11.30.25 - Jesus Prays for Unity - John 17

like him. And everyone said, "Amen."

>> Amen. Thanks, Pastor Eric. Uh, happy

Thanksgiving. If I didn't get to say

that to you last week, I hope it was

fantastic and you got to spend tons of

time with friends and family and you ate

a lot of calories. Uh, we did. We got to

go camping the first half of the week

and spend some time with friends and now

we have family in town. And so, our

Thanksgiving week has been so, so good.

And I hope that yours has, too. And so

as we get started, I want us to do

something together that we're going to

be more intentional to do as a church.

And we want to take some time to pray

together. So as we wrap up Thanksgiving

week, I just want us to do together uh a

prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord. So

what I'm going to do is I'm going to

open us up in prayer. I'm going to pray

for something and then I'm going to give

you a little bit of space to pray and

thank the Lord for that thing. And we're

just going to pray together and give

thanks to God. Can we do that? Father,

thank you for your goodness and your

kindness to us. We know that every good

gift comes from you. And so, as we wrap

up this week where we take time to

celebrate specifically all the good

things you've given us, we thank you for

friends and family that we got to spend

time with this week. Take a moment and

thank the Lord.

Father, we thank you also that you are

our provider,

that everything we have comes from you.

And so for food to eat and a place to

eat it, we say thank you,

Lord. We thank you for your word that

shapes us and changes us. We thank you

that it's true and we ask that you would

shape our lives by it this morning.

And then Father, we thank you for your

son Jesus. We thank you that he gave his

life so that we could live.

God, make us a people who are more and

more thankful and grateful for who you

are, for all that you do in our lives.

We love you. We pray this in the name of

Jesus. Amen. Amen. All right. Uh so to

get us started, let me ask you a

question. How many of you would consider

yourselves a planner?

Like you Okay. Yeah, we can raise hands.

Yeah. How many of you are planners?

Identify yourself now so that we know.

Okay. like you keep a calendar or you've

got a digital and a paper planner that

you reference all the time like uh an

ideal Saturday for you is scheduled from

the time you get up until the time you

go to bed you're like that is relaxing

right how many so one more time just so

that we can see planners

okay how many of you are more

spontaneous okay

like Saturday for you ideally is I'll

get up when I get up and maybe I'll do

some stuff and maybe I won't. Right.

Okay, that's you. How many spontaneous

people? Uh, what's really funny is

getting to look at you from up here and

seeing all the like side glances and

smirks because what's true is that half

of you who raised your hands the first

time are married to half of you who

raised your hands the second time. And

that creates a pretty funny family

dynamic. That's true in our family. I'm

more spontaneous and my wife is a little

more of a planner and we see that when

we go on vacation

and I'm putting vacation in air quotes

because I don't think we should call it

that because I think that vacation

implies that we're going to relax at

some point. And so I say what we do is

we don't take vacation, we take action

adventure trips

like lots of planning, big on fun and

low on relaxing, right? lots of planning

in our vacations. Um but then Christmas

is coming up too. And when you're on

staff at a church, you start planning

for Christmas in like February. Okay. Um

but really in July for sure. We're

talking about Christmas in July and

there's just so much that goes into it.

Isn't the lobby beautiful? Yeah. Yeah.

You can clap for that. Yeah. That's

that's the result of months and months

of planning. And uh a couple weeks ago,

I called Jenny Philpot the Christmas

ZAR. Um because she's in charge of all

of it. She's got this really great team

of volunteers and you know, and staff.

And I actually took a picture of Jenny

explaining the Christmas decorating plan

to our team.

Uh Christmas planning is intense. And

Jenny is a really good planner. She's

not really like this. She's very kind

and calm, okay? But it's intense and uh

she's a good planner, but not every plan

is a good plan, right? We know this. And

uh so like this church that decided a

good plan would be to have a camel in

their Christmas Eve service.

Yikes.

Maybe we'll try that this year. I don't

know.

Uh, now I'm a more naturally spontaneous

person, but the older I get, the more I

appreciate a good plan because let's be

honest, the planners run the world,

right? Like, if you're a spontaneous

person, you know, without somebody to

organize things, everything would just

fall apart. And today, we're going to

look at John chapter 17. So, go ahead

John 17 · chapter mention

and turn there with me, and we're going

to work through a whole chapter this

morning. So, keep your Bibles out and

open. Again, I'll give you just a second

to get there. John 17.

And while you're finding it, we're

wrapping up our 8-week series called the

upper room. And we've been examining

kind of Jesus's final encouragements and

his instructions to his disciples before

he goes to the cross. He's taught us

about loving one another, about abiding

in him, serving, finding joy and

perseverance in the face of suffering,

just to name a few things. And then in

chapter 18, he's going to be arrested.

And the final stretch on the journey to

the cross is going to be underway. And

then in the middle, in chapter 17, we

get something really, really special.

Jesus pauses to pray. We get 26 verses

of Jesus, the son of God, praying to his

father.

And there's so much in these verses, but

we want to focus this morning on two

main things. The first thing is a theme

that kind of runs underneath the whole

prayer. And it's the idea that God has

an eternal mission. He has a plan that's

set in motion that can't be undone. And

Jesus has come to fulfill the

centerpiece of that plan and it's almost

done. And then when he leaves, he's

going to call his disciples into that

mission as well. And then the second

thing is that God has a means by which

that plan is going to be carried out.

Because a good planner doesn't just know

what they want to accomplish, they know

how they're going to accomplish it.

Right? We want to have a live camel in

our Christmas Eve service. That's a

plan. But a good plan would have been,

let's figure out how to get it to the

front without it fainting and crushing

10 people, right? Not every plan is

good. And so, you need to know how

you're going to accomplish it. And we're

going to see in these verses that as God

calls people into his plan, the way he

calls us to accomplish it is by being

unified. It's through unity. This

chapter tells us that unity within the

church as the people of God is one of

the primary ways that a lost and dying

world is going to see and believe that

Jesus is who he says he is, that he's

the son of God, and that he loves them

and wants a relationship with them.

Ain't that beautiful that unity is the

way he chooses to accomplish that? and

convicting. At the same time, he prays

for all believers to be unified. But

then if we take it a step further, he

calls us specifically as Lake View Bible

Church to be a unified people in his

name. God's mission in the world is

carried out through unity. So to set the

scene a little bit, like we get the idea

when we read this that Jesus is praying

out loud while his disciples are

listening. So, they've been having a

conversation. We think maybe they've

been walking from one place to another.

And then Jesus just breaks into a

prayer. He prays for himself and then he

prays for his 11 disciples that are

still with him. And he prays for me and

you as well. It's not just a prayer for

someone else that we're trying to look

in on from the outside to see what we

can learn from it. If you're a follower

of Jesus, it's a prayer specifically for

you. And if you're here this morning and

you're not a Christian or you're not

sure, let me encourage you, stay dialed

in and see the love that God has for you

as he prays and see what he's inviting

you into. So let's start in verse one,

chapter 17. In this first section, we're

going to see that God has had a plan

from the beginning and that God's

eternal mission is that he would be

glorified and that those who believe in

his son would have eternal life in him.

And the way he's going to accomplish

that mission is through love and unity.

So 17 verse one, we're going to go

through five. When Jesus had spoken

these words, he lifted up his eyes to

heaven and said, "Father, the hour has

come. glorify your son that the son may

glorify you since you have given him

authority over all flesh to give eternal

life to all whom you have given him and

this is eternal life that they know you

the only true God and Jesus Christ whom

you have sent. I glorified you on earth,

having accomplished the work that you

gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify

me in your own presence with the glory

that I had with you before the world

existed. So Jesus begins his prayer by

praying for himself. And there's a

phrase right there at the beginning that

we need to pay attention to. It says,

"When Jesus had spoken these words." So

whenever we read something like this in

scripture, it's important to slow down a

little and review. So often the way we

read the Bible is a chapter at a time or

maybe even just a few verses at a time.

And that's an okay way to read God's

word. But because it's all connected,

because it's one big story, if we're not

careful, we can lose context when we

read it in little pieces. And so when

you see something like this, it's

important to back up and see what's

going on. You might have heard your

teacher say in elementary school, when

you see the word therefore, back up and

see what it's there for. Right? This is

kind of like that. So it says when Jesus

had spoken these words, well, what

words? What's the last thing that he

said before this? This is the end of

John 16. He says, "In the world you will

have tribulation, but take heart for I

have overcome the world." Scripture ties

this prayer of Jesus to all the things

that he's just finished saying. So, if

you were here last week, Pastor Eric

talked to us about how Jesus promises

the disciples that they're going to have

sorrow and tribulation in the world, but

their sorrow is going to turn to joy. He

says, "Take heart, for I've overcome the

world." So, this is a prayer of

encouragement.

It's a prayer that's meant to build up

his followers to give them hope and

peace and strength and joy. There's some

sobering parts to it when we read about

being hated by the world for being on

mission with God. But at its core, this

is a triumphant prayer that should give

us boldness and confidence. And so, as

we read, let's keep that in mind as we

continue. So the second half of verse

one, Jesus says, "Father, the hour has

come. Glorify your son that the son may

glorify you." So what's the hour that

Jesus is talking about? Why was Jesus

born into the world? What was his

mission? What was the plan?

The answer to that question is really

astounding.

Right? and all of the religions in the

world. It's unique

because we see that the God of the

universe humbled himself. He was born

into the world as a human baby in humble

circumstances.

He lived, he grew, he worked, and he

worshiped alongside his creation. And

all of it for one main purpose.

Jesus came to die.

Jesus came into the world to save

sinners. And the way he's going to do

that is by giving his life for us.

Jesus came to die. The King of Kings and

Lord of Lords came to sacrifice himself

for me and you. That's the hour that

he's referring to. Jesus's eyes are

fixed on the cross

right now. And the cross has been the

plan from the beginning.

Like the cross wasn't a pivot to

something different because the original

plan wasn't going well. They're like,

"Well, Jesus, they don't like you as

well as we thought and so we, you know,

got to go to plan B now." No, the cross

was always the plan from the very

beginning. And so, we see that as Jesus

is heading that way, he's starting to

pray for himself. And it's always been

the plan because he's a good planner. In

John chapter 2, Jesus tells his mother,

John 2 · chapter mention

"My hour has not yet come." In John

John 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7, he tells his unbelieving

brothers the same thing. And John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8, we see that the religious

leaders wanted to arrest Jesus, but they

weren't able to because his hour had not

yet come. So Jesus is doing this work

that the father had given him. It's all

part of God's eternal mission

and he's here to die to lay down his

life for my sin and for yours. And the

hour is here now. So let's keep going.

This is uh end of verse one. He says,

"Glorify your son that the son may

glorify you since you have given him

authority over all flesh to give eternal

life to all whom you have given him."

And this is eternal life that they know

you, the only true God and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent. I glorified you on

earth, having accomplished the work that

you gave to me to do. And now, Father,

glorify me in your own presence with the

glory that I had with you before the

world existed. And I love this passage

of scripture. But when you read

something like this, do you ever wonder

how it all works?

Uh what I mean is Jesus who is God is

praying to the father who is God right

and he's talking about work that the

father has given him to do but aren't

they the same and then in previous

chapters Jesus has talked about well the

holy spirit is going to come when I go

away well the holy spirit is also god

and he's going to help you and he's

going to be your comforter when I leave.

So like what's happening in in this

passage where Jesus is praying to his

father and what we get in this chapter

is the glorious and beautiful mystery of

the trinity.

Right? It's something that we'll teach

on often here because it's central to

the message of scripture and it comes up

all the time. So as we walk through

God's word, we'll talk about who he is

in himself. And the truth is that

there's one God and he exists in three

distinct persons. He's the father, the

son, and the holy spirit. And all three

persons are co-equal in glory and power.

They're one divine essence, but they're

distinct in the roles and functions that

they fulfill. And the reason that this

is really important for us as we study

this chapter is because God calls us to

be unified because he's unified within

himself. That's who he is. He calls us

to be like him when he calls us to

unity. The whole upper room discourse

that we've been walking through, he's

teaching us to love one another and to

be unified with our brothers and sisters

in Christ because that's what he's like.

because that's who he is. The father,

the son, and the holy spirit have

existed together forever in a loving

relationship where they willingly submit

to and glorify and serve one another.

Jesus prays that the father would

glorify him so that he can turn around

and do what? Glorify the father. Right?

We see the father who has all authority

willingly giving that authority to the

son so that Jesus can give eternal life

to all the people that the father has

given him. And when the holy spirit

comes he points to Jesus. That's his

role. And Jesus then reveals the father

to us. all three persons working

together in perfect unity and love to

accomplish God's eternal mission. And

Jesus is praying for himself as part of

that process. And in verses four and

five, he says, "I glorified you on

earth, having accomplished the work that

you gave me to do. And now, Father,

glorify me in your own presence with the

glory that I had with you before the

world existed."

So, just a little side note here.

Sometimes you'll hear people say that

Jesus never really claimed to be God in

scripture. Not true at all. He does it

often actually, but this is one of the

strongest places where he does it. He

says, "Glorify me in your presence with

the glory that I had with you before the

world existed." Jesus has always been

with the father. He wasn't created. He's

the begotten son of God. They've always

been together.

When Jesus was born into the world, he

willingly set aside his glory for a time

to do the work that he's called to, but

he was never diminished.

He was always fully God. And when he was

born, he became fully human. He chose to

humble himself. He glorified the father

through his life and work in the world.

And now his father is about to glorify

him through his death and his

resurrection. So in just a little while,

Jesus's journey to the cross is going to

be complete. And the glory that he set

aside so he could do that work, he's

going to take back up. He's going to be

with the father in glory again, which is

where he is now. And when Jesus is

glorified, so is the father and vice

versa. and he's praying for himself as

he finishes the work. And then if we

pick up in verse six, we see that he

turns and he prays for his disciples.

And as we start to read here, we've kind

of said this already, but I want to say

it again. If we cheat and skip down to

verse 20, he says, as he's praying, I

don't ask only for these, but also for

those who will believe in me through

their word. He's praying for his 11

disciples who were with him right then

in the moment, but he's praying

specifically for us as well. He says for

everybody who's going to believe through

their word. This is for us today. And

Jesus prays for quite a few things in

this passage. Again, he prays for

protection, perseverance, joy, but the

main focus, the thing he keeps coming

back to is that the disciples would be

one, that they would be unified. And so

let's read these verses through that

lens. Let's do uh 6 through 8. So

starting in verse 6, he says, "I have

manifested your name to the people whom

you gave me out of the world. Yours they

were and you gave them to me and they

have kept your word. Now they know that

everything that you have given me is

from you. For I have given them the

words that you gave me, and they have

received them and have come to know in

truth that I came from you, and they

have believed that you sent me. So

remember, we think that Jesus is praying

out loud, right, where his disciples can

hear. And so what he's actually doing

here is he's encouraging his disciples.

He's affirming them in the fact that

they have come to believe that he's the

Messiah.

At this point, there's a lot that they

don't understand. There's a lot that

they're confused about. They don't when

he's talking about going to the cross,

they don't really know what he means or

what's going to happen by that. And what

Jesus is doing is he's grounding them in

the fact that the reason that they

belong to the father is because they've

believed the words that he's spoken.

Right? That's the basis for their

salvation. Right? Which is encouraging

because they are about to mess up big

time. Right? When Jesus gets arrested,

what happens?

They scatter, right? They all run away.

They abandon him. and Peter's going to

deny him three times. They are a mess

after Jesus is crucified until he comes

back and shows himself to him. And

what's so encouraging about this passage

is what Jesus is doing is saying, look,

the reason that you belong to me is

because you've believed in who I am. Not

because of your performance, not because

you're doing everything right. Not

because you've earned your way in. You

belong to the father by grace through

faith in me. Jesus knows what's coming.

And so he gives them a way to come back

in when they've messed up. He's

affirming them. He's grounding them in

the fact that he's their true source of

life and nothing else. Let's look at

verse nine. He says, "I'm praying for

them. I'm not praying for the world, but

for those whom you have given me. For

they are yours. All mine are yours, and

yours are mine, and I am glorified in

them. I'm no longer in the world, but

they are in the world, and I am 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.

God is our source of unity.

Why do you think he goes out of his way

to say that he's not praying for the

world but only for his disciples? I

always thought that was interesting

little addition into this prayer because

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the

John 3:16

world, right?" But here he says, "I'm

not praying for the world. I'm just

praying for my disciples." Look, it's

important for us to know God loves every

person and he wants every person that he

has created to come to faith and

repentance in him. But he's making an

intentional distinction here. He's only

praying for his disciples. And it

reminds us that not everyone is in the

same relational place with God. Not

everyone is in Christ. Only those who

put their faith in Jesus belong to the

father. And before we can be unified

with one another, we have to be unified

with God. Everything that Jesus prays

for here, our protection, love, joy,

perseverance, it all starts in

relationship with him. He's the true

source. Remember John 15 from a few

weeks ago? He says, "I'm the vine. You

are the branches. The invitation is to

abide in him, to be unified with him

first as the only true source of life.

Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now you have

Ephesians 2:13

been united with Christ Jesus. Once you

were far away from God, but now you've

been brought near to him through the

blood of Christ."

Romans 6:5 said, "For if we have been

Romans 6:5

united with him in a death like his, we

shall certainly be united with him in a

resurrection like his." Unity with God

comes from being united with Christ in

his death and his resurrection. And

everything else flows out from there.

The gospel is what unites us to God. And

then it's also what unites us to each

other. But it has to start with being

united with him. So let's zoom in a

little bit and let's think about our

church, the people of Lake View Bible

Church as it is on November 30th, 2025.

God's calling us to be a unified people

so that a lost and dying world can see

him more clearly. So how do we do that?

Well, let me ask a question. And how

does the world feel about unity? Like

how does our culture feel about unity?

Actually kind of love the idea, right?

All you have to do is look at how

companies market and they talk so often

about togetherness and community and

being allin together for the common good

and being inclusive in all of their

marketing strategies. Unity is a really

popular and attractive idea actually.

But why do you think we experience so

little of it in the world?

I mean, do you feel like our culture is

experiencing a lot of unity right now? A

lot of handholding across the political

aisle for the common good. Was the

longest government shutdown ever. Was

that right?

A lot of groups with different

ideologies setting aside their

differences to serve their communities.

Aggies and Longhorns living together in

peace and harmony.

Is that too soon?

I'm sorry.

Uh, pick up with me in verse 12.

He says, "While I was with them, I kept

them in your name which you have given

me. I have guarded them and not one of

them has been lost except for the son of

destruction that the scripture might be

fulfilled. He's talking about Judas.

But now I'm coming to you and these

things I speak in the world that they

might have my joy fulfilled in

themselves.

I have given them your word and the

world has hated them because they're not

of the world just as I am not of the

world.

The disciples are unified with Christ

because they've believed the words that

he's spoken to them. And then they're

unified with each other for the same

reason. Because of the gospel, real

unity can't exist without something to

be unified around.

Unity needs a standard and a mission. It

can't exist without it. Because without

a standard, it's just it's kind of an

illusion that maybe hangs around for a

little while, but it dissolves

eventually. And I think that one of the

greatest examples of unity in our

country, there's been quite a few in the

history of our country, but in the days

and weeks and months following the

terrorist attacks on 911,

um we saw a lot of unity in our country,

right? We experienced a terrible tragedy

and lots of loss together.

We had a common goal in the days after

that. We had a common enemy and we

rallied around that for a while and we

saw some unity in our country. We came

together as Americans to help one

another and to fight against something

that threatened us. But eventually,

unity that's born out of tragedy or

hardship or lots of other temporary

circumstances, it fades because

circumstances change. Sometimes they

change for the better and the thing that

unified us isn't there anymore. It's not

necessary. Sometimes they change for the

worse and all of that unity dissolves

because we thought it was going to solve

a problem that it didn't. And then when

it's over, we're either right back to

where we started or often we're even

less unified than we were before the

tragedy happened. Because real unity

needs something more.

It needs a standard to be unified around

that doesn't change with circumstance

or the passing of time or a change in

leadership. And only God can provide

that kind of unity because he lives in

perfect unity within himself forever.

And he doesn't change.

For us at Lake View Bible Church, if God

is not our true source, we'll never

really be a unified people. Not in a way

that lasts and not anything close to

what his word describes. it'll be

something less than. We can try as hard

as we want to manufacture it, but it

doesn't last. Sometimes we try to come

in like through a side door and we try

to unify around good things but things

that aren't sufficient. Like I'm really

passionate about this kind of ministry,

this particular area of ministry or

really care a lot about uh this style of

preaching or this style of music or I

really like the leadership that we have

and we unify around those things and

that's all good. Okay, we can unify

around those things, but again, they

change and so it doesn't really last

because the need for how we do ministry,

it changes. Preaching style and music

style changes, leaders change, all of it

changes. And if we don't have something

that lasts, we won't ever be able to

really unify in the way that God wants

us to.

Awtoer says, "Has it ever occurred to

you that 100 pianos, all tuned to the

same fork, are automatically tuned to

each other? They are of one accord by

being tuned not to each other, but to

another standard to which each one must

individually bow."

So 100 worshippers met together, each

one looking away to Christ are in heart

nearer to each other than they could

possibly be. Were they to become unity

conscious and to turn their eyes away

from God to strive for closer

fellowship.

We're unified to the father

and to each other because of Jesus.

Nothing less will do. nothing less will

work. Everything else is insufficient.

We fix our eyes on him. We love him and

submit to him as individuals. We fix our

eyes on Jesus. And as a result,

we become unified because we're all

looking at the same thing,

striving to glorify the same God, to be

like him, to submit to his word. That's

where real unity comes from. It's

grounded in obedience and love for

Jesus. It needs a standard and Jesus is

that standard. And then finally, we see

that when we're unified with God and

with each other, that unity leads to

mission. Let's read verse 15 together.

And we're going to go through 23.

He says, "I do not ask that you take

them out of the world, but that you keep

them from the evil one.

They are not of the world, just as I am

not of the world. Sanctify them in the

truth. Your word is truth. As you sent

me into the world, so I have sent them

into the world. And for their sake, I

consecrate myself that they also may be

sanctified in truth. I do not ask for

these only, but also for those who will

believe in me through their word, that

they may all be one just as you, Father,

are in me and I in you. And this is

important.

That they also may be in us so that

the world may believe that you 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. Here

it is again. So that the world may know

that you sent me and loved them even as

you loved me.

Jesus sends us into the world in the

same way that the father sent him. And

what's the purpose? So that the world

will know who he is. That the world will

believe that Jesus is the son of God.

the way, the truth, and the life. The

only way to be reconciled to God. God's

eternal mission. Remember, that he would

be glorified and that everybody who

believes in his son would have eternal

life. It's been carried out by Jesus.

And now he's sending us into the world

to continue it. And these verses, they

ought to hit us hard in two ways.

First, we ought to see how gloriously

encouraging is the depth of God's love

for us and for the world. Look at what

it says at the end of 23.

So that the world may know that you sent

me and loved them even as you loved me.

Do you see how important this little

verse of scripture is?

that the father loves you, loves me,

loves our neighbors and co-workers and

all of the people that he has made in

the same way that he loves his son.

And how does he love the son?

Perfectly,

eternally,

sacrificially.

The same love he has for Jesus, he has

for me and you. This is first John 3.

says, "See what kind of love the Father

has given to us that we should be called

children of God." And so we are

to be united with Christ is to be

adopted by the father, sons and

daughters of God, brothers and sisters

to Jesus and to one another, co-airs of

the kingdom, perfectly loved,

fully fully loved. And he wants the

world to know that love as well. And in

light of that, the second way that this

ought to hit us

is that there's a real weight.

There's a real purpose behind the

mission that God has called us into

because so much of the world doesn't

know this love that he's describing. So

many people don't know it. And so Jesus

says, "I don't pray, Father, that you

would take them out of the world, but I

pray that you would protect them while

they're on mission in it. We have

something real to do with our lives, a

real mission that matters.

We who have been changed by the gospel

now live to share that good news with

others. And when we do, Jesus tells us

the world's going to hate us because of

that." And that's kind of hard to

understand, but if you have kids, you

get it, right?

So, he prays for our protection from the

enemy. He prays that we would continue

to be sanctified by the truth

because being a part of God's work in

the world is tough.

It's glorious and lifegiving, but it's

hard. And we need help. We need the

truth of God's word to change us and

guide us. We need the spirit of God to

guide us and strengthen us and comfort

us. And we need our brothers and sisters

in Christ to encourage us to keep the

faith and to stay on mission because

there's strength and unity.

Charles Spurgeon says, "Satan always

hates Christian fellowship. It's his

policy to keep Christians apart.

Anything which can divide saints from

one another, he delights in. He attaches

far more importance to godly intercourse

than we do. Since union is strength, he

does his best to promote separation.

We need unity because there's strength

in it. Because we have a real mission

because we can't do it alone. But that's

not the only thing. The other side of

that is God's word says that when we're

unified and when people see that, it's a

tangible evidence to the world that

Jesus is who he says he is. Now, I don't

understand how that works completely,

right? There's some mystery to it. The

spirit of God works in ways that we

can't always fully understand. But these

verses really clearly tell us that unity

in the church, unity among the people of

God is evidence to the world that God is

who he says he is and that he loves

them.

The world is broken because of sin. And

we see that really, really specifically

in the area of relationships.

People are lonely.

They're divided. They crave community

that they struggle to find. We're

separated from God and from one another

because of our own sinfulness and

selfishness. But guess what the gospel

does?

Gospel heals that separation.

It starts by healing our relationship to

God and it continues by healing our

relationships with each other.

That's one of the most significant ways

that people take note of what's

happening in the church in the way that

God is working because the world is

broken and it struggles with

relationships

and unity stands out like a building on

fire.

And when people notice it and they see

the people of God living different

lives, particularly in relationship than

what the rest of the world lives, and

eventually you get to answer the

question, what's different?

Then you get to point to Jesus.

And that's why he's calling us to unity.

So that when people take notice,

we can point to Jesus.

Real unity leads to mission. And I'll

close with this. There's a verse that

rolls around in my head a lot that ought

to be important to all of us that ought

to keep us up at night sometimes and

ought to push us to prayer

for those who don't know Jesus. It says,

"Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate

is wide and the way is easy that leads

to destruction.

And those who enter by it are many. For

the gate is narrow and the way is hard

that leads to life. And those who find

it are few.

Jesus invites every person to believe in

who he is and to find eternal life in

him. It's an open invitation. His grace

is a free gift that we don't have to

work for. We receive it by grace through

faith. But this verse is true as well.

And it says that there's a lot of people

who aren't going to find it.

And sometimes a mistake we make when we

think about unity is we're like, "Okay,

glad I got in. I'm glad these people got

in with me. And now we need to do what

we can to kind of keep this good thing

going, right? And we need to protect,

right? We need to come over here and we

need to huddle up and we have to keep

the world at arms length or our unity is

going to get messed up. Those people out

there are going to change what we have

in here. And we don't do it on purpose,

right? But it's an easy thing for us to

fall into. And one of the reasons that

he calls us to be on mission with him

for our whole life

is so we can experience what real unity

looks like is unity on mission where we

who have walked through the narrow gate

and are on the narrow road which runs

right alongside the wide road that leads

to destruction.

Okay. Real unity doesn't look like well

says it right there. Not a lot of people

are going to find this. glad we did.

What it looks like is from the narrow

road that we're on together is we're

screaming and shouting and pleading and

saying, "Please come over here.

Please leave this wide, easy path that

you're on that leads to death and

destruction and come be reconciled to

God.

Come be unified with the God of the

universe who loves you and gave himself

for you.

Come over here. Be unified with him and

be unified with us as a result. That's

what real unity looks like. It's unity

that calls more people in.

It's unity that calls for a greater

number of people to be found in Jesus.

Because the gospel is too good not to

share.

Because being unified with God is the

thing that's changed our hearts and our

lives. It's the thing that builds our

unity here and now. And so we exist to

help more people find it as well so that

God is more glorified.

Would you consider your life

the way God has called you to be unified

with himself first and with his people

so that we can be on mission to call

people to enter by the narrow gate and

to walk on the narrow path that leads to

life.

Father, help us to be a unified people.

God, it starts with knowing you and your

son, finding life in you, and then as

we're changed by him, would you help us

to be unified so that we can be on

mission in the world so that you can be

glorified and people can find life in

your son. We love you. We pray all this

in the name of Jesus. Amen.