Optimism, Pessimism, or Christian Hope

Father, sometimes, actually, Father, just about always, it's almost always easier for me and for many of us, maybe all of us, to see how your word applies to other people and not to ourselves.

Father, we confess that we are way, way, way, way better at seeing specks in other people's eyes than seeing the planks in our own eyes.

We also know, Father, that sometimes our hearts accuse us of, our conscience accuses us of things which your word doesn't accuse us of.

Father, sometimes we're just a mess inside, hard to know what's right and what's wrong.

So we thank you, Father, for your word.

We thank you for Jesus, our blessed Savior and Redeemer, who loved us so much to die on the cross for us.

We thank you for the Holy Spirit, your Holy Spirit, who is living and active and convicts us of sin and encourages us and exhorts us and draws us to you.

Father, we thank you for all this.

And we ask that the Holy Spirit would fall with gentle but deep power upon us this morning as we think upon your word.

And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Please be seated.

Amen.

So, here's a little bit of an insight.

So, I'm already getting a bit tongue-tied.

This morning when I was driving in and all the way through the 8 o'clock service,

I kept getting convicted by the Holy Spirit that I should change my sermon.

And that's what I did.

So, this isn't actually, this is a part of the sermon I worked on all week, but it's actually not the main part of the sermon that I worked on all week.

It's very interesting.

You see, what happened is, so the very first thing I do when I'm starting to work on a sermon is I take a good English translation of the Bible,

like the English Standard Version.

And the very first thing I do is just spend some time looking at the text just in the English,

not with the help of language, helps, or commentaries.

I look at what went on just before, I look at what's going to happen afterwards,

and I try to go through the text prayerfully and quietly just with the English by myself.

And when I did that on Monday morning, instantly, instantly, I saw that there is something in the text that really directly connected to me and to the Church of the Messiah.

And I actually wrote on it a little bit.

And then as I kept going through the text, I saw other types of things.

And as the week went on, I thought, no, I'm not going to talk about that thing that sort of first I got convicted of about the text,

or I really challenged by the text, or just something I had to deal with in the text.

I moved away from that as the week went on.

But this morning when I was driving in, the Holy Spirit convicted me that that first impression of me reading the text

was what really I had to talk about that with you.

And what it is, is I don't know how many of you remember when I just read John chapter 17, verses 20 to 26,

John 17:20–26

but one of the big things, one of the big asks, of course, is that Christians would be one.

And that's why, you see, the thing that went through my mind when I first read this text

is that there's a whole pile of ministers in this city who would say,

ah, this is going to be interesting, George talking about this, because George is the biggest hypocrite in the city

if he's going to talk about the church being one, given all the things he's done.

In fact, he says this is going to be, many people would say this is going to be a very interesting sermon

because Church of the Messiah are some of the biggest hypocrites in the entire city in terms of this text.

And that's the first thing I thought of when I was reading this text.

Is that a fair description of me? Is it a fair description of you?

That we are profound hypocrites when it comes to this text.

So not only do we have to deal with whether or not we're hypocrites, and I'll explain why in a moment,

but it also forces me, forces us to talk about something which is very uncomfortable for us to talk about in Canada right now

because of cultural pressures and cultural expectations.

So it's just a bit of a difficult text.

So let's hopefully have your Bibles.

If you don't have your Bibles, I know that the words are going to be up on the screen,

but it's good to have your own Bibles to look along.

And we're going to start reading.

It's John chapter 17, verses 20 to 26.

John 17:20–26

It's the end of the prayer.

And just to remind you of the context, because this is John writing.

It's one of the four eyewitness biographies of Jesus that exist in history.

These four eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus are also in what we now call the Bible,

or the New Testament, or the Bible.

And the way that John has structured his gospel is he has spent a long time sharing with us

what went on between Jesus and his disciples,

between the time that Judas left the room to go get the soldiers

and take them to the place that he knew Jesus was going to go to outside the city

when it was quiet, late, late, late at night to pray so they could capture him.

Jesus knows that Judas is gone.

He knows the soldiers are coming.

He knows that the next day he's going to be crucified and he's going to die.

He also knows he's going to rise from the dead.

And the disciples don't know these things.

And John spends a long time sharing with us what went on with Jesus and the disciples

between, let's say, 6.30 at night and 2 o'clock in the morning.

And what John shares is that the last thing that Jesus did was pray over the men,

the 11 men who happened to be in front of him.

And the way John describes this prayer, where Jesus is praying over these 11 men,

Jesus knows that they're all going to be scattered.

They're all going to be in hiding.

He knows that Peter is going to deny him.

He knows that none of them are prepared for him dying on the cross.

None of them are prepared for him rising from the dead.

In fact, none of them believe that he's going to rise from the dead,

even though he's told them that many times.

He knows all of these things.

And so John records Jesus praying over these men.

And what we're going to see here in a moment, every week,

this is the third week we've looked at this prayer,

every week I've said that Jesus prays about himself.

He prays for the men in front of him, and he prays for you and me.

He prays not just for you and me,

but he prays for the Christians who met in Uganda this morning.

He prays for the Christians who met in China earlier today.

He prays for the people who met in Sydney, Australia,

people who've met in London, England, Mississippi, in Ottawa, Cairo.

He prays for all Christians.

And my claim about that, that's what we're going to see right now,

the beginning of this third part of the prayer.

So there it is.

It said, this is Jesus speaking,

I do not ask for these only, the 11 men in front of him,

but also for those who will believe in me through their word.

Now we're going to pause there.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.

And I'm not...

So here's what's going on.

It's very interesting.

I spoke at church on Wednesday,

and I actually mentioned this on my Ash Wednesday service at the 10 o'clock service.

I made reference to this verse, but in different ways.

This text, the word word, has sort of a double meaning,

has more than a double meaning,

but it's irrelevant to two different meanings right here.

On the first hand, on one hand, when he says,

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word,

what Jesus is talking about is that it's because of the apostolic testimony,

which we now call the New Testament,

that Christians continue to know about Jesus.

So in a very, very real sense,

it was through the word of those 11 men

who not...

They didn't all write the New Testament,

but they all had a very, very important hand

in guaranteeing that the things that were written

that we now call the New Testament

were in fact consistent with the teaching of Jesus,

reflected the teaching of Jesus.

And these 11 men had a very, very special and unique

and non-repeatable role in this

because God used them for the writing of what we now call the New Testament.

And it's through this that we also trust

what we call the Old Testament.

Our Jewish friends call it the Tanakh,

but we call it the Old Testament.

But the word word has a second...

Well, it has more than two meanings,

but it's a second word that translation or sense

that's relevant to us.

It can also mean testimony.

It can also mean testimony.

And that's really, really important

because it shows the importance of not only reading the Bible in church,

but reading the Bible in church is not enough.

There has to be testimony to the word.

There has to be, in a sense, an opening of the word to us.

It's one of the reasons why,

when I was speaking at church on Wednesday,

on Wednesday,

and I knew there was a Baptist minister sitting right over there

and wanted to make a little bit of a dig,

I knew there were two cradle Anglicans as well

sitting with the Baptist.

And I said, you know,

one of the funny things in the world

is that in any Anglican church today,

there will be far more Bible read

than there will be in most Baptist or Pentecostal churches.

That's just probably scientifically, objectively true,

that if you go to the average Anglican church,

there's far more of the Bible read

than in a Baptist or Pentecostal church.

Yet why is it

that virtually very few people in most Anglican churches

actually believe the Bible?

And why does the Bible have very little power?

But it seems to in Baptist churches.

And the missing bit is testimony.

You see, it's not enough for me just to say,

you know what, I'm not going to preach a sermon.

I'm just going to get up and read the Bible.

Reading the Bible is missing an important ingredient,

which is my testimony that comes from the word

and makes the word clear and plain

and encourages and exhorts and defends and challenges.

That human component of testimony

is absolutely essential.

And that's captured in these wonderful words of Jesus

when he says,

I do not ask for these only,

but also for those who will believe in me through their word.

This sort of a double meaning at that last bit,

not only the word that ultimately becomes the New Testament,

but also the fact that the apostles would go house to house

and they would go to different cities

and they would not just read the words of Jesus,

but they would explain them,

they would exhort,

they would encourage them.

And that aspect of testimony is absolutely,

absolutely essential.

So if you could put up my first point,

that would be very helpful.

And not all of them,

but there's sort of three prayers

that are the heart of this sermon.

We're going to spend the longest time on the next prayer.

This is just setting the stage.

But here's a prayer that comes out of the fact

that if you hear Jesus praying over us

and praying over the 11 men,

then probably one of the main ways

that we are to respond to this text

is to also pray.

And so I've just tried to help us

by putting something in words

that we can use as a prayer

or grow into our own prayer.

Righteous Father,

please grow in me

a humble confidence

in the trustworthiness

and truthfulness of your word

and a confidence

to bear clear witness about Jesus.

Righteous Father,

please grow in me

a humble confidence

in the trustworthiness

and truthfulness of your word

and a confidence

to bear witness about Jesus.

This isn't just a prayer for a minister.

It's a prayer for every Christian.

Like it's so wonderful

that moms and tots are going to start

and that at some point in time during that,

they're going to open the word.

And that means,

I'm assuming it's going to be Anya.

Anya, we can be praying

and we can be praying for Anya

that she is able to bear testimony to the word.

It's for the interns.

It's for what's going on

in Sunday school right now

that the teachers

can bear testimony to the word.

It's what happens in your small groups

which are so important

to be part of a small group.

It's the act of giving testimony

is something that we should be praying about.

Not only to trust the Bible

and to believe that it's true,

but to ask the Lord

that we can be competent.

I know, you know,

competent in terms of where we are in life.

I know some of you,

you lead a Bible study group,

you work demanding jobs,

you have a child which is wonderful

but also demanding,

and you do volunteer work

and you still try to bear testimony to work.

And that's obviously going to be

a little bit different

than me bearing testimony to the word

when I have far more time

to study and prepare.

But this is a prayer for every Christian

to believe and trust the word of God

and to ask that when it comes

to be able to bear witness to the word,

we can do it well,

as well as we can,

to the glory of God.

Now, I could keep going on

and on and on and on

and then I could avoid

the very awkward part.

But the awkward part,

you know, maybe what we'll do

is we'll read the awkward part,

which is verses 22, 21 to 23,

and then we'll bring it home to you

as to why it's awkward.

So Jesus continues,

that they may all be one,

sorry, well, you don't have 20 up there.

I'll say 20 and you can just catch up with 21.

I do not ask for these only,

but also for those who will believe in me

through their word,

so that they may all 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.

The glory that you have given me

I have given to them,

that they may be one,

even as we are one.

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.

It's a very, very beautiful

and powerful text.

For 22 plus years,

I was a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada.

For 143 years,

this congregation was part of the Anglican Church.

First, I don't know what the original diocese was

because this congregation actually is older

than the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.

And on February 16, 2008,

this congregation voted to leave

the Anglican Church of Canada

and become part of a different

Anglican jurisdiction.

And for legal reasons,

I didn't leave the Anglican Church of Canada

right away,

which is a whole other topic,

but I left within a day

or something like that.

And I sent a formal letter

to the bishop

announcing that I was leaving

his jurisdiction

and I was coming under

another Anglican jurisdiction.

And that is why

just about every Anglican minister

in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa

and most ministers

in the Anglican Church of Canada

would say that I

and this congregation

are in massive violation of the Bible.

Isn't that what the Bible says,

that you should pray that they be one?

George, didn't you leave?

Didn't you create division?

Isn't that a sin?

So, George,

how are you going to be dancing around up front

around this particular one?

And to...

If those of you who weren't here at that time,

which is probably many of you,

the issue becomes even harder for us

in the sense that for

the presenting issue

that led us to leave

the Anglican Church of Canada

was the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa

and the Anglican Churches of Canada

decision to bless same-sex unions

and same-sex marriages,

which for most people in Canada

is a sign that we don't like

gay and lesbians.

And we definitely stood against

the flow of the culture

in that particular moment.

So for many people

in the Anglican Church of Canada

and the United Church

and most Lutheran churches

and most Presbyterian churches,

they would look at us

and they would see

that we're acting in a hateful...

They would say

that we're acting in a hateful manner

to many people in Canada.

And at the same time,

we are in complete rebellion

against what Jesus was praying.

If I pose the problem

well enough for us,

it's really important

to pose the problem

as powerfully and accurately

as we can.

Now, I'm going to tell you

I don't think we're in violation

of this text.

I, in fact, think

that it's precisely

because of this text

that we took the actions

that we took.

But we need to sort of

do a little bit of unpacking

of this particular text.

Andrew...

Sorry, not Andrew.

Rebecca, could you put up

my first point?

And we're going to go back

to the text.

This is where I...

You know, I can't...

I guess we could toggle

back and forth

between this and the text,

but it's...

Rather than just looking

at the text on the screen,

it's really helpful

to have it in your hands

so you can go back and forward.

So here's what's going on.

Jesus became one with you

to make you right with God.

By faith in him,

you become one with him

and are made right with God.

I'll say that again.

Jesus became one with you

to make you right with God.

By faith in him,

you become one with him

and are made right with God.

If you go back

and look at the text,

all this very, very wonderful

language of being one,

it's very, very powerful.

But it's not as if

all of this language

of being one

is somehow or another

separate from how it is

that a person becomes a Christian.

And remember,

Christian isn't a code word

for a good person

or a smart person.

It's a word for a person

who has become Jesus' own.

We trust Jesus as our Savior.

We trust him as our Lord.

We trust him to make us right with God.

We trust him that he will fit us

for eternity.

And we've put all of our trust,

as much as we possibly can,

on him and what he's done

for us on the cross.

And so what's actually happening

when you put your faith

and trust in Jesus?

It's actually really quite amazing.

And this text is really

bringing it home to us.

I'll read the text again.

When it talks here about how

that they may all 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.

The glory that you have given me

I have given to them

that they may be one

even as we are one.

I in them

and you in me.

I in them

and you in me

that they may become

perfectly one

so that the world may know

that you have sent me

and love them

even as you have loved me.

The very heart of salvation

is that Jesus

leaves the glory of the Father

and the God,

the Son of God

sets aside his glory

and honor

and prerogatives

and appearance of God

and remaining fully

and completely God

by nature

takes into himself

our human nature

and becomes human

and walks amongst us.

And that means

that that is the beginning

of his profound identification

with you and me.

His offer to be

the representative

for you and me.

His offer to be

a substitute

for you and me.

His offer

to be a sacrifice

whereby he exchanges

what he has done

for what we have done

and in a very powerful way

both in a negative way

and in a powerful way.

And it's not only

the beginning

of this identification

with us

but what happens

is when by faith,

by an act

and a sense

of our heart,

we reach out to Jesus

and touch him

to be our Savior

and Lord.

Well,

what we discover

is this,

that at the very deepest level

of who we are,

Jesus embraces us.

Like,

Jesus actually

becomes closer to me

than I am to my breath.

He actually

becomes closer to me

than I am

to myself.

I can't remember

the things I've done.

I flatter myself

too much

to detect or hate

the things I've done.

I give a very good account

of why I fail

to do the good

I should do

and I give a very good account

of why the wrong thing

I did

is not actually wrong.

But Jesus

sees me perfectly

and seeing me perfectly

He is going to die

for everything

that I have done wrong.

He's going to die

for everything

that I've done wrong

to break things,

to hurt things,

to sin.

He's going to deal

with my shame.

And that means

in a sense

that He embraces it

and becomes closer to it.

The sins

that I have forgotten,

He comes so close

to me

that it goes on Him.

Like,

if you think about it

for a moment,

if there is a man

who is a terrible racist,

if there is a woman

who is completely

and utterly consumed

with envy,

if there is a man

who is spending

hours and hours

and hours

looking at

very, very, very

horrific pornography,

Jesus actually

embraces

and touches

those parts

of who we are

because He embraces us

at the most fundamental

level of who we are

and every wrong act,

every wrong thought,

every lack of forgiveness,

our memory,

our imagination,

our affections,

our desires,

there is nothing

in me,

no matter how foul

or how vile,

that does not,

is not embraced

by Jesus

and He takes it

in Himself

for me.

And so what happens

when I put my faith

and trust in Jesus?

Jesus has already

crossed the infinite distance

to come and die

upon the cross

and He has such

a close union

with me

when I put my faith

and trust in Him

that all of these things

and if you think about it,

how much of my identity

or your identity

is connected

to owning stuff

or is connected

to our memories

of terrible things

we've done in the past

or memories

of our failures

or imagination

of future failures,

how much of who

we understand ourselves

to be is connected

with all of these things

of boasting

and of pride

and of horror

and of shame

and all of these things

and all of that

is taken upon Jesus,

all of that

with nothing left over.

There is nothing

through therapy

or hypnosis

or dreams

that I might remember

about my past

and the future

that Jesus does not know

when He takes me

as His own.

There will never be,

I can still be surprised

at things I've done

in the past

and how I've hurt people

but Jesus knew that.

He takes all of that

with nothing left over

and all of the sin

and all of the shame

and all of the failure

and all of the brokenness

and all of the horror,

all of those things

that we could never share

with another people

for fear

that if they knew

that about us

they would never want

to talk to us again.

that is His.

And at the same time

as all of that

which is in me

now becomes His,

the perfect standing

and affection

and love

that He has

with the Father

becomes mine.

And so this text

is helping us

to understand

is the profound act

of union

that is involved

in salvation.

And that union continues.

It's not just a story,

it's not just imagination,

the union is mystical

and real.

That when I put my faith,

when you put your faith

and trust in Jesus,

that deep identification

and representation

and substitution

and exchange,

that deep union

and oneness

becomes real

and it continues on

into all eternity.

I am in Jesus,

Jesus is in me.

Jesus is in me.

You see,

I have friends

who are gay and lesbian,

probably other bisexual

and transsexual as well.

And it can be

a very hard thing

to confess to them

that I am a Christian

and to say these,

to say that I am a Christian.

But you see,

a text like this

shows how deeply

Jesus loves

those who would

self-identify

as lesbians

and gay

and bisexual

and transsexual

because no one

embraces them

like Jesus.

And part of the Christian life

and Christian growth

is the process

whereby I begin

to lose

the way

that I use my,

maybe the fact

that I'm Canadian

or my youth

or my strength

or my accomplishments

or my power

or my money

or my sexuality

as a source

of my identity,

a source

of how I understand

myself as just

and right

and justify myself.

And part of the growth

of the Christian life

is that we slowly

start to die

to all of these things

by which we justify

ourselves

or make ourselves

think that we are whole

to receive a completely

and utterly new identity

that comes

from being embraced

by our creator

to be restored

to how he created us

to be

and to fit us

to spend eternity

in the new heaven

and the new earth.

And part of the growth

of discipleship

is getting

and learning

and experiencing

a new identity

in Christ.

I'm not going

to get into it right now.

It's a point

for another sermon.

But even most people

in the gay community

would acknowledge

that the Bible,

those within the church

who believe

that the Bible teaches

that God blesses

a gay lifestyle

or a lesbian lifestyle,

most voices

in the gay

and lesbian community

would know

that that's not true.

They would agree

with me.

They would agree

with me.

They would agree

with most of us here

if you agree

with me.

It's a delusion

for people

in churches

who are trained

to be ministers

to think

that the Bible

teaches

that God blesses

an identity

based around

a man's

sexual attraction

and sexual

knowing

of another man

or a woman's

sexual desires

and sexual

knowing

of another woman.

And the Bible

teaches

that those things

are wrong.

And to deny

that

means at a very

fundamental level

you don't believe

in the trustworthiness

and the truth

of the word

and you have refused

to bear testimony

to it.

In fact,

you are bearing

testimony

to something

completely

and utterly

different.

But this same

text,

see this very,

very same text

on one hand

it doesn't just

confront those

of us

who are gay

or lesbian

or bisexual

or transgender

it confronts

every single

one of us

because it is

in fact

a characteristic

of every human

being that we

find our identity

and self-worth

and justification

and righteousness

in something

apart from God.

And this is

a gospel text

to all of us

and we are not

bearing testimony

to Jesus

if we somehow

or another

are afraid

to say that

to certain people

because the fact

of the matter

is

the deep desire

of our heart

the true desire

of our heart

is ultimately

to be embraced

by God

our creator

and the one

for whom

we were made.

If you could

put up the next

point

Rebecca

the believer's

union

with the Godhead

right

when Jesus

here is talking

about

I'm in him

and he's in me

and the father

is in Jesus

and Jesus

is in the father

and I am in Jesus

and therefore

the father

is in me

and it's all

this very

very complicated

complex

but wonderful

language

the believer's

union

with the Godhead

forms a unity

among believers

that bears witness

to the Lord Jesus

to the ends

of the world

and here

at this point

in time

we are

we do have

a lot

to say

we have

to confess

that we have

been sinful

here

that there

is far much

far too much

division

amongst Christians

and we just

have to confess

that it's very

easy for us

to know

that a person

is a true

Christian

and yet

for us

to nourish

suspicion

or envy

or jealousy

or refusal

to have fellowship

with them

and this text

should prick

our conscience

if you could

put up the

final point

turning it

into a prayer

righteous father

please grow

in me

grow in all

true Christians

deep bonds

of affection

and partnership

and mission

so that every

people group

will know

that Jesus

loves them

and died

to save them

righteous father

please grow

in all true

Christians

deep bonds

of affection

and partnership

and mission

so that every

people group

will know

that Jesus

loves them

and died

to save

them

you see

I guess

I probably

should have

spent a bit

longer

on the

previous

point

but this

stay here

with this

because this

sort of

captures

the point

what Jesus

is talking

about

isn't

institutional

unity

he's not

talking about

uniformity

and what he's

doing is he's

directly challenging

the many many

different ways

that the visible

church can have

unity

which is actually

not the right

type of unity

that he's wanting

it for

and we don't see

it as much

in Canadian

culture

it isn't seen

as much

when they look

at the Anglican

Church of Canada

we see it often

when we look

at other

countries

or other

parts of the

world

where we see

the horrible

horrible

horrible

horrible

things

when a unity

of a church

is based

on race

or the unity

of a church

is based

on politics

or the unity

of the church

is based

on class

or the unity

of the church

is based

on particular

sexual

preferences

and the unity

of the church

is based

just on some

type of

ethnic

continuity

a friend of mine who goes to a large, large ethnic church in the city

he asked me a couple of weeks ago how many people I had at my attendance

and I told him and he said, well we had a lot more people at our church this past Sunday

it's a funny thing to have a conversation with him because he's an atheist

but he was at the church service and I said, oh that's interesting

but I said, you only wanted that church so you could make business connections

and he smiled and said, I left a big stack of my business cards at the back table

and then he said, you know what, that's why everybody goes to my church

I don't know if any of us believe any of that stuff

but it's a great place to meet real estate agents and doctors and lawyers and dentists

and promote your business

he smiled, he confessed that that's why they met

and we would see that and we would say that that's abhorrent

so it is, we came to the conclusion

that the visible church known as the Anglican Church of Canada

had turned its back on the doctrine

that Jesus Christ is Lord

that he is the one who determines what is right and wrong

he is the one who determines how salvation works

he is the one who determines how sanctification works

and we came to the conclusion that the visible church

known as the Anglican Church of Canada

had departed from maintaining the very, very basic fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith

and if we wanted to continue to be in fellowship with Anglican churches and others

that were true to the word

we had to separate from them

so that we could reconnect

and continue to be part of the wider church

and that by the way is objectively true

80% of all the Anglicans in the world

we are in fellowship with them

80% of all the Anglicans in the world

we are in fellowship with them

it's one of the reasons Deanna

I don't think she's able to be here today

that she's with us

rather than another church

I just have a few minutes left

and there's another very important act

ask in this prayer

and I want to still look at it

and it has to do with this very important doctrine of hope

actually the way I had originally designed this sermon

was that my whole sermon was primarily going to be about hope

and the difference between hope and pessimism

and hope and optimism

and hope in lesser goods

and hope in the supreme good

and it was this that I had developed my whole sermon around

that the Holy Spirit convicted me

that I had to talk about

the first ask more than the second ask

but I still like to at least leave us with the second ask

so if you just read along the next ask

the final ask that Jesus makes

verse 24

Father I desire that they also whom you have given me

may be with me where I am

to see my glory

that you have given me

because you loved me before the foundation of the world

O righteous Father

even though the world does not know you

I know you

and these know that you have sent me

I made known to them your name

and I will continue to make it known

that the love which you have loved me

may be in them

and I in them

and just before we get to the point

in verse 26

I have made known to them your name

I shared with you last week

I don't know if you

if you sort of cottoned on

or if you were here

when in the New Testament

and in the Old Testament

when it uses the word

the name of God

it's

it's trying to point

at a bigger reality

the analogy that I used

is if we wanted to refer

if I referred to Wall Street

you know that I'm not just talking about a street

Wall Street is a way for me to talk about capitalism

and banks

and investment

and stock markets

and all of that

a whole big world of things

if I talk about Hollywood

I'm talking about actors

and stories

and movies

and a whole range of things

and in the same way

when people refer to the name of God

it isn't just as if God has this big deal

about having his name right

name is a short form

for describing who God is

the truth about who God is

the truth about who he isn't

the truth about why he has acted

why he is acting

what he's done

what he's doing

what he will do

why he did what he did

why he's doing what he's doing

why he's going to do things in the future

it's all connected to the heart

and the character

and the very nature and identity of God

and so what this is saying here in verse 26

I've made known to them your name

and I will continue to make it known

that the love which you have loved me

may be in them and I in them

it means that God continues to teach us through his word

the Holy Spirit will continue to bring us

to deeper truths in the word

so that we have a clearer and clearer understand

through the word of who God is

and what he's done

and who Jesus is

and who the Holy Spirit is

and the nature of sin

and the nature of our need

and the nature of the church

that God will continue to reveal

more and more and more truth to us

as we read the word

but the big thing is

if you could put up this final point

here's the big thing in closing today

the big ask

Jesus

the ask that Jesus makes

he shares his heart with you and me

he says

to George

and he says to Missy

and he says to Leah

and he says to Daniel

and Christine

and he says

and to Anne

and he says to each of us

you know what is in my deep deep deep heart

for each one of you

what is in my deep heart

for each one of you

is that day

when you stand in my presence

and you don't only see my glory

but the word for seeing or beholding

is also a word for entering in

or participating in

what I'm really looking forward to

as I pray over you

is for you to know

that I am so looking forward

to that day

when you stand before me

face to face

right now you are frail

and you are weak

right now you are beset times

by doubts

and by worries

and by anxieties

right now some of you

are very great in the world

and some of you

are failures in the world

and some of you feel like failures

or feel like great

but there will come a time

and that is what I am praying for

there will come a time

and I am looking forward to it

when you stand in my presence

and you stand in my presence

I have redeemed you

and you can stand in my presence

and you will see me as I am

it will no longer be faith

but you will see me

and when you see me

you will see my glory

and when you see me

and you see my glory

you will be like me

and you will enter into

and participate

and drink

and eat

and breathe

and be at one with

my great glory

and that is my hope

for every person

who knows Jesus

and God made us to hope

I don't know what Jeremiah said

in the learner's exchange

but Buddhism has something

seriously wrong

one of the things

George

somehow that triggered Siri

maybe we're saying Buddhism

said it was wrong

Siri was going to challenge me on that

it was seriously wrong

yeah yeah

oh that's why I said Siri

ah

okay

okay

it's just so weird

eh

anyway

I guess you couldn't hear that

because it's a bit far from the mic

but

God made us as human beings

not just to always live in the moment

but God made us as human beings

to be fruitful and multiply

and being fruitful and multiply

means that you want to bear fruit

which means you look to the future

my wife loves gardening

she's already making plans

about the seeds that she's going to buy

and other types of things

that she can plant them

so she can see fruit

and it's not a bad thing

in fact

hope

this view of the future

and a concern for the future

is a food for the soul

we need to hope

and we struggle

we might struggle with optimism

we might struggle with pessimism

but what God wants

and that's what he's trying to express

here in this prayer

is that Jesus wants us to pray

something like this

righteous father

please grip me with the gospel

and so free and heal my heart

that day by day

I will feed on the sure

and certain hope

that I will behold

and enter in

to the eternal weight of glory

of the Lord Jesus Christ

you see

Jesus tells us

that this is his desire

so that we know

what his desire is

sometimes our discipleship

will be very hard

sometimes being a faithful witness

of Jesus means

that people will not like us

they won't want to invite us

to their parties

we might lose promotions over it

we might lose placements over it

because we bear witness to Jesus

and that can be very hard

and in the midst of hardship

we still hope

and Jesus wants us to feed

on the promises

that he has made

that are sure

and trustworthy

and certain

and the sure

and trustworthy

and certain promise

that he has made

is that one day

if we are in him

we will behold his glory

and enter into his glory

and as we walk

and as we live

and as we plan

and as we do what we do

as we deal with failure

and as we deal with success

in the midst of all of that

Jesus wants the Holy Spirit

to move within you

in a mighty and powerful way

that you might live each day

day by day

with hope

the sure and certain hope

let's bow our heads

actually please stand

Father we thank you for Jesus

we thank you that he saw

everything there is to see about us

that he sees the things

which are really bright

and shining

and glorious

and beautiful

and he sees the things

which are dark

and dank

and ugly

and evil

and still he loved us

and still he was willing

to die on the cross

for us

and still he was willing

to embrace

all of who we are

all of how each one of us is

and take that into himself

that he might bear

the consequences for it

and he might give us

his glory

and his goodness

Father we thank you

for Jesus

we ask that you would grip us

with the gospel

and what it is

that Jesus has done for us

and who he is

and that you might fill

each one of us

day by day

with hope

Father you know

we you know

that we have to have hopes

for other things

for for meals

and jobs

and you do not despise

those things Father

but we know

that all of our lesser hopes

are purified

and made perfect

by this deep Christian hope

of what our ultimate end

and destiny is

amongst the changes

and chances

of this fleeting world

that you have called us

to see and behold

and enter in

to an eternal weight of glory

the eternal weight of glory

of the Lord Jesus Christ

our Lord and our Savior

so Father

grow hope

within us

and we ask this

in Jesus' name

Amen