This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. If you take your Bibles, please, and turn to John chapter 17. John chapter 17. We call John chapter 17, Jesus' high priestly prayer. If you ever want a sample of the way Jesus prays for his own, John 17 is the passage, all right? I'd like to direct your attention to verses 14 and 15. Jesus, in praying to his father says, I've given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. There are certain times where in the morning, The truth that we go over is such a thrill to my own soul. It takes everything I have not to preach it all over again in the afternoon. How I would love to re-preach it, just for nobody else's sake but my own, all right? Obviously, we need to get to Genesis sometime. And so, I'm just going to give a brief review of just part of what we looked at this morning. We started talking about the the application of Christ's ascension, what is the significance of Christ ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, what is the significance of that for us? And I pointed out that our security in Christ is in large part dependent upon Jesus' ascended ministry right now. And so, he is our righteousness, where is our righteousness? What was Bunyan's answer? And I saw that my righteousness was in heaven. Right? And so, read Bunyan. Please. If you're a Christian, you'll want to read Bunyan. Okay? Bunyan had a heart that was filled with praise to God for the gospel. says, I saw that my righteousness was in heaven, so it didn't matter if my righteousness was better or worse here, that didn't affect, in a sense, my eternal state or my standing with God, because my righteousness is in heaven, where Christ is. And then we pointed out that our security is also rooted in Jesus' present priestly intercession for us, all right? So the Christ who died and was raised and is seated at the right hand of the Father is the Christ who intercedes for us. And then we started unfolding what that intercession looks like. First of all, that intercession is only for the elect, and Jesus says that explicitly in John 17. I don't pray on the behalf of the world, I pray on behalf of those whom you've given to me. We also saw that Jesus intercedes with great compassion for His people. His intercessory prayers on our behalf ooze the compassion of the Father's heart. Third, and we sang this when we sang the last song, Christ interposes His blood on behalf of His people. He pleads the merits of His blood on our behalf, all right? And so we see 1 John 2, One, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We see the blood of Jesus speaks better than the blood of Abel. Why? The blood of Abel cries out for vengeance, the blood of Jesus cries out for my pardon. And so we sang that this afternoon, we sing it whenever we sing Wesley's hymn, Arise My Soul, Arise, and we sing these words, five bleeding wounds he bears, received on Calvary, they poor effectual prayers, they strongly plead for me, forgive him, oh forgive, they cry, don't let that ransomed sinner die. We also saw this morning that Christ prays for our repentance, and our perseverance. And of course, one of the great examples of that is Jesus' intercession on Peter's behalf in Luke 22, 31 to 33. And what's always fascinated me about that is that Jesus tells Peter, who by the way, doesn't believe it for a second, does he? Hey, if all these, you know, I would expect these slouches to renounce you, but I would never do such a thing. And Jesus says, Simon, Simon. Isn't that striking? It's not Peter, Peter. Rock, rock. It's Simon, Simon. Old man, old man. Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. He wants to get you in a sieve and shake you and shake you and separate your faith from you and your confidence in me. He wants to just shake it right out of you. And this is what Jesus says, I have, I've rebuked him, right? No, I have stood against him. No, actually what he says is, but I've prayed for you. He doesn't rebuke the devil. He doesn't stand in between, in a sense, Satan and Peter. What he does is he says, I've prayed for you, and this is what he prays, that your faith would fail not. So how was that prayer answered? Did Peter go forth in unbelievable power and strength? Did he go from strength to strength and withstand all of the temptations in full assurance that Jesus had prayed for him? And the answer is no. He fell on his face not once, not twice, but three times, even as the Lord Jesus had predicted. And so awful was his fall that he renounces his knowledge of Christ with oaths and with cursing to a servant girl. But Jesus didn't say, I pray that you will be free from sin. He says, I pray that your faith would fail not, and then here's the crucial part, and when you return. And when you return. So how was Jesus' prayer answered for Peter when Peter returned? When Peter returned. When Peter actually wept bitterly and went out and his heart was broken over his sin and he was repentant over his sin, the prayers of his great high priest had prevailed and the proof was in his repentance. So Jesus prays for our repentance. with compassion and with earnestness, he prays that we would return. But he also prays for our perseverance. We saw that in the passage in John, when Jesus says, I don't ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. Jesus is actually praying that we would be preserved, not that we would be somehow miraculously sucked out of this world, but rather that we would actually be kept from the influence and the power and the sway and the deception of the evil one. And so there's our Lord Jesus at the throne of grace, Hebrews 4.16, doing what? Liberally dispensing the mercy and the grace that we need in our time of need, and there he is, Helping us giving us the grace and the mercy to persevere keeping us by faith So the writer to the Hebrews says Hebrews 7 25 that he ever lives to make intercession for us So it will be saved what to the uttermost or forever. It's interesting the word that the writer of the Hebrews uses, that we would be saved either forever or to the uttermost, both are possibilities. And I think, if you remember back when we did Hebrews 7.25 a little while ago, you'll remember that I think that there is an implication of both of those meanings. Why? Because how do we need to be saved? We need to be saved forever. Saving you for 25 years and then saying you're on your own is not good enough. Aren't you glad that's not how it works? You know what, this is a 25-year salvation policy. After that, you're on your own. Now, after 25 years, you should have enough of this down to be able to do pretty well. So let's say you had a 25, let's say you had a 35, a 45-year salvation policy. 45 years, 45 years of being kept. Then on the 45th year, 46th year, first day, the policy's over, you're on your own. And then Jesus says, now look, you've had 46 years to learn this, you know what to do. So how long would it take you to actually fall away? Give yourself at least two or three nanoseconds. So what do you need? You need to be saved forever, all the way to the end, but you also need to be saved completely to the uttermost. to the fullness. And what does Jesus do? Jesus intercedes on behalf of his people that we would be saved all the way to the end and that we would be saved completely. And his prayers do not fail. Finally, Jesus prays for our sanctification. How do we know that? Because in John 17, 17 says, sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. So Jesus prays that not only would we actually repent and not only would we persevere, but Jesus also prays that we would grow in holiness and in Christ likeness. You know, what's interesting is when we pray for ourselves and we pray for other people, typically the priorities of our prayers are not reflective of the priorities of Jesus' prayers. Right? I mean, when was the last time you prayed that God would save somebody forever, or that God would save somebody completely, or that God would sanctify? The only time, I find the only time we typically pray for people's sanctification is insofar as their sin bugs us. Then we're all about praying for their sanctification. Lord, make that guy holy. He is such a pain in my neck. Make him holy. Jesus is constantly praying for our sanctification, for our growth, and his prayers prevail. That brings us to the next benefit of Christ's ascension, and that is our present position. This is really an astonishing thing when you think about it. Here's what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2. I got to be careful when I go to Ephesians because I love Ephesians and it's easy just to start just preaching Ephesians and just say, we're going to look at verse 6, but let's actually back up to verse 4. No, that's the middle of the sentence, so let's back up to one more verse, all right? So this is what we see, verse 4, but God, which when we went through Ephesians, that was the whole sermon, but God, But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were, what, dead in our transgressions, made us, what, alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. So, notice the picture very clearly. Dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2.1. Here, we were dead, and then what did God do for us with Christ? He made us alive all right and then notice verse 6 and he raised us up with him and Seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is absolutely utterly astonishing when we stop and consider our citizenship is in heaven and we are actually seated with Christ in the heavenly places and that has implications for our identity and how we actually live this life. And so, because we're in union with Jesus Christ, we share in the victory of Christ's death, but we also share in the triumph of His resurrection and His ascension and, believe it or not, His exaltation. You actually see it. You actually are seated with Him in the heavenly places. Well, where is He seated? Ephesians 1, 20 and 21, He's seated far above all rule and authority at the right hand of the Father. And so think about it, we're seated in the heavenly places. By the way, that's not just a location. It is not just location, it is in reference to the age to come. So the heavenlies is a part of the age to come. And so what Paul is saying is, is that you actually, because of your union with Jesus Christ, have not only been raised up, spiritual resurrection. You were dead. What did you need more than anything else? You needed to be raised from the dead. That miracle, the new birth by grace is a spiritual resurrection. And now we are actually seated with Christ and Lo and behold, the audacity of it co-enthroned. Now, this means that just like our future resurrection, which is both not yet, but is now already, so the enthronement with Christ, which is a part of the age to come, is a part of this present age. And here, if you were to ask me, what are the implications of that? What is the significance of actually being seated with Christ in the heavenly places, far above all rule and power and authority? You know, when you think about that, you're just talking about something that goes beyond the ability for us to fully wrap our brains around. Now for sure, one clear implication in the book of Ephesians is that we're no longer subject to the principalities and powers in this present world. We're no longer subject to Satan and to his forces. Why? Because we've been raised up with Christ, share in Christ's victory, and are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. And so we're no longer subject to this present evil age or the powers and authorities of Satan's world system. But beyond that, when you stop and think about what this can possibly mean, I think that this is one of those things where you have to say, it is so superlatively marvelous that it will take eternity to exegete the benefits of what it means for us to be seated with Christ in the heavenly places. But to know that I'm right there, in union with Him, now. gives me absolute confidence that because my Redeemer lives, I will live, too. And because He's been raised, I will be raised, too. And because He is in the immediate presence of God, I, too, share in that position with Him. In fact, Paul says something similar in Colossians 3, verses 1 to 4. He says, therefore, if you've been raised up with Christ, Keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on earth. For you've died, your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Just notice again the parallels. You've been raised up with Christ. And since that's true, what should you be doing? Well, you should actually be seeking the things that are above, setting your mind on the things that are above, not the things that are on the earth. Don't be so locked in to this present world and to earthly things, because you actually have a present position with Christ up in the heavenly places, seated at the right hand of God. And then Paul tells us why. Because you've died. So when Christ died, you died. And when Christ was raised, you were raised. And then Paul says this so beautifully, he says, your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your life is hidden in Christ. It's as if the Lord Jesus himself in all of the purity and perfection of his own righteousness has completely enwrapped you so that nothing of you is seen. When God looks at you, he looks at his son. When God looks at you, He looks at the righteousness of His Son, the perfection of His Son. And so this is why our understanding of union with Christ is so incredibly important. And yes, there's a real sense in which I have a daily walk, and in that daily walk, I need to confess my sins, and I need to pursue holiness, and all of those things are absolutely incumbent on me to do. Those are my responsibilities and duties and delights before the living God. and before the Christ whom I follow. But there is also a sense in which I do this not in fear, not in the sense of what if I don't do well today, but with full confidence that my life is hidden. And it's hidden in Christ. And Christ is my life. And so the Father looks at me and I'm safe in Christ. And then, When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then we too will be revealed with Him in glory. And so, what is the significance of the ascension? That is, we have a present position, which means we are actually seated with Christ in the heavenly places, and right now our life is hidden with Christ in God. Finally, what about our future? Remember what Paul says in Philippians. We saw it this morning. Philippians chapter 3. Our citizenship is where? In heaven. From which we eagerly await what? A savior. And what is he going to do? He's going to transform our lowly bodies into conformity with the body of his glory by the exertion of his power. The fact that Jesus Christ is ascended into heaven not only gives me the absolute confidence that I'm secure in him, my righteousness is in heaven, I have a great high priest who is praying for me, and actually I'm seated with him, and in union with him I share in his life in such a way that my life is now hidden in him, but I also have this glorious expectation of a future that one of these days the ascended Christ will actually come back. Now here's the amazing thing, is that when that happens, what we will experience will be a fully redeemed humanity. What ascended into heaven when Jesus ascended into heaven? Just His deity? He ascended into heaven as what? As the God-man! The humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven. And it is there right now, a perfect, holy humanity. And so what this means for us is that when the Lord Jesus does return, he is going to do what? He's going to fully redeem our humanity. Why do we know that? Because if the goal was not to redeem our humanity, there would have been no point for the humanity of Jesus to return to heaven. And so, there he is as the God-man, and he is going to fully divine, fully human, already in heaven. And do you know what that means? That means that Jesus actually sanctifies our humanity, and in our union with him, he prepares our humanity to fully partake of his glorification. Now, why is this so important? We're actually waiting until our perishable, stained with sin humanity receives what is ours, which is a fully redeemed, fully sanctified humanity. Understand this, God's original intention in the creation will not be thwarted. He will actually accomplish his purpose, which is not to have a bunch of disembodied spirits playing harps. but to have a renewed heaven and a renewed earth where a redeemed humanity will dwell forever and ever. It will be a humanity that has been utterly and completely sanctified by the work of the Lord Jesus. And in fact, one of these days, one of these days, you and I will be the humans that God intended us to be. Oh, don't poo-paw humanity. Don't poo-paw physical body. God's gonna redeem it. Why? Because what God makes is good. Are these bodies ravaged by sin? Yes. Are these bodies a place where indwelling sin manifests itself? And the answer is yes. But there's coming a day when we will actually finally, now the world's going to turn on adverbs, finally, completely, and superlatively be what God intended us to be. Okay. Now. We used to sing this song, we haven't sung it in a while, but, and I used to just, I just used to think about this line, it's by Graham Kendrick, and we used to sing this song, it's, wisdom unsearchable, God the invisible, love indestructible, in frailty appears. Lord of infinity, stooping so tenderly, lifts our humanity to the heights of his throne. And I thought, what is he talking about? Lifts our humanity to the heights of his throne. When Jesus ascends as the God-man, he actually does something that is a declaration about our humanity. And as our representative does something that represents our humanity. And so the ascension is a glorious truth that underscores both our past, our present, and our future hope. So if you're a believer, this is glorious news. This is glorious news. You wake up tomorrow morning and let's say you don't, let's say you don't feel very holy. Anybody wake up on a Monday morning and not just feel very holy? Okay. Ron and Patty and Dave, the rest of, I would suggest hanging out with the rest of these folks because they are really something else. Wake up on Monday morning ready just to overtake the world, right? No, normally we just don't feel that way, right? And so as we feel the weight of our sin and we feel the affliction of this present world and we live in the midst of trial and you're gonna wake up tomorrow and guess what? A lot of the problems that you go to bed with, you're gonna wake up with tomorrow morning. And if you're sick today, you probably will wake up sick tomorrow. And if you're struggling today, you'll probably wake up struggling tomorrow. And if your heart's broken tonight, you'll probably woke up, wake up with a broken heart tomorrow. But there's something that will actually keep you going. And that is to know that because Jesus is in heaven right now, nothing can separate you from the love of God. And because Jesus is in heaven right now, you are safe and secure in His righteousness. And because Jesus is in heaven right now, He's praying for you, and He knows about the weaknesses, and He knows about the heartache, and He knows about the trouble, and the trials, and the tribulation, and He knows all of it, and He prays for you. And so you go to bed and you feel like your faith is so weak. Sometimes we say, my faith burns low, my hope burns low. And so that might be us. And yet you have a great high priest who says, Father, I pray that his faith will not fail. And so you wake up and you wake up believing that Jesus is your Lord. Why? Because you have a great high priest who prayed for you. You go to bed trusting in Jesus. Why? Because you have a great high priest who prays for you. And the one who prays for you will be the one who one of these days will come and get you. If you're an unbeliever, you need to actually turn and trust in Jesus who conquered death and is ascended in heaven right now, and you need to follow him. He actually still gladly receives sinners. Like gladly. And when he does, the angels get happy about it too. And so turn to Jesus. Turn to Jesus. You'll actually find that there is one who is enthroned, who's got the power to save. If you are a believer, your confidence is in what he has done for you, what he is right now doing for you in his ascended ministry, and what he will do for you one of these days. And he is not only your glorious king and your defender, but one of these days he will be your rescuer. And so glory be to our ascended reigning king. He is worthy of our worship and our adoration and our trust. And so as we come to the table, we're not coming to the table to celebrate something that is just mere ritual. We're actually coming to the table to celebrate one who even now is alive in heaven and dwells in our hearts by his spirit through faith. Let's pray. Father, what a glorious thing to be hidden in Christ. We look forward to that day when he'll be revealed. Until then, keep us confident in him. Remind us, Father, of his prayers for us. His compassion for us, the fact that there's no shortage of His grace or His mercy. We ask now that you would receive our praise and our thanksgiving, and we pray that you would meet us around the table. In Christ's name, amen. We hope you've enjoyed this message from Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. To receive a copy of this or other messages, call us at area code 775-782-6516 or visit our website gracenevada.com.