Jesus Priestly Prayer – John Chapter 17

John 17: 11-12:  ”¹¹ Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. ¹² While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (NKJV) 

Jesus uses the word “kept” twice in verse 12. The first time, He says:”I kept them in Your name”. The Greek for this word implies a fortress. Jesus was guarding them as no other could do. He was the “Rock” for them. The second use is “Those whom You gave Me I have kept”. The second word for kept in verse 12 is to guard from loss or injury by being watchful. Jesus was watching over them constantly and interceding for them. Jesus is doing the same thing for us in that we too are kept in the Fathers name through Jesus.

In Chapter 13, Jesus states that there will be a betrayal. The disciples are not able to respond to this but Jesus knows Judas will betray Him. In verse 12, Jesus prays to His Father and says “not one of them was lost except for the son of perdition” (i.e. son of destruction). Even though Judas had been with Jesus for three years, he decided to betray Him. The betrayal happened after the foot washing- which Judas participated in. Somewhere along the way Judas had lost his focus, departed from his relationship with Jesus, and in the end, would pay a terrible price. But Jesus stated that this betrayal would turn out to be a fulfillment of the Scripture. Most scholars see this as Psalm 41:9.

Psalm 41:9:  “⁹Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.” (NIV)

David was struggling when he wrote this verse. Little did he know that this simple verse would become an amazing prophecy! This shows how deeply prophetic Gods word is. It also shows how very aware Jesus was of Scripture in His life and His desire to fulfill the prophecies in Gods’ word. Let us pray and study the word of God so we can deepen our relationship with our Lord.

Prayer Focus for this Coming Week

• Prayer for God to choose His candidate for the upcoming election.
• Continued prayer for the upcoming 40 days in Prayer as we begin to intercede for our towns and city.
• Prayer for a revival of prayer and fasting at Crossroads.

                                                                                                                               

Pastor Bill

Jesus Priestly Prayer – John Chapter 17

John 17:13-18: ”¹³Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them. ¹⁴I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world.¹⁵ I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.¹⁶They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. ¹⁷Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.”  (HSCB)

Last week we looked at the expressions “of the world” and “in the world”. There is so much in this prayer! Jesus also speaks of giving the word of the Father to them. He further states that this word is truth. This is important for us to understand. There are many teachers and beliefs in the world and many of them sound so good. Yet there is really only one source of truth and belief- and that is God’s word and that word comes from the throne of God. Today, people reject the Bible or just add to it to fit their belief system. Yet there remains only one source of truth- the word of God. In fact, Jesus was, is, and always will be THE truth- and THE word:

John 14:6: ” ⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  (NASB)

Truth is both God’s written word and is a person named Jesus!

John 1:1-2: “¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.”  (NASB)

Revelation 19:11-13: ” ¹¹Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” (NKJV)

So, as we walk out our salvation, we do so with “fear and trembling” but with a wonderful foundation of truth. Jesus said we are “sanctified” by this truth. This means we are “made holy”, “set apart” or “consecrated” through Jesus! We are so blessed! Lord God, we seek you and desire to come into your presence. Help us to live out your truth and to stay in your word.

Prayer Focus for this Coming Week

• Prayer for God to touch the lives of those in authority within our towns.
• Prayer for the upcoming 40 days in Prayer as we begin to intercede for our towns and city.
• Prayer for a revival of prayer at Crossroads.

Pastor Bill

Jesus Priestly Prayer – John Chapter 17

John 17: 13-18: ”¹³Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world.¹⁵ I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.¹⁶ They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.”(HSCB)

As we read these marvelous words we see a repeated expression, “of the world”. This is an important phrase. We are “in this world” but not “of this world.”  Jesus was telling His disciples that they must stay in the world to complete God’s work planned for them. Therefore they were to reside or work in the world with an eye towards heaven. Being in the world does not mean we are to assume the nature of the world. Instead, we are to see ourselves as just “passing through” and heading resolutely towards our home in heaven. Since we too are in the world, we need protection from the evil one and the apostle John says it very well:

1 John 5: 19: ”¹⁹We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”  (NIV)

Jesus was all too aware of the power of evil in the world and prayed for protection for His disciples. Even as we walk out the work or lives we have today, we must do so with the knowledge that our Great High Priest, Jesus, is in intercession for us. The pull of the world is powerful but we have our Lord interceding for us.

Romans 8: 33-34: ”³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”  (NIV)

More next week.

Prayer Focus for this Coming Week:

• Continued prayer for the 40 Days in the Word campaign.
• Prayer for God to touch the lives of those in authority within our towns.
• Prayer for the upcoming 40 days in Prayer as we begin to intercede for our towns and city.

Pastor Bill

Jesus Priestly Prayer – John Chapter 17

John 17: 9-12:  ⁹“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. ¹²While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”  (NASB)

Jesus is continuing to focus on His disciples as He prays. Jesus knows His time is short. He has been their protector while He was on earth and He is asking Father God to continue that protection after He departs the world. The disciples may or may not have fully understood this Godly protection. In Luke we see an example of His wonderful care and protection.

Luke 22: 28-32:  “²⁸You are the ones who stood by Me in My trials. ²⁹I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one on Me, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. And you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. ³¹“Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. ³²But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”(HCSB)

Jesus reveals His love of the disciples, His concern for their well being and the amazing future they each have. He knows Simon will deny Him yet He does not condemn Simon but rather encourages Him! Jesus knows His last hours will be difficult for the disciples but tells them that only Judas has been lost so that the prophecies could be fulfilled. In other words, Jesus is comforting them by stating they are not lost- but safe and with an incredible future. Jesus prayer is for the disciples to fulfill their calling so that they will “be one as we are”. Father God’s heart is always for us to be in unity with Him and to trust and have faith that He is always there for us.

Hebrews 13: 5-6: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ⁶So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (NIV)

The Lord is very much in control and we need to have faith and confidence in His provision.

Prayer Focus for this Coming Week

• Continued prayer for the 40 Days in the Word campaign-January 8-February 12, 2012.
• Prayer for God to touch the lives of those in authority within our towns.
• Prayer for the upcoming “Seek God for the City” as we begin to intercede for our towns and city.

Pastor Bill

Jesus Priestly Prayer – John Chapter 17

John 17: 7-8: ”⁷Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.”(NIV)

Jesus is continuing to pray for the disciples and reveals how He views His disciples after spending 3 years mentoring and teaching them. As we study the disciples’ reactions in the Gospels, we often see a lack of understanding on their part as they minister with Jesus. At times they seem to be struggling with who Jesus is and at other times seem to really understand. Yet Jesus knows His efforts with the disciples will eventually bear fruit and bring forth glory to God. He looks past all of the confusion on their part and focuses on three of His observations about the disciples in His prayer:

• That what Jesus did, said or taught was from The Father.
• That they accepted the words Jesus spoke as coming from the Father.
• That they now truly knew that Jesus has been sent by Father God.

Jesus knew that the disciples were still struggling so He told them that a “time of fuller understanding” was coming:

John 14: 25-26: ²⁵“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. ²⁶But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”(NASB)

As we look at these three things we quickly see that what the disciples eventually understood should also be understood by us. Everything Jesus did was to reveal the heart of the Father! Within that revelation was a profound love for His creation, a direct word of truth from the very throne of God and a clear understanding that Jesus was, and is, and ever shall be-the Son of God. We also know that the Holy Spirit is there for us and He is working to open our understanding of the Lord, His word, and our relationship with Him. The more we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, the more revelation we will have of our majestic God and the more we will understand the heart of the Father.

Prayer Focus for this Coming Week

• Continued prayer for the 40 Days in the Word campaign (January 8-February 12, 2012).
• Prayer for God to touch the lives of those in authority within our towns.
• Prayer for the upcoming “Seek God for the City” as we begin to intercede for our towns and city.

Pastor Bill

Jesus Priestly Prayer – John Chapter 17

John 17: 6-7: ”⁶I have revealed Your name to the men You gave Me from the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they know that all things You have given to Me are from You,” (NASB)

Jesus is praying for the disciples and reveals that His Father had chosen them to hear the Father’s word and to understand about the Kingdom of God. Jesus had spoken what His Father had directed Him to speak and had invested many hours in teaching His disciples. Jesus expected them to now bear fruit.

John 15: 16-17: ” ¹⁶You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. ¹⁷This I command you, that you love one another.” (NASB)

They were appointed to a life that will lead to fruit bearing and glory to God- as are we. Jesus reminds them that they must love. It is a command not an option! As we hear Jesus heart, we see the intimacy of being a part of God’s family. We too have been chosen to bear fruit and to love. We are sent to be a witness of God and to be a praying people interceding for those around us.

John 14: 23-24: ”²³Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. ²⁴He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”  (NASB)

As we read the Bible, we hear the heart of God and we grow in faith. When we pray, we are in the very throne room of God and He hears us. What an incredible privilege to be part of God’s family! Jesus did that for us.

Prayer Focus for this Coming Week

• Continued prayer for the 40 Days in the Word campaign-January 8-February 12, 2012.
• Prayer for God to touch the lives of those in authority within our towns.
• That we would be in prayer for those around us who don’t understand the intimacy that is available in being a part of Father God’s family.

Pastor Bill