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The Disciple
Maker’s Prayer Part 1: What
God Gave to His Son Introduction: A. The Location of the Prayer - On Holy Ground 1.
Most scholars have the Lord Jesus praying the prayer
of a)
Then He and the disciples headed for the 2.
Whether He prayed it in the Upper Room or en route
to the Garden, this much is sure: a)
Like Moses at the burning bush, the place whereon we now stand
is holy ground. 3.
This remarkable model prayer contains none of the things that
take so much room in our prayers. 4.
All its items of petition and praise are of a spiritual nature. B. The Progression of the Prayer 1.
The progression of thought in this prayer is not difficult
to discover. a)
Jesus first prayed for Himself (John 17:1-5). b)
Then He prayed for His disciples (John 17:6-19). c)
He closed His prayer by praying for you and me and
the whole church (John
17:20-26). 2.
Why did Jesus pray this prayer? a)
Was He preparing Himself for the sufferings that lay
ahead? b)
What He had on His mind was His disciples – in 26
verses He mentions them 46 times! C. What would you give to the person who truly does have
everything? 1.
We speak of a gift fit for a king. 2.
We wonder what we can give to the person who has everything. 3.
What about a gift for God for one who has only to speak and angels
appear by the thousands? 4.
What about a gift for one whose word can create a hundred million
galaxies? 5.
What would God give his Son? I.
Glory to Reflect (v. 1, 5) 1Jesus spoke these words, lifted
up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has
come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 5And now, O Father,
glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before
the world was. A. Divine Timing (v. 1a) 1.
“Father, the hour has come,” Jesus said. a)
It was toward this point in time that his way had led, ever since
in a past eternity God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit had decided
to act in creation and consequently in redemption. 2.
Jesus had lived on a “divine timetable” while on earth
and He knew He was in the will of the Father. “My times are in Thy hand” (Ps. 31:15). B. Shared Glory (v. 1b) 1.
The word glory is used eight times in this
prayer, so it is an important theme. a)
He glorified the Father in His miracles, but He brought
the greatest glory to the Father through His sufferings and death. b)
From the human point of view, 2.
Between him as Son and God as Father was an indissoluble relationship.
a)
For the Father to glorify the Son was for the Son to glorify the
Father. b)
The prayer that the Father might glorify the Son was a prayer
that there might be a fuller display of the Son’s true, divine nature. 3.
Our Lord’s burden was the glory of God. C. Restored Glory (v. 5) 1.
In 2.
So much had been veiled when the word became flesh. a)
The Lord had not laid aside his deity when he was incarnated in
human flesh. b)
Rather, he had put aside his glory. c)
He had restricted himself to be and behave as man‑man as
God always intended man to be. 3.
There is a glory beyond the brightness of the noonday sun, a)
a glory more splendid than the rainbow in the sky, b)
a glory not of this world, inherent in the godhead, (1)before which the angels shrink
(Isaiah 6:2), (2)which blinded Saul of Tarsus
(Acts 9:3), (3)which laid the apostle John
prostrate (Revelation 1:17). c)
This was the glory that Jesus put aside when he came to earth.
(1)The Lord is asking that the
glory he shared with his Father before he spoke the world into being, might be
His again. (2)It is His now. (3)It will be displayed for all
to see at his coming again. II. Authority to Save (v. 2-3) 2as You have given
Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You
have given Him.
3And this is eternal life, that they may know
You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. A. Extent of the Authority (v. 2a) 1.
Jesus also wanted to manifest down here the authority of his Father
(17:2). a)
He has been given “authority over all flesh.” (1)over the fish of the sea (a)whether in schools of fish
or as individuals they flung themselves into nets or brought coins in their mouths
at his command. (2)over the beasts of the earth.
(a)Mark tells us that in his
temptation, he was with wild animals in the wilderness (Mark 1:13). (b)When he rode into (3)over the fowl of the air (a)The cock crowed not a fraction
of a second too soon or a moment too late, just at that critical moment to awaken
Peter’s conscience and recover his faith. 2.
“Authority over all flesh,” refers primarily to all human flesh.
a)
It was God’s plan that the first man Adam should have authority
over all the earth and that he should rule over this planet. b)
“Have dominion,” God said (Genesis 1:26‑28). 3.
We have some idea of what this would have meant to us in the miracles
of Christ over physical things. a)
God evidently intended human beings to exercise this same
authority. b)
But Adam sinned and we lost that authority until the second
Adam – Christ – came into the world. B. Purpose of the Authority (v. 2b) 1.
“Eternal [everlasting] life” 2.
It is mentioned at least seventeen times in John’s
gospel. 3.
Eternal life is God’s free gift to those who believe
on His Son (John
3:15-16, 36; 6:47; 10:28). 4.
The Father gave His Son the authority to give eternal
life to those whom the Father gave to the Son. 5.
From the human viewpoint, we receive the gift of eternal
life when we believe on Jesus Christ. 6.
But from the divine viewpoint, we have already been
given to the Son in divine election. 7.
This is a mystery that the human mind cannot fully
understand or explain; we must accept it by faith. C. Eternal Life (v. 3) 1.
What is “eternal life”? a)
It is knowing God personally. b)
Not just knowing about Him, but having a personal
relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. c)
We cannot know the Father apart from the Son (John 14:6-11). d)
It is not enough simply to “believe in God”; this
will never save a lost soul from eternal hell. e)
“The devils [demons] also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). f)
Eternal life is not something we earn; it is a gift
we receive by admitting we are sinners, repenting, and believing on Jesus Christ
and Jesus Christ alone. 2.
This is not so much a definition of eternal life as a statement
of the reason why Christ imparts that life‑so that we may know his Father,
the only true God, as Christ knows him. III. Work to Do (vv. 4, 6a) 4I have glorified
You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 6“I have manifested
Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. A. The Nature of the Work 1.
Glorification (v. 4a) a)
The Father answered His Son’s request and gave Him
the glory. b)
There is in heaven today a glorified Man, the God-Man,
Jesus Christ! c)
Because He has been glorified in heaven, sinners can
be saved on earth. d)
Anyone who trusts Jesus Christ will receive the gift
of eternal life. 2.
Manifestation (v. 6a) a)
Christ has given His own eternal life (John 17:2), but He has also given them the revelation of the Father’s
name (John 17:6). b)
The Old Testament Jew knew his God as “Jehovah,” the
great I AM (Ex.
3:11-14). c)
Jesus took this sacred name “I AM” and made it meaningful
to His disciples: (1) “I am the bread of life;
he who comes to Me shall not hunger.” (2)“I am the light of the
world; he who fallows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the
light of life.” (3)“I am the gate; if anyone
enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find
pasture.” (4)“I am the good shepherd;
the good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.” (5)“I
am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he
dies.” (6)“I
am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but
through Me.” (7)“I
am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” (a)The
divinity of Jesus Christ is further illustrated in d)
In other words, Jesus revealed the Father’s name by
showing His disciples that He was everything they needed. B. Completion of the Work (v. 4b) 1.
Which is correct? a)
“I have finished the work which You gave Me to do”
(John 17:4). (1)His messages and
miracles on earth (John
5:17-19) (2)The training of
the disciples for reaching the world by manifesting and glorifying the Father
to the disciples and to the world b)
(1)His sacrifice
on the cross (Heb.
9:24-28; 10:11-18). 2.
Satan has tried to obscure this truth of the finished
work of Jesus Christ, because he knows it is a basis for spiritual victory. a)
Satan does not want you to see that it was the turning of
these men into disciple makers that Jesus had finished. b)
Satan also does not want you to see and understand
how we have been commanded to do the same thing – IV. Men to Build Up (vv. 6,b-7) 6“I have manifested
Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours,
You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7Now they have known that all things which You have given Me
are from You. A. They came out of the world 1.
The world had failed to recognize Jesus as the One who revealed
the Father, but certain men and women (anthropoi),
have been given to Christ as the Father’s spiritual gift to his Son. 2.
These people are the ones who have accepted the truth about the
Father that his Son came to reveal. B. They belong to the Father 1.
We were God’s before we were Christ’s. 2.
All people belong to God by virtue of the fact that he is creator.
3.
Some belong to Christ by virtue of the fact that he is redeemer
and they have believed in him. C. They keep the Father’s Word 1.
God the Father gave them to Jesus to build up, to train up,
to disciple, to impart a vision for reaching the world through those we
disciple. 2.
Because of what Jesus modeled in His life for them, taught
them, and gave to them. D. They know that all things come from the Father 1.
Why? Because Jesus showed them this over and over again! a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
V. Words to Declare (v. 8) 8For I have given
to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them,
and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that
You sent Me. A. Words that they hear 1.
His disciples hear his words B. Words that they receive 1.
His disciples receive his words C. Words that they know 1.
His disciples know that Jesus came from God D. Words that they believe 1.
His disciples believe that Jesus was sent by God 2.
How many others heard His words, but did not receive them? a)
Pontius Pilate ? b)
Caiaphas? c)
The Sanhedrin d)
The Pharisees e)
The Sadducees f)
Herod Antipas? 3.
None of them heard, or received, or knew, or believed for a moment.
But what He said was true! 4.
Peter, James, John, and the others believed it. 5.
In the vastness of this world’s unbelief, the belief of these
men in His words, as coming directly from God, and His coming out from the Father,
was glorious and will be for all eternity! |
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Copyright © 2008, by ToBeLikeHim
Ministries