Friday, June 29, 2012,
6:00 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “My Sheep” playing in my mind. Speak,
Lord, for your servant is listening. I read John 17:1-19 (NIV 1984):
Jesus Prays for
Himself
After Jesus said this,
he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the time has
come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him
authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have
given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by
completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your
presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
The Time
The time was the time for Jesus Christ to die on the cross
for our sins. It had now come to that time. Jesus asked the Father to glorify
him that he may glorify the Father. To glorify Jesus means to give him the
honor and praise he so deserves; to reveal his divine character and attributes;
to reveal the purposes for which he existed (and exists); to show him for who
he was and is; and/or to accomplish in his life (in the case of the Father
glorifying him) the will of the Father in taking Jesus to the cross to die for
our sins so we might be saved. It was time that Jesus’ ultimate purpose in
coming to earth be fulfilled and accomplished, thus giving honor and praise to
Jesus and to the Father through the salvation of human lives.
Jesus was given authority over all people by God the Father
that he might bring eternal life, through faith in Jesus Christ, to those whom
God had given to him. Jesus said that no one can come to Jesus unless the
Father first draws him. God the Father takes the initiative to bring people to
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ provided the perfect Lamb sacrifice for our sins,
once for all, and the Holy Spirit is the one who transforms hearts and minds
and takes us from spiritual death to spiritual life so that we might know the
Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. To know God in this sense is to know him
intimately in personal relationship. We are joined together with God, through
faith in Jesus Christ, as a woman is joined to a man in marriage. Through faith
we promise to be faithful to Christ and to not follow other gods.
Jesus said that he brought the Father glory on the earth by
completing the work the Father had given him to do. Jesus had not yet gone to
the cross, but he had resigned himself that now was the time, and he was ready
to go. So, he was, in essence, completing the work the Father had given him to
do by willingly going to the cross. Yet the Father willed, too, that Jesus
would be born as a baby, and live as a boy, and then as a man, and that he
should suffer what we suffer, to be tempted in all the ways we are tempted, yet
without sin, so that he could sympathize with us in our weaknesses, and so that
he would be our compassionate and merciful high priest. He had him do miracle
upon miracle in people’s hearts and lives, demonstrate much love to them, show
compassion for the hurting, heal the afflicted, and teach God’s truths to the
people. In all that Jesus did he brought glory to the Father.
Jesus Prays for His
Disciples
“I have revealed you
to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to
me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given
me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted
them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you
sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you
have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.
And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer,
but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect
them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as
we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that
name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so
that Scripture would be fulfilled.
“I am coming to you
now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may
have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and
the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of
the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you
protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of
it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the
world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they
too may be truly sanctified.
They Believed
Jesus always gave glory to the Father. In all that he did,
he pointed us to the Father. He sets the prime example for us in how we are to
approach God and how we are to respond to God in all that he has given to us.
We are not to take honor upon ourselves or to take credit for what God has accomplished
in and through us. The praise and honor should always go to God for what he has
done in our lives. If someone comes to Christ because of our witness to them or
because we walked them through a prayer of confession and faith in Jesus
Christ, we should understand that we didn’t do that. The Father drew the person
to Jesus, it was Jesus who provided the sacrifice so we could be saved, and it
is the Holy Spirit who convicts hearts and who “seals the deal.” We are just
servants of the Lord of Hosts through whom people have come to believe. Some of
us plant the seed in people’s hearts. Others of us water (add nourishment) to
the spiritual seed, but it is God who makes the seed grow.
Jesus’ true disciples, whom the Father had given to him,
showed their love, commitment and trueness of their faith in Jesus Christ in
these ways: 1. They obeyed God’s word; 2. They accepted the words of God as
true into their lives by applying those truths to their lives; and 3. They
believed Jesus Christ was from God and was sent from God. The scriptures have
much to say about the marks of true disciples. In summary, true followers of
Christ repent of (turn from) their old lives of sin, they are transformed in
heart and mind by the power and working of the Holy Spirit within them, and
they turn to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ, following him wherever
he leads them, bearing much spiritual fruit, showing themselves to be Christ’s
true disciples.
So, Jesus prayed for their spiritual protection from enemy
forces (from the evil one) and so that they might have unity with the Father
and with the Son, as the Son has with the Father. Jesus also prayed that his
disciples might have the full measure of his joy within them. He followed this
by mentioning that his disciples, though they must live in the world, are not
of the world, and because of that, the world hates them. Jesus also prayed that
the Father would sanctify his disciples by his truth, for his word is truth,
and then he mentioned that, for them, he sanctified himself, that they may
truly be sanctified. I would like to look at just a few of these things he
prayed for his disciples.
Unity
“Unity” is a common “buzz word” of today in big business,
the government and in the church. In government, unity is something that is now
being forced upon people and the nations of the world globally to bring all
nations, governments and people under one rule of law worldwide. This is
leading up to the rule of the beast of Revelation worldwide where we will be
forced to bow to the image of the beast or lose our lives. Unity (man-made) is
also being pushed and even threatened in the institutional church, but it is
unity with man’s goals and objectives, not unity of the Spirit of God in most
cases. In fact, those who are truly trying to follow the truths of scripture
are often tagged (marked) as disunifiers and troublemakers, and so are ostracized
or are even being asked to leave the church. It is a common practice of today’s
church leaders who are following man-made religion to pressure their people
into unity with men and to lead them to disassociate with those who are not one
with man (not of this world), but who are truly one with the Father and with
Jesus. The unity Jesus spoke of, nonetheless, was oneness of mind, purpose and
heart with God.
Joy
“Joy” is another word with multiple meanings. Anyone can be
joyful (happy) over things in his life that brings him pleasure, such as the
birth of a newborn baby, graduation from college, a new job, financial gain,
worldly possessions, the laughter of children, etc. Though there are certainly
elements of this kind of joy included in what Jesus said here, the joy Jesus
spoke of was not conditional upon our circumstances. He was speaking of his joy,
and that we would have the full measure of it. Hebrews 12:2 says: “Let us fix
our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set
before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God.”
The joy set before Jesus was the salvation of human lives. He
was willing to go to the cross and to die for our sins so that we might be
saved, and this is what brought him joy (pleasure). This kind of joy has
holiness and purity of heart at its root and has as its goal the character of
God. This kind of joy rejoices over the sinner turning from his sin to God, God’s
holy character and attributes, his word and his teachings, and his acts on our
behalf, and presents itself in our lives even in times of great sorrow, pain,
persecution and severe opposition of men. It expresses itself in an inner peace
and satisfaction, acceptance and even appreciation for all God allows into our
lives for his purposes and for his glory.
Sanctified
To “sanctify” means to “make holy” or to “consecrate”
something or someone to God. It means that we set apart that thing or person
for God, for his service and for his purposes. The object or person is, thus,
taken from secular use and is used for God (divine purposes). We live in the
world, but we are not of the world, i.e. we don’t do the same things as the
world does in the sense of having worldly attitudes, behaviors, and patterns
that we follow. Our lives should be so separate from worldly ways that we are
hated by those who follow the ways of this world. We should stand out for
Christ and be different.
Our goals, thoughts, objectives, desires, longings,
pleasures (joy) should all revolve around God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit –
and his will and purposes for our lives. We should take pleasure (joy) in the
things that please him, and they should be what motivate us to do his work. We
should never make compromises with the world in order to reach people for
Christ, because what are we then leading them to? Jesus gave up his life so
that we would be free from conformity to the world and to sinful practices and
desires. If we want to be his true followers, we must allow him to set us apart
for his service, his purposes and his glory.
My Sheep / An
Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV
My sheep hear me. They
know me.
They listen to my
voice and obey.
I call them and lead
them.
They know my voice, so
they follow me.
They will never follow
strangers.
They will run away
from them.
The voice of a
stranger they know not;
They do not follow
him.
My sheep hear me. They
know me.
They listen to my
voice and obey.
I call them and lead
them.
They know my voice, so
they follow me.
So, I tell you the
truth that
I am the gate, so you
enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness
and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever
enters
Not by the gate; other
way,
He is the thief and a
robber.
Listen not, the sheep
to him.
So, I tell you the
truth that
I am the gate, so you
enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness
and will be saved.
Oh, I am the Good
Shepherd,
Who laid his own life
down for the sheep.
I know them. They know
me.
They will live with me
eternally.
The thief only comes
to steal and
Kill and to destroy
the church.
I have come to give
you life that
You may have it to the
full.
Oh, I am the Good
Shepherd,
Who laid his own life
down for the sheep.
I know them. They know
me.
They will live with me
eternally.
They know my voice, so
they follow me.
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