Advancing God's Glory Part 4 - Seeing God's Glory in Christ's Sacrifice - John 17:19

0:38That verse, John 17, verse 19. For their sakes, I sanctify myself that they themselves may also be sanctified in truth. This statement is just simply rich. That's why I'm going to take a whole morning just to look at it. It's rich in theology and rich in theology proper. It's rich in Christology. It's rich in missiology. It's rich in Christ-like beauty. It's rich in moral virtue. And it's rich in instruction on what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. You think about what John is doing in his book, in his gospel. First 12 chapters cover basically from eternity past all the way. Up to the week before crucifixion. So it takes us all the way through the whole ministry, life and ministry of Jesus. Then, verse in chapters 13 and 16, he starts slowing down the narrative. And he spends four chapters on those several hours or those few hours there in the upper room, probably four or five hours, probably from early afternoon into the evening. They had a meal. So he spends about four chapters on those hours. That tells you what John's really getting to, right? What happened in that upper room and what happened afterwards in the conversation and the teaching. John, it's like, he's like, I want the church to get this. I want people to understand this. And then in John 17, he spends a whole chapter on a prayer of Jesus. You see how he even slows it down more?

2:36This prayer may have just lasted a couple of minutes. And yet, look how much space he spends. Do you see what John's doing? You see how the narrative is slowing down? Because he wants you to get something. It's almost like this is the reason why he's writing his gospel. And then in chapter 18, the narrative is going to. Speed up again. And at the heart, really, of his prayer for his people are the words we just read.

3:11So it's important that we give our attention to it. It's appropriate that we slow down and we spend some time really taking in and doing our best to take in what John has laid out for us. I want you to keep in mind some of the key thoughts that John has been developing so far. Thoughts that shaped John's view of Christ and who he was and his mission and how John Himself fit into that mission. You can mark this down. John chapter 10, verse 36.

3:57But there, Jesus makes a parenthetical statement. He says, Do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world that you are blaspheming me because I said I am the Son of God? Here, Jesus is making this parenthetical statement, recognizing that the Father had sanctified him and had sent him into the world on mission. So it's very clear in Jesus' thinking about himself that the Father had sanctified him and sent him into the world on mission.

4:31Very important to understand. The Father sanctified Jesus and sent him into the world on mission. Now, it's also very clear that Jesus sent the disciples into the world, right? Just look back at the verse right before ours this morning in chapter 17, verse 18. As you sent me into the world, I have also sent them into the world. So here, the Father, just as the Father had sent his Son into the world, so Jesus is sending his disciples and has sent his disciples on mission.

5:10And it's very clear that the disciples' mission is an extension of Jesus' mission. Look down a couple of verses to look at verse 21. Jesus is giving the conclusion of this. He's saying that they may be one, even as you, Father, in me, and I in you, and they also may be one in us, so that, and this is what I want you to get, so that the world may believe that you sent me. And he's talking about those who are going to believe the disciples' message about him. There is a generational extension.

5:50It's very clear in Jesus' mind that he is sending his disciples on mission. It's very clear that those after who will come after and who will hear are an extension. Of Jesus' mission. So the disciples are part of Jesus' mission. The Father sanctified Jesus, sent him out, and now here is Jesus praying for his disciples to be sanctified because they are also going to continue the mission, the Father's mission. Look at verse 17, 17, just a couple verses back, and this is where Jesus' prayer he brings it all down. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. Instate them in the truth. Here's his prayer. Earlier, he had said, keep them in your name. And the means, this prayer here, sanctifying them in the truth, is that practical means by which he keeps them in his name is by sanctifying, that is, instating them in the truth. Put them in the truth.

7:02Your word is truth. So it's very clear that in Jesus' mind, that the means to sanctify his disciples is the truth. Jesus knows that his disciples have to be saturated, have to be instated in the truth. And what specifically is that truth? The revelation of the Father in his Son. The means is that revelation about his son and what that says about the father. Now, the agent, that's the means to sanctify. And who is the agent that's going to sanctify the disciples? Well, he's already told us in chapter 16, verse 13: the agent to sanctify the disciples is the Holy Spirit, who is also the spirit of truth. He is going to guide them into all truth. He's going to take their being. He's going to saturate their minds and immerse them in the realities and the truth of the incarnate Christ who came, the incarnate God who came, so that they will know their Father. And so the Spirit of truth guides disciples in understanding the revealed truth in Jesus.

8:26Listen, do you understand that if you routinely refuse to expose your mind to the truth, you cannot be his disciples? Do you understand if you will not participate in the community that is devoted to talking about the truth, to remembering the truth, to sharing the truth, to orient our whole lives around the truth? Do you realize that if you do not participate in such community, you cannot be his disciple? To refuse to expose your mind, whether it's by obstinacy or by carelessness, you will not grow in your discipleship, and that involves obviously personal time in the word. That obviously also involves corporate time in the word. Truth is that important. It was to Christ here at this juncture. And look at this. What happens in these chapters is really a beautiful picture of what's of Christ's heart for his disciples and those who will come after them. The beginning of chapter 13, where are his hands at? They're on the disciples' dirty feet, aren't they? And here we have him in chapter 17 at the heart of his prayer saying, Cleanse them forever, and state them in the truth. Your word is truth. He's got the hands upon their dirty feet, and then he's got here. He is in chapter 17, as if in the very holy of holies, with them totally on his heart, and their cleansing and their well-being. This is the Christ we're talking about. And this is what John wants you to see.

10:14And so this morning, I want to take some time to unpack some of this richness of God's glory. God's glory that is revealed in these simple words, this one verse: God's glory. I want you to see God's glory in Christ's sacrifice so that you'll begin to reflect that glory in your own life. And I plan to do this by just looking at the three main phrases as they come. And I want to look at three ways God's glory can be seen in Christ's sacrifice. Three ways God's glory can be seen in Christ's sacrifice. We'll just take them as they come. First, God's glory can be seen in Christ's sacrifice in the need for Christ's sacrifice, the need itself, the need for Christ's sacrifice. Look at verse 19 and just look at that phrase, for their sakes. Stop there. For their sakes.

11:18You see, the need was ours, wasn't it? The Father did not need Jesus to sanctify himself for the Father's sake. Jesus did not need to sanctify himself for his own sake or his own gain. They were not lacking anything. There is perfect union between Father and Son. There is perfect oneness. There is perfect satisfaction. No, the sacrifice wasn't that Christ needed to gain something. No, look back. For their sakes, for their sakes. Jesus devoted himself for the sake of his people.

12:00Purely for the sake of their people, of his people. He didn't have some hidden agenda to extract from them. For their sakes, I'm doing this so that they can turn around and do X, Y, Z for me, right? And that's the way we think, right? We do something for somebody, we want something in return. Normally, unless we're following Christ and do something truly Christ-like, but we struggle with that. No, it's for their sakes that he sacrifices himself, it's his unselfish goodness.

12:46He is good, and he embodied what he taught. Listen to what he said in Matthew 20, 25. And Jesus called his disciples to himself and says, Hey, come here, let me make sure you get something here. You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and their great men exercised authority over them. It is not this way among you. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to serve, but did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.

13:29And the early disciples. Disciples picked up on this, didn't they? Listen to what Paul says in Acts 20 to the elders at Ephesians. He says, And now, verse 32, and now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. So here's Paul saying in Acts chapter 20 that it's the word of God, it's the word of grace that he is given that is able to build you up and be the means of sanctification and give you the inheritance among those who are sanctified. And then he goes on to say just how he did this, how much he gave himself. He says, I have coveted no one's silver or gold. You yourselves know that these hands minister to my own needs and to the men who are with me. In everything, I showed you that by working hard in this manner, you must help the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And you certainly see that right here in his prayer to his heavenly Father.

14:41For their sakes, for their sakes, I sanctify myself. Most of our relationships are built upon a barter system, aren't they? We befriend people largely because they can benefit us in some way. That's that whole idea: like, I need something that you have. I have something that you need, therefore, let's trade. And this characterizes many relationships in marriage. There's the needy parts on both sides, so they go through life just kind of in this barter system. It's how it is with relationships between parents and children. Oftentimes, I've seen parents, I want a baby, right? And nothing wrong with that. It's God's given, you know. But sometimes we can idolize that and make having a child all about ourselves.

15:38Or sometimes it's between friends and friends, or employee and employer, or student to teach you, just go on down the road. We tend to have a very difficult time about just having an unselfish goodness that seeks to benefit and bless others. But Jesus operated on a whole different principle, didn't he? It's for their sakes, not for my own advancement or my own need. It's for their sakes that I sanctify myself. So, God's glory is seen in this unselfish goodness. It's an unselfish goodness that is given to people who do not deserve it and cannot repay it.

16:33The cross calls us to the same standard, doesn't it? First of all, the cross deals with us according to Christ's standard of mercy, doesn't it? And then it calls us to that same standard of service to others. And as John has already recorded Jesus' words, that in John 14, 9 and verse 10, Jesus says, the words that I say to you, I do not speak of my own initiative, but the Father abiding me does his works. And he tells Philip, Philip, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. The relationship was that close. And so when Christ is sanctifying himself or devoting himself, the sacrifice is not just Christ alone, but also his Father.

17:27For their sakes, Jesus offers himself. Christ had already been sanctified by his father. The father had sanctified Jesus. When he brought him into the world, he was conceived by the Spirit of truth. The Father sanctified Jesus at his baptism for the ministry, again empowered and strengthened and sanctified by the Spirit of truth. And now here, Jesus is saying, I sanctify myself, as we shall see in a moment. He sanctifies himself in the way he leaves the world. The Father sanctified him, how he brought him into the world, how he empowered him for ministry. And here is Jesus sanctifying, setting himself apart from the world in the manner in which he leaves the world. And he goes on behalf of his disciples. And he goes on behalf of his disciples in order to provide the foundation for their sanctification. That's why he goes the way he goes. So God's glory is seen in the need of Christ's sacrifice. It is not his, it is ours, and it's out of his unselfish goodness for their sakes.

18:45I'm going to talk to you about a second way that God's glory can be seen in Christ's sacrifice. God's glory can be seen in Christ's sacrifice in the language of Christ's sacrifice. Look back at verse 19. For their sakes, I sanctify myself. I sanctify myself. The word is present. I am sanctifying myself. The word for sanctifying, it can mean the word, it carries the idea of I am dedicating myself, I am consecrating myself, I am devoting myself. That's the idea. I am sanctifying. I'm setting myself apart. I'm dedicating. Myself for their sakes, dedicating, and certainly this brings to mind the language used of an Old Testament sacrificial lamb without defect.

19:50In fact, sacrifice without defect had been embedded deeply in the Hebrew mindset. In fact, in Deuteronomy chapter 15, verse 19, let me read to you. This is in a context that's about releasing debts, and it's reminiscent of the Exodus. This is what Deuteronomy 15:19 says, You shall consecrate to the Lord your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and your flock. You shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. So it's pretty clear who the firstborn is out there. He doesn't get sheared. He doesn't get work.

20:42It's distinct. There is a distinct distinctiveness about this firstborn male. And he goes on in verse 20, You and your household shall eat it every year before the Lord your God in the place which your Lord chooses. In other words, you have to have this sacrifice. You're going to have to consume this sacrifice without defect. That's what God is going to want. And he's going to ingrain that in the Hebrew mind. And then he says this in verse 21. But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. In other words, God is not going to accept a blemished sacrifice. And the whole sacrificial system went to great lengths to impress this, instill this in the Hebrew mindset. And so this concept, when Jesus starts speaking in the same language, I sanctify, I sacrifice, I devote myself.

21:44It's with this concept in mind. But there's a beauty in Christ's perfection here. He is perfect. He is a perfect sacrifice without beauty. And I want to take a couple moments just to fix our minds on the beauty of Christ's perfection. For Jesus to be a perfect sacrifice, guess what? He had to be utterly separated from the world. I already said he was utterly separated, by the way, he was brought into the world, utterly separated at every turn.

22:21He lived a crucified life. He lived crucified to the world. The cross was merely the crowning evil. But that disposition was there all along. Totally set apart, totally devoted to doing his Father's will. That was there all along. The cross just brought that out in a clarity and a depth beyond imagination. But the sacrifice of his life on the cross was where Jesus made his most stunning offering of himself. But he offered himself up throughout his life constantly to the will of the Father. He did nothing except that which was the will of his Father. He was perfect.

23:13Total devotion. Total devotion to the Father's will. We hardly even can make an analogy that compares. Maybe a military sacrifice, maybe a love for country would be in the realm but fall short. No, he had all power, he had all authority, and he didn't have to go to the cross. Powerful, effective, he was perfect. The devil had nothing in him, no sin, perfect obedience, absolute self-sacrifices. What's beautiful about Christ here? Jesus showed the world that everything that is human can be brought totally into the service of God. Everything. He showed us the total humanity can and should be brought under the service of God. It tells the story. This devotion of Christ to his Father is the most beautiful relationship that has ever crossed the horizon of this earth.

24:31And yet, his perfection terrifies me. Why? I have known sin. His perfect sacrifice can condemn me. I mean, his perfection can condemn me, right? I know what it's like to sin. I know what it's like to follow the dictates of my own thought. I know what it's like to be in rebellion to God. And here is this individual who's come upon this earth and showed us that everything human, everything in his humanity that should be brought under the Father's will. It can be done. He did it.

25:23And here am I stained with sin. And so his perfection, though it As beautiful as it is, is terrifying to a sinner, isn't it? It condemns. You see, if Jesus was only perfect, we're in trouble. Because the question becomes: what will Jesus do with his perfect life? That becomes very important here. What will Jesus do with his sinless perfection? And what does this say about the Father who sent him? Will he use his perfect holiness to condemn man or to save him? That's the question.

26:24You see, if Jesus had simply been perfect but was unwilling to sacrifice for the undeserving masses of humanity, guess what? He could in perfect justice condemn man, but he could not mercifully save us. And that's why his perfection was necessary, but that's not the complete story. There's beauty in his sinless perfection, but there's beauty in what he did with it. Beauty in Christ's sinless sacrifice. You see, his sinless perfection brings glory to God one way or the other, but his perfection and his sacrifices brings glory to God and blessing to us.

27:20You see, Scripture is clear that Jesus was set apart from the world. He did not isolate himself from the world. The fact that he left heaven in the first place to take on human flesh, leave his heavenly glory, that speaks of someone who is not isolated and did not want to be isolated from his creation. Listen, any view of God that tells you that God is indifferent to what's happening on earth or could care less of what happens in your life is not the God of the scriptures. Okay?

28:03And you're believing a lie if you think God is not very mindful of you at this very moment. He does not isolate himself. He is not content being isolated from his creation. That's why he came in the first place. But at the same token, Scripture is also very clear that although Jesus came in, Into the world, he did not assimilate with the world. He was not content in isolation, nor was he given to assimilation. So, if his relationship to the world is not isolation, I mean, it's not isolation, and it's not assimilation, what is it? I think one pastor said it well: it's not isolation, it's not assimilation, but mission.

29:02That's his relationship, mission, or I would say, evangelizing the world. He came to reveal the truth about his father, and that is good news. There's a lot of lessons for us right there. We are not to be isolated, nor are we to be assimilated, but we are to evangelize and be on mission to the world. You see, Jesus came to reveal truth, he came to reveal God's reality, the reality as God sees it. And we learned that the Father is nothing like the ruler of this world, would like for you to think he's like. We have believed a lie.

29:56Father is good, so good. It's beyond comprehension. And Jesus came and he said, For their sakes, I sanctify myself. He's as determined to doing the Father's will as the Father is determined that he does it. And at this point, it's very clear. It's very clear that His Father's will is for him to go to the cross. His dedication, when He says, I sanctify myself, He's got the cross in His mind. No question. And I pray that we will be as zealous to set ourselves apart for God's exclusive service as Jesus was for His Father's service.

30:49I pray that's be true of us. Are you bold enough to pray that? This is a picture of true discipleship, right? Here's Christ's likeness, and those who come after Him are going to start showing this glory, being zealous to set ourselves apart for God's exclusive purpose. Well, let's keep moving. So, there's three ways God's glory can be seen in Christ's sacrifice: in the need for Christ's sacrifice, in the language of Christ's sacrifice, and third, in the purpose for Christ's sacrifice, the purpose for Christ's sacrifice. Now, look back at verse 19. And look at that last phrase. For their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Now, the tense in these verbs is very important.

31:45Jesus is saying, that they, so that they may be having been sanctified in truth. That's kind of awkward, isn't it? Hard to say. But that's really what the language is doing. The first is active: that they themselves also may, should be, having been sanctified in the truth. Simply put, that they may be sanctified, that they may have been sanctified, set apart in the truth. And that's what he's doing. Jesus, the devotion on the cross, he was devoted to the cross long before the cross ever happened.

32:40This was an expression. His will was to sanctify his people, and that was there from the very beginning. This is what started, even when he said, Let us make man in our image. He knew that it would be costly. And by his will, he committed himself to purify, to make the To make a people who could truly bear his image in holiness and in beauty. In fact, I read it earlier in Hebrews 10. This is what the Lord says. Behold, I have come to do your will. He takes away the first in order to establish the second. And in verse 10 of Hebrews 10, it says this, by this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. You see, Jesus offered himself on the cross for his disciples in order to bring about their sanctification in the truth. And that's the very thing he's prayed for in verse 17. Look back, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.

33:43So based upon this near context, why? What's driving? What are some of Jesus' motives for wanting his disciples to be sanctified in the truth? Well, there's probably many, but I just want to narrow in, focus on two of them from near context. First, I think it's evident that one of his motives is that he simply loved his people and desired fellowship with them. Verse 23. But there's also, as he just said in the verse right before that, in verse 18, he wants to prepare them for the mission that he has for them. Just as the Father sanctified Jesus and sent him into the world, now here Jesus is wanting his disciples sanctified because he's sending them into the world. You see the parallel.

34:33You see, Jesus knew that holiness and set apartness to the point of personal sacrifice is necessary for true biblical ministry in the world. I'll tell you what's the problem with a lot of ministry today is it's not sanctified. It's not holy. It's worldly. But here's Jesus saying, Look, for them to accomplish what I want them to accomplish, they need to be sanctified in the truth, put in a permanent state. And here he is, as I said, early on, chapter 13, he's got his hands on their feet, and here he's got them on his whole being. He's got his hands and his mind and his heart and his on their whole being that they be cleansed, set apart.

35:23He paid the ultimate price, sacrificial death. And by his sacrificial death, he rendered the disciples capable of being sanctified through the Holy Spirit. That's what Hebrews 9:13 says. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling those who have been defiled, can sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, spiritual sacrifice, offered himself. Without blemish to God, how will he not also cleanse your conscience from dead works to serving the living God?

36:10How will he cleanse your conscience from dead works? You see, without his death, there is no way for the disciples to come to him. I want to make an analogy here, and this may seem totally irrelevant at first, but it connects. I see a lot of college students, people, they come into this community, they'll go to AM or go to another college, and they'll get very quickly swept up in a lot of good ministries, some not so good, but they will get swept up in a lot of organizations other than the church. And let me tell you, my advice, and you've heard me say this before, and I'll say this again: young people, if you come to this college, invest in a local church. Invest in the relationships, cultivate relationships, let your body, let that be your place.

37:12If you have time for other things, great. But let it be there. Because what happens is students will come, they'll spend the first couple of years getting oriented to the different parachurch organizations on campus. And then what will happen is they'll get plugged in about their junior year, then their senior year, they're really effective. And then they graduate and they're gone. Two years you come back, there's been a whole other generation change, and you're hardly even known.

37:41But if you come back to this church in 10 years, I guarantee you, people are going to know you. Or any church. Invest in a church because you will be known. There will be, yeah, there may be a changing demographic, but I can tell you, Pat will still probably be up here singing. Lord willing, he will. I mean, you'll see a lot. Yeah, we'll still be doing praise jam. I mean, it's like the point is: invest because you'll go away for a couple of years or five years, you will have a home.

38:12And what, by comparison, what Jesus did by going to the cross is he cleansed our consciences so that we could turn away from dead works. You know what a dead work is? Something that's going to come to an end, and there is no benefit afterwards. And that's this whole worldly system. If you invest your time, your effort, your energy in the worldly system and have nothing to do with the eternal, guess what? When all this changes and heaven, the eternal state, is brought, you'll find that you have spent your life in vain and have nothing of eternal consequences. Lasting. That's why Jesus is like.

39:00The wise person is the one who stores up treasures in heaven. Invest in that which is eternal. And there's no way you can do that unless your conscience is cleared from dead works to serve the living God. And his cross has made that possible. You see, a defiled conscience does not come into the presence of a holy God. The defiled conscience runs. But it says, I sanctify myself for their sakes, that they may also be sanctified in the truth. In other words, as you start understanding the truth of who your heavenly Father is, and you get rid of all those lies that have been ingrained in you, you'll find that he is somebody who you should run to.

40:01Lord, I've sinned. Yes, and I've got disease and I've got sickness and I keep sick. Lord, don't run from him with that. Run to him. He's the only one that can fix that. And you begin to understand the truth, and he wants you to run to him with every disease, every condition. Well, for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they themselves may be sanctified in truth. Three ways God's glory can be seen in Christ's sacrifice, in the need for his sacrifice, in the language of his sacrifice, and in the purpose for his sacrifice. And I wanted you to see all this so that you could let the truth of it start really transforming who you are.

40:50We are different people because of his sacrifice. And let the implications of that truth settle in and shape you. If you never embrace Christ, today's the day to run to him, confess your sin. Don't be afraid to confess your sin. Amen. If you don't confess your sin, you stay the same way. Who wants to do that? Come out of your sin. Oh, another life to be lived. Listen, the truth sanctifies people, it makes people holy. It makes them new. It cleans them. It makes them accepted. It makes them favored. Listen, the disciples, they received the truth and it totally changed them, didn't it?

41:43Consider just a few of the glorious results of receiving the truth. And I just want to run through some real quickly, but just, and this isn't by any means exhaustive, it is very much on the surface. But having received the truth, let me tell you something about these disciples. Disciples. They received a new nature. No longer were they of the flesh, but they were of the Spirit. No longer were they corrupt, but they were holy. They also received a new king. No longer were they a slave to the devil and his desires, but they were enslaved to Christ and his glorious purpose and freedom that's in him.

42:22No longer did they have an unholy goal, but their whole life was changed and they had a holy aim, a holy goal. No longer to please self, but to please God. They had a whole new sense of belonging. No longer did they have an earthly citizenship, but a heavenly citizenship. They had a totally different destiny. No longer the lake of fire, but the Father's house forever. They had a whole new quality of life. No longer the excesses and emptiness of sin, but the joy and satisfaction that comes from living the life that God has given you to live. And they had a favored standing. And wow, did they have a favored standing? Look down. We'll get to this in a whole nother sermon, but look at John 17, 23.

43:08I and them, and you and me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that you sent me and get this, and loved them even as you have loved me. Jesus saying, I gave them the truth. I want them to be sanctified. In the truth, so that the world will come to know that you sent me and that your favor is upon them in the same measure that it is upon me. Or as it is upon you, yes, it's upon them.

43:44That's what he's saying: to be loved by our heavenly Father to the same degree that our Father loved Jesus. That's what it says, isn't it? A magnitude of favor that we can't even get our minds around, and yet there it is. Why does God do all this? Why does the truth do all this? Because it is the truth. You see, a new understanding and comprehension of truth does wonders for the soul. Knowing God is what makes all the difference in the world. Knowing what God is like makes all the difference in your life. So, how do you respond? Well, let the Holy Spirit set you apart by sanctifying you in the truth. Come to His Word and just believe it. It's true. And you'll be sanctified.

44:46He'll take care of it. But all this boils down to understand that there's only one name to be exalted, it's the name of Jesus. Our lives, your life, my life, isn't about going around establishing a name for ourselves or getting our way. We're not humanity at its best. I've got news for you. Jesus is. Listen, no one is saved by calling upon your name or my name. In fact, it's far more important that my kids remember Jesus' name than they remember my name. Let that shape your parenting. Sure, I can help my kids in time of need. Suppose one of my kids is driving down the road and a telephone pole jumps out in front of the middle, you know, right in front of them. They wrap their car around the telephone pole and they need help getting out of the ditch. Yeah, I can help them there. But when they are awakened to the reality of their sin, guilty conscience, they've fallen into the folly and the emptiness of sin, I can't help them out of that ditch. No.

45:58But Jesus can. You see, only Jesus, if you really love people, if you really love the Father, you will accustom yourself to dying for the benefits of others. This is what being a follower of Christ really means. Offering yourself in loving sacrifice for the benefit of others. We need to come out of our inconsistencies, don't we? We need to. Truly follow the one that we profess we follow. We need to set our hearts and minds to living a life of sacrificial devotion. This is the way our husbands should love your wives. This is the way your parents should love your children. This is the way church members should love each other. This is the way our church members should reach out and be on mission to the world, not isolation, not assimilation, but evangelization. All this sacrificial devotion. Yes, we need to stop making this life all about us and give ourselves exclusively to His will.

47:13And there you'll find more freedom, more joy. Are you bold enough this morning to pray that prayer? We're going to pray here in just a moment. Are you bold enough this morning? And I'm asking you to be bold enough to say, Lord, do whatever it takes to sanctify me in the truth. I see what Christ went through, and it scares the daylights out of me. And I have no strength to follow you like that. But will you, by your truth, sanctify me? I hope you'll pray that prayer. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do come before you just thanking you for the truth of your word, for what it accomplishes in our lives. And so, Father, we do pray. Pray that you would have your way with us, with this church, with all of us as individuals and corporately, that we would truly be a people who understand what it means to truly follow you.