November 12, 2003
Title: The Time Has Come...To Pray #5
Text: John 17:7-8
Introduction
1. As we continue to observe Christ as He prays to His Father...
2 weeks ago we saw that Christ turned His attention from praying for Himself...
and began to pray for His disciples.
in verse 6, we saw that Jesus revealed what God was like through His actions...
and through His teachings...
(which, incidentally, is exactly the way that WE reveal what God is like to the people we come into contact with).
We saw that after Jesus revealed God to His disciples...
that the disciples obeyed God...
Obedience is the key.
and that sets the context for the next 2 verses in this, "The Lord’s Prayer"
Read text (back up to verse 6, to get the context)
John 17:6-8
Body
1. "NOW they know that everything You have given Me comes from You"
A. The small word "NOW" is very important.
It means "Now,--at this present time"...
and it also has the meaning "from this time forward"
B. Something has happened so that the disciples finally realize that God and Christ are so interlinked...
and that Christ was indeed Christ, God’s Son...
and that all the teachings...
all the miracles...
the life that Christ portrayed...
it was all divine in nature
C. But what happened that caused this revelation?
what was it that happened that "NOW" they know...
but before that they weren’t sure?
we find the answer to that in Verse 6.
And that tells us that the disciples "have obeyed
D. In verse 6, we saw the divine initiative...
God reaching out to the disciples...
but it isn’t until the disciples respond...
it isn’t until they put it into practice...
it isn’t until they actually "obey God’s Word"
that they come into the knowledge that Christ is real...
and that He really is who He says He is.
E. This is the defining ingredient ...
this is the thing that separates those are just "good people"..
and those that are truly Christians...
You can STUDY the Bible...
You can read about Jesus Christ...
You can listen to preaching about Christ and who He is...
You can sing the songs...
and put the tithe in the offering plate...
You can "believe" that Jesus is the Son of God...
but if you don’t OBEY Him...
if you don’t do what the Bible says...
if you don’t actually invite Christ into Your heart...
and allow Him to make a change in your life...
well, then I guess you will never really know...
F. BUT, if you DO invite Christ into your heart...
if you DO obey His teachings...
if you DO follow the Bible and accept it as God’s Word...
well, then you KNOW!
2. Verse 8 then expands upon this knowledge...
A. Jesus said, "For..."
Again, another small word with great meaning!
It means "because of this..."
or "and that is why"
B. That is why Christ gave them the words of life...
They listened to the words of Christ...
They observed His life...
and they obeyed...
And because of this, Christ gives them the teachings of divinity...
the words of God Himself...
C. And verse 8 tells us that the disciples did 3 things with the words of Christ...
1. First of all "they accepted them"
this is in contrast to the Pharisees and others...
They also HEARD the teachings of divinity...
they SAW the life of Christ also...
It wasn’t kept a secret from them...
it wasn’t hidden from them...
Christ was there, offering His life...
offering His teachings...
but many didn’t accept Him.
It’s like giving someone a present...
I can go shopping for just the right present...
I can put a lot of thought and love in trying to select the perfect gift for someone...
and I can wrap the present in pretty wrapping paper...
and I can hold out the present to that person...
offering them the gift that I put so much time and effort and money into...
but if that person doesn’t actually take the gift...
if they don’t open it and accept it...
well, then a couple of things happen...
a. First of all, they obviously miss out on the blessing and the value of this free gift that I was giving them.
B. Secondly, they’ve hurt my feelings...
I was offering them something of value...
something that was important to me...
something that I really wanted them to have...
but they rejected my gift...
and I guess, in a way, when they reject my gift...
it is a rejection of me as well.
The same thing happens when people don’t accept the words of Christ...
They are missing out on the blessing of the free gift that Christ has for them...
and I’m sure it hurts Christ deeply when people reject Him...
time and time again...
I’m sure if that happened to us...
and someone kept rejecting our gift...
we would probably say, "fine, be that way, I didn’t want you to have it anyway".
But Christ isn’t like us...
He continues to offer us the free gift...
the words of life...
in spite of the hurt...
in spite of the pain...
giving us the opportunity again and again to accept His gift.
2. The 2nd thing the disciple did in verse 8, "they KNEW with certainty that Christ came from God".
Either Jesus Christ is God’s Son...and everything He said was true...
or Christianity is the biggest hoax that has ever been perpetrated upon mankind.
And how do we know the difference?
How do we know if the Bible is really true?
How do we know if Christ is real?
How do we know that Christianity is the real deal?
Well, we DON’T know...until we actually come to Christ...
and accept Him into our hearts for ourselves...
but when Christ comes into our heart...
and makes such a huge difference in our lives...
well, then we KNOW...
that’s the only way we can truly KNOW the truth...
I can preach the truth until I’m blue in the face...
People can say..."I think you might have something there"...
but until they actually step forward on faith...
until they actually experience the dramatic change in their life...;
well, then there is no way for them to truly know....
and there will always be doubts...
I’m glad that we can KNOW...
I’m glad that we don’t have to wonder...
I’m glad that we don’t HAVE to live with doubt!
Perhaps one of the greatest things that Christ gives us when He saves us...
sure, heaven is going to be great, but we can’t really understand that very well until we experience it for ourselves...
and the great improvement that Christ makes in our lives is truly wonderful...
but one of the greatest things Christ gives us...
is that we finally KNOW...
we KNOW that it is REAL!!
"but it’s real, it’s real, oh I KNOW its real....
praise God, the doubts are settled, for I KNOW, I KNOW its real"
3. And the 3rd response of the disciples "they believed"
They believed the whole thing...
incredible as it sounded...
they believed...
they believed that God sent His Son into the world as a little Baby...
that that Baby grew up and was now standing before them...
praying to His Father...
they believed that the Man standing before them was Christ...
that He really was talking to God...
They believed all the teachings...
they believed all the miracles...
they didn’t try to explain it away...
they didn’t debate it..
they didn’t argue about it...
they didn’t enter into philosophical discussions about it...
they believed...
Conclusion
1. Christ is praying to His Father...
and the disciples have the special privilege of being there to hear and see Christ...
as He is talking to His Father...
2. And, because of the Bible...
we have been given the same privilege tonight...
we can hear the words of Christ...
we can picture Christ in our mind’s eye...
as He is standing there...
eyes lifted to heaven...
praying to His Father...
3. I hope that we will have the same response that the disciples had...
Christ is still standing there, holding out the most wonderful gift that we can possibly imagine...
We have the same opportunity that those early disciples had...
Will we accept the gift?
And in accepting, will we find the knowledge to remove all doubt...
and believe?
"But it’s real, it’s real, oh I know it’s real, praise God the doubts are settled, for I KNOW I KNOW it’s real"!
That’s a wonderful thing to have...
that knowledge...
knowing beyond all doubt...
that it really is real...
and you can have that...
you can have that assurance...
Jesus will give it to you...
and it is the most wonderful gift!
