Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / John
John 17:13-19 Part 5 10/15/06
Message: ‘Unity in Love’ pt. 3 Text: John 17:20-26
Review: It has been a couple of weeks since I stood here before you, so let’s review the last part of John 17. John
1. John 17:20 ‘Believe’
In John 17:20 Jesus prayed that we would function as a body of believers. As believers, we believe, place our faith, our trust in Jesus to give us
· forgiveness for our sin
· and eternal life for our souls.
As a result, by the grace of God, we, the body of Christ,
· are protected from the evil one, Satan, until God calls us home
· we are sanctified, made holy, to come w/o fear into God’s presence and we are set apart to serve him
· and we are one with every other believer, throughout all time, and in every place.
2. John 17:21-23 ‘One’
In John 17:21-23 Jesus prayed that believers would be one as he was one with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. That our oneness would not only spiritual but practical, real, living.
I used this box of 120 Crayola Crayons as an object lesson. I said like these crayons, we all are different, BUT we all are necessary to function as a body, much like these 120 crayons function to bring color to a black and white world.
I said that we have about 120 people who call CBC their church home and I handed out a crayon to everyone who was here. This was to be a reminder that you are not just an individual, but a part of a whole, a body where all are needed each week to make us complete. This is only then we can function as God intended…we need you, all of you.
Did you get a crayon? If not, raise your hand and I’ll see that you get one. It’s important that everyone have a crayon, because I want this box to be empty, showing that this body of Christ, which is Calvary Baptist Church in Oceanport, is out of the box doing what God has called us to do…to be the church to the world around us…and we need everyone to do that.
Transition: What will our oneness do? Why is it important that we be one, that we function as one body in Christ? The answers are found in our text this morning.
John 17:21-23 ‘Glory’
Read: John 17:20-24
We need to be one, to function as one body in Christ, because it will bring glory…to our lives…and it’s the kind of glory God the Father gave to God the Son. Does that mean we will be praised by others, and super special Christians? No, sorry, it’s not that kind of glory.
Let’s think about what kind of glory God the Father could give to God the Son, Jesus, and Jesus could give to us.
· Glory usually means to reveal that which is hidden…like ‘who God is’. God gave Jesus that kind of Glory because he perfectly revealed to us who God is. And Jesus gives this kind of glory to us when we are one.
-You see, by our oneness, and in spite of our differences, we reveal who God is to those who don’t know God or who have a faulty understanding of God.
· But there’s another kind of glory God the Father gave to Jesus and Jesus gives to us, those who believe. It’s the glory of suffering. I know this probably isn’t one of your favorite things to hear about in Scripture but hear me out before you turn me off.
-Jesus mentioned time after time that he came to bring glory to God and he did just that through his life, his ministry, his service to those around him…even by his suffering and death.
-No wonder his tells his disciples, then and now, to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him daily…He tells us to do as he did, live as he did…yes, even suffer as he did.
Read: ‘However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.’ 1 Peter 4:16
-Suffering for our faith, suffering for remaining united in the midst of our differences, suffering for living out the ‘one anothers’ in Scripture
-is never shameful nor embarrassing. It was Jesus’ glory to suffer and die and it’s our privilege and glory to ‘take up our cross’ whatever that may mean for us individually and as a church.
-Because as Christians we all, together, bear the name of Christ. That’s why we are called Christian. For it’s here that we display our oneness, our unity and in suffering together we display the glory of God.
Transition: Wait, there is another kind of glory God the Father gave God the Son, Jesus, and Jesus gave to us…it’s the glory of love.
John 17:20-23 ‘Love’
Read: John 17:20-24
I said that it blows my mind when I hear that Jesus prayed for us to be one just as the God-Head is one. Well, here is another place I loose touch with reality…Jesus prays that we would know that God the Father loves us just as God the Father loves God the Son, Jesus. Let that sink in for a moment.
· Close your eyes and think about the love that exists between God the Father and God the Son...that’s how much your heavenly Father loves you.
· I have no words to adequately express what this means.
The great thing is, I don’t have to explain it…I just have to be thankful that through faith in Jesus, I, we, can experience it. And it’s because we can experience it, that it’s so important.
· You see, in the midst of our differences, in the midst of our suffering, in the midst of our oneness, we experience the love of God…and others take notice.
Where does the world see this kind of love?
· First in the church…splits, dissention, division are not signs of God’s love. Forgiving one another, being patient with one another, giving preference to one another, serving one another, did I say forgiving one another? This is how the world sees the kind of love God the Father has not only for God the Son, Jesus, but for each of his sons and daughters, when we place our trust, our lives in Jesus Christ.
· Second, the world sees this kind of love between churches when we promote and celebrate the ways we are alike rather than criticize and separate over the ways we are different.
· Finally, the world sees this kind of love in Christian families…particularly between Christian husbands and wives.
-Can I be honest? I’m tired of hearing Christians bad mouth their spouses, especially in public. It’s got to stop. If your marriage isn’t what you expected it to be, talking bad about marriage or about your spouse will only make your marriage worse…and the world will believe that love in Christian marriages is a fickle as the love in their marriage…and that’s far from the truth.
Read: Eph. 5:21-33
Hear me out…although these texts lists specific responsibilities of each spouse, scripture tells us that we are to submit to one another and we are to love one another, whether spouse or brother and sister in Christ…How is this possible?
Read: Rom. 5:5b ‘…God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.’
· We can love one another because God first loved us
· We can love one another because God has given us his love in the presence of the indwelling holy Spirit
· And when we choose to love even in the midst of our differences, we demonstrate to the world the love God has for us.
Transition: Love is a testimony of God’s presence with us.
John 17:21-23 ‘Witness’
Read: John 17:20-23
Our culture is defined by conflict, broken relationships, dysfunctional families and fractured communities. We have what everyone outside the walls of this church building needs…the grace to be one with each other, in love.
Jesus is praying that the practical aspect of this oneness, this unity would be evident to all…especially the unbelieving world around us. God wants the world to see in our oneness, the presence, power and unfailing loveof the resurrected Jesus Christ.
Transition: It’s Jesus in our midst, on our minds and in our hearts that draws the unbelieving world to the church and to Jesus Christ.
3. John 17:24 ‘Present’
Read: John 17:24
A focus on the presence of Jesus, then...in the future in heaven, and now in our midst, will help maintain the oneness and unity God the Father has already given to us.
To the extent that we, individually and corporately, look to Jesus Christ, in all things, we will be drawn together, we will maintain the oneness, the unity God has already given to us through his Holy Spirit.
· Our focus is Jesus, not a program or ministry,
· Our focus is Jesus, not what kinds of songs we sing or the level of formality in our worship celebration,
· Our focus is Jesus not the pastor,
· Our focus is Jesus…and only Jesus. This is what will keep us one.
The amazing thing is that not only does Jesus promise to be present with us…he desires it so much so that he asks the Father to make it a reality…and God the Father does just that.
No mater where we are, Jesus is there…that’s a promise from God himself. If you have any doubts read Ps 139.
Transition: When we are in the presence of Jesus it is then we can begin to know him. And that too, is what Jesus prays for.
4. John 17:25-26 ‘Know’
Read: John 17:25-26
Know, know, know…Jesus wants us to know him. He doesn’t want us to just know about him, he wants us to know him. He’s talking about real intimacy. It’s amazing that it’s possible for us to know Jesus, to be intimate with him…but it’s not only possible, it’s expected. How great is that?
Conclusion
Well, we are finished with John 17, at least in the sermon series. I hope you will refer back to it often to find comfort and assurance of the very special place you have in God’s heart.
Please allow me to use God’s Word to summarize what he have learned from Jesus’ prayer in John 17.
Read: Eph 4:4-6 ‘There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.’
Let me leave you with just one question.
Are you living out the oneness Jesus’ prayed for you to display?