Jesus said, now is the son of
man. What? Do you see it? Now watch this. Judas is about
to betray Him. And Christ is not calling it
His death. He's calling it His glory. His
glory. Watch this. Now is the Son of
Man glorified. That's the second person, right?
But notice how He says He is glorified. And God, that is the
Father, is what? Glorified in Him. So He never
separates His glory of Himself from the glory of His Father.
They are a shared glory, an unrivaled glory, a communal glory that
is exclusive to the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, though you
and I are partakers of it in a distinctly different way. When
the Son says stuff like this, He's revealing to the disciples
one more time who He really is. You know folks will say, Jesus
never said he was God in the Bible. And what you say to them
is, that's because you ignorant. That's because you don't know
your Bible. Christ affirmed, either explicitly or by inference,
over and over and over and over and over and over his equality
with the Father in terms of nature. Because you can't measure God,
don't even try to. That's one of the things I had
to knock my Jehovah Witness friend over in the islands. Do you know
Jehovah's Witnesses want to measure God? How are you going to measure
God? The Father is more God than Jesus
is. Now if God is infinite and if
Jesus is God, how are you going to measure Him? Am I making some
sense there? You can't measure God. Either
He's all God or He's not God. Do you see the logic there? And
this is why when Jesus shares his deity and the Jews get it,
they want to kill him because he makes himself equal with God. Are you guys following me? And here, listen to this. I'm
going to get into this here in a moment. These insights that
Christ is giving to the apostles are critical so that they don't
sell the gospel out. at the foundation of the gospel
is a knowledge of the true God. If you get the true God wrong,
you don't have gospel. And if you don't have the gospel,
you don't have salvation. Salvation is based on a knowledge
of the true and the living God. Are you guys hearing me? You
get God wrong and you don't have salvation. Let me say it another
way before I go on. You don't get to play around
with the nature and character of God. Either get it right or
you will perish. And this is eternal life. And
this is eternal life. And this is eternal life. That they might know you the
only true God There's only one true and living
God. There are no other gods. One
true and living God. And so really what's happening
to you, I hope, is the work of the third person, which is the
essence of my message today. Because if it's not the work
of the third person, you're listening to things you cannot believe.
You cannot believe what I am saying. If the third person isn't
here, co-joining in that labor. Watch what I'm saying. So when
our master speaks like this, he is drawing the disciples into
a deeper awareness of Christ and the Father's what? Oneness.
Let's deal with our last sub-point. Their deeper awareness of their
unity in the Father and the Son. Do you guys see that in your
outline? You see, the first point that
we're dealing with can be summed up this way. The goal of Christ's
request for his people is a deeper, more profound, more effectual
understanding of the grounds of their existence in God, and
therefore usefulness thereby. You guys got that? That means
his desire is for God to utilize every means necessary to draw
you into a deeper experience with God. And where you and I
are failing to understand that this journey is to go deeper
with God, we are forfeiting our own blessing. You got that? This is the man who is about
to cross over the water and to die for these 11. These eleven
therefore know what Christ's passionate plea and mediatorial
intercession is for them. Do you know that's what it is
for you? I didn't get an answer. Do you know that that's what
it is for you? Now watch this because I'm getting ready to
go to my second point. Every problem you have, child of God,
where you get discombobulated, where you get turned backwards,
where you get foggy in your head, where you start vacillating,
When you get sort of chaotically driven to think thoughts that
have nothing to do with anything that make any sense, it's because
of your lack of going deep enough with God to know that all things
work together for good to them that love God. You guys get that
statement? You get that statement? All right,
let's go on to point number two. Point number two, because I can
stay on point number one. The grounds of his request. I'm
already tore up by God requesting things for me. Are you? Yeah,
so let this float your boat till Jesus comes. The Son is requesting
things for you. And what's so wonderful about
this is he actually knows what to ask the Father for. You know
how in our prayers we'd be asking for all kind of crazy stuff,
right? This mediator of yours, he has every accurate request
for your good in his hand. Isn't that right? Every accurate
request. Here's another one. The grounds
of his request. I want you to get into this.
You see the subtitle under this called the objective work of
the mediator. Do you see that? The objective
work of the mediator. So now here's what I want you
to do while we're getting ready to wind this down. I want you
to think of the father as the originator. Write it down. And I want you
to think of the son as the mediator. Write it down. that the son is the one who distributes
everything that the father gives to him for us. He's the mediator of the new
covenant. He's the surety of a better covenant. He's the mediator
and high priest of his eternal people and his eternal kingdom.
He's the mediator. You guys got that? But the father
is the originator. And this is what Jesus told the
disciples all the time. All that I have are my father's.
I have nothing that I haven't received from my Father. And
what's my Father's is mine, and what's mine is my Father's. Unity
again. You see the point that he's driving home? You guys see
the point? Originating in the Father, mediating in the what?
So right here, the Son is going to show us objectively what He
does for us. You ready? Objectively what he
does for us not subjectively. That's gonna be our third point
Objectively what he does for us. The first one is he appeals
to the father once again in verses 6 through 9 You don't have to
go there by letting the father know that we were the fathers
Before we were the sons Did you get blown away by that? I'm still
cooling down off of that one. I'm gonna show you a verse that's
really gonna blow you away in terms of that statement But see,
the son who is God, who knows all things, right along with
the father who is God, who knows all things, is saying to the
father, father, these knuckleheads, they're yours. That's my translation. But it's true. It's true. When he says these are yours,
he's saying all the knucklehead, backwards, silly, crazy people
of God. That's right. All the crazy people
of God. Can y'all accept that adjective
description of the saint? So I'm not even thinking about
my crazy brothers and sisters at Grace right now. I know y'all
crazy. But watch this. I'm thinking
about all the crazy saints from Genesis to Revelation. All these
crazy people God put in the Bible and used. Now aren't they crazy? Now you know Eve is crazy. You're
talking to a snake. You gotta be crazy. Right? God's elect. God's elect. He gave her the first gospel
promise. He said, girl, I'm going to make sure to it that from
here on out, you hate snakes. That's his elect. That's called
the preservation of the saints. That's the preservation of the
saints. He put it in the woman to hate the snake, because see,
she started loving him. Because women like the beauty.
That snake was pretty, handsome, gold, brown, turquoise, beautiful. Most beautiful creature in the
earth. Subtle, alluring, deceptive,
destructive. And unless God puts an enmity
between the woman And the serpent, you and I will always fall to
the temptation. Isn't he good to us? Is he good
to us? He took that silly woman Eve and made her the mother of
all living. Now see, if you want to do some
psychological evaluation and trace back the roots of your
crazy, just trace it back to Eve. Father, they're yours. They're yours. And then his next
appeal was this. But you gave them to me. You
gave them to me. which by inference means, Father,
I am so privileged that you chose me to be the one to take care
of these people. This means you love me in a way in which you
can trust me with everything. And for it, I am enormously privileged
and zealous to do your will. Did anybody do the will of God
like his son? No one did the will of God like his son. And
his son did it because he loved the Father, having entrusted
in the Son the salvation of all God's people. And the Lord Jesus
handled this business, didn't he? Here's the other objective
reason, and I say objective mediatorial work, because so far none of
this has to do with your personal experience. That's going to be
my third point, because we're going to have to get to some
hard work here today. The third one is they're not of the world. Now, Christ says this five times
in the gospel of John, verse 17. He says, Father, they're
not of the world. Four times in 17, once in John
5, 15, 19. Look at verse six. This is what
he says in John 17, verse six. This is an appeal for which he
is asking the Father to hear him. In John 17, verse six, he
says, I manifested my name unto the men which you gave me out
of the world, thine they were, and you gave them to me, and
they have kept thy word. Yeah, that's verse six. Nope, it's not verse six. John 16, verse nine. Let's see,
verse nine. I pray for them, I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. What does that mean? They are not of the world. Verse
14 again. I have given them thy word, and
the world hath hated them. What? Because they are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world. Do you see that? Look
again at verse 16, verse 16. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. Do you see what he's saying?
Father, they're different. They're different. They're different. And this is the compassionate
nature of your mediator praying for you because you're different.
I didn't say better. That might be true, but I ain't
saying better. I'm saying different. John chapter 15 verse 19 is where
Christ originated this statement to them, letting them know, listen,
fellas, because the world love its own, you can be expected
to be hated because you are not of the world. Isn't that amazing? If you were of the world, the
world would do what? See, now here's the point of application
that I need to work with. Because some of us think we are
so all that, that we want everybody in the world to like us. Can
I go ahead on and explain something right quick before I move on?
There are going to be some folks who don't ever like you. Now, stay with me right now.
And it won't be because you're not the nicest person. Because
you ain't. But stay with me right now. But
you might be nicer than most of us. You know how some people
work on being nice because you want everybody to like you? There
are going to be some people who are going to look past your niceness.
And they're just going to say, there's something about you I
just don't. I just don't. I don't even know
what it is. I don't even know what it is. And I'm going to tell you what
it is. When God chose you in Christ,
while your first nature is in Adam, your new nature is in Christ,
and you are a stranger in this world. And because you are a
stranger in this world, the world must hate you. I love the way
David put it in the Psalms. Are you ready? He says, Lord,
I am a stranger in the earth. Don't hide your commandments
from me. Did you see what he said? If
you make your word known to me, if you open the scriptures to
me, if you reveal your glory to me through the instrumentality
of your word, I can handle the world hating me. Because when
I read your word and I realize that I'm yours and not theirs,
then I can get up every day in my right mind and I can take
the hits for the glory of God. When I remember how God loved
me and how God called me and how God quickened me and how
God kept me, how He chose me to be His own, then I can handle
the world hating me because Your Word reminds me that I'm a stranger
and I'm a pilgrim in this crazy world. Do you see it? This is the reason
His mediation toward them objectively to the Father is keep them because
the Father is going to lead them in the world. they're gonna have
to take the hits in the world the fourth reason for which he
is yielding this objective work is that he has already kept them
we stated this in verse 12 look at it while I was with them in
the world I kept them in your what those that you have given
me I have kept and none of them is lost but the son of perdition
that the scriptures might be fulfilled made it very clear
Judas was not one of the twelve So now here is the appeal that
Christ is yielding. He says, they're yours. You gave
them to me. They're not of the world. I have
kept them. Sixthly, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Fifthly, I am leaving them
in this world. Look again at verse 11a. I now and now I am no more in
the what? See what Jesus says? He's saying
to the father, I'm out of here. I talked to you guys about that
a few weeks ago. Wheresoever your affections are, are your
treasuries, that's where your heart is. In the mind of Christ,
he was already returned to his father. But according to his
omniscience, he knew that he was headed there infallibly anyway.
So from a position of being separated from his people, he's concerned
about them because he will no longer be with them. Is that
a good shepherd or what? Is that a good shepherd or what?
And as a good shepherd leaving his sheep, you know what he must
do? He must put them in the fold and in the pen of providence
to be taken care of by the porter. That's good. That's good. Until
the shepherd comes back again, he must put them in the fold
and pen of providence to be taken care of by the porter. See, when
the shepherd leaves, he has to leave them in the care of someone.
Can I tell you who that porter is? The Holy Ghost. The Holy
Ghost, he's the porter. That's good, you ain't gonna
get that for a little while. Read John chapter 10, he'll straighten
it out. But our master's love for his disciples in verse 11a
and in 13a, he says it again in 13a, and now father, I'm coming
to you. He's out of here. But he's not
leaving selfishly. He's leaving Handling his final
business with relationship to those that he loves He's not
gonna just leave and say y'all. Hey, I'll meet y'all when y'all
get there He's gonna leave every necessary Preparation for them
to successfully do what they're called to do and for them to
enter into glory as well Are you guys with me so far? This
is the love of the mediator towards us and our final one which is
gonna launch me into my third point is he says that he has
given them what the father has given him. So I'm gonna only
highlight three, although there are many others. This is a fascinating
concept. So let me explain this for a
moment. When you watch and observe Christ,
what you will learn is that the father gave him several things
to do. Jesus will say, my father has
given me his word. The words that I have are not
my words, but my father who gave them to me. The father gave the
son the word. Then Jesus will say, I came not
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. The father
gave Jesus a work to do. You guys got that? He gave him
a word. He gave him a word. A word and
a work to do. And then Jesus will say, I didn't
come to, as it were, glorify myself, but to glorify him that
sent me. And we are told in John chapter
17, verse 20, that the father gave him a glory. The father
gave him a work. The father gave him a word. The
father gave him a glory, a glory. In other words, Christ came as
the mediator of his people, only doing those things that the father
had given him to do. A work, a word, a glory. Now
watch this. And the same word and the same
word and the same glory that the father gave the son, He gave
to us. He gave to us. He gave. Do we
have a work to do? Do we have a word from God? Do
we have God's glory? All right, I want you to see
this is just absolutely phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. Look at
chapter 17, verse 6a. This is how we're going to lay
this out for a moment. In John 17, 6a, this is what
he says. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou
gavest me out of the world. Do you guys see that? Now, this
again, as I stated earlier, is not a new concept with the apostles
or the disciples. Christ was constantly revealing
the nature and character of God to the disciples. But I'm going
to put it under one rubric term that I've already shared years
ago that will help you. Are you ready? The name that
the Son revealed to the disciples is Father. The name that the
Son has revealed to all his disciples is father. Father, a concept
that cannot be comprehended outside of election, regeneration, and
illumination of the mind. Let me see if I can help you
with this in short order to move on. All of God's elect have the
name of the father imprinted their forehead. Did you guys
get that? When you go through the book
of Revelation, this is what you discover. And the name of the
Father is written in their foreheads. Do you know what that means?
That means we were the fathers from eternity past. We are the
fathers in the redemptive work of Christ and we are the fathers
for all eternity. Watch this now and it's for you
to know the father and by knowing the father, you know your own
identity You know your own identity Did you guys hear what I just
stated? This is so important and what I love about what christ
is saying here is he's actually speaking to the efficacy of the
preaching and teaching ministry that he did with his Disciples
now last week. I showed you that he did four
things. He called them He taught them He showed them, and then
He prayed for them. Didn't He? He called them, He
taught them, He showed them, and then He what? Prayed for
them. Now that's what we call a mentor from on high, is that
right? And that work effectually revealed to the disciples, it
revealed to the disciples who the true God was, the Father,
the Father. Now associated with that distinctive
of God the Father, is this necessary truth? There's no knowledge of
God the Father at all, at any time, anywhere in the universe,
in eternity past, in the present of things, or in eternity future,
apart from the Son. There is no knowing the Father
apart from knowing the Son. There is no knowledge of the
true God apart from his only begotten Son being the revelation
of this glorious invisible God to the salvation of sinners.
Y'all hearing me right now? Say with me for a moment. This
is very important. The concept of God the Father
can only be actually understood and received savingly by believing
in the Son. No other way? In other words,
It is irrational and illogical first to think of a God the Father
without God the Son. I married my wife and I think a
week or so from now, two weeks from now, we'll be celebrating
our 35th. By the grace of God. But when we were dating right
out of high school, she was in high school, I was out, I think,
tearing up the world. We were girlfriend and boyfriend.
Then we got married. And I wasn't daddy until she
brought forth a child. Did you hear what I just stated?
So to conceive of God the Father, without at the same time conceiving
of God the Son is an oxymoron logically. How long has the Son
been around? As long as the Father. How long
has the Father been around? As long as the Son. This is what
we're learning in John's Gospel chapter one. 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. How long was God around? Forever. How long was the word
around? Forever! Because the two have
been in union forever. Are you guys hearing what I'm
saying? Are you hearing what I'm saying? Are you hearing what I'm saying?
This is critical to understand in terms of getting a handle on
the ontology of the Son. Ontology, a bigger word. The
nature of the Son, okay? It's important for you to know
so that you don't sell out the gospel. Because people will tell
you, well, it doesn't really matter how much you know about
the Son. It matters eternally how much you know about the Son.
This is why he opened his prayer in the ears of his disciples.
Listen, the prayers are not for the Father to get some information. John 17 is for you and me. Are you hearing me? It's for you and me to know who
they are and who we are in them and what we have in them and
why the reason for which you wake up every day in your right
mind is because of a mediator like Jesus Christ. this is good
the grounds of his request are that you were the fathers he
gave you to them you are not of the world you have to take
you have to take aspirin now because you come home all burnt
out from your warfare with the world God gave you a new identity
in Christ did he if any man be in Christ Jesus he's what I have
kept them I'm leaving the world and I gave them what you gave
me it's crazy I have given them what you have given me. And the
final one is, I've given them thy name, I've given them thy
word, and I've given them thy what? Word. All right, we're
getting ready to work on that. Sub-point three. Now I want to
deal with point number three. I want to deal now with the subjective
work of the Spirit. In what? The subjective work
of the Spirit. In what, Saints? In Him. OK, so here we go. It's another
theological concept I want you to get. Are you ready? I want
you to get this now. The Father is the originator.
The Son is the mediator. The Spirit of God is the communicator. Write it down. Write it down. You gotta get this. The Father
is the originator, the Son is the mediator, the Holy Ghost
is the communicator. What do you mean by that, pastor?
The distribution of the gifts of our great Savior Jesus Christ
poured out to the church have a two-way process. First, they
are given to us by the Son, but they are never ever realized,
actuated, and fulfilled apart from the communicative work of
the Holy Ghost, bringing them into reality in your life. I'm
going to stay right here because I've got to work this. Can I
deal with this? So some people sit and they hear of the work
of the Mediator, but none of what Christ has done is ever
communicated to them. And what I mean by the term communicate
is rooted in the fundamental word common, and then the next
word communion. And communion is the joint union
and fellowship of God with his people. Did you guys hear what
I just stated? This echoes Sunday school, doesn't
it? Because it must be understood.
The passionate desire of the son towards us to enter into
and share in the fellowship That's the way we translate the greek
term koinonia And the word here is kind of connoitre. It's the
greek word for which we communicate things The goal of the spirit
of god is to take the things of christ and make them a reality
to you Did you get that? He communicates to you to bring
you into the partnership and sharing and experience of all
that Christ is. I like the way one old theologian
would put it. This is Dr. Massey, black theologian
from the South. I think he's still living, real
old now, sharp theologian. He says the goal of the Holy
Ghost is to make Jesus a reality to his people. Are you with me
so far? Can I work this a little bit?
It's the difference between window shopping and buying a suit. Let
me help the sisters, buy them those shoes. You know, you go
try them on and when they right, you sold. You sold, you sold,
you sold, you sold. I know you guys do the internet
stuff now and you look at it, you buy them that way. You know
you buy them by faith when you do that, right? But when you go
in that store and you put your feet in them shoes and you say,
these were made for me. Every one of the mediatorial
offices and gifts of Jesus Christ designated for our good edification,
usefulness, and salvation are made for us. And they must be
experienced by the believer if you want to enter into the joy
of the Lord experientially. Are you guys hearing what I'm
saying? And the key to that is the work of the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God is now assigned by the Father and the Son to
take all that Christ is and all that Christ has and make it more
than a sermon to you. Are y'all with me, saints? Can
I use another analogy? I like watching the food channel. But it's not anything like my
sisters who hand me the plates. I know they love pasta. And then
I go home, it's a secret in there. I don't even look at it till
I get home, Miss Maddie. It's a secret. Because I say, by faith,
she loves me. And I get home, and what she
has distributed now has to be communicated to me. Did you get
that? Did you get that? So when I peel
the lid, and I see the attributes, and the characteristics, and
the love, and the Spirit of God allows me to dip my spoon in
accurately, and lift it to my mouth, and eat it, Eat it and
eat it and eat it. I say with David Oh taste and
see that the Lord is good Are you with me so far? Are you with
me? This is what we mean by actually knowing God Actually knowing
him feeding on Christ Feeding on Christ the Spirit of God must
he must he must be the means by which Christ is a reality
in your soul the subjective work of the Spirit
in communication. So let me show you how this works in our text. This is amazing. It's amazing.
It's amazing. I could go a long ways on this.
Subpoint A, for time's sake. Are you guys bored? OK, so stay
right here. Subpoint A. The truth of God
in Christ is said by our Lord Jesus in John 17 as to have been
something that was effectually communicated to them when he
did his objective work. We've already saw that he called
them, that he taught them, that he showed them and he prayed
for them, right? But we don't know what kind of
impact it made until the Master tells us. Here it is. I'm in
John's Gospel, chapter 17. I'm going to read verse 8. Are
you there? And then I'm going to read verse 7. And we're going
to pause here for a moment and work with it just a little while.
Can we do that? Here's what your mediator says
about us. He says, Father, I have given unto them the words which
you have given to me. Do you see it? Now watch this.
The objective work of the mediator, line two, the subjective work
of the Holy Ghost. The subjective work of the Holy,
the mediator distributing, the Holy Ghost communicating. And
they have received them. You see it. So stay with me. Thanks. The word is preached
to all sorts of people but it's only received by God's elect.
Are you hearing. The Word is preached to all sorts
of people. But apart from the Holy Ghost, you cannot receive
the things of God. That's 1 Corinthians chapter
2. The natural man cannot. He will not. They're not understandable.
They are unpalatable to him. He has no desire for them. He
cannot receive the things of God. But as many as received
them, John chapter 1 verse 12, I told you Christ already taught
all this stuff before. To them gave he power to become
authority, right, privileged to become the sons and daughters
of God. Are you with me? When the Spirit of God has called
you to receive, receive, receive his word, you affirm your sonship.
Are you hearing what I'm saying? Only the sons receive the master's
gifts. And the Spirit of God does that.
The Spirit of God does that. Jesus says, for I have given
unto them the words which you have given me, and they have
received them. That's the first one. Paralimbano is a common
Greek term for the reception of biblical truth. And there's
a real argument around that we can work. It's something that
you find yourself experiencing. It's not necessarily that which
you take to yourself, but what you experience by way of the
enforcing work of the Spirit of God giving you something.
It's a gift. You didn't go looking for it.
You didn't earn it. God placed it right in your lap.
And when he placed it in your lap, it was so forcefully placed
in your lap that you didn't reject it. That's a gift of God. The
second thing, not only did you receive it, he says, not only
have they received them, but they have known surely that I
came out from you. So do you see the process? Christ
gave the word. They received the word. And the
word was received in such an effectual way that they know
surely who Jesus is. Are you with me? I want to work
this because this is important. This is the work of the third
person to take the things of Christ. John 16, pull it up.
John 16 verses 13 through 18 affirmed this. I told you Jesus
already taught this stuff before. He already told his disciples,
this is what's going to happen. And now you and I are learning
that it was already happening in them. They were already effectually
receiving the word. He just said to his father, they
have received your word. They have known surely that I
came out from thee. We can't say that about a bunch
of Christians today. We can't say about a bunch of Christians.
They really know who the father is. They really know who the
son is. They really know who the Holy Ghost is. We can't say
that about a bunch of Christians. A bunch of Christians say, I'm
saved, but I really don't know who God is. You're not saved.
Are you hearing me? I'm saved but I really don't
know if Jesus is God. You're not saved. Because the
goal of the communicator, the koinonia, the one who effectually
brings into your life the commonwealth of Israel is the Spirit of God.
The one that makes you know that you know that you know because
you have received and you have believed on the name of the Son
of God. the one who makes this such knowledge
that you are certain this is why Jesus said he what he said
in John 17 3 and this is eternal life that they might know I Watch
this. I'll be it when the spirit of
truth has come. He will guide you into all truth Definite article
all the truth for he shall not speak of himself got that. I'd
say here's a characteristic of the Holy Ghost We teach most
people don't we teach it? You're not in a Holy Ghost filled
church where all they talk about is the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost,
the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost. That's
not a Holy Ghost filled church. The first mark of the Holy Ghost
is he never talks about himself. The goal of the Holy Ghost is
to exalt the son and make him a reality in your life. How do
we know we have the Holy Ghost? Because he has made Christ a
reality in my life. He has revealed to me the all-sufficiency
and the totality of the redemptive work of Christ for my soul, so
that Christ is all in my salvation. Where you are questioning whether
or not Christ is sufficient, the Holy Ghost has not revealed
Him. I believe in process. We'll talk about that in a moment.
But where you are questioning that, you need to get on your
knees. God, help me to see his glory. Help me to see his glory.
Are you with me? Because a five-year-old child
can see his glory. A four-year-old child can see his glory. A seven-year-old
child, a ten-year-old child can see his glory. And you know what
they do when they see it? They take the hits for Jesus
all over third world countries. Will you deny Christ, seven-year-old
child? No! Why? Because they saw his glory. Did you get that? They saw His
glory. They saw His glory. The Holy Ghost made it real to
them. For He shall not speak of Himself,
but whatever He shall hear. Is He acting like the Son? Is
He attributing to the Father first cause? That's right. That's
the nature of the three. Because the unity is rooted in
the Father. The Holy Ghost is hearing what
the Son says. The Son is hearing what the Father says. The Son
gives us what the Father says. The Holy Ghost communicates effectually
what the Son says that the Father says. Pastor, what are you talking
about? Verse 13 through 18. He shall not speak of himself,
but whatever he hears, that shall he speak, and he will show you
things to come. Verse 14. I want you to see it. Here it is. He says, he shall
what he shall glorify you him the spirit glorifies the sun
got it he shall glorify me for he shall receive of mine and
shall show it to you this is what i meant by the communicative
work of the holy ghost revealing to us effectually in our inner
man i'm gonna show you that in a minute and our inner man the
realities of christ are you are you with me that's the goal of
the holy ghost he will glorify me verse 15 verse 15 and all
things that the Father hath are mine. Are we back to first cause? Therefore said I, he shall take
of mine. I love this. Now what the Lord
Jesus Christ does for you and me is teach us how to be sons.
You know what that means? Give glory to your daddy. Every
now and then just stop and say, oh wait, by the way, when I say
it's mine, it was my daddy's first, but he gave it to me.
I love it. Because what he's doing is clarifying
the sonship that Adam should have demonstrated. Are you with me, saints? Give
me a little bit more of your time. Can you do that? Because
I want you to get this. Because Christ came to show us
how to act as sons of God. You know, we tell people all
the time, don't look at me, to God be the glory. Jesus taught
us that. Did you get that? Christ taught
us that. He says, all things that the father hath of mine,
therefore said I, he shall take of mine and show it unto you,
show it unto you. Verse 16, a little while and
you shall not see me. And again, a little while and
you shall see me. Why? Because I'm going to my father.
He told those brothers way back in chapter 16, I'm out of here.
But then he says, you won't, and then you will. Isn't that
what he said? You won't and then you will.
What is he talking about? A transfer of responsibility
from him as their mediator to the Holy Ghost as their communicator. Did you get it? A transfer of
his responsibility to the third person so that the third person
can actually magnify the revelation of Christ in them. Verse 17. Then said some of his
disciples among themselves, what is this that he says a little
while, you know how we get, but what are you talking about? Because
I go to the father, because I go to the, one more verse, I'll
just, one more verse. I love the disciples. They said, therefore,
what is this that he said a little while and I, we cannot tell what
he says. They're struggling with the proposition,
aren't they? Are they struggling with the
proposition? They're struggling with the proposition, but that
proposition is going to be cleared up for them in verse 25 through
30. Look at verse 25 of our same
chapter. Now, the reason why they struggle with the proposition,
chapter 16, verse 25, are you there? So the reason why they
struggle with the proposition is the same reason for which
we struggle with them. Just telling you, we're just like them. You
know how you come to church and some things I say, I sound like
Charlie Brown's teacher. There's a lot of reasons for
that. Sometimes it's me. I'm not real clear. I admit that. But other times it's you. You're
on the wrong channel even when you come in here. That's right. See, until you
realize the Lord is in his holy temple, let all flesh keep silent. If you're talking while God's
talking, you can't hear it from God at all. Do you hear me? You can't hear from God at all.
You're just doing church. You can't wait till one o'clock.
Pastor, it's one o'clock. Time to go. Time to go. But when you're in the presence
of God, you never tell God time to go. Listen to this. This is what I'm asking. I'm
going to show you something in the next three verses relative to what I'm getting
at. Since we are now experiencing the anointing, are we not? We're
in the pocket, aren't we? This is the place we need to
be. God has quieted your soul down and he has crystallize your
focus and you realize that you're hearing some things that are
critically important to not only your salvation, but to your edification
and growth. Please learn these things. Here's
what our master said. He says, these things have I
spoken unto you in Proverbs. That's right. Our master was,
he was, he was a proverbial preacher. He spoke parables, analogies,
metaphors, all the stuff that we do teaching age, because if
you think God has to be playing with you every time he talks,
you don't know God. God's design for his relationship
with you is for you to hunger for him. And to seek him with all your
heart and to seek the knowledge of God as you would find jewels
and rubies and the deep riches and the ores of the mountains,
those precious, precious stones of truth. The heart has the hunger
after God. And that's when God brings them
to us. Are you hearing what I'm saying? But God, if you don't
make it plain, then I'm not going to get it. Well, see, God didn't
make stupid children. See, what you're saying is, Daddy,
I'm stupid. I'm only in the first grade. I never want to get to
the second grade. I just want you to feed me baby food all
the time. I've been a Christian 550 years, but I don't want it.
I don't want it that hard. I don't want to go that deep.
I don't want to go that deep. You don't know God. Are you guys hearing me? And
when he opens the veil and shows you the riches of the mysteries
of Christ, you're privileged. People don't get this. Do you
understand that? Now watch this. Watch this. Here's
what he said. But the time's coming when I shall no more speak
to you in Proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of who. Now
this is chapter 16. Y'all can count, right? What's
the next chapter? So watch verse 26. I want you
to get this now. at that day you shall ask in
my name and i say not unto you that i will pray the father uh
for you verse 17 watch this here it is going to be running through
for the father himself does what boy lord i wish i had enough
time with these people right there is shouting news let me
see if i can help you how many of us in this room really need
assurance that god loves us Now think about them hearing the
Son of God telling them the Father loves them. Even before they
finish class and make a royal mess before they receive their
certificate. For the Son to tell you the Father
loves you is an order for you to be ready to take the hits
when they come. And when you fall and the stars
clear up You can remember that the son said, the father loves
you. You got that? The father loves
you. For the father himself loveth
you because you love me. Ah, there's no loving the father
apart from loving the son. But he said that long ago back
in John, didn't he? See, our master teaches the same
way your pastor teaches. Over and over and over, the same
things over and over and over again. Different ways, different
forms, same message. Can I keep going? And have believed,
watch this, because you have loved me and have believed that
I came out from God. Do you see it? You have believed
that I came out from God. Jesus is affirming the effectual
work of the Spirit of God and revealing the true nature of
Christ to the disciples Remember what he asked them in Matthew
16 as they're headed To Calvary he stopped them on the road.
I said hold on fellas. Let me ask you a question Who do men say? the Son of Man is And they said,
well, Jeremiah, Isaiah, this dude, that dude. And then he
said, no, I need to find out now. I need to find out now. Who do you say that I am? And what did Peter say? You are
the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus said, Peter, you
are a smart cookie. You know, boy, you was always
smart. I saw something in you long ago. I knew there was something
good in you long ago. I saw the best in you. What did he say? The flesh and
blood has not revealed these things to you, but my Father
which is in heaven. He was affirming the fact that
the Father had utilized the ministry of the Holy Ghost in revealing
to Peter and the Eleven the reality of the equality of the Son with
the Father as God. You guys with me? Are you with
me? Are you with me? And these are the things he's
reinforcing in John 17, because he said in Matthew 16, it's upon
this rock, this truth, that I will build my church. Because the
whole of the world and hell will come against the identity of
the Son of God. What my Father reveals to you
by way of the Holy Ghost and communing to you and showing
you perfectly and clearly who I am, it will be received, it
will be known, it will be believed, and in your heart of hearts you
will know who the Father is through the Son by the Spirit. Am I making
some sense? Because He will have planted
His nature in you typified by the father's name written in
your forehead. I'm so glad I'm the father's, aren't you? I'm
so glad I'm the father's. All right, all right, all right.
I'm going to close right here. This is where I'm going to close.
I'm going to run through these, point number three, and I'm going to
tag you with point number four and call it a wrap. Some of you
already turning into pumpkins. Point number three the subjective
work of the Spirit and communicating the things of Christ to us first
the truth of God in Christ is received known believed and kept
Their affirmation of the Father as the one true God is here clearly
set forth in John chapter 16 It's clearly set forth in first
Corinthians chapter 8 verse 6 pull that up. I need them to see this
and It's also clearly laid out in John's gospel Luke's gospel
rather Luke 10 21 through 24 But I want them to see first
Corinthians chapter 8 verse 6 This would be the last thing that
I will press home around the nature of the son and the father
Relative to you and I believing let me start at verse 7 verse
5. This is critical Paul is speaking to the church at Corinth around
these same matters and what he says in verse 5 of 1st Corinthians
8 is this for though there be that are called what and you
notice the little g There's all kind of gods in our world, right?
Whether in heaven or in earth as they be gods many and lords
many not real gods false gods idols Look at verse 6. I want you to get it in verse
6 Paul says these words But to us there is but what Stay right
here all kind of people can call all kind of deities and all kind
of beings God and For us, there is but one God. Watch this. Who do we call him? The Father! Has it been revealed? Did the
apostles get the revelation of the name of God being Father?
Watch this. But to us, there is but one God,
the Father, of whom are all things. He is the first cause. of everything
originally. Do you guys see that? This is
the way Paul is laying this out. Now watch the second line. And
we in him. Remember what Jesus says? Father,
they were yours. They were yours. Do you see it?
They were yours. Now watch this. And one Lord
Jesus. Do you see that? Watch this now.
This is the Lordship of Christ being exalted. This is not a
battle or debate around the deity of Christ. This is an explanation
of the Lordship of Christ in His unity with His Father as
ruler over everything before time, in time, and after time. The Father is making Him Lord
of all creation. We heard that this morning in
Sunday school. All things were made by Him. And there was nothing
made that was made that was not made by Him. Who? Christ. But it was because of the Father.
Notice what it says. But to us there is but one God,
the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus,
by whom are what? Now watch this. And we by him. Do you see it? Do you see it,
saints? We're saying the same thing here that we're saying
in John 17. The Lord Jesus is revealing to the apostles and
therefore to us. the eternal unity and shared
communication of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit in
terms of our salvation and our eternality. Do you guys see that?
And this is a truth that we have to be able to affirm and know
for our own comfort. All right, then finally, the
fourth point. Finally, our fourth point. Done here. You guys get
a reward for hanging out so long. This is the fourth and final
point in our outline. The Spirit of God glorifies Christ
in the believer. Do you see that? Okay, so I'm
gonna spend just a minute sharing something with you here that's
important to me and should be important to you. This statement
comes out of verse 10. And when I heard this in my reading
of John 17, I almost fell prey to justifying the statement by
saying, well, yeah, obviously Christ is glorified in us. I
mean, because we tell people about Jesus, we serve Jesus,
we enjoy Jesus, and people know Jesus through us. But if that's
what that text meant, it would have said, and Jesus was glorified
through them. That's not what he said. That's
not what he said. Here's what he said to his father.
This is what he said. Everything that's mine, Father,
is yours. And yours is mine. We've had
our census exercise on that today, haven't we? The shared communicable
blessings of all things between the Father and the Son. Now watch
this last statement. And I am glorified in them. Here's what I'm gonna lay out
to you in closing. There is a distinct difference
between men and women hearing the gospel and hearing the word
of God objectively in an open environment like we are now and
everybody being able to rationally handle the teaching. There is
a distinct difference between that and what the spirit of God
does in the heart and mind of His elect when He exposes them
to the reality of the glory of Jesus Christ. Stay with me. Here's the question that I'm
going to raise. Is Christ glorified in you? Is He glorified in you? Is He glorified in you? Is He
glorified on the inner man? Is Christ made glorious in you? Do you see Him in the splendor
of His perfections and the enormous, enormous brilliance of His attributes
and characteristics? Is Christ on the inside of you
magnified? Is He magnified? Is Christ exalted
in your soul to be bigger and larger and more important than
anything? That's what we're talking about.
We're talking about Christ revealed in you in glory, in a glorious
fashion that makes him unrivaled to you over anything. In other
words, child of God, have you experienced a saving knowledge
of God in Christ? Has His glory penetrated your
soul and persuaded you that He is the truth personified? That He is the revelation of
the invisible God? That He is unrivaled, unchallenged,
no one like Jesus at all? So much so that you are infatuated
with this one person above every other person in the universe,
that you are utterly fixed on Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega,
as the beginning, as the end of God, as the totality of the
revelation of God, as the yes and the amen of God. Do you see
Christ in a saving way so that there are no rivals? between
you and him, that Christ is your salvation, that Christ is your
wisdom, that he's your sanctification, that he's your righteousness,
not talk. I'm talking revelation. I'm talking
about the kind of revelation that keeps you coming back for
him every day of your life. That's what I'm talking about.
That's what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the kind of
revelation that those men had when Jesus walked up to them
and said, follow me. And they drop everything. And
follow them. Pull our PowerPoint back up the
last point. Stay with me. You have to come back next week. Because I don't know if you because
we're coming down off the Mount. This is it. We're coming down.
And we're going to get back on the ground. And just like when
the disciples came off the mount with Jesus, they got right back
into the fray of demonic assault and attacks. That's why Peter
said, I don't want to go. I don't want to go. I want to
stay. No, we got work to do. But I want you to come down off the
mount with some tools. And the first tool I want you
to get, this is the first tool I want you to get. Guard your
heart. Guard your heart because out
of it are all the issues. Don't play. Yearn for God. Yearn for Him because the revelations
of Christ continually may manifest to your soul by the communicative
work of the Spirit of God is going to help release you from
all the temptations that's going to drive you to sin against God
on a daily basis. Are you hearing me? It's going
to keep you. It's going to keep you. What
on earth kept those 11 men that didn't keep that one man? What kept the 11 that didn't
keep the one? The glory of Christ in them. In them. Not to them. They all saw the
miracles. They all saw the water ceasing.
They all saw the dead raised. They all saw the withered hands.
But the 11 saw the glory of the Son of God. They saw God, the
Son. They saw the blistering reality
of God in the incarnate man, Jesus. They saw Him. And we beheld
His glory. We beheld it. The glory as of
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Stay with me now. And here's
what he says in verse 16. And we have received. We have received. We have received
and grace for grace. John says we received it. We
received it. We received it. So much so that
in John six, that great day, Jesus got up intentionally deciding
to empty out the church when he preached the sovereignty of
God and his electing love for choosing sinners. And he told
men and women everywhere that no one can come unto me except
my father, which sent me draw him. And they all started scattering
when he made himself the bread of life. And then he turned to
his disciples to prove whether or not he was glorified in them. And he said to them, will you
go too? See, Jesus was only doing the
will of his father. Show you a truth here. Had the
11 went, Jesus would have called 11 more. Because Jesus was about
his father's business. And Jesus would have discovered
that these 11 too were just as much a crook as the one. Did
you hear what I just stated? Will you go also? See, this is
a test in front of us every day, isn't it? Will you go also? Will
you go also? Will you defer for a carnal thing
over a spiritual thing? Will you deny Jesus in the midst
of people who are mocking him and ridiculing him? Will you
fall back when the things of Christ are just, you know, they're
foolishness to the world? Are you going to stand up for
a foolish Savior and teach His truth? Be ready to lose your
job, to lose your reputation, to let somebody know Christ has
been glorified in me. God has caused the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ to blast
in my soul and to explode in my mind and reveal to me the
Son of the living God. And there is no glory in this
universe who even comes close to that glory. Are you hearing me? You know
what the disciples said? Where shall we go? You have the
words to eternal life. You know what we call that? The
perseverance of the saints. That gift of faith that God placed
in Christ, that placed in the disciples who were able to stay
in the midst of all of that apostasy. You know what they said? You
have the words of eternal life. You're the one. Watch this. You're
the man. You're the man. We're not going
nowhere, Jesus. Brother, you didn't call them
for three and a half years. We're not going anywhere. Because they
saw his glory. Have you seen it? Have you seen
it? The believer responds by faith
to that revelation. The believer depends upon that
revelation by what? And the believer loves and adores
and pursues Jesus Christ what? That's right. Application. Faith
in Christ, ladies and gentlemen, is designed to plug into the
Savior by way of His office as mediator. Faith in Christ is
designed to plug into Jesus by way of His mediatorial offices. Your faith is not designed to
plug into the world. It's not designed to plug into
your circumstances. It's not designed to plug into
nothing but Jesus. and to find in Jesus everything
necessary for life and godliness through a knowledge of God. Where
you neglect to do that, you will suffer. He gave you faith to
plug into Christ and to plug only into Christ. And I mean
plug into Christ in every situation in your life. Are you guys hearing
what I'm saying? You sick? Christ is the healer. You stupid? Christ is our wisdom. You broke? Christ is our riches. Lonely
Christ is a lover beyond all lovers what I'm saying is Christ
has everything necessary for every believer in every office
that he is and it's for you and it's for me when you start struggling
in your Deficiencies and your weaknesses go to Jesus go to
his word Seek out his office child of God every promise of
God that's in Christ has an office behind him Every promise of God
in Christ has an office behind it. Do you need a shepherd? He's
the good shepherd. Do you need a high priest? He's
our Melchizedek. Are you hearing me? Are you guys
hearing me? I'm done. I'm done. I'm done.
I'm done.