Hello, it's good to be with you again, and in this video we're going to continue our series in John chapter 17. If you recall, we are looking at, in John chapter 17, the Lord Jesus' high priestly prayer. He is praying to his Father before he goes to the cross. And in the first five verses of John chapter 17, Jesus prays for himself. But then in verse 6, there is a change in the flow of the prayer, and Jesus begins to pray for his people. And that's what we see throughout the rest of John chapter 17. Now, in this video, we are going to focus on verses 13 through 19. And in this section, Jesus prays about the relationship that his people have with the world. So Jesus is praying about the relationship that his people have with world and that'll be the focus of our message in this video. So I'm going to begin reading for us in verse 13 and I'll read through to verse 19. John chapter 17, verse 13. Jesus prays to the Father. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. Now, as we jump into this and we look at this section of Jesus' prayer, we need to define the word world. Okay, so we need to define world. The word world can be used in different ways in the Bible. So right now we are experiencing a global pandemic, a pandemic that affects the physical world and the people of the world. And during this pandemic, we should be praying that for the peoples of the world, that the Lord would be gracious, that he would show mercy, we should pray for their physical well-being, we should pray for their spiritual awakening, we should pray for the world in that sense. And Jesus uses the word world in that way in John chapter 17. But in our verses this morning, he also uses the word world in a different way. Jesus also uses the word world to refer to a belief system, a set of values and ethics that are set in opposition to God and his kingdom. The Apostle John actually uses the word world this way in 1 John. So John wrote the Gospel of John. He also wrote a letter that came later on entitled 1 John. And in 1 John 2, verses 15-17, John uses the word world in this way. He writes, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes, and pride and possessions, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." So here we see in this verse that John is using the word world primarily to speak of a belief system are set in opposition to God. And the Lord Jesus is calling us out of the world which is passing away and calling us to align ourselves with him and with his convictions and with his morals and with his ethics and with his kingdom which is eternal. Now it's important for us to talk about that the word world is used in the Bible because some of you might be thinking right now, well, you know, we're in the midst of this global pandemic. You know, what's my relationship to the world right now? I'm quarantined from the world. I mean, I can't spend time with anyone and social distancing and so forth. There's no way that I can be influenced by the world at this time. But we need to be careful about how we think about this. We might, in these days, be quarantined from people in the world that we normally spend time with, but that does not mean that we are immune to the influence of the world, the influence of the belief systems, the morals, In fact, I imagine that many of you have extra time on your hands during these days. And if so, you might have been binge watching on Netflix or you might be constantly listening to the news. And if that's the case, it is possible that you might be more influenced by the world right now than you were even before the pandemic. That's not to say watch a TV show or to keep up with the news. I'm not saying that at all. But we do need to be careful about these things. We need to be careful about how we think about the world and its influence upon our lives. And we need to be discerning. And that's what the Lord Jesus is praying about in these verses here in John chapter 17. As we look at these verses, I believe that we see here that Jesus provides us with five words Five words that describe the Christian's proper relationship to the world. I want us to look at each of these words briefly and work through the passage in this way. So the five words are as follows, distinction, hostility, protection, sanctification, and mission. Let's jump in and look at the first one. Distinction. Distinction is the first word that describes the Christian's proper relationship to the world. Look there in verse 14. And we read these words, And then if you skip down to verse 16, Now notice here that Jesus makes a sharp distinction between him and his people and the world. And what is the cause or the basis of this distinction between Him and His people and the world? Well, it's apparent in these verses. This distinction is caused by the Word, by Jesus' Word. Look there in verse 14 again. and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Jesus makes a similar point earlier in the prayer in verse eight. In verse eight, Jesus prays, I have given them the words that you gave me. They have received them, and they have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. So this is the clear distinction that Jesus is making here between his people, and the world. His people are those who have received his word and the world has not received his word. And so this is the very clear distinction here. This is the difference. Either we belong to Jesus and we are his people because we have received his word or we do not receive his word and we belong to the world. In a few moments we're going to see that this word will get us in trouble. But before we consider that trouble, we need to appreciate for a moment the privileged status that we possess as Christians. Listen to how the He says, they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. In other words, the Lord Jesus is saying, they are with me. I'm not of the world. They are not of the world. They have received my word. They are mine. They belong to me. Jesus is identical. Jesus is identifying us with himself. What a privileged status we have as Christians, that the Lord Jesus says, we belong to him, we are his. Now, the second word that we identify here in our passage to describe the Christian's proper relationship to the world is hostility, hostility. This is not the Christian's hostility towards the world, but the world's hostility towards the Christian. Look there in verse 14. Jesus prays, I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Hate, obviously, is a very strong word, but that's the word that the Lord Jesus uses here. Jesus indicates here that this distinction that we spoke of previously is a distinction that the world is not indifferent to. This is not something that the world just passes over and thinks nothing of. our day, many in our society, the world, likes to pride itself in being tolerant, in being open-minded, broad-minded in terms of divergent and various perspectives on life and morality. But Jesus indicates here that this is one distinction that the world finds almost impossible to tolerate, the distinction between those who believe in his word and submit to his word and yield to his word and those who do not. If we receive the word of Jesus, Jesus indicates here that we can be sure that hostility will follow. Now, of course, there are many examples that we could give of this principle in our own day, but perhaps nowhere is this more clear than in our culture's LGBTQ community. In fact, our society, our culture, has made it very clear that to be tolerant of the LGBTQ lifestyle is not sufficient. That full acceptance and we can assume that we might be labeled a bigot, or a homophobe, or our reputation, or our job, or our business might be in danger. This is illustrative of that hostility, that friction, that tension that exists. Just one example, and we could give many, just one example of the hostility that exists between Jesus who do not. Jesus assures us here that if we do align ourselves with him and his word, trouble will follow. So, we see distinction, we see hostility. The third word, though, that we see here that identifies the Christian's proper relationship to the world is protection. Protection. Look there in verse 15. Jesus prays, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, Now, one of the single greatest impediments to active, faithful gospel witness is fear. It's fear. Fear of speaking Jesus' words to our family because we don't want to be looked upon as odd, or fear of being salt and light in our workplace because we don't want to be thought of as simple-minded. or fear of going on that mission trip because of the potential dangers that lie ahead of us. And what is the solution to this fear? Well, notice what's happening here in our text. The solution, the Lord Jesus points us to this reality, that the solution to this fear is to hear the Lord Jesus praying the Father's care and protection over us. You see that that's what's happening here in our passage. Jesus is praying over us for the Father's protection and for his care. follow the logic and the flow of Jesus's prayer here. Jesus acknowledges that when we receive his word there will be a distinction, a fracture that occurs between us and the world. That this distinction, this fracture will lead to hostility and as a result of this hostility we will be tempted to fear, we will be tempted to retreat, we will be tempted to isolate ourselves. But Jesus indicates here in our passage that that is not take us out of the world, that's not our hope. No, Jesus says he has work for us to do in the world. Rather, our hope is that in the midst of that hostility, in the midst of that tension, in the midst of that fracture, the Lord Jesus prays that the Father would keep us, that he would protect us, that he would care for us. Jesus intends to overcome our fear with the promise of the And so as we face hostility, as we face hardship, I believe we could insert in here, as we face a global pandemic, and the possibility of economic hardship, the possibility of sickness, the possibility of even death, the Father, or the Lord Jesus, is praying over us the Father's protection. He is praying that the Father would keep us, that the Father would preserve us, the Father would enable us to remain faithful to him and to the gospel until we arrive safely home in his presence. Jesus overcomes our fear with the promise of the Father's protection. So, we've seen distinction, hostility, protection. The fourth word that describes the believer's proper relationship to the world is sanctification. Look there in verses 17 through 19. Jesus prays, sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth. So Jesus prays that we would be sanctified. Now, sanctification or sanctification Well, it indicates the idea of being set apart and devoted. Set apart and devoted. Anthony Hokema, who is a Christian theologian, he speaks of sanctification in terms of two things. In terms of, one, separation from the sinful practices of this present world, and two, as consecration or devotion to God's service. So, separation from the sinful practices of this world and devotion to God. Now, as we think about the context of this prayer here, as the Lord Jesus has prayed that we would remain in the world, here's the real challenge. If we are to remain in the world, how do we remain in the world and not assimilate? How do we remain in the world and not become indistinguishable from the world so that there's no difference? Constantly, the world is exerting this almost overwhelming force upon us to conform to its beliefs, to its values, to its ethics. And so how do we live in the world and remain distinct from the world? Well, Jesus reveals here in this prayer a two-pronged strategy, and the two-pronged strategy is to keep and to sanctify. This is what he's praying that the Father would do. We've already looked at keep. Keep is more of a defensive term. He's praying that the Father would keep us and protect us from the world. Sanctify is more of an offensive term. The Lord Jesus is praying that the Father would not only keep us, but as He keeps us, He would sanctify us. He would continually transform our minds and our hearts so that we are set apart to Him and devoted to Him. And how will the Father sanctify us? How will the Father accomplish this work in our lives? It's apparent here in the text. He will do it through His Word. Look there in verse 17, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. So we could say sanctify them in your word. Now notice here in this prayer how Jesus points to the significance of the word in the believer's life. So back in verse 14 we learn that Jesus gives us in giving us his word and us receiving that word that initially creates this distinction between us and the world that identifies us with Jesus. But now, just a few verses later, in verse 17, we see that the word that created this initial distinction and identified us with Jesus is the same word that will now continue to work in our lives to set our minds and our hearts apart for God and devote us to God. Jesus is stressing here in his prayer to the Father how significant and important the Word will be in our lives if we are to remain faithful to him in this world. My friends, consider this. We can be certain that the further we drift away from the Word, the more we will coast into the arms of the world. It doesn't take much, does it? The further we separate ourselves, drift from the Word, the more and more we will coast into the arms of the world. But we can also be confident that the more we actively pursue the Word, the more our minds and our hearts will be set apart for God and we will be devoted to Him. It is a relentless love, it is a relentless pursuit of God's Word that enables us to live rightly in God's world. And so I want to encourage you, especially during this time where we are not able to meet with one another regularly, to consistently give yourself to God's Word, to listen to God's Word, to read God's Word, to talk and discuss Friends, use any means possible that you can to continually reflect upon God's word and allow it to sanctify you so that you might be faithful to God in these days. The fifth word, the fifth word that we see here in our text that identifies the Christian's proper relationship to the world is mission, mission. This is found in verse 18. Jesus prays, as you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. So we learned back in verse 15 that it is not Jesus's will that we would depart from this world or get out of the world, rather it is to stay in the world. And Jesus here parallels his mission with the mission of his disciples. Now, if that's the case, then we need to ask the question, why was Jesus sent into the world? Well, Jesus was sent into the world to live a perfect life of obedience, to die on the cross for our sins, to be raised three days later from the dead, so that if we turn from our sins and we trust in Jesus and his perfect sacrifice on our behalf, then we can be forgiven. we can be changed and transformed by the Spirit of God and we can have the hope of eternal life. This is why Jesus was sent into the world and now Jesus indicates here in this prayer that he is sending us into the world to proclaim this good news, to proclaim this message of his salvation and redemption, to proclaim this word that we have received from book that's entitled Out of the Salt Shaker, and the author in this book I think issues a strong admonition that is helpful, that would be helpful for all of us. The admonition that the author provides here is directed more towards a college or graduate student that's living kind of in the context of dorm life. but I believe it has a much broader application for all of us. It's a little bit of a longer quote, but I want to read it for us, and I hope that you'll listen carefully and take it to heart. Author writes, quote, We must not become, as John Stott puts it, a rabbit-hole Christian, the kind who pops his head out of a hole, leaves his Christian roommate in the morning, and scurries to class, only to frantically search for a Christian to sit by, an odd way to approach a mission field. Thus he proceeds from class to class. When dinner comes, he sits with Christians in his dorm at one huge table and thinks, what a witness. From there he goes to his all-Christian Bible study, and he might even catch a prayer meeting where the Christians pray for the non-believers on his floor. Then at night he scurries back to his Christian roommate, safe He made it through the day in his only contacts with the world were those mad, brave dashes to and from Christian activities. The author concludes, what an insidious reversal of the biblical command to be salt and light to the world. What we see from this quote, which is an application of the words of Jesus here in John chapter 17, is that Jesus has not called us to wall ourselves off, to isolate ourselves from the world and from non-believers, from unbelievers, non-Christians. Rather, Jesus has called us to be distinct from the world while at the same time being in the world and engaging the world. with the love and the truth of the gospel. Of course, as we're in this time of social distancing, no doubt this is more difficult to flesh out in our own lives, but we need to pray. We need to especially pray for ourselves and for our church that the Lord would give us intentionality, that he would give us creativity, that he would give us wisdom to thinking about our neighbor and thinking about ways that we can love them and serve them and share the good news of the gospel with them. I know that many of you are seeking to do that and the number of our community groups are as well and I want to encourage you in that. As we think here about Jesus's the world, we see that Jesus would have us to be distinct from the world, not indistinguishable, but distinct from the world. He would have us be kept and not lost, so he prays that the Father would keep us. He would have us to be sanctified and not assimilate into the ways of the world, and he would have us be sent and not isolated and walled off from the world, but rather engaging the world with the love Let's pray. Father, we thank you and praise you for your grace in our lives. We thank you for calling us and saving us. We thank you that the Lord Jesus has identified himself with us. And Lord, we pray that we would be a faithful witness in the world, that we wouldn't be marked by fear or anxiety, but that we would trust in your care and protection. And we pray, Lord, that we would be salt and light, that we would be set apart from the world while also engaging our friends and our neighbors and our family with the love and the message of the gospel. Help us, Lord, to be faithful in these things. And it's through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.