United by the Father

Well, what do you say to that?

Wow.

What an amazing opportunity it is to come into God's house, to worship with God's people,

! and to lift up the person of Christ through the songs into the songs,

to be encouraged and challenged through the ministry of the Word that is coming through

in each of the songs that we sing.

Exalting Him, exalting God, and being challenged through the instrument of music

to be drawn into affection for Jesus Christ.

Well, it's been several weeks that we have been away as a family.

I think I remember Pastor Kenoyer talking about how full his heart was when he came from vacation.

And so, to be gone for three weeks and to be back with you, I guess I'm going to do a preemptive,

please forgive me if I get a little excited this morning.

So, I know I've been encouraged to dial it back a little bit, and so I'm going to try to do that.

But if I don't, you'll understand that it's just the nature of encouragement of being with God's people

and being back with you.

What a joy.

Open with me, if you would, to John chapter 17, verses 20 to 26.

John 17:20–26

I appreciate the fact that John read this already, so you have already a sense of the context.

You kind of know that the theme of the music this morning,

and even the special music that was given to us today,

thank you, Amy, what a blessing that was,

all kind of come together and help to reinforce this message of the significance of the unity of the church.

United by the Father.

That's what we're going to see this morning as we look into the Scripture.

Over the past couple of weeks, we've been studying through this high priestly prayer.

This is going to be the third of three messages in this chapter.

And although we're moving through this chapter in quick succession,

I don't want you to misunderstand the significance of this high priestly prayer.

Just because we're going through it in three segments

does not mean that this is not a mountain peak in the Gospel of John.

This is significant.

This is our Lord and Savior who is not only modeling prayer,

but praying for the church and praying for His disciples.

The real reason why we've chosen to do this in three segments

is to help reinforce the themes that Jesus is praying for in this chapter.

So that we don't miss the themes that Jesus wants to reinforce

by digging into the details.

And as that is important, in this particular venue,

we want to just emphasize the basic structures of this prayer

and how they relate to us as believers.

As we looked at John chapter 17 verses 1 to 5,

John 17:1–5

we saw that Jesus was exalting the glory of the Father.

He has preeminently on His mind the significance of the glory of the Father.

So whether it be in offering salvation,

or whether it be in coming to earth as a man,

or whether it be following through in terms of obedience,

or whether it be communicating the message of the Father

through the words that He communicated,

or whether it be the miracles that He performed

in showing compassion to the multitudes,

in every situation, in every case,

Jesus had preeminently on His mind

the significance of the glory of the Father.

His heart's desire was to glorify Him.

And in glorifying the Father,

He knew that there would be residual

and companion glory for Himself

as He was faithful to uphold His Father's will.

In verses 6 to 19,

we see that Jesus here is praying for His disciples.

He understands that they've been given to Him by the Father.

He has expressed an interest in teaching them

throughout His ministry,

and He's praying that that ministry of teaching

would be reinforced.

He wants them to be kept and guarded

by the Father and by the Son

in the midst of a hostile world.

And He understands that they will be sent into the world,

and He prays for their effectiveness in that venture.

And in this final section,

in verses 20 to 26,

Jesus prays for you.

He prays for you.

He knows you by name.

And 2,000 years ago,

as Jesus perhaps is even walking by the temple at this point

with His disciples on the way to the Mount of Olives,

on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane,

Jesus may have even paused at the temple mount

before exiting the city of Jerusalem,

and there He prays for you.

What is on Jesus' mind?

What is of utmost significance to Jesus

as He makes this personal appeal?

He has, as a concern,

your unity.

The oneness

that you have

with the rest of the body.

That is what is on His mind,

and that's what He prays for.

That is what is significant,

and that's what we'll look at this morning.

Well, as you know,

our family had an opportunity

over the past three weeks

to get away,

and as with every vacation,

there are those planned things

and those unplanned things.

The planned things come

as a result of preparation,

and I have my wife to thank

for hours of preparation.

That is not my skill set.

So she is faithful

in making sure

we get to the ultimate destination.

Otherwise, we'll eventually get there,

but how we get there

will be a mystery

if it was up to me.

So there are these planned things,

and she was careful

to plan and prepare,

but then the unplanned things,

that's my department.

And one of the unplanned things

was a hundred hours in the car,

and with a family of eight,

that can be a challenge,

but by God's grace,

it ended up being a blessing.

The planned things

of seeing certain places

of the country

and just enjoying the scenery

of God's grandeur,

whether it be

in the Sequoia National Park

or whether it be

the coastline

of the Pacific Ocean

or whether it be

in the Grand Canyon.

Wherever God showed up,

it was spectacular

to see His handiwork.

But one of the things

that I didn't expect,

one of the things

that was a little bit

of a surprise to me

and a blessing,

as I reflect,

probably one of the highlights

of the trip

is understanding

and appreciating

the significance

of this aspect

of unity.

That wherever we went

across the country,

whoever's house

in which we stayed,

there was a companionship,

there was a unity

in the gospel.

There was harmony

and unity between us.

I want to show you

a couple of pictures here

just to kind of

paint the scene.

And unfortunately,

it's a little dark,

but you can see,

there we are

in our tree house.

This is the tree house

that my family built,

my kids and I built,

and we knocked on the door

of neighbors,

or the owners

that we had never met

who bought our house

and we said,

hey, can we get

into the backyard

and take a picture?

They're like,

who are these people?

Sure, I mean,

what else do we say?

So there we are,

we're taking a picture

with some neighbors

that we had built into,

relationships

that we had established,

and there we are

standing in just

remembering the good times

there in Aurora, Illinois.

Here we are in Culver's

after the morning service

where not just one church

met with us,

but a couple,

two or three different

groups of individuals

from various churches

and ministries

that we had been a part of

gathered together at Culver's.

We packed the place out,

and there was this

beautiful arrangement

of harmony

as we fellowshiped

with God's people

because of the common

connection in Jesus Christ.

Next picture.

Here we're moving

across the country,

and in the bottom

you see we're in

Salt Lake City,

and there on the

right-hand side

you see we're with

some distant family members

that most of us

have never met.

But for the fact

that we share

a common connection

in Jesus,

there was this

beautiful spirit

spirit of,

we've been friends

all the time.

Next picture.

Here we are now

making our way

into California,

and this particular

family actually

stayed with us.

They're from New Zealand,

and he was going

to the Master's Seminary.

They didn't have a place

to stay,

so they stayed

in our 1,200-foot house.

They were in the front

part of the house

sharing with their

four children,

and we were in the

back part of the house

staying with our four kids,

and the connection,

the relationship

has continued

through the years.

Next picture.

Here we are with

family at the

Sequoia National Park.

What a great time

of enjoyment

and encouragement

and mutual connections.

Next picture.

Now we're beginning

to make our way

back home,

and there are

friends from college,

and there are friends

from a ministry

in Southern California,

and there are friends

that housed Sarah

when she was a student

at the Master's College.

All connections

that were made

decades ago,

and yet the friendship

that was kindled

at that point

continue to be nurtured,

continue to be encouraged.

Through this experience,

I was reminded

of the significance

of the unity

of the body of Christ.

I was encouraged

and challenged

at the significance

of maintaining

and pursuing peace

within the body

of Christ.

I was challenged

and encouraged

with the significance

of being able

to go to new places

or old places

and being able

to not avoid people.

But because of

pursuing peace,

we can pick up

where we left off.

We can overlook

some of those

old difficulties.

We can continue

to enjoy

sweet fellowship.

That was unexpected.

That was a blessing.

It reinforces

this message

this morning,

the significance

of the unity

of the body

of Christ

and what that unity

does for the sake

of the gospel.

It's not a coincidence

that we come

to this passage

here at this moment

in the calendar year

where we are finishing

the small group series

on the art of neighboring

and we are beginning

this summer series

on relationships,

a mess worth making.

we see in this passage

the integration

of these two concepts

and the significance

of loving those

who are outside the church

while reinforcing

the connection

that we have

with one another

within the church.

These beautiful portraits

of harmony

that give testimony

to the greatness

of our God.

It is our unity

that speaks

to the wonder

of our God.

Here Jesus

in his prayer

before he is

to be betrayed

and handed over

and crucified

prays for you

this morning

prays for you

that you would be

a person

who understands

and embraces

the significance

of unity

within the body

of Christ.

It is so important

in fact

that the impact

of the entire

earthly ministry

of Jesus

rests on your

willingness

to do

what Jesus

prays here

in this passage.

Rests on the

Father's ability

to work that through

in your life

and we'll look at that

this morning.

As we talk about

the significance

of unity

why is it

important

and how does it

show up

in our midst?

I want to try

to answer

three questions

related to unity

and break that

out for us

in the time

that we have

left this morning.

The first question

I want to address

is what does

our unity

say

to the world?

What does

our unity

say to the world?

We find the answer

of that

in verse 21

and verse 23.

Look at that

with me

in John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

If you're a guest

with us today

and don't have

a Bible

feel free

to use the one

in front of you

it's on page

903.

John chapter 17

John 17 · chapter mention

I'm going to read

verses 20

21

and 23.

Jesus says this

I do not ask

for these only

but also for those

who will believe

in me

through their word

that they may be

one

just as you

Father

are in me

and I in you

that they also

may be in us

so that the world

may believe

that you have

sent me.

Now drop down

to verse 23.

I in them

and you in me

that they may

become perfectly

one

so that the world

may know

that you sent me

and love them

even as you

loved me.

I want to

concentrate on

this key phrase

the key phrase

that you'll see

in both

of these verses

so that

so that

or in order

that

indicating

that

what Jesus

is hoping

to establish

is

in order for

his ministry

to be confirmed

through his people

there needs

to be

authenticating

work in their

life

and that

authenticating

work in their

life is the

work of unity

the work

of harmony

the spirit

creating a

sense of

being joined

together

Jesus is

indicating that

the confirming

witness

to his

life changing

message

of the gospel

is the unity

of God's people

in that

without unity

the gospel

will be rendered

ineffective

let me say

that again

without unity

the gospel

may be

rendered

ineffective

how can I say

that so

emphatically

notice that

Jesus prays

this same

thing for

his disciples

if you back

up to verse

11 you see

that Jesus

prays the same

thing for

them

he says

that they

may be

one

even

as we

are one

and the

result of

that we

find in

verse 20

is he's

not only

praying

for his

disciples

but then

he can

pray for

those who

will follow

in the

succession

those who

are impacted

by the

power of

the gospel

those who

are

impacted

by the

testimony

of the

disciples

unity

and those

who

believe

through

their

word

will also

emulate

the same

kind

of character

the same

kind

of spirit

it will

flow

through

their

lives

why

will they

believe

well

certainly

because of

the power

of the

word

Paul

says that

in Romans

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

he says

I'm not ashamed

of the

gospel

of Christ

for it

is the

power

of God

to salvation

to everyone

who believes

we believe

in the

power

of the

gospel

it's

power

to do

its

work

but we

also

understand

that there

is an

accompanying

power

that helps

to reinforce

and to

demonstrate

to illustrate

that the

gospel

does

truly

have

power

power

to change

power

to transform

power

to make

new

we see

in Jesus

ministry

that he

did not

just come

with words

but that

Jesus came

with confirming

wonders

he came

with the

wonders

of miracles

the wonders

of healing

the wonders

of casting

out demons

his authority

in speaking

his ability

to influence

nature

the wind

and the

waves

were at

his command

Jesus

attested

himself

to the

people

that he

was

ministering

to

through

the works

that he

did

Jesus

said as

much

moments

before

if you

turn over

to John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

you can

see that

Jesus

draws

attention

to this

very fact

to his

disciples

just a

few moments

earlier

John

John 14:10

chapter 14

verses 10

and 11

says this

do you

not believe

that I

am in the

father

and the

father

is in

me

the

words

that I

say

to you

I

do

not

speak

on my

own

authority

but the

father

who

dwells

in me

does

his

works

believe

in me

that I

am in

the

father

and the

father

is

in

me

or

else

believe

on the

account

of the

works

themselves

the

works

that I

do

give

testimony

to the

authority

of God

in my

life

I would

like to

suggest

this

morning

that we

have

a

similar

strategy

in our

gospel

endeavors

there

is

an

accompanying

work

that

God

calls

us

to be

a part

of

now

it's

not

the

work

of

miracles

or the

work

of

healing

that

Jesus

was

a

part

of

but

it

is

the

work

of

the

spirit

in

your

life

to

create

a

harmonious

and

unified

group

of

faith

filled

people

Jesus

has

given us

this

affirming

work

the

work

of

unity

within

our

church

to

help

give

testimony

to

the

power

of

the

gospel

if

you

look

at

John

John 13 · chapter mention

chapter

13

again

on

the

same

night

that

Jesus

is

praying

this

prayer

and

giving

this

message

to

his

disciples

reinforces

this

statement

in

John

13

34

to

35

when

he

says

this

a

new

commandment

I

give

to

you

that

you

love

one

another

just

as

I

have

loved

you

you

also

are

to

love

one

another

by

this

will

all

people

know

that

you

are

my

disciples

if

you

have

love

one

for

another

if

there

is

no

love

there

is

no

power

but

the

spirit

has

come

into

your

life

to

change

you

radically

with

the

love

of

God

so

that

you

can

communicate

that

love

to

one

another

and

be

joined

together

as

a

testimony

as

a

work

as

a

confirmation

to

the

world

that

the

gospel

is

real

the

gospel

is

potent

the

gospel

is

capable

to

change

to

deliver

to

save

and

that's

what

Jesus

is

praying

he's

praying

for

his

people

that

the

testimony

of

unity

would

be

true

in

their

lives

to

confirm

the

reality

of

the

gospel

the

power

of

the

gospel

question

number

two

but

what

does

our

unity

say

about

our

God

okay

we

understand

why

it's

significant

in

the

world

maybe

we

come

to

grips

with

the

fact

that

unity

is

important

in

reinforcing

the

gospel

but

what

does

our

unity

say

about

our

God

now

there

are

several

things

and we

don't have

time

to

really

delve

into

the

details

but I

want to

just

draw

them

to

your

attention

and let

you see

that our

unity

actually

fills

out

the

gospel

it's

through

our

unity

that

people

get

this

beautiful

portrait

of

our

Savior

in

all

of

these

ways

people

can

connect

to

God

because

of

the

way

that

one

the

first

question

the

first

evidence

of

God

that

our

unity

demonstrates

is

that

our

God

is

one

our

God

is

one

shows

the

unity

of

the

Godhead

representing

Father

Son

and Holy

Spirit

can

any

of

us

explain

the

mystery

of

the

Trinity

one

God

and yet

three

persons

Jesus

throughout

his

ministry

demonstrates

the

incredible

harmony

of

his

ministry

with

the

Father

speaking

the

Father's

words

doing

the

Father's

works

being

guided

by

the

Father's

direction

so

that

in

John

John 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12

just

turn

the

page

over

to

John

John 12:49

chapter

12

verses

49

and

50

Jesus

says

this

I've

not

spoken

on

my

own

authority

but

the

Father

who

has

sent

me

has

given

me

a

command

what

to

say

and

what

to

speak

I

don't

know

what

his

command

is

eternal

life

what

I

say

therefore

I

say

as

the

Father

has

told

me

so

unified

was

Jesus

his

ministry

with

the

Father

so

harmonious

that

in

this

last

night

with

his

disciples

when

the

question

comes

up

Jesus

says

I'm

going

to

the

Father

and

remember

Thomas

says

where

are

you

going

and

Philip

responds

Lord

show

us

the

Father

and

it

is

enough

in

John

John 14:8

chapter

14

verse

8

Lord

show

us

the

Father

and

it's

enough

for

us

he

says

in

John

14

9

Jesus

responds

have

I

been

with

you

so

long

and

you

still

do

not

know

me

Philip

whoever

has

seen

me

has

seen

the

Father

how

can

you

say

show

us

the

Father

Jesus

is a

little

exasperated

with

Philip

at this

point

and the

rest of the

disciples

for that

matter

how can

I

have a

ministry

with you

for so

many years

and you

still

don't

get it

but

we

can

identify

can't

we

we

can

understand

the

wonder

of

the

deepness

of

having

been

taught

so

many

things

in

your

past

and

Jesus

shattered

their

concept

of

God

God

is

one

but

God

is

existing

in

three

persons

Father

Son

and

Holy

Spirit

but

surprisingly

and

beautifully

Jesus

communicates

that the

ministry

or the

mystery

of the

Trinity

although

mind

boggling

begins

to find

some

clarity

in the

way

that we

deal

with

each

other

the

unity

of the

church

actually

serves

to clarify

this

great

mystery

so

that the

world

can

get a

glimpse

of the

oneness

of God

through

the

oneness

of

his

church

wow

is that

awesome

amazing

one of

the

greatest

deepest

richest

doctrines

in the

Bible

can be

illustrated

through

your

unity

my

unity

with

one

another

in the

church

amazing

that God

gives us

the privilege

of illustrating

him

in that

degree

second

question

also

in

verse

21

notice

it says

John

17

21

towards

the

end

that

they

also

may

be

in

us

so

that

the

world

may

believe

that

you

have

sent

me

that

you

have

sent

me

number

two

our

God

is

real

our

God

is

real

we

hear

all the

time

Jesus

is

just

a

fairy

!

tale

or

we

hear

that

Jesus

was

a

historical

figure

he

did

maybe

some

great

things

he

certainly

was

a

prophet

maybe

a

good

example

he

may

have

even

been

commissioned

by

God

to do

these

things

but

in

terms

of

Jesus

being

divinity

of

course

not

it's

just

a

figment

of

the

disciples

imagination

listen

Jesus

prays

for

you

that

you

be

united

in

love

with

the

family

of

God

why

because

Jesus

knows

that

the

unity

of

the

church

will

provide

undeniable

evidence

to the

power

of the

gospel

and

the

reality

of

Jesus

listen

we

live

in

a

world

that

is

polarized

opinions

and

and

perspectives

and

people's

convictions

that

are

so

skewed

and

so

discombobulated

you

can't

even

seem

to

have

a

civil

conversation

anymore

these

days

because

of

how

polarized

our

culture

is

what

an

opportunity

for

the

church

to

shine

the

light

of

the

gospel

through

the

transforming

work

of

the

spirit

in

helping

to

create

a

unified

people

to

illustrate

that

Jesus

is

real

but

it

only

comes

that

way

one

look

at

this

world

demonstrates

the

utter

futility

of

unity

apart

from

Christ

and

yet

through

faith

and

through

the

power

of

the

spirit

the

gospel

can

explode

with

power

should

be no

surprise

that the

early

church

experienced

the

power

of

God

because

of

their

unified

approach

to

one

another

verse

22

gives

us

the

answer

to

our

third

question

it

says

this

the

glory

that

you

have

given

me

I

have

given

to

them

that

they

may

be

one

even

as

we

are

one

third

is

God

is

glorious

God

is

glorious

this

truth

should

take

your

breath

away

the

omnipotent

omnipresent

omniscient

holy

all

wise

supreme

and

sovereign

God

imparts

his

glory

to

you

think

of

it

the

thought

of

God's

glory

captures

John's

attention

beginning

with

the

first

chapter

he

says

in

the

beginning

was

the

word

the

word

was

with

God

and

the

word

was

God

he

says

and

the

word

became

flesh

and

dwelt

among

us

and

we

beheld

his

glory

the

glory

of the

only

begotten