I have one praise. My friend Steve is here today, and this is the first time he's been able to come to church in, what, a year, something like? At least. Over a year. He's doing better, he's getting better. Trusted the Lord, oh, a couple, three months ago, something like that. God has just been amazing to him. If you'd seen him when I saw him in the hospital about, what, two, three months ago, He just kind of looked like death warmed over, frankly. But he is pretty healthy looking today, actually. Doing much better. So we're giving the Lord a whole lot of praise for the fact that he's here this morning. Because nobody else is responsible for that but the Lord. That's for sure. So what's your praise? Do you have a praise to give God some glory with this morning? Yes. My daughter's doing well since she had her emergency surgery a week ago. She's home now and seems to be doing well. Okay. Amen. That's your daughter? Yeah. Well, that's awesome. That's wonderful. We had a good weekend away. I got away a couple of days with a couple of friends and did a little deer hunting and I got a nice young buck to add to the freezer and we'll have some more of that venison chili. Matter of fact, tomorrow night at home team, we will be having venison chili. And those of you that have had it, I never heard anybody eating it that said, you know, that was like crying over Bambi. They liked it. It's good stuff. It's as good as it gets. But anyway, what's your praise? Jessica, what's your praise this morning? Praise the Lord for a great week. I got a lot of stuff I'm going through. Great week. Amen. Amen. God is good. He's amazing. All right. Who else? Anybody? Nancy's still in ICU, right, Cecil? But she could be to the floor if they... Well, yeah. My daughter just texted me and said she's really congested this morning and coughing a lot, so... Well, that can be good to get stuff out, you know, but probably not at this point, huh? Coming from that stuff they're feeding her through her feeding tube. Is it? No, that's got to be horrible pain. Wes, what's your praise? My dog, she took down two goats that jumped in the yard yesterday. I had to break her off because she's deaf. Okay. Okay. What's the praise? Get to the praise part. The praise is that I was able to save the goats without getting bit. Matthew 25, 33, and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. You don't want to be a goat. That's our phrase for today. All right, who else has a phrase? Yes, Denise. I didn't put it out on the prayer chain, but TJ had been, last Sunday night I had to take him back to the hospital, and he was there for a couple of days, but he's healing, and it's looking good, and he still has a little bit of pain and redness, but I think it's coming forward, and he's doing pretty well. Still working with his back, but he's having some good days. Awesome. All right. Who else? Anybody? Yes? Maybe? Come on. I give thanks to this church and everybody in this church and the family I have. Sometimes we take that for granted. We do. We should. We do. And I look forward to Sunday morning so much. Amen. That's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way it's supposed to be. All right, John chapter 17. We are in the Lord's Prayer. not the model prayer but the real Lord's Prayer that's recorded here actually several are recorded but this one is the longest prayer that's recorded in full in its entirety and there are so many things being said here. But the thing that I want you to concentrate on this morning is that everything Jesus is saying here. Well most of what he's saying here the things he's actually praying for are for you. I mean it's we've got a text a prayer text ministry. You can text me with a prayer request and almost all the time we send out that prayer request. And the fact that we have this ministry and that it's that it's going on all time means that there are many of you who think it of value that other members in the church other people that know Jesus would lift up your request to the Lord on your behalf. That's important. How much more than would it be important for Jesus himself to be talking to the father on your behalf. I mean just kind of put that in perspective as I mean if we think it's important to pray for each other how important must it have been when Jesus is here at this point praying for us. What was the motivation. Now we've been in this for a couple of weeks now. What is the motivation for Jesus praying this particular prayer at this particular time. You just think about that for a minute. What motivated him to pray for us and for the disciples that were right there with him and we the ones that would come to know him through their word which is us what motivated him to pray this at this particular time. First of all, what was the particular time? It's just before he's going to be taken and crucified. He's going away. And he's praying for our survival, for our benefit, for our sanctification, particularly. because he's not here personally to do it himself. And he's going to come. Yeah. And he's going to come in the form of the spirit that he's going to send and dwell in us. There's a kind of an interim time here that that's not going to happen. This particular time this next three or four days right here is probably the the greatest time of trial in the history of the universe that's ever been the time when Jesus is going to the cross and there's going to be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth in that tomb. So let's just you know let's just consider this the motivation and consider this value as we're looking through this we're going to start with verse one again. These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said. Father the hour is come. Here it is. This is it. Glorify thy son that thy son may also glorify thee as thou has given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee, For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. And I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now I come to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. that the world may be able to believe that thou hast sent me and the glory of which thou gavest me. Remember our less our first lesson out of this on the glory issue. You can't give what you don't have. If you're going to give God glory glory a synonym for glory is honor. If you're going to give God glory. You've got to have some to give. If you don't have respect and integrity and Christ like life. You're not going to have much honor to be able to reflect to Jesus. Now look at what Jesus says that he's praying for here. He said in the glory which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one I and them and thou and me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and has loved them as thou has loved me. Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. O righteous father the world has not known thee but I have known thee and these have known that thou hast sent me and I have declared unto them thy name and will declare it that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them. The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. He is the Comforter. He is the one who came to dwell within us when we put our trust in Christ. There's a lot said here. A great deal in this. It's not that long. We read it in four or five minutes probably. Something of that nature. But the content is huge. Thou hast given him, Jesus, power over all flesh. He healed thousands. proving that he had power over all flesh, didn't he? At this point, he has already been preaching and taking the word to the Gentiles. No, not yet. Not yet? Only the crumbs that fell from the table, so to speak. He's healed a couple of Gentile people. But the gospel has not been sent to the Gentiles. The Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter are the ones that are going to be responsible for that. Peter is there on the spot but he has not been shown that whatever God has cleansed called out not don't call that common. That's happens over in the book of Acts after the church has been empowered to reach the world with the gospel and Paul after he gets saved and spend some time in the glory school with the Lord out there on his own then he is given the mantle of apostleship which was given to him when the job was assigned to him apparently and then he is going to become the apostle to the Gentiles and take that to them. But the Gentiles are as a nation as a people have not been sent the gospel at this point. But since you brought that up does that mean that the Gentiles weren't being saved yet. Now there are a lot of Gentiles being saved the plan for God's salvation has been in force since the Garden of Eden. And many many Gentiles are saved. The provision for them is all through the Old Testament law as well. Most of the Gentiles peoples have rejected the truth. Matter of fact Ray will be preaching on that subject out of Romans chapter one today. So we're going to get to hear some good stuff on that. Nationally as a as a people the Jews have kept themselves basically as a people in a nation. The Gentiles just kind of went everywhere and they're they're a people but by identification but most of them want nothing to do with the Lord the gospel and the power that comes with it had a great effect on that of course God has revealed himself to everyone and has given opportunity to everyone even though that hasn't happened yet as far as the sending of the apostles to them. Jesus said that this is life eternal that they might know the the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou has sent. You remember in John chapter fourteen. Basically. Jesus said when you've seen me you've seen the father. Jesus Christ has not come as the Messiah until Bethlehem manger basically four hundred years after the last prophet. You know wrote Malachi of course. that we have that John chapter five I wanted to I wanted to just point out how Jesus said this in John chapter five we get this concept in our head that that Jesus is the Savior and God the Father is like the ultimate judge or whatever and that's you know some people end up with that one of the things that helps you to get a better picture or a clearer picture of how Bible Christianity works and who God is, is the oneness of them. And that does not separate just with salvation. Who are we believing on when we believe on Jesus Christ? God. Let me just remind you the wording of John 5, 24. Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life. So cool. It doesn't it doesn't say who either hears my word and believes on Jesus Christ. Now does that mean does that mean that today that you can just get saved by believing in the name of God just as God did not know about Jesus. No no no it doesn't mean that at all because there is none other name given under heaven whereby men must be saved. But Jesus name didn't happen to Bethlehem manger did it. Not in the form that it was given for the kind of the babe in the manger that come in bodily flesh. But see you got to remember you got to remember who Jesus is. Jesus is God the one true God inhabiting a human body. and come to this world. He is separate in his role, and he is separate in many different ways, but he is still the same God, the one true God. And it never comes apart. God never, you know, this never changes. God is always God, and Jesus has always been God. Look what it said He was about to glory he said give me the glory which I had with the before the world was. Not just before the man was created before the but eternity Jesus has always been. Now was he always called Jesus. What's cheap what's the word Jesus mean anyway. It's Hebrew give me the Hebrew in it not in Hebrew of course because we'll know what to talk about Give me give me the Hebrew name in English. Starts with the Y. Yes you are or you're sure whichever you know I'm sure none of us are going to get that perfectly just right with the with the little that comes in all with it. Well you're sure what you're sure I mean it's it's two words put together in one actually three. If it's English but what are the words what's the first one. That's the second part what's the first part of the word teacher Jehovah is the first part of the word Now we say you know Jehovah and then when it's combined with the other word, it's Yeshua, but it means Jehovah the Savior You've got Jehovah the provider. You've got Jehovah the protector You've got all Jehovah in all kinds of roles in the Old Testament This is Jehovah in his role as the Savior. So who is he? He's Jehovah. He's God. And he's never not been God. He's always he didn't change into some other, you know, the the Islam say that, well, we have we worship three gods. No, we don't. No, we worship one true God. He's manifested in many ways not and by the way not just three. I know the God has God the father God the son and God the Holy Spirit but but God has manifested himself in many other subcategory ways. And I just named some to Jehovah Jireh Jehovah Nisi. Jehovah Shua. Yeah. And it's another you know so but. But just don't ever forget when you're talking about the Holy Spirit when you're talking about Jesus when you're talking about the father. When you're reading about them don't ever forget you're always talking about God the one true God is part of God up in heaven and part of God on earth when Jesus was here. Yeah exactly. Now take that to a practical application who's the head of the church. Yeah. Thank you. Nobody said me. Thank you that you have learned the truth. Jesus is the head of this church. Who's the head of Rogers Baptist Church up in up in Garland, Texas? Who's the head of Northwest Baptist Church up in Northwest Houston? Is is part of Jesus is part of Jesus in Garland and part of Jesus in North Houston and part of Jesus here All of Jesus is everywhere that you say say this is why people get so confused They they are confused on purpose by a lot of people by the way about the church and the head of the church. Jesus is the head of this church and we and we have the entire Jesus. Leading the church. One hundred percent of. Nothing left out. And every real church has that exact same scenario going on there. And we don't get just a little piece of him we get the whole person. This is just one of the things that. And I know this is not easy to get your head around when you're reading all these different applications and different the way that Jesus manifests himself to us. But it's still the way it is. So back to John seventeen he goes. He says I've manifested thy name unto the man which I gave me out of the world. Now several times in this many people teach that the doctrine of Calvinism is presented here. What do I mean by that. If I talk about the doctrine of Calvinism what what am I talking about primarily. It's a it's a word starts with a P. Predestination predestination. The idea. First of all it does predestination exist to God predetermine certain things. Yes of course he did. Sure he did. He told us what they were. A lot of them anyway. because God predetermined certain things many people have done the you know this is basically frog jumping frog doctrine they've jumped to conclusions OK they have jumped to the idea that well because God predetermined certain things then he has chosen who gets to be saved and who's not because it says right here that Jesus has the ones that the father gave him Those are the ones he he said. Look what he says here. And let me go down to who he is praying for. Verse nine. He says I pray for them. Who's them. The ones that the father gave him. That's what it says in verse six. And I pray for them. I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine. Does that mean that the rest of the world aren't God's? It's not a trick question, it's just a hard thing to get your head around. Is the which thou hast given me pertaining to God giving him these people? God the Father giving him these people, that's what it means. He can't help but know who's going to accept him. Exactly. What what Jesus no rabbits no no no rabbits now just okay? You are of your father the devil okay? Yeah, that's true So so God gave Jesus These chosen ones Does that mean and and this is the issue that always comes up does that mean that God chose these to be saved And he chose the others to be lost No, no, no, it doesn't. And this is the this is the the horrible, blasphemous heresy of Calvinism. And it is. It's a heresy. Scripture says not as well. It is. God knows because he's God. And I always add, you know, to get some sympathy for God here like he needs it, OK? You know. God can't help himself. Okay, he can't help being God. So he has to know who's going to trust him who's not Could God be God and not know who's going to trust him and who's not? Well, of course not he wouldn't it wouldn't be God anymore now Did he choose For them to not trust him How do you know that He says that and John 3.16, for whosoever. That's right. Anyone, everyone. Has he said that more than once in the Bible? Yeah, he said it. He told us what his will was and what it wasn't. He said, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Amen. That's his will. Does he impose his will on you? No. No, he doesn't. He draws you. Oh, he's going to. He's going to well, you know, but but but God's not willing that anybody should go to hell He sent his only begotten son. He became his only begotten son This idea there's an idea that's out there that you know, some things just bug you There's some things that just bug me to no end about what's being taught to people and what gets just kind of assumed it's true and This idea that the father just turned his back and just like left the universe and let Jesus die and then showed up later is not the truth. Let me tell you something. The father is on that cross in the body of Jesus Christ. God is never not being one God. You got to hold that concept. There's never been a time Yes God had to forsake the protection of his son. God forsakes the protection of us at times for specific reasons. But that doesn't mean he left us. Does it. I'm sure it doesn't bother you like it bothers me but that's one of the things that just bugs me to no end that the people that God forsook him because your sin was placed upon him. because God can't look upon seeing now the Bible does talk about God not looking upon seeing in a sense of looking upon to yearn for or that type of issue. But let me tell you something if God refused to look on saying he'd never look at any of us till we get out of his body. And let me tell you something else if God hated saying as much as he loves you he ended a long time ago. I mean just think about it a bit. Well I know God hates him. But why does he hate sin so much. That's right because it tears us up. It destroys us. It breaks our fellowship with him. It gets in the way of every good thing in our life. That's why God hates sin so much. But the beautiful part of that story is that his love for you is far stronger. than even his hatred for sin which is huge. So do you feel loved this morning. You ought to. You really ought to feel loved this morning. Go ahead. God talks about those ones that I mean they already have knowledge of him but yet they just keep on just doing that same thing over and over again and they want to twist twist his words around and plead with him and plead with him and finally he said My hand is off of you. Give you up to a reprobate mind. Do as you will. Do as you will. Yeah, that's a whole other lesson, and that's true. But I will just ask you, do you know of anybody, including yourself, that doesn't know better than certain sins and keeps doing them anyway? You see, people say, well, that's willful sin. Tell me I'm not willful sin. You got any accidental sin going on. Oh yeah exactly. You know that that little question destroys a lot of doctrine. There's so many things in here. The Lord prays that we'll be one with him. And then he prays that we will literally be with him. where he is. Now I don't know of anything Jesus ever prayed that didn't get answered. Do you. Matter of fact I might pray for you and God may say no. Or he might say not yet. Or he might say depending on the prayer like lottery or something he might say Are you kidding. You know better than that. But when Jesus prays for something. I'm betting my farm that it gets answered. Put it that way. Francis, go ahead. Yeah. So the prayer wasn't that's interesting. That's an interesting concept because the prayer was not. Father if it the prayer was if it be possible let this cup pass for me. It's not it's not is it literally possible it the the language if you look at the context it means if father if it be possible that somewhere where there's some way we can save them without me drinking this cup of your wrath. Let this cup pass for me nevertheless the prayers not the prayer not over yet. Not my will but that be done. And the answer is it's the only way. And we both know that. And now they know it too because this prayer has been recorded. And Jesus says here I am. And then when they come and take him he says OK you take me but not these. And that's right after he said I am and they all pick themselves up off the ground after he said that. So anyway, yeah, that's one of the coolest things in the Bible right there. Somebody, somebody, I've never seen anybody make a movie and include that. Have you ever seen that in a movie anywhere? That really needs to get in a movie. That's a cool thing. I'd watch that. I'd like rewind that, watch that a couple times. Okay, Wes, go ahead. I heard the other night on a late night talk show. Oh, no. The radio host, he kind of twisted the scripture a little bit because he said there's hope for nobody. He said because even your Bible says, and he was arguing with somebody that called in, that your Bible says that even the elect are going to be tempted and taken away and lost. Well, if you're going to stay up late and watch people talk about the Bible in the middle of the night, you ought to really expect to hear an idiot or two. So, I mean, that's all I've got to say about that. Yeah, and I wanted to call in so bad and say, dude, you better go back and re-read it. You forgot the part about if it were possible. Yeah, amen. Now, I got just a couple of minutes here, and I want to get to the bottom line of I mean there are a few bottom lines in here OK ones that he the last thing he says his father I'm praying that they may be with me where I am now is that prayer going to be answered. It's already been answered for the ones that were there and it's going to be answered for every one of us. I love the part in verse twenty I'm praying for not just these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word that's me that's me I'm on right there. We're going to talk about this unity issue that they may be one as we are one. That does not mean that we're all one big church. Ladies and gentlemen. That's an entirely different concept and we'll get into that. I just want to leave you with one thing that that we read through this and that's the sanctification issue. Jesus is praying for us. Not that we would be taken out of the world but that we would be able to endure it that protected from the evil, not from evil, from the evil. That's very specific. They are not of the world, even as I'm not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. What does sanctify mean? Sanctify. Give me what you think. What does it mean? It does mean that, but it's a lot more than that. It's hagiazo, Greek, to make holy, purify or consecrate. Amen. To separate from profane things and dedicate to God. Amen. That's the separate part. Yep. To purify. Which Moses did. To cleanse externally, to purify by expiation. It's also used that way. But it's not just to set apart. Although that is included. Look. If they're saved. What is the condition of their spirit. If you're saved what is the condition of your spirit. Holy. But can you say that that's your condition. Not as a whole person you can't. Jesus is praying. Not just your spirit but that your body and mind be brought into. The oneness. The cleanness the holiness. That the spirit is in. This is what he's asking for. He said for their sakes I sanctify myself. Wait a minute. Did Jesus have any impure. Thing to be purified. No. No. He's setting them apart this is that application of the word. That they also might be sanctified through the truth. What's going to make you into what Jesus prayed for. What's going to do it. Sanctify them through the truth. It says it again verse nineteen by word is true. What if I just preach the feel-good parts of the word? You wouldn't be Pastor Neal. Is that a good thing or not? You'd be pastor of some megachurch somewhere. You want me to be here for the Lord and to give you what God has assigned for us. I've taught you that from the Word of God. And you have believed it, and you have received it, and you are there on that. I believe that everybody in this room is on that same page. But are you sanctified yet? How do you accept this part? What are you doing with the truth when it comes to you, in the area of it making you holy? Reconciliation. You process it? Continually. You receive the word, and we talked about this last week. Apply it. Many receive the word, but don't apply the word. And you know what that's like because you sometimes receive the word and don't apply the word. You know how I know that? There's some pointing this way too, aren't there? I thought he was in trouble. I was getting this whole side here. I had this whole row line. Boy, they were ducking. If we want Jesus' prayer to be answered in our lives, there's going to need to be some participation on our part. We're going to have to allow it. We're going to have to get in the program. Because you're not just going to be holy hourly by accident you don't get there by all spouses. God's been teaching us this for like five or six seven weeks now. He said I've made you holy inside. Now be who you are. The flesh carry and and Wes and Nona are not the true ones. The spirit carry in Wes and Nona are the true ones. God says now be who you really are. You've got to let you have to participate in you've got to think about it you've got to make choices of which person gets to run your day. You've got to start with it in the morning you've got to do it again at nine and it's like the doctor pepper clock I mean every all during the day. We've got to reevaluate and see where we are and let the inner man. Who is also indwelled with the spirit of Christ himself. Rule your life. Make the decisions. Make the choices. Participate in the. And what's going on or not depending on what it is. And most of the time we think what a sin is and making wrong choices about not doing bad things. Well yeah. That's not where your victories are. Your victories are in choosing to do the right things, because those are what replace the bad things. And if you don't replace them, they won't be replaced, because they don't go away on their own. And you know what happens if one goes away and leaves an empty spot. It's like trying to dig a hole in the bottom of mud holes. Every time you take a scoop out it is or it runs right back in and it's you know you've got to do the replacing thing you've got that's why that's why it's so important to be active in church so important to participate in ministries so important to have fellowship with God's people because you haven't fellowship with God's people you're not having fellowship with the world. This is how we survive. This is what Jesus was praying for. And we'll continue next week.