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The
Disciple Maker’s Prayer Part 3:
Time for Testimonies Scripture 25O righteous
Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have
known that You sent Introduction: A. What is he thinking? 1.
Auguste Rodin a)
Auguste Rodin’s sculpture
"The Thinker" is known around the world. b)
Head in hand, the man sits in intense contemplation, twisting
awkwardly to rest his right arm on his left knee. c)
Rodin said of his work, "What makes the Thinker think is
that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended
nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back and legs,
with his clenched fist and gripping toes." 2.
What is the Thinker thinking about? a)
The Thinker was originally conceived as the central figure
for the monumental "Gates of Hell" art exhibition. b)
According to the artist he is sitting in mute amazement as he
contemplates lost people in hell! c)
And not only should we maintain a perspective of an eternal
heaven, but also of an eternal hell. 3.
It really matters that we live our lives according to the
perspective of ETERNITY. a)
It is often rewarding to live the Christian life this side of
eternity. b)
The greatest rewards however, will come in heaven. 4.
What really matters is where people will spend eternity. a)
If you are headed for heaven, Jesus anxiously awaits your
arrival. b)
Think about those who are not headed in that direction and
ask God to use you for the eternal good of leading them to Christ. B. Review 1.
What God Gave to His Son (John 17:1-8) a)
Glory to Reflect (v. 1, 5) b)
Authority to Save (v. 2-3) c)
Work to Do (vv. 4, 6a) (1)The Nature of the Work (a)Glorification (v. 4a) (b)Manifestation (v. 6a) (2)Completion of the Work
(v. 4b) (a)Reproduction (b)Redemption d)
Men to Build Up (vv. 6b-7) (1)They came out of the
world (2)They belong to the Father (3)They keep the Father’s
Word (4)They know that all things
come from the Father e)
Words to Declare (v. 8) (1)Words that they hear (2)Words that they receive (3)Words that they know (4)Words that they believe 2.
What a Disciple Maker Does for His Disciples a)
Manifests the Father (v. 6) b)
Gives Them God’s Word (vv. 8, 14) c)
Keeps Them in the Name of the Father (v. 12) d)
Sends Them into the World (v. 18) e)
Sanctifies Self for Their Sakes (v. 19) 3.
What a Disciple Maker Asks for His Disciples a)
To keep them safe from the world and the evil one (vv. 9-12,
15-16) b)
To make them one (v. 11) c)
To have Christ’s joy fulfilled in them (vv. 13-14) d)
To sanctify them by God’s truth (vv. 17-19) e)
To multiply them (vv. 20-23) f)
To bring them to be with Jesus in heaven (v. 24) C. 1.
In 2.
Jesus simply testified to His Father about the ministry in
the world, and He made several declarations that are important to us. I.
The Testimony of the
World (v. 25a) A. The World has not known God 1.
“O Righteous Father, the world does not know you..........” This is more than a statement of fact - it
is one of emotion as well. 2.
Think for one moment – if you did not know God how would you
have dealt with life this week? a)
How would you have coped with the stress that life brought
this week? b)
How would you have responded to bad news or difficult
circumstances? c)
Imagine a moment without God and you can imagine what Jesus
is feeling for those who have not yet believed. 3.
The world certainly has many opportunities to get to know the
Father, but it prefers to go on in blindness and hardness of heart. 4.
The world does not know the Father, but we believers know Him
because the Son has revealed the Father to us. 5.
Our task as Christians is to bear witness to the lost world
and share the good news of God’s salvation. B. The World does not have eternal life (v. 3) 1.
What is “eternal life”? a)
3And this is eternal life, that they may know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. b)
It is knowing God
personally. c)
Not just knowing about Him, but
having a personal relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. 2.
Since they do not know God, they do not have eternal life! 3.
We cannot know the Father apart from the Son (John 14:6-11). a)
It is not enough simply to “believe in God”; this
will never save a lost soul from eternal hell. b)
“The devils [demons] also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). c)
Eternal life is not something we earn by
character or conduct; it is a gift we receive by admitting we are sinners,
repenting, and believing on Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. II. The Testimony of Jesus (v. 25b) A. He has known the Father 1.
Jesus knows the Father and what the Father desires in His
heart of hearts and that is what Jesus asks for in His last request in verse
24 – a)
God desires that man know what He has always desired for mankind b)
God created us with a goal and purpose in mind - that this
creature called man would be able to know the infinite love of God. c)
God wants us to be with Him and His Son for all eternity that
we may know Him and be with Him and see His glory! 2.
The
only way to God is now revealed in the One who has known Him – His Son,
Jesus. a)
If a man wishes to see exactly who God is and what God is
like, he must look at Jesus Christ. b)
Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God. B. He has revealed the Father to us 1.
Jesus had revealed God’s name. a)
By “name” is meant the whole character and nature of God—all that God is. b)
This is a phenomenal claim, for Jesus was claiming to be the
very revelation of God to men. c)
Jesus revealed God (the full revelation of God) to the people
whom God had given Him. 2.
The supreme revelation of Jesus Christ is that God is love
(John 3:16). a)
And a God of love is bound to reveal the way, the truth, and
the life in the most perfect picture possible. 3.
A God of love would never leave man in the dark, ever
seeking, and never able to find and to know. a)
A God of love is bound (by absolute love) to show man THE
WAY to Himself. b)
As love, He would never leave man in the dark, feeling about
and stumbling after the Way. c)
Jesus Christ is THE WAY. 4.
A God of love is bound (by absolute love) to show man THE
TRUTH about Himself. a)
As love, He would never leave man in the dark, searching and
grasping after the Truth. b)
Jesus Christ is THE TRUTH. 5.
A God of love is bound (by absolute love) to show man THE
LIFE of Himself. a)
As love, He would never leave man in the dark, wandering
aimlessly about and being hopeless in seeking after the Life. b)
Jesus Christ is THE LIFE. (1)“And
he that sees me sees him that sent me” (John 12:45). (2)“10Do you not
believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak
to you I do not speak on My own authority;
but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” (John 14:10). (3)“3who being the brightness
of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all
things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat
down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:3). (4)“14And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John1:14) C. He has sent us into the world (v. 18) 1.
18As You sent Me into the
world, I also have sent them into the world. 2.
We have been sent into the world just as Jesus had been sent
into the world. a)
Jesus had come into the world to bring men back to God
through reconciliation. b)
His disciples and those they discipled, all the way down to
us have been set apart to the same task. 3.
We are set apart, sanctified, not for the purpose
of selfish enjoyment or boasting; but so that we might re-present Christ to
this world that does not know Him and that by knowing Him they might know the
Father and have eternal life! a)
Jesus set Himself apart for us, and now He has
set us apart for Him. b)
The Father sent Him into the world, and now He
sends us into the world. c)
As we share our lives with Jesus and He pours His life into
us - we begin to see the world the way He does and desire that they too would
spend eternity with Jesus - knowing the love of God and His presence in life
everyday. III. The Testimony of Believers (v. 26) A. We know He was sent – and that He has sent us to others 1.
Jesus presents the scenario to God the Father - The world
doesn’t believe but I know you and those who believe know you and I will
commit myself to making You known Father so that the
love that is in us will be in them and so also in the world!! 2.
As Jesus looks to the future, his desire is for His disciples
and those they disciple to be the place where the
world finds God. a)
That means that we must be different by showing the world the
love of God and so becomes the vessel through which the Holy Spirit shows the
world that they can come to know God in their lives. 3.
Can the world see the difference eternal life makes in your
life?!?!? B. We know His name – and we are to manifest it to others 1.
Believers know God’s name (nature) and even share in that
divine nature. 2.
If we know God, and His Son Jesus Christ (have eternal life),
we must share Him with others! 3.
Being connected to God in every way possible should make us
love others in a way that spills out into the lives of those that do not
believe. a)
One day, each of us will have to give an account of his or
her life and how it impacted the lives of others. b)
It is a solemn thought that we shall stand before the
Judgment Seat of Christ and give our “final report.” 4.
I trust that we will be able to say, “I have glorified You on the earth; I have finished the work which You gave Me
to do” (John 17:4). C. We know His love – and we are to share it with others 1.
The last thing He mentions is that His love might be in our
hearts and in our lives. 2.
We talk so much about grace and about faith, and rightly so;
yet the great desire of His heart is that His love should be manifested in
the lives of those whom He has redeemed. a)
b)
14For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:
that if One died for all, then all died; 15and
He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves,
but for Him who died for them and rose again. |
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Copyright © 2008, by ToBeLikeHim
Ministries