Providence for Today welcomes you to the study of God's incomparably precious and never-changing Word. This is Pastor David Simpson, on behalf of Providence Church, Powell, Tennessee, and friends of the gospel of God's sovereign grace. We trust God will powerfully and effectually reveal His Word to our hearts and apply it to our lives. The Providence Church Place of Worship is located at 104 Foust Carney Road. You'll find us on Clinton Highway, just up from the Claxton Elementary School. When writing, please address mail to P.O. Box 1467, Powell, Tennessee, that's simply T.N. 37849. Our radio broadcasts, Sunday sermons, and other resources are available on our website Please visit us at www.providenceundergrace.com. You can also listen to additional messages by downloading the Sermon Audio mobile app on your handheld devices or by visiting sermonaudio.com. Then if you'll type in Pastor David Simpson, you will find your location and you can find us on Facebook at Providence Church. Of course, your interest and attendance with us in worship on Sundays during the summer, only at 10 o'clock on Sunday mornings, is always welcomed, and I will be preaching each Sunday for the rest of the summer. We are now in our third year at WYSH, radio broadcasting out of Clinton and Knoxville, Tennessee, which are nestled at the foothills of the beautiful Smoky Mountains. Via the internet, the broadcast has the potential of reaching folks with the gospel around the globe. Through our various electronic means, we have heard from various persons as far away in states of California and Texas, also from the Philippines, and even from Africa. I am truly grateful for the support and prayers of so many. It is my prayer that God will cause His word to reach His chosen sheep. and that he may call each one by his own sovereign grace declared in his gospel wherein the righteousness of God is revealed." In our study of the encounters with Jesus in John's Gospel, we are in the seventeenth chapter where we find our Lord in prayer at the peak of Mount Olivet. Today we look at this theme, Jesus spoke words of commendation. And we will be looking in the 17th chapter and we will begin in a few moments in the 7th verse. Let me suggest as many of you as possible to set the scriptures in front of you and read along with me. I know it is impossible for many. Some are in the hospital, some are driving. Some of you have vision problems and are not able to see and I well understand. And others are on vacation having a good time and that's wonderful as well. But would you take a few moments, spend a little time with me and share God's word today. The prayer found in the 17th chapter is the answer to the 13th chapter. In chapter 13, he stooped down to the earth. In chapter 17, he lifted himself up to heaven. In chapter 13, he laid his hand on the defiled feet of the disciples. In chapter 17, he laid his hand on the heavenly throne of the Father. In chapter 13, he rested his eyes and attention on his earthly work. In chapter 17, Jesus lifted up his eyes toward heaven. So what is the meaning, you ask? Well, the meaning that is intended is that he is the effectual advocate and intercessor of his people. His prayer is petition, but it's an effectual petition. It cannot fail because he cannot fail. He was and is the intercessor of his chosen people. He would not choose them, die for them, then fell in his advocacy for them. The seventeenth chapter is divided into three divisions. The first division is verses one through five, where we studied here the last few weeks and found a series of four petitions and an eightfold ground for his prayer. In this division, he prayed for himself with the end being that he glorify the Father. While there are four petitions, there is also this eighth full ground of the petitions, and I'll not go back through them again, but they're in the last two or three weeks of our study. And the second division where we find ourself is also a division of two parts. And that second division is a total of from verse six through verse 19. And verse 6 through 12, where we're looking today, Jesus prayed for the preservation of his people. So that's what the theme is that we're looking at, is Jesus' prayer of the preservation for his people. In our last study, we gave some thoughts on verse 6. And without repeating all of those, may I suggest to you that there are four matters of doctrine that stand out. In verse number six, let me read the verse to you. Jesus said, I have manifested thy name unto the men which you gave me out of the world. Then they were and thou gavest them me and they have kept thy word. So there are four matters of doctrine that stand out when you look at that verse. First of all, there is revelation to the heart. He said, I have manifested thy name and the purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ saying those words is that he had made the Father known to his disciples and himself known to his chosen people. And it is ever the purpose of God in time that his people would know him, the revelation to the heart. And the second doctrine that is here is, of course, definite election. He referred to the men which you gave me out of the world. Well, that is as good a definition of what election means as there is anywhere, because that's what election means. It's to choose out. And that's what the father did. The father chose out and gave to the son men that were out of the world. twice during the evening that Jesus was giving this discourse and before he began in the 13th chapter, which the discourse begins in the 14th chapter. He told them once in chapter 13 that he chose them, meaning before the foundation of the world, in chapter 13 and verse 18. And then in chapter 15 and verse 16, I have chosen you and ordained you. So choosing them is choosing them to salvation, which we know took place before the foundation of the world. It's precisely what he said in Ephesians, the first chapter. And then he said, and ordained you, which means he ordained them to service. So when he says that, election certainly is not just choosing them to service, it's choosing them to salvation and then to service. And the third matter that is here, not only revelation to the heart and definite election, but Christ's inheritance. He says, yours, that is to the Father, yours they were, you gave them to me. In second Psalm, in verse 7 and 8, the psalmist said, and these are the words of the Lord, I will declare the decree, the Lord hath said unto me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for your inheritance, and the othermost parts of the earth for your possession." So in the Psalms we see that the Lord has promised an inheritance. This same matter is repeated again in Isaiah 53 in verse 12. He refers to the many that belong to the Lord that he would justify, and he calls them the spoil of his labors. in order to, because he poured out his soul unto death. And so Jesus was given the responsibility to redeem these before he left the cross. And may I say to you, dear friend, that he faithfully did so. So the first matter of doctrine that stands out is the revelation to the heart. The second is his definite election. And the third is Christ's inheritance. Yours there were, you gave them to me. And this is the fourth, and that is the preservation and perseverance of the redeemed. He said, they have kept thy word. You see, the Father preserves and his disciples persevere. And so this is the perseverance side of this, and they have kept thy word. In John 10 and verse 29, Jesus said my father which gave them me in other words gave his elect to them gave his Sheep in that context that he's speaking of is greater than all He's greater than any devil in this world. He's greater than any Principality in this world. He's greater than any man's will in this world and then he said and no one is translated man, but man isn't there and It simply means no thing, no one is able to pluck them, that is His elect, out of my Father's hand. So this is a wonderful and powerful verse, this verse 6. And we studied that last week, so we'll move on now to verse number 7. And verse number 7 reads like this, Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me, So let's take a look at this verse. He says, Now they have known. Friends, I say to you again that the precious and most generous Lord Jesus continued the commendation of His disciples. For truly His disciples were just flesh, like you and myself. But He called attention to them, saying, They have known. The word know or known is a Greek word that means to know by experience. It is to learn and to apply. In this case, Jesus used it in such a way that it means they have known, they know presently, and they shall know. It means that they are the ones who are knowing. So it is a way of seeing they have known, they are knowing, and they shall know in their experience. Yet I must say to you, dear friend, that they were constantly in a deficit for knowledge. I am reminded of myself when I say this. Yet in that light we can look to something John said in his first letter. He called attention to a grave and bothersome occurrence. In 1 John 2, verse 19, he said, They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out, that they might be made, that they might be manifest, that they were not all of us. We don't know who they were, that is true. But we know that they thought they were of the faith, or they pretended to be of the faith, but we know they were not. Maybe they liked the sound of talking about sovereignty and talking about a completed salvation, but when they learned what it really meant, when it really struck home what these apostles were saying, what John was saying, When they were faced with the bare truth of the gospel, they turned away. Then John said this in verse 20. But you, in other words, he made a contrast between they, they went out, then verse 20, but you have an unction from the Holy One and you know all things. This is a remarkable statement. These were the ones who remained faithful to the gospel. and the fellowship of believers. This word unction throws many people a curve, but it is a word that means anointing, or the result of being anointed is a better way to look at it. It is used again in verse 27 as it is said here from the Holy One, an anointing from the Holy One. No doubt this is the presence, the power, and the persuasion of God the Holy Spirit. The passage teaches that God the Holy Spirit enables God's elect people to possess the knowledge of the truth, as John went on to say, and you know all things. This is one of those places where it is clear all isn't used inclusively. Believers, for example, don't know without training about the far reaches of astronomy or how to perform brain surgery. They don't know the number of grains of sand in the oceans, and they don't know when Christ will return. Jesus told us that. What they do know is who Christ is. They know why he came to earth. They know who he came for. And they know where he is now. They know the gospel of their salvation. And that led John to go ahead to say in verse 21 of this same passage, I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it. God's elect are awakened, called, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit in order that they know the truth. So now we learn exactly what he was talking about when he says you know all things. You know all things necessary to the truth of salvation by grace, meaning salvation conditioned on Christ alone. The truth that the Son earned righteousness, that the Father accepted His righteous work and imputed it to all He gave Him. They know the truth that this is their just standing before God. Then Jesus said this, that all things whatsoever you have given me are of thee. Well, to say a statement like this, this would include all visible things such as creation and its fullness, the heavens, the earth, the seas, the mountains, animal life and plant life. The sustaining of the universe is all in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. They know that all governmental things, the powers and principalities of human life, the disposing of all things, are by providence. They know the rising and the decline of nations is by providence. They also know all spiritual things. For example, the covenant of grace was determined by the triune God and conditioned on Christ's blood and obedience. They know this. They know God gave His Son as the only mediator between God and man. They know Christ did all the obeying, and God did all the justifying, redeeming, forgiving of sin, reconciling from divine enmity, and the adopting. They know that when they leave this world, they will awake in glory. They know God will bring this age to a conclusion at His appointed time. And they know it will be after all His elect are enlightened, and in that way they will glorify Him. So, dear friends, they even know who will be saved in the end. Now you may say, I don't believe that. Well, it will be all those whom God chose, all those for whom Christ died to redeem and the Holy Spirit awakens. Yes, friend, they know all these things were given to Christ, and we know who it will be. We just don't know exactly who each one is. Well, let me press on to verse eight where Jesus said, For I have given unto them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that you did send me. Well the little word for that begins this, for I have given unto them, is to explain what is meant when he said in the verse we just looked at, all things whatsoever you have given me are of thee. So he said, for I have given unto them. Then he says, I have given unto them the words which you gave me. By words is intended to say the doctrine of God. So when he talks about the words, it's not just particular words, but it is the words of truth, the words of doctrine that he's talking about. Listen to Moses. Moses said in Deuteronomy 32 and verse 2, My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, as the showers upon the grass. Did you hear what he said? My doctrine shall drop as the rain. Friends, doctrine isn't dry and stale and old and dead. No, my dear friend, it's moist as morning as the morning dew. It is as moist as the spring rain, and it's as tender as to the taste as the sweet garden herb. That's what he said. God's people love doctrine. They feast on it. And so it was with Moses. Listen to Isaiah. Isaiah said in 28 and verse 9, Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast. By this, of course, he meant the children of God, and refers to them as the children in Isaiah 54, verse 13, saying, And all the children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children. So he explained who these were. Those were the chosen children of God. Listen to Jesus as he quoted this very same passage in Isaiah. John 6.44, he said, No man can or has the power or the ability to come unto me. So if you want to know what Jesus thinks about the ability of man's will, there it is. No man has the will. No man has the power or the ability to come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him. By draw him, he doesn't mean woo him, but he means powerfully pull him from where he is to take him to the Lord God. So no man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father comes unto me." So Jesus quoted this passage from Isaiah 28 and also 54, referring to these verses, and they shall all be taught of God. So these are the words, these are the doctrines that are going to be taught. And He said, not only have I taught them, but they have received them. And the word receive is the word, Greek word, lambeno, it means to take, like to take with your hand, any object. Metaphorically, it is to embrace with the mind, with the affections, with the will, with the whole consciousness. To receive them, that is to receive the words or to receive the doctrine, is to receive Christ. You can't do one without the other. Christ is not received without receiving his doctrine. Some want to look upon his doctrine as, oh, just a sidebar, just a tidbit, just something that is not important. Well, it's no wonder that church buildings are filled with natural and unregenerate men. No wonder when they hear the gospel of God's sovereignty and Christ's effectual death, they reject it. My friend, this is no small matter, but it says that these disciples received it. They took it into their mind, affections and will. It was life to them. Then Jesus said, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that you did send me. Jesus declared his disciples at that time and forever will know and believe the Father sent the Son into the world to seek and to save chosen sinners, to redeem them from the curse of the law, to justify them from guilt and condemnation, To deliver them from sin's penalty and save them from their lost state and darkened condition, He came for all things necessary related to their final and complete salvation. He came in such a way that all of salvation rests upon him. Then Jesus said this in verse nine, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which you have given me, for they are thine. Jesus said, I pray for them. This shows clearly that this is a prayer of petition. His work of mediator is at hand. And what a blessed truth that the Son of Man, even the Son of God, will remember His own in prayer. And who did He mean by them? I pray for them. Well, we have to go back, like always, into the context and see who He means when He said this. If you go back to verse number two, He referred to them as being the ones as many as you have given. Him, meaning thy son, so as many as the ones you have given thy son, in verse two. In verse three, he spoke of them this way, that they may know thee. In verse six, he spoke of them this way, I have manifested thy name unto the men which you gave me out of the world. Also in verse 6, He refers to them like this, Yours they were, You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your Word, in verse 6. In verse 7, He said this, They have known that all things whatsoever You have given Me are of Thee. He says, I'm praying for them. They have known all things whatsoever You have given Me are of Thee. In verse 8, he said, I have given them the words you gave me. In verse 8, he says, they have received them. In verse 8, they have known that I came out from thee. In verse 8, he said, they have believed that you sent me. As we see in verse 6, this concerns God's, as we saw in verse 6 when we studied it, I meant to say, this concerns God's election. These were among those whom God chose by His own sovereign will to redeem by the blood of Christ. He set His love upon them as He did Israel of old and is spoken of in Deuteronomy 7. If Jesus so loved the doctrine of God's election, why does the world so hate this doctrine? Why is it a truth that is avoided like the plague by modern-day so-called preachers? Well, that's maybe for another message on another day and maybe for someone else to answer other than myself. But I know this, Jesus loved it and spoke of it, and he said, I pray for them. Since God chose them to redeem and set his peculiar love upon them, I ask this question, why shouldn't Jesus pray for them? He was sent into the world of men to save them from their sins and to justify them before God. He came to stand between them and divine wrath. He entered human flesh in order to fully substitute himself for them. Why shouldn't he pray for them? And we see him doing today exactly what he did 2,000 years ago and has been doing ever since the cross. I tell you, dear friend, at this very second, this very moment, the moment that I speak and the moment you hear, He is mediating on the virtue of His blood and righteousness between His people and God the Father in heaven. And if this is understood or right, this message is the gospel and it is the gospel to the ear of a believer and it is joy to the believer's ear. Well, like always, again I have run out of time and I'm going to have to stop. And the Lord willing, we'll pick up right here in verse 9. You may want to look at this passage again and read it on your own, but we'll pick up right here, the Lord willing, next time. Let me remind you again before I stop that John's Gospel is built on a series of encounters with Jesus and a variety of persons. Each encounter builds on a single premise, and that premise is that the eternal word of God entered the human race to put away the sin of his elect people and earn the righteous satisfaction of the whole law of God. This resulting righteousness God imputed to the spiritual and eternal account of his chosen people. By that righteousness, God's grace stands sufficient and efficient for all the Father gave him. At and by the cross, God forgave and redeemed and reconciled and justified his chosen people to himself. By faith, they look back upon his full and complete accomplishment of their salvation. And in this single message, believers find rest in their souls. Let me remind you once again before I stop that Providence Church is located just up from the Claxton Elementary School on Clinton Highway. When you write us, please write at P.O. Box 1467, Powell, Tennessee. That's TN 37849. You can find us on our website at www.providenceundergrace.com. You can visit us on your Sermon Audio mobile app on your handheld devices at sermonaudio.com. Your interest and attendance with us in worship at 10 o'clock on Sunday mornings is always welcome. Well, I am Pastor David Simpson saying until the next time, may the light of providence direct all your paths and may the hand of providence supply all your needs.