[INTRODUCTION
God wants to work in us and through us so that one day the earth will be filled with His glory.
Isaiah 43:6-7 NIV 6 … Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
God created us for his glory to be revealed.
[THE GLORY OF GOD]
The word Glory is from the Hebrew word Kavod.
- Originally meant “heaviness” referring to the armour used in battle.
- Over time, Kavod became linked to “honour”, “respect”, “dignity”
- All these attributes and the like are used to describe God as El Hakkavod, “The God of glory”
Nevertheless, El Hakkavod is far more than that. It is packed with ideas of beauty, excellence, magnificence, transcendence, and all wonderful qualities of God.
And as his creation, we should allow God to use our lives for his glory. There are many ways we can put the glory of God on display, such as
- Confessing our sins,
- Obeying His Word.
- Loving our neighbours in our words and actions
- Praising and worshipping Him
[SEEK GOD’S GLORY IN PRAYERS AND EXTEND IT THROUGH OBEDIENCE]
Jesus ushers in the glory of God by completing his mission which God gave Him, Jesus provides the way for men to spiritually come back to life by dying on the Cross as punishment for all sins
Jesus, the Son of God, relies on God the Father fully and is perfect in His obedience to God’s will. As believers of Jesus, we should follow Jesus’ example in seeking God’s glory in prayers and in extending God’s glory through our obedience.
[MAIN TEXT INTRO]
Furthermore, we must remember that we are “Set Apart for God’s Glory”.
Today, we are going to learn from the book of John 17:13-19, how we are set apart for God’s glory.
But before we read the texts, let me give you the context.
[CONTEXT – JESUS PRAYER]
- Jesus knew that he would soon be arrested, put on trial, and crucified on the cross. Consequently, Jesus will be leaving behind His disciples
- And so, He gathered them in the upper room (of a house), had a last meal with them, and even washed their feet.
- And then He gave them His farewell speech. He predicted his death and Peter’s denial. He comforts them, revealed to them that He is the “Way to the Father”, and promised them the Holy Spirit
- He even warned them that the World will hate them because of Him.
- Jesus ended his parting words with this famous phrase “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)
- After Jesus delivered his parting words, he looked toward heaven and started praying.
- His prayer is recorded in John 17 which is divided into 3 parts
o v1-5 is Jesus’ prayer for Himself (which we covered last week)
o v6-19 is Jesus’ prayer for his disciples
o v20-26 is Jesus’ prayer for all believers
Through Jesus' prayer, He reveals to us His origin, His future, His mission, and His deepest concerns and hopes for His disciples and for believers.
Let’s read the part of Jesus' prayer where we can learn, how we are set apart for God’s glory.
[MAIN TEXT]
John 17:13-19 NIV
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
[THE WORLD]
Indeed, we can have a glimpse of what is in Jesus’ heart. We can see that one of Jesus’ main concerns before He dies on the cross is the world.
In fact, throughout the 26 verses of John 17 (NIV), the word “world” appears 17 times.
The word “world” in Greek is “Kosmos”. The English word “Cosmos” was derived from it and it has at least 6-7 meanings. It can be used to refer to
- the whole universe
- the physical world with all its creations
- the people in the world
But here, the apostle John uses the word “world” to refer to the way of life of men and women who opposed God. It refers to the evil, organized, system under the devil.
- The world operates to rebel against God through ungodly thoughts, attitudes, motives, values, and goals.
- The world does not seek to promote God’s glory nor submit to Jesus’s Lordship.
Therefore, before Jesus left, he sent His disciples into the world on a mission.
John 17:18 “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
[THE MISSION]
The word “mission” comes from a Latin word that means “to send”. God sent Jesus into the world, then Jesus sends out His disciples into the world, for the same reason, that is to reveal Himself and His plan to save the world from sins. As disciples of Jesus, our mission is to reveal Jesus Christ and His redemptive plan to the world through our lives.
It is not an easy mission because the world is hostile and dangerous to us; we cannot depend on our own strength and effort; we need to rely and depend on God. That is why Jesus took time to pray for His disciples.
That said, there are 3 important things that we can learn from Jesus’ prayer.
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First, we are set apart for God’s glory:
By Being in the World (v. 15a, 18)
John 17:15 “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world …”
John 17:18 “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
[EXPLANATION]
In this section of Jesus’s prayer, Jesus prays for God not to take the disciples out of the world. Why? To fulfill the mission (reveal Jesus and His redemptive plan), the disciples must be in the world. Just as Jesus sends out His immediate disciples into the world, He is also sending us out today.
When we leave this world, we can’t participate in the mission anymore. So, if you are involved in a ministry or in missional works, value it, cherish it! It is God who gave you that mission. Don’t just drop it.
And as citizens of heaven who belong to God’s Kingdom, we are still living in a fallen world under the kingdom of darkness. As a result, this creates a tension that all Christ's followers must manage, because the ways and the values of God’s Kingdom are so different from the ways and values of the world.
In 2 Timothy 3:12 it says that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”
Every true follower of Jesus would be persecuted.
You would be bashed by your friends, classmates, or officemates.
Those who happened to be the first Christians in the family would experience being judged. What you experience is common. The more you are involved in God’s work, the more you will be mistreated. Even our leaders and pastors experience it. I experienced being bashed too. Someone badmouthed me and said, “His preaching is not spiritual”. Everyone who will follow Jesus will be treated harshly.
Such tension is not easy to manage. But, it should not cause us to withdraw from the people.
There are some who choose to make friends with Christians only. They hang out only with Christians. (It has become an exclusive group, that no one can join. They only look after one another.)
While it is not wrong to enjoy Christian fellowship, we would not be able to fulfill the mission of Jesus if we are not intentionally connected with people of the world. If we are not careful and our lives revolve around Christians only, we may “lose touch” with people in this world.
We can’t be the salt of the earth and light of the world if we isolate ourselves from the people of the world.
Start to reach the people in your block, in your workplace, and in the community that you are in.
Now that borders are open, join a short-term mission (STM) trip to barangays, cities, or provinces in the Philippines.
Think of a person you want to reach for Jesus, pray for him or her. Don’t make an empty prayer. After this sermon, reach out to that person.
[KNOW WHAT IS GOOD AND EVIL FROM THE BIBLE]
If your concern is protection against evil and bad influences of the world that is why you distance yourself from non-believers, know that a better way to protect yourself is to know what is good and evil from the Bible. Pray to the Holy Spirit to help us understand what is good and evil from God's Word, and to have the strength to live out/stand up for God's truths in the world.
[FOLLOW JESUS EXAMPLE]
Jesus mixed around with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. Let’s follow the example of Jesus by bringing the good news to all people.
Friends, to be set apart for God’s glory, we are not to live in isolation from the world.
I remember a Filipino saying that goes – “Ok lang makisama, wag lang makisama”. It has a similar connotation as - “It is ok to be in the world, but not of the world.
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We are set apart for God’s glory,
By Being Not of the World (v. 14-16)
“14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”
[EXPLANATION]
In this part of Jesus' prayer, Jesus reveals that like Him, His disciples are not of the world. Meaning, they do not belong to the world. As a result, the world hates the disciples.
John 15:19 “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
And because the world hates Jesus and opposes His work, Jesus knows that His disciples would be in a hostile and dangerous place. Yet, they need to be in such a world for His mission.
(Have you experienced this before? You hate the person, then you hate all his friends)
As Jesus will no longer be around in His bodily presence to help and protect them, Jesus prays (in v15) for God to protect them from the evil one, from suffering or persecution.
[JESUS’ PRAYER OF PROTECTION]
The devil wants to draw Christ's followers away from God; the devil works through hatred, temptations, lies, and deception to disrupt God’s plan.
Jesus is essentially praying
- that they will not fall away from their faith
- that they will continue to remain and abide in Christ even as they face the troubles and temptations of the world.
They would be exposed to the evil influence in the world and if they are absorbed into the world, they cannot be effective witnesses for Jesus.
When the first ever cheat day took place in the Garden of Eden, the devil has been working to deceive us and the world as much as he can! don’t fall into it ever!
[DO NOT BE WORLDY]
Be distinct from the world. Do not love the world and get so comfortable with this world. In other words, we should not be worldly.
1 John 2:15-16 “15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Not everything in the world comes from God. Some come from the evil one. But many times, we are distracted by the attractions of this world, and we start to pursue them instead of God’s Kingdom.
[WORLD VIEW]
The love for the things and affairs of the world can creep into our lives unrecognized.
We are constantly bombarded by non-biblical ideas and views from TV, movies, social media, magazines, and books.
From these ideas, our view of life is shaped and formed over time.
Thus, affecting our way of thinking and responding to things in life.
These ideas become our guide and provide answers to questions about life, such as
- “Where do I come from?”
- “How do I know what is right and wrong?”
- “What is the purpose of my life?”
- “What happens after I die?”
Let me give you some examples of how the world is influencing how we view things in life.
[WORLD VIEW -- RELATIONSHIP]
In the area of relationships,
- Romantic movies cause us to have unrealistic expectations of love and marriage
- Love becomes a feeling and some Christians approach marriage thinking that happiness is the end goal of marriage.
- So, when they can’t find happiness in their marriage, they would look for happiness elsewhere.
Married couples - if the feeling is gone, choose to be faithful and continue to honor your covenant for one another.
Singles – my piece of advice to you, is don’t get married if your only deciding factor is feelings. Wait for it to subside. When you see each other’s weaknesses, when you see how each other responds to difficult things, his relationship with God, when feeling is a little less involved. Then ask yourself, do you still want to marry this person?
Relationships in the world can be transactional. People invest in relationships because they can derive tangible benefits from them. This can cause Christians to approach their relationship with God from a transactional basis – like “I believe in God only because he blesses me materially.”
[WORLD VIEW – PURPOSE IN LIFE]
In how we view our purpose in life – the world influences us to think that our meaning and purpose come from something else, not our Creator.
Have you heard about FIRE movement – a movement that encourages one to achieve Financial Independence so that one can Retire Early in life? It Is defined by extreme frugality, extreme savings, and investment. (When we were younger, Arnie will pack lunch to work)
E.g., Carrying a water bottle to save money on drinks. At times you spend a bit more on a meal, spend less on your next meal. Walking from one point to another to save money.
While earning and saving is not bad, the danger is when money becomes our life purpose; some important questions that we have to ask ourselves are
- “What are you giving up in your quest to accumulate enough money to retire early?”
- Is it at the expense of your relationship with God?
- Is it at the expense of your relationship with others?
- Or is it at the expense of your health?
Whether we are working or we are retired, our purpose in life should remain the same – we want to live out our lives purposefully for God, fulfilling the mission that He has called us and glorifying God with our lives!
[WORLD VIEW – FULFILMENT IN LIFE]
The world also influences us to find fulfillment in material things; for some of us, it can be an expensive watch, a luxury car, an expensive handbag (for the ladies), or even a dream holiday.
While we can start off by rewarding ourselves for working so hard, if we are not careful, greed and covetousness can set in, and we may find ourselves wanting more and better versions of these things.
The media is full of advertisements trying to get people to spend money on things that they don’t need.
Later, look at your house or your room, can you find things that you don’t need?
[WORLD VIEW – TRUTH AND MORALITY]
In the area of how we view truth and morality in life, the idea of relativism is also affecting Christians. Relativism is a postmodern belief that there is no absolute truth; that what is morally right or wrong is dependent on what an individual believes and what is acceptable in society. So, if society accepts something, then it is true.
As disciples of Christ, we need to know that there is absolute truth, and it is from the Word of God.
What is socially acceptable doesn’t make it morally right. Just because a certain society accepts pre-marital sex, abortion, or same-sex behavior, it doesn’t mean that it is morally correct.
For Christians, only what is right before God is morally right.
[KEY SUBPOINT]
There are many other areas that the world is influencing our thinking and behavior, knowingly or unknowingly; due to time constraints, I am not able to share more.
The pressure to conform to the world is very high.
We can be canceled out when we say something that is against what is culturally or socially accepted; people call us out for being intolerant and judgemental.
[MY EXPERIENCE – GRAVE SOAKING]
I remember I called out a practice that promotes laying or kneeling on the grave of famous individuals. It is called “Grave soaking”. The myth is that in doing so, a person can pull out the power that is stuck on the dead person, including the power of the Holy Spirit. Not because something is done by someone famous, we will do the same, or at least endorse them.
If we start conforming to the world and becoming no different from people who don’t seem to know God, then we are no longer distinct from the world and we will not be effective in our witness for Jesus.
Let us build a strong biblical community – one that speaks the TRUTH and also demonstrates selfless love.
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We are set apart for God’s glory:
By Knowing and Walking in God’s Truth (v. 17-19)
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
[EXPLANATION]
Jesus knew that it is not going to be easy for His disciples to remain in the world and not be corrupted. That is why He prayed for them to be sanctified by the truth, the truth that comes from the Word of God.
Sanctify means to be set apart for God’s use; it means to be Holy. As humans, we can never be holy because of our sins. That is why Jesus said (v.19) that He has to sanctify Himself so that His disciples can be truly set apart.
Jesus’ work on the cross provided the atonement for the sins of His disciples and set them apart for God.
[IT STARTS BY KNOWING THE TRUTH]
Friends, to be in the world and not of the world, without being corrupted by ungodly influence is possible. It starts by knowing God’s truth. We must read the Bible and know the truth from God’s Word, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
After knowing the truth, we must believe and live it out. This is a challenge for some Christians. Even though we know what is written in the Bible, we often choose to believe our feelings and experience more than God’s Word when it comes to real-life experience.
[UNBELIEF OF WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS]
This is an issue of unbelief. We may say that we believe in God’s Word but the honest question that we have to ask ourselves is “Do we really believe what is written in the Bible”. Because if we really believe what the Bible says to be accurate, then we would respond and act differently.
- We will not struggle to give our tithe.
- We will not struggle with our identity
- We will not waver, or hesitate.
- We will not be stuck in the old tradition
Come to God in prayer, pray that He would change our hearts. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and change our mindsets.
[CHANGING OF MINDSET]
When our mindset is changed and we start to really believe in God’s Word, our values and our priorities will change.
Believe that God
- can do great things for you
- can enable you to serve great
- wants you to have your own house and business one day
In short, believe that the word of God can transform you inside out when you believe it, and you live it out.
[CHALLENGE]
I like how Ps. Edmund Chan says it “Truth doesn’t change lives. Truth applied changes lives.”
We can come to church and listen to God’s truth every week, we can do Bible studies and devotions, and read Christian books and articles, yet not see transformation in our lives, not fulfill our God-given purpose in life.
We may know the truth, but until it is applied and lived out, it makes no difference.
[KEY POINT]
Knowing God’s truth is just the beginning; for us to be effective in our witness for Jesus, God’s truth needs to be lived out in our personal lives, our relationships, our school life, our work life, our marriages, our parenting, and our home. When this happens, we are truly set apart for God’s glory!
[CONCLUSION]
God is not done with us yet. He has set us apart for His glory.
God has called us to walk holiness and live in the truth as we manage this tension of being in this world and yet not belonging to this world.
This is not something that we can do on our own. We need,
- God, and the Holy Spirit!
- to come before God in prayers.
- come before God in humility, acknowledging that we need Him;
- to repent of our unbelief as we ask the Holy Spirit to do a new work in our hearts,
- to change our mindset, to help us hunger and thirst for righteousness so that we can walk in holiness and live out God’s truth in our lives.
As God’s people, if we do not show that we believe in God’s truth by living it out, how can we be credible to tell the world about this truth?
Bishop John Charles Ryle in one of his books says – “Holy living is the great proof of the reality of Christianity. Men may refuse to see the truth of our argument, but they cannot evade the evidence of a godly life.”
As this world gets darker and darker, our words can be canceled by the world, but the world can’t contradict God’s glory in our life if we walk in holiness and in truth.
[TRUTH]
An avalanche is a mass of snow, ice, and rocks that fall rapidly down a mountainside.
I learned from another preacher that in an avalanche, rescuers have approximately 15 mins to find buried victims in the terrain.
It is said that In finding the buried, rescuers need a probe (to pierce through the thick snow), a shovel (to dig through the snow), and a beacon (that transmits a signal of the victim’s location).
A rescuer pushes the probe into the snow. Because its end is sharp, it will slide easily but the moment it stops, there’s hope of finding a body.
What am I trying to tell you?
- We have a mission to find those people buried in sins
- There’s urgency, or buried people will be dead eternally
- We need to be where the avalanche happened, but we should not be absorbed by it
- We need the TRUTH, sharp enough to poke a person.
When you knock at the door of your neighbor to share Jesus, you are probing
When you become a witness for Christ in the marketplace or school, you are probing
When you go on a mission trip, you are probing
Imagine a person a few feet under the snow, the pain that comes at the poke of a probe is the best thing that they will experience. The poke of the Gospel, when one is dead in sin, could be the beginning of a saved life for a person.
In one of the church's revival meetings, 300+ names were collected and probed.
During the church's recent anniversary celebration, 325 people were poked by the truth, and they received Jesus, to help them to grow.
Do not be afraid to share the Gospel.
Like the poke of this probe, it can be offending, uncomfortable, and hurtful, but the poke of the word of God can lead one to the best gift, God wants all of us to receive, to come out live from sins. To receive salvation through Jesus.
