Glory in Unity - Jesus' Prayer for All Believers Part 1 - John 17:20-21

1:51These words are very appropriate to our situation today. I want to remind you of the gloom of the situation that these were first uttered. The words were Jesus' betrayal was already set in motion. The crucifixion and all that would come about through the night, and the accusations, the false accusations, all that was right before Christ. The full moon would have been rising over the Mount of Olives. So it was a very gloomy situation if you're just looking at it from the circumstances. Likewise, our circumstances that we face this morning are unlike anything that I've ever witnessed. And there may be a real temptation to give in to despair or gloom, the gloom of the situation. And it really is different this morning. What a difference a week. Can make.

3:03I drove by places of worship that are usually extremely full of cars. Usually, the roads are a little bit desolate on Sunday mornings, but today they were really desolate. And there might be a temptation to despair in a time like that because the circumstances around us are saying one thing. And so we must look to the unseen realities to be encouraged when we face circumstances that are daunting. But it may not just be this issue that we're facing here as a church with the coronavirus. There are other difficult circumstances that I am all too aware of that people in our congregation are facing now.

4:01There's cancer, there's health issues, there's relationship issues, there's job issues, there's a lot of uncertainty, a lot that would be a temptation to give into despair. But if you just look at the circumstances surrounding Jesus's words that he expressed here, you would think that they are very bleak. He's about to face the crucifixion, about to. Face the defection of his disciples. And yet, even as we read these words, I will remind you that they are set in a context of joy and victory. Remember, look back to John 16, verse 33. Jesus, speaking to his disciples, said, These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world. And then in chapter 17, verse 1, he looks up and he begins his prayer that we have been working through for the past few months. Yes, it was in a context of victory. I have overcome the world. And he's about to face the crucifixion and everything that went with it. Look at what he says in verse 13 of chapter 17. But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. So Jesus tells his disciples by way of praying out loud why he is praying out loud. He's praying out loud so that they can experience his joy. Obviously, Jesus is seeing something that the circumstances are not displaying, right? There's some unseen realities here. Jesus himself utters these words in one of the darkest times, the darkest time in human history. And yet he knows it's going to give way to victory and God's glory.

6:18So if Jesus could approach his pending situation with a mindset of victory and joy, certainly we can face our situation or whatever our situations that we face in the same spirit as well. And why? Because we're followers of him. So just a quick reminder before we jump into these words of where we are in John chapter 17. In the first five verses of chapter 17, Jesus has prayed for himself. And then beginning in chapter or verse 6 and going all the way to verse 19, he has been praying for his immediate disciples. And then in verse 20, he shifts gears and he says, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who will believe in me through their word. So this is where you show up in Scripture. And boy, what an appropriate time to be reading these words. I think the Lord in his providence has given us these words at this very moment. What could be more encouraging than Jesus has prayed for you?

7:22He has, if you are a believer in Christ, this prayer involves you. If you have believed in the Christ of Scripture, Scripture through the words that his apostles have left, and you believe in that scripture, or you believe in the Christ that is revealed through the words of the apostle, you can be sure that you are included in this prayer. You are included. Make sure you see this. Look at verse 20. I do not ask on behalf of these alone.

8:01So there's one kind of people that he's praying for, and that's clearly the 11. But also for those, and how he introduces a second kind of people he's praying for, for those who will believe in me through their word. You see the link there. There's a connection through the disciples' word. These 11, they are going to go out and they are going to testify, as he has already said they would. You have been with me from the beginning, so you will testify. And through that testimony, through their word, he is going to bring into being a whole host of ear witnesses. The eyewitnesses will record their testimony and bring into being a whole generation of ear witnesses who will believe in them, believe in Christ through their word.

9:01There are a lot of Christs out there, but there's only one Christ of Scripture. There's only one connection, one living connection to the Christ of Scripture. It's through the eyewitness of the apostle who left us a record of who he is, what he is like. And if you're connecting with the Christ in any other way, he's not a Christ. There's the Christ that we understand. The Christ of Scripture is understood through the words of Scripture, and Jesus Himself makes it very clear who he's praying for. That's why Scripture is very, very important. You cannot know the Christ of Scripture except through the words of Scripture.

9:45And so there are two kinds of people here that Jesus is praying for. Those 11 who are eyewitnesses, who are going to testify and bring into a whole nother generation of ear witnesses. And that's us today. The believing ones, the ones who will believe, those who are of the believing nature, the believing kind who will believe their word. But this should be a source of great comfort for you this morning and joy. The very thought that Jesus is mindful of us should comfort and bring a smile in your heart.

10:31I like to think of what comes next as Jesus' last will and testament. Here he is before the heavenly Father, and he's praying. He says, This is what I want. And so he says, I do not ask on these. I do not ask on behalf of these alone. So what is he praying for? So now we know we're included. Not just future believers are included, not just in what comes after, but in what has already been said. I do not ask on behalf of these alone. These words make us look back to what he has just prayed for the 11. What does he pray for? Look back at verse 15. What has he said? What does he say? I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but you keep them from the evil one. They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. So he is saying he is praying that they be kept, that the Father would keep them and sanctify them in the truth.

11:42So the way to keep is to sanctify. The way to keep them is to sanctify them in the truth. And Jesus makes it very clear what the truth is: his Father's Word, written down in the Old Testament, incarnate in Christ Jesus. Himself and written down for us. So any Christ that doesn't square with the Christ of Scripture is no Christ at all or has serious defections. We'll agree with the Christ pictured as the scriptures depict him.

12:19But why? Why does Jesus want his people sanctified in the truth? Why? Well, I'm sure if we just went from Genesis to Revelation, we could come up with a whole large number of why it's important to be sanctified in the truth. But there are three purposes that are expressed in verse 21, and that is what I want to spend our time looking at this morning. There are three purposes, and I think of these as the last will and testament. This is why he wants them to be sanctified in the truth. This is why he sanctifies himself in verse 19. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. He's talking about the 11, and then he's talking about those who will believe through their word.

13:11Why? Well, there are one main reason. There's a glory in unity. There is a glory in unity. That's the principle. There is this whole chapter that is about God, about Christ asking the Father to advance his glory. And he wants to advance his glory by glorifying the Son, by keeping his disciples, and by sanctifying them in the truth. So there is a glory in the unity among his disciples that Christ is after. But this glory in unity is described on three relational levels, three relational levels with each other, with God, and with the world. And so I want us to look at that this morning, time that we have. I want you to understand the glory in unity, that there is a tremendous glory in unity. And I want to do so so that you will experience something of Christ's joy. It's hard to picture him joyful at this moment. I mean, obviously, he's troubled, and Scripture tells us, yet there is joy. There is an underlying sense of joy permeating this. Well, first of all, there is glory, glory in the eternal oneness, glory in the unity among all believers.

14:48Sorry, I got that. There is a glory in the unity among all believers. Look at verse 21 that they may all be one. Even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may all be one. Here's his prayer: that they may all be one. What does one mean? No division, genuine oneness, one people, one body, one mind, one purpose, one essence, one essence, one redeemed community that is redeemed and sanctified in the truth. Redeemed, sanctified, yet many people, a oneness, yet many persons.

15:40I want you to notice the breadth of this oneness. Look, it includes all nationalities, that they may all be one, Jew and Gentile, that they may all be one. You remember, if you'll turn back to John chapter 12, do you remember the striking statement that Jesus made when the Greeks came to look for him? Striking. In chapter 12, verse 20, I'll just pick up the narrative. Now, there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast. These then came to Philip, who was from Bethseaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip came and. Told Jesus, and Jesus answered them, saying, and get this: the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Now, throughout the rest of John's gospel, this hour has been something that's going to come later, not yet, it's not come yet. And then these Greeks show up, and now Jesus says, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

16:59You see, Jew and Gentile, it is the coming of these Gentiles, these Greeks who come to wish to see Jesus that triggers this statement. Okay, the hour has come. It's time to bring together Gentiles, established church. It's all nations. That's the breadth. I want you to see the depth of this oneness. Look back, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you. Now, that's one, indivisible unity, right? Yet three, yep, distinct persons, yet one.

17:56This is the depth of this oneness. And this transcends a oneness of purpose. It's much deeper than that. You see, when two people have received the revelation that is in Christ and committed themselves to that revelation, guess what? They become one. There is no other option. If you receive the truth, if you receive the thought and the understanding and the revelation that your debt before God is great, that you have a debt you owe to God that is great, that you can never possibly repay, and you experience the release of that debt through the forgiveness of God, if you receive that, if you receive Jesus as the Savior, if you receive that He has humbled Himself before us and before His Father, then guess what? You become one. And it doesn't matter how different you may be.

19:23You see, when you received the revelation of God and you were saying, Sanctified in that truth. And then, though we are many, we are made one. You see, only the church has the answer to racism. You see, at EBC, we do not try to reconcile whom God has already reconciled. And among our congregants, we have the Jew, we have the Middle Easterner, we have the Asian, the African, the Caucasian, the Latino. And forgive me if I've left out so many more.

20:13No, we have the answer. We are reconciled. We're reconciled to one another, or we are not reconciled to God. It's that simple. Sanctification in the truth is necessary for the kind of oneness that God wants between people. It's very clear in Scripture that he opposes worldly oneness. Boy, you saw that at the Tower of Babel, didn't we? In the madness of the world, rushing ahead in blatant opposition and blatant rebellion to God. Yeah, you wonder why he stepped in and confused the languages. That kind of Unity, he is opposed to.

21:05But then you come to Acts chapter 2, and what does he do? He brings the nations back together into one body, the languages. He brings them back to one body. You see, there's a glory in the unity. You see, it's fitting, by the way, that God would do this because it was the ruin of the human race that ended our fellowship, right? The ruin of our relationship with God, the world in its defection from God, is broken and scattered. This is called a ruined human race. But the restoration of the human race is going to consist of being people properly united, not to the exclusion of truth, not in opposition to the truth, but in reception and commitment to that truth. And that's why he prays. Sanctify them in the truth. It's like Jesus is saying, I have a purpose for humanity, that they all Be one, even as you and I, Father, are one.

22:37Such unity can only happen in truth. And that is why he says, sanctify them in truth. So there is a breadth of oneness. There's a glory in the breadth of this oneness. There's a glory in the depth of this oneness. And there's a glory in the duration of this oneness. Eternal. It's an eternal oneness. One people, one body, one mind, one purpose, one essence, redeemed in truth. Many people, many nations, yet one. And only Christ can bring this about through his sacrifice. Sir, we wish to see Jesus. You want to see him? He's going to the cross. And he shows himself not only to those Greeks that came looking for him, but to all the world. Such is the Christ that the disciples have testified to.

23:46So there is glory in unity, glory in the unity that is among believers. There's also glory in the unity that believers have with God, glory in the unity that believers have with God. Back again at verse 21. Notice how he says that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you. And notice what comes next, the next that, that they also may be in us. Sanctify them in truth, so that they may also be in us. It's already spoken about the disciples being one.

24:28Now saying, pray, Lord, that they would be one in us, that those who would hear through the words of the disciples would indeed become one body, sanctified in us. You see, being sanctified in truth is necessary for union with God, necessary for communion with God, not only communion with one another, but union with God. And what a glorious thought. Union with God. That we could commune with our Creator in spirit and in truth. That is what he's after from the very beginning.

25:09Communion with your Creator. That's why you've been placed on planet Earth. To commune with your Creator. And this comes on the hills. I would love to stop and just go back and re-preach portions of. John 15, but I'm not going to do that. But this is the whole abiding imagery. This is what it's all about: abiding in Christ. Remember, in John 15, verse 1, he speaks about being the true vine. And he speaks about the word and its importance in this analogy. I am the true vine. Every branch of me does not bear fruit, he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. You see, the word cleanses. The word cleanses. And you need to be cleansed if you're going to experience Christ's joy. But it's not only just that, as he goes on, his words in you will produce Christ-like fruit in your life. If you meditate, if you think God's thoughts, you will produce godly actions.

26:27If you think Christ's thoughts, look at verse 4: Abide in me and I in you. Just like the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. What's he talking about? Abiding in his thoughts, in his words. Let them permeate your spiritual being. Be thinking his thoughts after him. And he says it very clearly. What are those? Look at verse 7. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever. You wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

27:09And he's talking here about letting those words abide, being sanctified in truth. Your word is truth. So you're cleansed by the word. Your words will produce, or his words will produce Christ-like fruit in your life. But the one who abides in obedience to Christ's commandments, look at verse 10, is the one who abides in his love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. So again, it's his words. Being sanctified in truth is necessary for unity with God and fruitfulness that comes from being in union with him. It's when you start letting circumstances or you're starting letting worldly desires start permeating your mind and filling your mind that you don't produce godly fruit.

28:03Being sanctified is necessary for unity with God and what a glorious unity it is. God is glorified through people who are in union with Him. A person in union with God produces glorious thoughts, produces glorious words. And does glorious things. And so there is glory in the unity that believers share with God. Well, there's a third glory in unity that I want you to see this morning. There is glory in the unified testimony to the world. Glory in the unified testimony that believers have to the world. It's a unity that convinces.

29:02Look back, verse 21. He wants them to be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that, so that, so that the world may believe that you sent me. You see how the relational level, there's a glory in unity that we have with one another. We display God's glory by being in union with one another. We advance God's glory by being in unity with God.

29:37And that convinces the world. A testimony comes out that convinces the world of something. What does it convince the world? Convinces the world that our Heavenly Father sent Jesus, the one that the disciples speak about and have left. us a connection to through their words. It's interesting as you mull this over what does not convince the world. The miracles, even in Jesus' day, left a large population not so convinced that he was from God. Though some did, knew better, opposed God.

30:34The miracles or so-called miracles, see today, they don't really convince the world at all. Well, they may convince the world that a so-called miracle worker is something, but they don't convince the world that our Heavenly Father has sent Jesus. The size of the church does not convince the world. The extent of the church's influence isn't something that convinces the world. The popularity of the church's leader does not necessarily or does not convince the world. And definitely not the lack of unity in the body and the consequent strife among those or many so-called who call themselves believers.

31:25This doesn't convince the world that the Heavenly Father has sent Jesus. Sure, we have differences. But listen, I think George Newton said it well. How much our blessed Savior and his gospel suffer by the hot contentions of those who call themselves saints. Listen, when we find our differences more substantial than our common identity, we are immature at best and we may be apostate at worst. And what a confusing signal that sends to the world. In fact, that's why false teachers are among us, that's why false converts are among us.

32:12It's because they blight the testimony of the church. Well, what does convince the world that God sent Jesus? Well, unity, expressing itself in sacrificial love for one another. That's what convinces the world. A common mission, a common purpose, people sacrificing for people, just simply out of a common identity in Christ. There's something unusual about this. There's something unworldly about this. And you think about our congregation, we have some very different people. Have no occasion to fellowship with one another except that we are in Christ. Why?

33:06Because we are in Christ. Our paths cross with one with people that we would never cross with. But God has called people out of this world from all nations, all walks of life, and he has brought and he has put them in the body, and there is an instant identity connection. We experienced it a little bit in Honduras a couple of weeks ago, listening to a young preacher from Guatemala, right? Colombia. Colombia, yes, thank you. He opened the pages. We couldn't understand his words except through a translator. But all of a sudden, we had an identity. We had a shared truth.

33:52We were orienting our lives around the common truth. And as we were being sanctified in that truth, and as we could hear him speak, we knew we were of the same spirit, of the same kind, of the same identity. Such is the beautiful testimony that convinces the world something has happened here. There is no other explanation. Listen, listen to these words in Acts chapter 4. You remember when they arrested Peter and John? They basically said, Be quiet.

34:35As they interrogated them in chapter 4, verse 13, listen to these words. Now, as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. They were convinced that these men had been with Jesus. And probably some of them were convinced. And we're not talking just about before his resurrection.

35:16Yeah, they'd seen him with him. They recognized him as such, but what can explain this? And so it's convincing, convincing testimony. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, given to proclaim his excellencies by the things we do, the things we say. We are to minister to one another. That's what a priesthood does. Think of Emmanuel as not just a minister or a couple of the ministers. We are a collection of ministers. And during this time, over the next few weeks or months, let us strengthen our ability. To connect with one another. Let us not become victims of social distancing. Yes, there is a prudence in social distancing and a compliance with social distancing right now, but don't let that term fool you. We are to be a people of growing connection, and there are many avenues whereby we can continue to grow in connection and, in some ways, strengthen connections that we wouldn't have done in our normal routine. Let us look for those opportunities. Be calling one another. As members, call one another. As members, be calling regular attenders. As regular attenders, be calling other people. Be looking out for one another.

36:47You are ministers for one another. Make sacrifices. And we're not talking about sacrifices have to be large or small. It's all, we are just a people who sacrifice. We rise to the occasion. We meet the needs. We are about one another. Because we are sanctified in truth. Well, our world is living on frayed nerves, isn't it? And if we're not careful, that can very easily come into the church. Last week, one of my kids was at Sam's and did the unthinkable, sneezed.

37:30Yeah, sneezed. A person close by led into my child with horrific words. Called her horrific name for sneezing. Is this what America has become? Well, that's just an example of those who have no hope and the frayed nerves. A couple days ago, I was in a conference call and got a report from some of the churches around the world that are facing some of the very same issues that we are facing: Spain and Italy. Boy, they've been hit a little bit harder than we have.

38:22Lockdown, empty shelves, trying to proclaim truth and foster community while honor the king and honor the king with the capital K and honor the king with the little K and trying to reach all that and figure out what that looks like. Listen, the church around the world is struggling with these things. And even some of the frayed nerves, I got this sense that they're struggling with some of those as well. But listen, our vision, our mission, our goal has not changed. Let the world see.

39:00Our solidarity with one another. Let the world, let's put our solidarity with God on display. And it will be that solidarity that convinces the world that our Heavenly Father sent Jesus into the world. Do you see what's happening? There's something bigger than we imagine here in this difficult time. The way we minister to one another is very important to Christ, the big king. And maybe those who believe that he sent them will look upon him and embrace him as their savior. See, if they don't believe that the heavenly father sent him in the first place, they never will look upon him, right?

39:55But if we will glory, put his glory on display in the unity that he has given us, we can convince the world to look to Christ. And isn't that what they're needing right about now? Isn't that what we've always been needing? Well, our situation is surreal. And yet there are reasons to be optimistic, isn't there? We're optimistic because of Christ. He faced difficult circumstances beyond what we're facing, and crucifixion gave way to glory. I read that the prostitution industry in Europe has been crippled.

40:49The gaming industry needs a bailout. Our bar pickup culture has been shut down. Maybe all is not bad. My prayer is that this pause, it seems like God has given us a pause to rethink our lives, to repent of our ways, to rethink what American life is really about. My prayer is that this international pause will give the world time to think, repent, experience a new beginning, and learn to pursue that which really matters. And my prayer for us as a church is that we will use this pause ourselves, that we will rethink our life in this country. What are we really about?

41:48I would like for us to rethink our church life, treasure the assembly, treasure a handshake. Treasure hearing an amen from the congregation. Thank you. I'm glad we still have that. Well, it may be a time while the world practices social distancing, that we can practice growing connection through a number of means. It may be a time that brings us to the end of a way of life, but it may also be a time for new horizons for ourselves and for the world.

42:42I want to remind you of the World War II generation, the generation that we often refer to as the greatest generation in American history. Do you know where they were forged in the midst of the Great Depression? You know, it's time that this country learned the true meaning of sacrifice again, isn't it? And it is the church that is to lead the way in teaching what true sacrifice really is about. And we can lead the way because we're following the one who led the way. And he showed us what sacrifice is, and trust in our Heavenly Father is.

43:30On a whole nother level, he's the one who said, The greatest among you shall be your servant, and he fully embodied that. And that's why he said, in just the verses above ours this morning, in verse 19, for their sakes I sanctify myself, I devote myself, that they themselves may be devoted or sanctified in the truth. Well, I want you to experience something of Christ's joy this morning. I just want to conclude our thoughts here. But think about again the circumstances with which Jesus prayed these words. His public ministry was over, and those who believed on him in comparison with those who did not believe in him were very few indeed, weren't they?

44:25He was betrayed by one of his own. His faithful were about to be scattered and severely tried. And yet he was not discouraged. Why? He knew that when the wheat, when the kernel of wheat fell to the ground, it would bring forth much fruit. He was looking to the future. He was seeing that which was unseen. He knew that the word had been deposited in the heart. Of his disciples, and that word would take on a life of its own, and that word would produce a great and mighty nation, a kingdom of priests, a kingdom of believers. They would receive that word, and you're just looking at it from the outside. These are a bunch of worn, tattered, weak individuals, but they had received the word.

45:31And Jesus knew. He looked to the future, and this was the joy that was set before him. The word has already gone out. That's why in Hebrews 12:1, say, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the front throne of God. It was his cheerful confidence in his darkest moment that should lift our souls, revive our hopes.

46:25You know, many prayers are being offered today that sound something like this. God, please snap your fingers and put this thing back into order like it was a couple of weeks ago, so that we can get back to our life of forgetting you. May we never go back to forgetting him. It is not good for this nation to be on a reckless course. It is not good for us, for the church to be treated so ho-hum.

47:00No, let us pray, Heavenly Father, may the purpose for which this trial has come create in us a new beginning. Let us rethink. May we change our ways. May we re-evaluate and, yes, put this thing back in order, but not without letting this trial, not without us learning from this trial. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the opportunity to assemble like this, that we still have the ability to connect with one another, we still have an ability to nurture the community here at Emmanuel, though it is through different means, yet we still have that opportunity. And I pray, Father, that. We would seize these opportunities. Please do not take the lampstand away, but Father, through the difficult times, may you cause its flame to grow even brighter and brighter. Help us with joy and with hope. Look ahead, knowing that indeed we see the unseen reality. You reign upon your throne, and nothing has ever changed that, no matter what circumstances we may be facing.

48:29So, Father, take a moment to convict us, please, of where we as a church may be guilty of having services that have offended you. Father, we saw that you, many sacrifices in Israel of old, wearied you. So, Father, forgive us where any aspect of our corporate life has wearied you, and please lead us in a way of cleanness, truth, sacrificial love for one another. Father, you bring that about. Father, just help us all to rethink who we are and what you want us to do and be.