The Lord's Table

Amen.

As I prepare to preach this morning, I have to tell you that I have a full heart.

And that's always a little dangerous for someone like Tim Knoyer because my emotion may complicate the beauty of the Scriptures.

And I trust that you will pray.

By the way, that is your job. You know that, right?

You know that.

Okay.

You will pray because the Scriptures tell us that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the glory may be of God and not of us.

And I have to tell you, the passage this morning is phenomenal.

What are we going to do this morning? Do you know?

We're going to take the Lord's table.

We're going to take the Lord's table.

And you who are informed by the Scriptures understand that taking that bread and taking that cup really doesn't make us saved or make any difference.

I'll get this out of the way so I don't trip on it at some point.

It doesn't make any difference in terms of getting extra points in heaven.

Would you understand that? Would you agree with that?

We take communion to remember Jesus.

And when we say we take communion to remember Jesus, it's not like, oh, yeah, there is a Jesus.

That's not the idea.

The idea is that in the process of taking the bread and taking the cup,

that it is a deliberate and a conscious, a careful thoughtfulness on our part that draws our affections and draws our mind to think carefully and more critically of Jesus.

And when I say critically, I don't mean, yeah, right.

I'm talking about thinking carefully.

And as we turn in our Scriptures this morning, I'm going to ask that you go to John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

John 17.

And as we come to the passage that I'm going to be opening to you this morning,

I have to share with you that I have started doing some background study to what I trust should the Lord tarry eventually is where we go next.

That would be the book of John.

It's my second most favorite book right now because my favorite is, guess what?

Ephesians.

But doing a little bit of background study in the book of John and reading Martin Lloyd-Jones,

I was struck by a statement he made at the introduction of the series of sermons that he preached on John.

He said that really none of us have an adequate or an adequate grasp of the person and work of Christ.

None of us have an adequate grasp of the person and work of Christ.

And I, having read that and recognizing that Dr. Jones was not one to make kind of careless statements just for the sake of shock value,

I began thinking a little more carefully about that subject and finding the Spirit of God convicting and challenging my thinking.

And as I pondered what he had to say, I found myself in prayer going back to that passage in Philippians chapter 3 verse 10,

Philippians 3:10

where it says that I might know him, that I might know him.

And adding to my prayer, the things that I have prayed for often are,

first, Lord, I want to grow in understanding your love.

I want to know more about the depth and the breadth and the height and the width of the love of Christ.

But then also along with that is the Philippians chapter 3 passage in which Paul the apostle said,

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

I count all things but lost, but my desire is that I might know him.

And so I want to ask you this morning as we began here at the very start of really this question,

how well, how well do you know Christ?

How well do you know Christ?

As I think about it, I have to tell you this.

Indicators of how well you know Christ are,

how happy you are.

Do you follow that?

How happy you are is a direct reflection of how well you know Christ.

How moody you are.

Can I say that again slowly?

Because I have to tell you that in a previous life,

I used to be a very moody person.

How many of you know what moody is?

I have a skunk in my neighborhood.

That skunk lets me know when it's moody.

How well you know Christ can be determined by your moodiness.

How well you know Christ, are you listening?

Can be determined by how sincere your affections are for others in the body of Christ.

Stop just for a second.

Do you have anybody right now that you wish God would change besides you?

With whom you have a dispute and a misunderstanding or there's an attitude there and you feel a little uncomfortable around them.

How well I know Christ determines how I relate to the body.

Well, with that as a start, I want you to look with me at the text itself and we're going to be in John chapter 17, verse 10 and 11.

John 17:10

Let me just read the passage to you.

All mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them.

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I'm coming to you, Holy Father.

Keep them in your name which you have given me that they may be one even as we are one.

And before we actually go to the text itself, I want to encourage you to remember that one of the characteristics of Bible truth is that those who really know it are changed by it.

Does that make sense?

Those who really know it are changed by it.

And so, with the goal of growing to know Christ, we are looking at this passage in John chapter 17, which is commonly referred to as His high priestly prayer.

John 17 · chapter mention

Accurately, we could say that this is the Lord's Prayer.

Now, when we think Lord's Prayer, some of you remember the Lord's Prayer to be that little recitation from Luke chapter 11 and also in Matthew, I believe it is,

Luke 11 · chapter mention

where Jesus taught His disciples to pray this way, our Father who art in heaven, etc.

And that is the example prayer.

This is the Lord's Prayer.

And by the way, follow with me just as we think about this subject of prayer just for a moment.

Jesus died for me.

He rose again.

He lived for me.

These are all historical issues, and I'll not deal with all the theological aspects of it, which are rich beyond imagination.

But here's another thing.

He lives for me today, and what is He doing today for me?

I love what it says in Hebrews.

Do you know the passage?

How many of you know the passage that I'm referencing in Hebrews?

It ought to make your hair stand on end.

He ever liveth to make intersection for the saints.

It doesn't get better than that.

And what we are looking at here in John chapter 17 is the high priestly prayer of Christ.

John 17 · chapter mention

This tells us what He's doing for me today.

I like that.

Well, setting is important, particularly when you kind of step into a passage.

Everybody knows, right?

Context is pretty important.

So when pastor drops out of the sky onto John 17, we ought to be thinking, yeah, what's the context?

Well, let's talk about the setting of Christ's prayer for us.

John 17 is really His last prayer after His final sermon to His disciples.

I'm going to give you a brief rendition of the text in broad terms.

You'll go back in your minds to John chapter 13, and it says,

John 13 · chapter mention

And when the supper was ended, He took a towel and He wrapped it around Himself,

and He washed the feet of His disciples.

It was during the Last Supper again, again, again, that He made it clear to them that He was going to die for them.

And we know from the Scriptures that their hearts were traumatized by the thought of this prospect

because they had grown to love Jesus.

They were persuaded that He indeed was the Messiah.

And it is evident that Jesus here sensed their anxiety and the uncertainty of their hearts.

And so He makes a very interesting statement at the very beginning of John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

Do you know what He says?

He says this,

Let not your hearts be troubled.

You believe in the Father.

Believe in Me.

And then what He does in John chapter 14,

John 14 · chapter mention

John chapter 15,

John 15 · chapter mention

John chapter 16,

John 16 · chapter mention

is He takes the time to give them a reason for not being troubled.

Years ago, there was one of these dingbat songs called,

Don't Worry, Be Happy.

I mean, it was a one-hit wonder, you know?

It was great.

You know, a guy made it up, I think, sitting in the shower or singing in the shower.

And anyway, when he sang, Don't Worry, Be Happy, it was just kind of, be that way.

When Jesus says, Don't let your heart be troubled, He gives us a reason.

Amen.

And the reasons are laid out in these three chapters.

Let me kind of summarize them for you.

For one, He says, Hey, I'm going ahead to prepare a place for you.

So that where I am, you can be also.

I love what the apostle said,

Absent in the body, what?

Present with the Lord.

Tim Kenoyer is not afraid of dying.

I happen to like where I am.

I happen to like the people I'm around.

But let me tell you something.

When I take my last breath,

I will not take it with anxiety and uncertainty

because I know that when I leave this place,

I will be in the presence of the Lord Jesus.

Second thing that He made clear to His disciples

is that He would be also sending them the Holy Spirit to indwell them,

and the presence of the Spirit would be to their advantage.

One of the very interesting statements,

and you'll have to stay around until we get to the book of John,

and we'll be several years to get to John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

But Jesus, I meant that.

Okay.

Jesus said this.

He says,

It's to your advantage that I leave.

And He says,

Because if I don't go,

you're not getting the Holy Spirit.

I don't know.

I don't know.

If this morning,

you have not already stopped and said,

Lord,

I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit.

I am so thankful that He indwells me.

This morning as I was praying about our time together

and my ministry to you

and praying for other people in our fellowship,

one of the things that I was doing,

man, Lord,

I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit.

And Holy Spirit,

thank you for indwelling me.

Now help me today.

Jesus said,

Number one,

I'm going to make a place for you.

Number two,

you're going to get the Holy Spirit.

And then the third thing He says is,

I'm going home to pray for you.

I'm going home to pray for you.

And so I found myself kind of pondering,

so how significant is it

that Jesus is praying for me?

Two different passages came to mind.

And by the way,

when we think about a question,

the first thing we want to do,

everybody smile with me

because this is the way I think

God wants you to develop your mind.

When you think about something,

you want a scriptural basis for the answer.

I'm not talking about math,

right?

I'm talking about life.

So,

when we think about

how important is prayer

and how important is it

that Jesus is praying for me,

I want you to think with me

just for a moment.

You may want to turn to your Bible

for a second

over to Luke chapter 22.

Luke 22 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 22,

Luke 22:31

verse 31 and 32.

Just look at it with your own eyes.

We're not going to delve

into the text this morning.

But remember,

Jesus says to Peter,

hey,

Satan wants to trash your life.

Now,

when Jesus says something

that significant,

I bet you it gave Peter

a little bit of a pause.

and he says,

relax,

I've prayed for you.

Nevertheless,

I've prayed for you

and after you're converted,

strengthen your brethren.

So,

we find,

in one instance,

we find here's Satan

trying to destroy

the life of one of the disciples.

Is Satan trying to destroy

your life this morning?

And what is the answer?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

He wants you to be

a spiritual train wreck.

And the scriptures tell me

that he ever lives

to make intercession

before the Father for me.

The passage that I just recited

is actually there

in Hebrews chapter 7,

Hebrews 7:25

verse 25,

where we read this.

It says,

since he always lives

to make intercession for them.

I want to remind you

that in the Old Testament,

the high priest

and all the priests

were actually involved

in the sober,

the significant responsibility

of praying for God's people.

That's what they did.

They offered sacrifice,

but they also prayed.

So,

having brought

these three chapters

to a close,

remember he said,

don't be troubled,

don't be worried.

This is a good thing.

He says,

because I'm going

to make a place for you.

Number two,

you're getting the Holy Spirit.

Number three,

I'm going to be praying for you.

And he says,

let me show you

what that's going to be like.

And that's kind of the background

to John 17.

This is what

he is praying for.

And I'm going to step

into the middle of it,

help you understand

that earlier

he explains

what the believer is

and what the believer

is to be involved in.

But then in verse 10 and 11,

he explains

what is the believer

meant to do?

What am I supposed

to be doing?

And we find here

that the believer

glorifies Christ.

The believer

glorifies Christ.

I want you to put your finger

just for a moment.

Do it physically

if you would.

Put your finger

on the last part

of verse 10.

And there it says,

it's stated by Jesus himself.

He says,

I am glorified

in them.

And so,

if you are sitting here

this morning

and you are

in truth

a disciple

of the Lord Jesus,

you're a believer

by grace,

you are someone

who Jesus

believes

glorifies Him.

Now,

is he ever wrong?

What's the answer?

No.

It is a little

challenging

when I stop

and look at myself

in the mirror

and I think,

you're glorified

by me.

Jesus said it.

It's true.

So,

let's think just for a moment

about how it is

that we glorify Him.

And I'm not going to cover

the broad scope

of things

that are legitimately

worthy of study.

But let's recognize

that for one,

we glorify Him

by knowing Him

and believing in Him.

Go back to verse 3

if you would

just for a moment.

And it says,

this is eternal life

that they know you,

the only true God

and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent.

Our knowing

and believing Him

glorifies Him.

If you're sitting here

this morning

and you do not know Christ,

the reason is

you have chosen.

You refuse to believe

the truth of the Scriptures

and the convicting power

of the Spirit of God

and you're sitting there

thinking,

well,

he's an okay guy

and maybe I can even believe

that he came

and was a good example,

but do I believe

he is the Savior

of the world

and do I believe

that His blood

is satisfaction

for my sin?

We glorify Him

where we believe in Him.

Secondly,

we glorify Him

by believing

that there is salvation

in no other.

How many of you

are around people

on a regular basis

that believe

most everybody

gets to heaven

by doing their best?

One of the very,

very common things

I hear when I,

not when I'm doing

a funeral,

but when I go

to hear other funerals done,

I hear people say,

well,

they're in a better place.

Now,

that's not always true.

How many of you

realize that?

The Bible makes it clear

that there is salvation

in no other name

but Jesus.

Over in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

the disciples,

even under pressure

of persecution,

they said,

there is no other name

whereby men may be saved.

And so,

we glorify Him,

when we say,

listen,

Jesus is the only way

that men and women,

boys and girls,

can come to faith

and have their sins forgiven

and have no reason

to fear their eternity.

And we come to a third thing.

We glorify Him

by modeling

His transforming power

and clearly pointing to Him

as the reason

that we are different.

a recurring theme

in all of John's Gospels

is that each miracle

confirmed the glory

and the person of Christ.

By extension,

my Christian testimony

and your Christian testimony

should serve the same purpose

of making the deity

and the glory of Christ

evident.

Two illustrations.

Remember Samson?

What was the deal with Samson?

He was pretty strong.

And remember how

they figured out

that Samson's strength

was not really something

that was directly attributable

to Samson's physique.

He didn't look like

Mr. Atlas or Universe

or whatever.

He was strong,

but we get the idea

artistically

that he was this

gargantuan hulk,

you know,

that just had a little

extra long stringy hair.

The reason people

kept on wondering

what is special

about Samson

is because he was

completely off

the Richter scale

when it came to strength

and nobody

could figure it out.

And remember how

he kept on messing with them?

Well,

if you tie me with ropes

that haven't been,

it'll work.

If you do this,

it'll work.

If you do that,

and every time,

what did he do?

Bang!

He snapped them like bang

and he was up.

And finally,

Delilah got him to say,

it's my hair.

See,

Samson's strength

lay

in his obeying

the word of God

which had said,

don't ever cut your hair.

Probably another illustration

is over in the book of Acts,

and I'll not have you

turn to it,

but you remember

when they brought

Peter and John

before the Sanhedrin,

and these were the guys

who had their PhDs

in Jewish theology.

And they were asking him

all these questions

and giving them,

just giving them

what for about,

and, you know,

they couldn't figure out

where did these rude,

ill-informed,

untaught fishermen

come up with being

so smart

and understanding

of the Scriptures.

And here's what they said.

I like this part.

They'd been with Jesus.

Do you act

in such a fashion

that the people

who know you

are trying to figure out

why you're the way you are?

I'm not talking

about your background.

I'm not talking

about the fact

that you grew up

in the particular home

you did.

I'm not talking

about the education

you received.

I'm talking about

the fact that the glory

and the supremacy

of Christ

is manifested

in your life,

and people are wondering,

why is he so kind?

Why is he so encouraging?

Why is he so forbearing

when everybody else

is in a pout

and in a frumpy mood?

Why is he like he is?

Well, it must be

because he's been with,

what?

He's been with Jesus.

It follows then

that if we glorify him,

that we are not people

who are sulky.

We are not people

whose conversations

are as rude

and as crude

as unbelievers.

Isn't that right?

It follows him

that our posts

on Facebook

are not dishonorable

and questionable.

It follows him

that our conversations

and our affections

belie the character

of the one

who has changed

our lives.

Now I come to exactly

what Christ's request was.

You look there

and in verse 11,

he says,

listen, Father,

I want you to keep them

in your name.

Keep them

in your name.

I will tell you

ahead of time

that I will come back

to this,

Lord willing,

and should he tarry

and allow me to preach

on the passage.

We'll deal with it

in the future

when we get to John

eventually,

but I want you

to understand

that Jesus is praying

for his disciples.

He says,

I'm glorified in them.

Now here's the deal.

I want you to do

something for me,

Father.

I want you to keep

them in my name.

Being kept

involves his work

of shepherding us

through his word,

through his spirit,

through his people.

Being kept

involves his shepherding us

through his word,

through his spirit,

through his people.

But let's come

to one more piece

before we actually

come to the table.

And I want you

to recognize

the objective

of Christ's prayer

is unity.

Verse 11,

he says,

keep them

in your name

which you have

given me.

Now here's what

I want you

to have the boldness

of character

to do.

Underline

the words

that follow

that they may

be one

even as

we

are

one.

Our thoughts

on unity

tend to be

rather shallow,

beloved.

We're far

too

comfortable

grousing

about

one another

or nurturing

an inner

spirit

of discontent.

When Jesus

prayed

that his

believers

would be

kept,

the immediate

following

interest

was that

they would

be one

like we're

one.

And so

I want you

to understand

Christ

prays

that our

unity

would be

like the

unity

of the

Godhead.

That's

amazing.

Do you

follow that?

So how

did Jesus

and the

Father

get along?

Huh?

They

tolerate

each other

because they

were on a

common

mission?

They had

to share

the same

pew?

No.

He says

I want

them to be

one like

we are

one.

being

polite

in the

lobby

and

churlish

in the

car

may not

give us

away to

everyone

but can I

tell you

that your

children pick

up on it?

Do you know

something about

children?

There used

to be a

show

in a

previous

time

where

who was

the guy

that said

kids said

the

darndest

things?

Who was

it?

There you

go.

You knew

it and I

didn't.

I didn't

grow up

at TV

in America

but I

knew about

it.

So kids

say the

darndest

things.

Your

kids

tell other

people what

your real

attitudes

are.

Hey!

Hey,

how are

you doing?

In the

lobby.

In the

car.

I'm

hoping God

changes that

person.

Back we

go.

Back we

go.

Here's

Jesus

praying that

our unity

would be

like the

unity of

the

Godhead.

Ooh.

So when

we come to

the Lord's

table this

morning,

I want you

to consider

that Jesus

today,

this is the

most exciting

little piece

of news I

can give

you.

He's

praying for

you.

I want

you to

understand

that.

Do you

know how

weak you

are?

No, I

don't.

But I

know enough

about me to

understand I

need somebody

helping me,

right?

And guess what

the scriptures

tells me?

It tells me that

Jesus is praying

for me.

He's praying

for me.

He ever

lives to make

intercession

for me.

me.

And as you

come to

this table,

I want you

to pray,

honestly,

where you

are, I

want you

to pray,

Lord, help

me appreciate

the fact you

pray for me.

Oh, by the

way, and

since I'm in

this business

of making you

look good,

glorify you,

go ahead and

put the smack

down on me

when I have

the attitudes

that just

dishonor you.

One of the

things that I

know has

unnerved some

of our dear

fellowship is

when I encourage

people to pray

this way,

Lord, do

whatever it

takes to

help me

change.

And I've

had people

say, I

really don't

want to

pray that.

In other

words, you're

really satisfied

with being that

spiritual jerk,

right?

Someone send

me an email

on that later.

But, you

know, here's

the deal.

I want to

change.

Bring it

on.

I want to

have a heart

for Christ.

I want to

have a heart

for His

people.

I want to

have a heart

that glorifies

Him.

I want you to

come to the

table.

We'll have our

men come this

morning as we

gather.

And as the

men are coming,

let me say a

word of

encouragement,

that this

table is open

to all those

who know the

Lord Jesus

Christ in

truth.

In 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11, it

says that we

are not to

take the

table carelessly.

Now, what that

means in essence

is this, is that

when we take the

table, when we

take the bread and

we take the cup,

what we are doing

is we are going

on public record

to say, I have

come to faith in

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

I believe He

died for my

sins.

And I am

willing to

go on record

to say, Jesus

is the only

one that I am

trusting in, and

I know Him as

my Lord and

Savior.

In the early

church, when they

would take the

bread and take the

cup, the word in

the Greek, show

forth, that's the

English translation,

actually means to

say publicly, I

know Jesus as my

Savior, I want

everybody to know,

you go ahead and

know, I trust in

Jesus, and God

help me, my life is

going to be different

to make Him look

good.

All God's people

were thinking,

amen.

But, you know,

you're welcome to

this table.

We want to take a

minute and pray

quietly, and if

you're here today

and you have not

come to faith in

Christ right now,

you can call upon

His name.

Father God, I know

that I'm a sinner,

and I need Christ

as my Savior, and

I'm done messing

around and thinking

that I can work

this out by my own

good.

I am a sinner

broken before you,

and I ask Christ to

be my Savior.

There might be some

of you here today

that know Christ,

but your life is

filled with anger,

with bitterness,

with a matter of

unrepentance in

certain areas of

your life, and I

would plead with you

this morning to

quietly humble

yourself as I

pray, and ask

Christ to give you

a repentant spirit

that renews your

affection for Him

and your desire to

obey, that we can

take these elements

with a clear heart.

Let's pray.