Advancing God's Glory Part 2 - Jesus Prays for His Disciples - John 17:9-13

2:10And those employees that excel the others are those who enjoy what they are doing. I know many of you may be looking for jobs right now. It's about that time of the year, looking for jobs. Certainly, if you're in the school and graduating, you may be looking for a job. Well, the best employees, let me just give you some advice. The best employees are those who are content in their wages. And the best companies are those who give their employees reason to be content in their wages. The best employees are those who find joy in their work, who put their heart into their work, who are not afraid of losing their job.

3:00Those are the ones who seem to make the best employees. In fact, employees like that are the best advertisement that a company could ever have. In fact, you look at some of these tech companies, boy, they pay large salaries. I have a nephew who recently went to work for one of them and pay him very well. And they have a like a mall. They have restaurants. They have all the food he can eat. They don't want him ever leaving that campus. And all that food is free. You just go to like Starbucks, whatever they have in there, and you can just eat all day. They want you there. The thought of entertaining an offer somewhere else is just out of the question because the best companies know that they must be built upon the best employees, and that's how they keep them.

4:05But the most effective witnesses for Christ are those who are characterized by Christ's like joy. Those who love their master, those who love his ways, those who love being identified with him, those who are content in him and him alone. Please make the best witnesses. Well, last week we began looking at the characteristics of these men who Christ is going to use to continue to advance his glory in the earth. And this week, we're going to begin looking at the prayer that Jesus made for them. So far, we've just looked at the men, and now we're going to begin this week looking at his actual prayer for them. But just look back at verse 9 and notice again who Jesus prays for. I ask on their behalf, those he's just spoken of. I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom you have given me. So Jesus is very clear who this prayer is for and who it's not for. It's not for the world. In fact, the prayer that Jesus utters would be absolutely inappropriate for the world.

5:32The only legitimate prayer that Jesus can offer for those in the world is to come out of the world. Jesus does not pray that the world may continue in its worldliness. No, there is no hope for a person who persists in his or her worldliness. There is no hope for you today if you insist on persisting. In your worldliness, the worldly system is passing, it is fading away, and for good reason. It is hostile to the things of God. And so, those who persist in that system have no hope.

6:16The only hope is to come out of the world. In fact, the Bible really has one exhortation to those who've never put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ: that is to come out of the world, be forgiven, be renewed, and follow Christ. That's the message. In fact, that's his prayer. I think sometimes we go astray, even in our prayers, as we pray for other people. Sometimes we're more interested in their worldly circumstances than their eternal disposition.

6:55Sometimes it's not about the cancer. Sometimes it's not about the situation. Sometimes it's about you coming out of your worldliness. And oftentimes, there are situations that we encounter in this world or that people encounter that are geared by God to bring them out of their worldliness. And we need to be mindful that the primary thing is just not health, wealth, and well-being, but an abandonment of worldliness. There is no hope for those who persist. In worldliness, of course, we want people to do well. We want health, good well-being, and we should pray to that end, but not to the exclusion or lose focus upon the eternal value of people coming out of their worldly circumstances, of their worldly disposition.

8:01Well, Jesus' focus here is upon his own, and he offers a special prayer, not for the world, but for his own, these who he dearly loved. And by the way, this does not mean that Jesus has abandoned the world. No. It does not mean that he does not love the world. No, in fact, these disciples are going to be the ones that he is going to continue advancing his glory into the world with the goods news of the gospel so that those in the world will no longer be of the world, so that they too will come out. No, he has a global mission in mind. And yet there is a special love here that is upon his own that I do not want you to miss. And so this morning, I want you to see why Jesus prayed for his disciples and specifically what he prayed for, so that his joy will be. In you.

9:02So, why did Jesus pray? Why and what did Jesus pray? Well, first we'll look at the why. Why did Jesus pray for his disciples? Well, they belonged to the family of God. He prayed for them because they already belonged to the family of God. Look back again at verse 9. I ask not on their behalf. I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom you have given me. Why? For they are yours. The principle that is driving Jesus to pray is not just his love for his disciples, though that's a factor. Not just because he has a love for the world or has a mission on his mind to use these men for utilitarian purposes to get the gospel out, though that is a factor. No, the fundamental principle is they belong to you, Heavenly Father.

10:03And that's why I pray for them. They're yours. They bear your name. But if you look back, they also belong to Jesus, don't they? Look at verse 10. And all things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine. Certainly, this includes the disciples. I got permission to share this. Story from Letty. Our music minister, Pat Johnson, got married many years ago, and I never will forget what his wife, Letty, said to him shortly after their marriage. She said, Now, sweetheart, everything that is yours is mine, and what's mine is mine.

11:03Well, if we tweak that just a little bit, we'll get what Jesus says here. Jesus is saying, Look, Father, all things that are mine are yours, and everything that are yours are mine. Notice the tweak, right? But you think about what Jesus is saying here. This is a claim nothing short of full deity. It's one thing to say, everything that I have is yours. All that things that are mine are yours. I think we could all say that, right? Everything we have is God's, whether that's true or not. We could say it, right, and be within the realm. But could any of us say, all things that belong to you, Father, are mine?

11:44No human could say that, right? And here's Jesus in this intimate prayer, Father, Son, Holy of Holies. And here he's saying, all things that are yours belong to me. Certainly, that's a claim to his deity. But certainly, as you look at this, this claim includes the disciples, and I think that's certainly what is on his mind here. Who do they belong? Who do these belong? Well, they belong to both, right? They belong to the father, they belong to the son. I gave my daughter's hand in marriage this last summer to Noah, right?

12:35Does that mean she's no longer my daughter? Absolutely not. It just means that Anna has joined the Bittner family. Likewise, when the Father gives Jesus a true disciple, it does not mean that he ceases to be their heavenly father. It just means they belong to the family of his son. He's joined to Christ. His disciples still belong to the Father. They also belong to Christ. There's a community, isn't there? Born into a community between father and son.

13:14Do you see the community that's there? We are born when, just like when a baby is born into the world, guess what? They're born into a community, right? We spent a lot of time this last Tuesday night, I believe, in the young marriage looking at this principle. A child is born into community. Husband and wife form a community. Likewise, those who are born from above automatically belong to the community that exists between father and son. We are caught up in the middle of this holy community.

13:55Holy community. There is a joint interest, father, son, joint interest. There is joint affection upon these disciples, father-son, joint affection, joint commitment, father-son. Just like husband-wife upon the children, a joint interest, affection, and commitment. And these disciples, they did not simply belong to God because God had created them. Oh, they didn't. We often hear, well, there's the fatherhood of God and there's the brotherhood of man in the sense that God is creator of all, so there is a brotherhood. And yeah, that's true from a creation standpoint, but not from a redemption standpoint.

14:40These disciples were not simply gods by creation. Yes, he created them, but he also redeemed them. And this makes a very special, unique people. And what characterizes this holy community, that if you were born from above, That you belong to, that these disciples belong to. Well, it's very clear that holiness and sacrificial love characterizes the interaction between Father and Son. That's what it does. Each glorifies the other. The Father gives all things to the Son, the Son does nothing except glorify the Father. There is a mutual sacrificial love, there's devotion, there's holiness, and that's the community. If you're a follower of Christ, a true follower of Christ, that you belong in.

15:35And so that should start showing up in your life because you really do belong there. And if you do belong there, you will exhibit these characteristics or begin to grow. If you don't, you're not part of the holy family. But another point here: not only do they belong to the Father, not only do they belong to the Son, look back at verse 10. These disciples are the means to glorify Jesus. Verse 10, the end of that, and I have been glorified in them. I have been glorified. To some degree, Jesus had already. Been glorified in them. They believed. They kept his word.

16:37Some degree, especially in comparison to the rest of the world, there is a measure in which they have already been glorified, but the tense of this verb and the form of it is a perfect, I have been glorified. It's a glorification. It's like a state. I have been glorified and continue to be glorified. I am glorified in these. They are the avenue. They are the means through whom I am going to be glorified. So that's why he's praying for them. They are the means to glorify the Christ who walked among us.

17:25What a privilege, right? Jesus is glorified, or Jesus glorified the Father. How did he do that? By displaying him, by saying the things the Father would say, by doing the things the Father would do. The disciples of Jesus glorify him by the same way. By doing the things Jesus would do, by saying the things that Jesus would say. You see, the disciples of Jesus glorify him by proclaiming him in word and deed. And by doing so, they glorify Jesus. And what's happening when Jesus is glorified? Who gets the glory? The Father, right? So you see, in a real way, when Jesus is glorified, the Father is glorified.

18:11And when he calls His disciples to follow Him, He calls His disciples to step into that glorious privilege of glorifying His Heavenly Father. By glorifying Christ, by Christ in you, by seeing and allowing Christ's likeness to be formed in you, you glorify your Heavenly Father. What a high calling. Sometimes we get caught up in the little trivial things of the day, and we think, well, I'm kind of live a menial life. I kind of not really doing much of anything. I've got a little corner with little influence. And somehow we get to thinking that that's so menial that it doesn't matter. But I want to call you to the high calling of glorifying your heavenly Father. What can be higher than that?

19:06It's irrelevant of the situation that you're called to glorify your heavenly Father is a high, high calling. Sometimes it shows up in what you say. Sometimes it shows up in what you do not say. Sometimes it just shows up in what you do. What a privilege. How do we glorify Jesus? Well, by looking like him. I'm not talking physically either, talking spiritually, talking spiritually. Look back at verse 11. And notice that Jesus' prayer is predicated upon the fact that he is leaving the world and he's no longer going to be physically present in the same capacity. Look at verse 11. I am no longer in the world, and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to you.

20:12And all this brings us to the prayer itself. Why did Jesus pray for his disciples? Well, because they belong to the family of God. What exactly did Jesus pray for? Well, he prayed that the Father would keep them in the family of God. That's the second thing: the what. What did Jesus pray? And now we've come to the actual prayer itself. And what does Jesus want? What does he ask his father? Well, he asks his father to keep them in the family of God. They belong to the family of God, and his prayer is keep them in the family of God.

20:48Very straightforward. Prayer is to keep. Look at the middle there of verse 11. Holy Father, keep them. Holy Father, keep them. Guard them. Protect them. Watch over them. It's very strong. In fact, it's even more than just be guarding them. It's put them in a state of eternal preservation. That's the form here. Put them in a state of your protection forever. That's the idea. But notice how he says, holy, holy, Father. In fact, it's the only place in John where Jesus addresses his Father as holy. It's a unique address in the whole New Testament. Holy Father.

21:50In chapter 1, he just says, Father. I mean, in verse 1, he just says, Father, the hour has come. In verse 5, again, he just says, Father, glorify me together. In verse 25, he's just, oh, righteous Father. But here it's holy, holy, holy Father. The word holy speaks of this thoroughly pure nature of the Father that is completely separated. It's not just about his separation, but he is separate from the worldly system. He is holy. He is distinct, but it's not just. Just about his separation, it's about his thoroughly pure nature, his essential character, his quality.

22:43But notice again, he's saying, put them into a state of protection. He's not saying, help them stay. Look back. He's not saying, Heavenly Father, help them. Hold on. It's not the prayer. Put them in a state of your watchful care. Keep them from anything and everything that would cause them to depart. Keep them in. And so this idea of keeping brings to mind a couple of ideas. Talk about one now. I'll talk about the second one a little bit later as we keep going through. But the first idea that's implied by this word keep is value. Value.

23:34You know, we keep things we value, right? We get rid of things we don't value. One of my favorite days of the week is Trash Day. Not my son's, because he takes out the trash, but one of my favorite get rid of the trash, you know, it's not that nice. It's nice to purge once we get all that, you know, rotten, get everything out, out in the street. We get rid of things we don't value. Hold on to that which we value. So when Jesus is making such an earnest prayer at this juncture in his life, he's got the cross before him. He's not thinking about himself. All right, I've got to go through all this crucifixion. I'm about to go there. He's like, keep them, keep them, because he values them. There's something of great worth to Jesus. He treasures his disciples. He treasures his followers. I mean, think about where he's at and think about what's on his mind.

24:34He treasures. He's deeply interested in the well-being of his followers. Why? I'm glad you asked. Good question. Why? Why would he value them? Well, because they were the Father's special gift to him. Notice how many times in this chapter he speaks about those the Father has given to them. Look at verse 2: that to all whom you have given him he may give eternal life. Verse 6, I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave to me. Verse 9, where we're at, I do not ask, I ask, but for those whom you have given me. Again, in verse 24, I desire that also those whom you have given me. Do you see an emphasis upon the gift? Jesus is talking about the gift. You have given them to me.

25:31Listen, Jesus really does see every true disciple as a gift from his heavenly father. The language is so explicit and it is emphasized. If you are a follower of Christ, you are a gift from your heavenly Father to the Son. Let that sink in. Let me tell you something. I take care of things that mean a lot to me, things that remind me of my children. In fact, let me talk to you about the bookmark operation that went on for a number of years. We had this little art studio right next to my office was at home, and I had this office, and my daughters had turned one part of it into an art center. And for years, they went into bookmark making.

26:46And they made bookmarks. And I was the only one who bought them from them. But I bought boxes of bookmarks. And let me tell you, I can't seem to bring myself to throw these away. And I mean, I've got a lot of bookmarks. In fact, if you go into the library on there, you'll probably find a lot of bookmarks that were made during this bookmark era. But we had a lot of series just to get, there was a time we had a flower series. Okay, and I mean, I've got so many series. There's the Let's Go to Spoons series, you know, and then there's the special I Love You series. You see, you know, and it's hard to throw these away. And I mean, this I Love You series got the most mileage. Look at this one. I love you. Double heart, double heart. You turn it over, 10 cents.

27:45And then here's another one: I love you. And I got a nice sparkle sticker on here, or a gem, and you turn it over, 25 cents. Oh, and then here's the watercolor series. You know, I love you in watercolors, 10 cents. And this little green thing, it was marked down to six cents. I mean, when love starts going like that, you've really got to. And then, you know, it just goes on. There's the Nice Try, Dad, series, and I was probably trying to get one of the bookmarks at a special price. But anyway, the point is, these are little bookmarks, and I've got lots of them. I can't seem to throw them. Away because they remind me of a gift from my children who loved me, even if I had to pay for 10 cents, 25 cents. We'll go with the first, you know, yeah, it's a tough racket. You've got to make money somehow, and it doesn't lessen their love. I get that, but but just think: I hold on to little pieces of paper because they remember because they were a gift from my children. How much more would you expect the eternal Son to take care of the gift that his father has given to him?

29:01Think about that. We're not a bunch, we're not just little pieces of paper, we are living beings, gifts from the father to his son. How much more do you think the son is going to treasure his disciples? Because they are gifts. In fact, in John 6, 39, remember Jesus said, This is the will of him who sent me, that of all he has given me, I lose nothing of all he has given me. It's his will that I lose nothing. I am going to keep everything that he gives me because it's a gift from him to me. It doesn't involve us.

29:53Let me say this: it isn't about us, it does involve us. He's not going to lose. He's going to keep, that's why he prays for their preservation. Father, keep them. Keep them. So then the question becomes: how does he want them kept? How does he want them kept? Look back at verse 11. Holy Father, keep them in your name, the name which you have given to me, in your name. You remember, he promises he's going to keep them. He wants to put them in a, he asks that the Father would put them into a state of eternal preservation. And he's not saying here, keep them by the power of your name. That's not what he's saying.

30:48He's saying, keep them in your name. And when we talked about what is the name, the name is the essential character, the essential personality. Keep them in your personality, as opposed to letting them go into the world's personality. Keep them in your name, in your disposition, not the world's disposition. They came out of that world. Now keep them. Keep them in your name, the name which you gave to me. Keep them in your personality. Personality, the personality that I have manifested.

31:36See what Jesus is saying here. God has forever entrusted the revelation of Himself in the person whose name is Jesus. The living Christ, incarnated Christ. Keep them in your name, Heavenly Father, the name that you have given to me. Same name. Keep them in my personality. Keep them in your personality. Keep them in my personality. Keep them in your personality as revealed through my personality. Keep them in that. I want you to see that there is community in this holy unity. There is community in this holy unity between Father and Son. They are one, but they commune. Look at verse back at 11. Holy Father, keep them in your name, the name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

32:55There's a oneness in Father and Son. There's a oneness in this. Community, but there is community in this unity, and there is unity in this community, and we are born into that as followers of Christ. But I want you to see, I want you to pay very careful attention to what's being said here because this verse is often misused. Oneness is not the specific prayer. Look back. The specific prayer is, keep them in your name. The prayer is not make them one.

33:36The prayer is keep them in your name. And the result of being kept in his name is what? Unity. Unity. The result of being kept in loyalty to the personality of the Father and Son is unity with each other. And we are to strive for this unity that is based upon being in the name of the Father as revealed in his Son, Jesus Christ. You know, oftentimes, this is very different. This kind of unity that Jesus is praying for here is different from a show of unity. And oftentimes, there are Those who advocate ecumenical efforts, efforts that want to show unity, are big about putting on a display of unity. And so there will be often groups that are very ununified brought into this show of unity. Sometimes it can be as broad as all world religions. Sometimes it could be under that which is called or goes under the umbrella of Christianity. So you'll see Catholic, Orthodox, you'll see Charismatic, you'll see Baptistic, you'll see Bible, you'll see this spectrum trying to, these efforts to bring everyone together. And then sometimes there'll be Muslim throw in the mix, sometimes there'll be others, and you want this show of unity. But a show of unity is not the kind of unity that Christ is speaking about here. The type of unity that he is speaking about is a kind of unity that comes out of this holy community between father and son.

35:42And by the world, by the way, I don't think the world is so bamboozled to believe that sometimes these outward shows of Christian unity are not at all unified at all. I think they know that. Why are they not unified? Because they are. Not all kept in the name of the Christ revealed to us in Scripture. There can be no unity when their name is forgotten or left or abandoned. So we need to strive for holy unity and beware of unholy unity.

36:33But the emphasis, I don't want to miss the, I don't want to miss the comparison, but all that I just said, look back at that they may be one even as we are. That is a staggering statement. Those who are kept in the name have a oneness and are moving towards a oneness like that of God Himself. You see, if we have oneness problems here in this church, you can be sure we're having Christ-like problems. But even in the midst of our Christ-like Problems, I do see a oneness in a unified people that seems to go beyond anything humanly possible.

37:52A wonderful people, a unified people. I need to keep going. So, Jesus's words, I'm sorry, so Jesus is, so Jesus wants the Father to keep his disciples in his name. Number one, because there is community and holy unity, but number two, because there's the terror of a real threat. There's a terror of a real threat. Look back at verse 12. While I was with them, I was keeping them in your name, which you have given me, and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, so that the scripture would be fulfilled. But now I come to you.

38:34As I said earlier, the word keep implies two important ideas, right? The first idea is value. The second idea is threat. Threat. If you have to keep something, obviously there's value, but there's also a threat, a threat of loss. Jesus' prayer here reveals the terror of a real threat. Don't let what has been said before distract you from the terror of this real threat. Jesus would not be praying this if there was not a threat of great loss.

39:18And every shepherd in that day knew the threat of loss, right? Implied in Jesus' prayer is the sense of real danger. There's the danger of the sheep being taken. There's the danger of the sheep leaving. Those are real threats. And so Jesus is praying. They need a force keeping them safe and keeping them in. And that force, Heavenly Father, is your keeping protection. Put them in a state of your care. Without it, they're not going to stay.

40:00That's why he prays. Judas's departure is probably the most frightening prospect in all of Scripture, isn't it? I'd love to spend some time just talking about this phrase, son of perdition, son of destruction. The only other place it's used is in 2 Thessalonians 2, 3, where Paul is saying, let no one deceive you. You in any way, the day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first. That man of lawlessness who is revealed, the son of destruction. Same word, the son of Judas and this final Antichrist have the same name: the son of destruction. It's a word for Apollyon for those of you who read your dangerous journey. What's the pilgrim's progress, right? Apollyon.

41:03That's the word for that beast, the son of destruction. Listen, Judas's destiny was destruction because his disposition was destruction. Judas shows us the way of destruction. And what's frightful about this is that he made a lot more sacrifices than many of us in here, right? He was stealth. In fact, we think about the man of lawlessness to be to come. He's a man. The son of destruction is also a man of lawlessness. What basically that means is that he is a man where he is a law unto himself.

41:55What is your disposition? Is your disposition that? That of the Son of God or the Son of destruction? The Son of destruction goes down a path of his own choosing, of his own making, does not submit to the way of God, chafes at the ways of God, will not come under the ways of God. That's the son of destruction. But the Son of God, in humility, delights the Father in the Father's will, even if it involves a cross.

42:30What's your disposition? I think it's important to let John Calvin comment on this because I think sometimes he's misquoted. This is what he says about Judas here. It would be wrong for anyone to infer from this that Judas's fall should be imputed to God rather than to himself. And that necessity was laid upon him by the prophecy. And what he's basically saying is that Judas acted out of his own volition. He did what he wanted to do, and he is responsible for it. Scripture just revealed that it was going to happen. And what Scripture reveals about Judas's defection is that even the treacherous acts of the rebellious are just as much under God's control as the obedient acts of the saints. And there is great comfort if you're a disciple at this moment and Jesus is about to be crucified. It's very comforting for you to know that sinner and saint are all under God's control.

43:42Judas seemed to be a picture of devotion, but he turns out to be a picture of one who did not keep and was not kept. And I mean, his departure must have really unsettled the disciples. It really unsettles me. I mean, and I have to ask myself the question: if God is sovereign, how do I know that I will not be sovereignly judged? What assurances do I have? What assurances do the disciples have at this juncture in time, seeing Judas's defection? How do I know that I am not living one great big charade? And when it comes to the end, that I am going to be defect, and I am going to go down the route of the son of perdition.

44:24How do I know this isn't me? Good question. I'm glad you asked because there's an answer here. You see, the assurance of the disciples staying with Jesus was not to be found in the disciples themselves, but in the keeping or preserving power of Jesus' Father. That's why he says, Father, keep them. They are going to defect. There's a human disposition, and I think we all feel it if left to ourselves. Guess what? We're going to defect. We're going to be overwhelmed.

45:06Those who have been born of God are not alone. And it's because we are in union that though we may feel the strain, we will not be broken. Not because of us, but because someone has a hold on us. I've seen these rescues at sea. And I don't know if you've ever witnessed these, but you probably have. Boat capsized, people swimming out. Helicopter comes to rescue them. Do they drop down a bar and say, grab on, and after you've been swimming for days in the ocean? Do you think you have any kind of strength to be pulled out? No, they put them in a harness, don't they? And they come out.

45:52And that's what Jesus is saying. Look, the strength isn't in them to stay in your personality. You must keep them in your personality. Look at verse 13. There is joy of an assured outcome. 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. What does Jesus think? He says, Let me tell you why I'm praying out loud right now. I want them to hear what I am praying so that they May have my joy made completely full in them. My joy. I want them to have my state of joyfulness, and I want that in them. That's why I'm praying this prayer out loud so they hear it. That's why John wanted it written down.

46:50And how can disciples have joy in light of such a looming threat, the cross, the threat of defection? And well, it's not going to be found by looking into their own reserves, but to what Jesus has just prayed. He prayed so that they would hear and that they would know that his prayer will be answered. That much they knew. Only by hearing Jesus' prayer could the disciples then become assured of the outcome, that they could put on those glasses and look through life through the paradigm of Christ's joy, because they knew the outcome was sure. And we can go through life looking through at life through the paradigm of Christ's joy because we know God will keep his own.

47:52Because the Father has given them to the Son. The Son is not going to lose any one of them. Joint interest, joint affection, joint care. And out of this, though there is real threat, we place no confidence in ourselves. We abandon trust in ourselves and we look and trust in our glorious Savior. Listen, here's the joy. We do, everyone who is in Christ does right now enjoy intimacy with the Father, with the Son, and with each other at some level. And we are to be growing in that.

48:42But our joy is also that we know that we will enjoy the perfect intimacy with the Father, with the Son, and with each other for eternity. Well, I wanted you to see why Jesus prayed for his disciples. I wanted you to see what he prayed for his disciples so that you could begin to really have an understanding of why you can look at life through the lenses of Christ's joy. I mean, really look. You have a real basis, not some circumstantial basis. Oh, stock market's up today, so I can be joyful, or things are going well.

49:37No, you have a real basis to look at whatever comes, whatever happens through the paradigm of joy. But if you are not in Christ, there is no hope for you. The only hope for you is that you will come out of your worldliness and be in Christ. And that's why these words have been declared to you this morning: so that you will not remain in your worldliness, but that you will come and that you will be in Christ in the name, the name the Father, the incarnate Christ that has walked among us. The name the Father has given to the Son, that you be given and kept in his personality.

50:21Do you want to live in the state of Jesus' joyfulness? Understand that the Father is going to grant this prayer to Jesus. If not, God would have to deny himself and be at odds with himself. This was Jesus' gift to us. We bear his name. We are the means of advancing his glory in the earth. He prayed out loud. John recorded these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Spirit, because this was Jesus' gift to his disciples the night he was betrayed.

51:11Pending his crucifixion, he wanted an eternal record of his prayer between father and son so that you could live, really live in a state of his joyfulness. And those are the best ministers. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you that you've given us so much, so much. Thank you. Help us to respond.