December 16, 2003
Title: The Time Has Come...to Pray
Text: John 17:13-19
Introduction
1. On these Wednesday Evenings, we have been observing Christ...
we have been onlookers, much like those early disciples...
watching Christ as He prays to His Father...
listening and learning...
drawing closer to Christ...
much like Christ was so close to His Father.
2. Tonight, as we continue our study of this, "The Lord’s Prayer"...
we come to a passage of Scripture that describes 3 characteristics of every Christian....
These are characteristics that Christ portrayed...
and by His example..
we should have them too...
in fact, Christ prayed to His Father on our behalf; that we would exhibit these 3 characteristics...
Let’s read about it in our text:
John 17:13-19
And those 3 characteristics that every Christian should have...
Joy
Holiness
and Evangelism
Body
1. Joy
A. In verse 13, Christ acknowledges that He is coming to His Father...
it won’t be much longer, before His life will be demanded of Him...
And He recognizes that it will be difficult on the disciples...
the horrible things that they see that happens to Christ...
and in fact, the things that they themselves will have to suffer.
B. So Christ prays an important prayer...
for the disciples to have the "FULL MEASURE OF MY JOY".
Just a short time ago, I preached on the subject of joy...
How Jesus was joyful...
and how Christians ought to be joyful as well.
I remember a song, don’t know who sings it...couldn’t find it again to share it with you...
but the chorus went something like this:
"if your happy, notify your face...
take that frown off...
and put a smile in its place...
if you love Jesus...
well, show it to the human race...
if your happy, notify your face"
C. Christians should be the happiest people on earth!!
we have the joy of knowing Christ intimately...
we have the joy of knowing that if we remain faithful...
we are heirs to eternal life!!
Isn’t that something to be happy about?
Isn’t that something to be excited about?
Well, notify your face!!!
When Christians testify about what Christ means to us...
we ought to get more mileage out of the huge smile on our face...
than the actual words that we use!
D. Christ prayed that we would receive the FULL MEASURE of His joy...
not just a little bit to get by...
not just enough to smile when things are going well...
but ALL THE JOY WE NEED...
joy unspeakable and full of glory...
joy enough to carry us through the roughest times in our lives...
joy enough to share with those who are lost and hurting...
joy...not of our own creation...
or design...
but HIS joy...
His joy...bestowed upon us...
completely...
in full measure...
that never runs out...
it never runs dry...
it is never in short supply!
In the words of Paul, "Be joyful always" 1 Thess 5:16 (NIV)
2. Holiness
A. The second characteristic of the Christian’s life is holiness...
Christ says, in verse 17, "sanctify them by the truth"
Christ is praying for His disciples...
His followers...
they are already believers in Christ...
But Christ prays that they will be sanctified...
made holy...
put to divine use...
This isn’t something that we can accomplish on our own...
it only happens through Christ...
in verse 19, Christ says, "I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified"
There is no other statement in all of Scripture quite like this passage of Scripture...
Christ is the ONLY ONE who could make that statement...
we are unable to sanctify ourselves...
we are unable to make ourselves clean and pure...
it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ...
that we can be sanctified...
made holy...
consecrated to the Lord.
B. And Christ obviously intended this as something for the disciples to acquire...
it wasn’t something that would happen when they make it to heaven...
it was something that the disciples should experience here...
in this life...
And that prayer was answered on the Day of Pentecost...
when the Holy Spirit came upon them in the Upper Room...
and they became filled with the Holy Spirit...
sanctified...
set apart for divine use...
C. This is crucial for the Christian...
It was Christ’s desire for those early disciples...
and it continues to be Christ’s desire for His disciple today...
It was His prayer to the Father then...
and it continues to be His prayer today...
that we be sanctified...
3. Evangelism
A. The 3rd characteristic of the Christian is found in verse 18...
Christ said, "as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world"
God sent Christ to earth...
talk about your foreign missions...
Christ is the ultimate missionary...
He left the comforts and glory of heaven...
to become a human baby...
complete with all the pain...
hunger...
divinity, confined to a jail cell about the size of a sack of potatoes.
But because Christ loved us...
because He created us with an eternal soul...
He didn’t want us to remain in our lost condition...
He wanted to provide for us a way out...
salvation...
B. Just as Christ was sent to evangelize a lost planet...
Christ sends us to evangelize a lost world...
Let us not be content knowing that there are people who are lost...
and not doing anything about it.
Christ wasn’t content...
and He gave His very life...
so that people can find salvation...
can we do no less?
Christ gave His life for us...
let us give our lives for Him...
in service...
in giving...
in sacrifice...
in obedience...
in love.
Conclusion
1. Here in this shore passage of Scripture, we see 3 things that ought to be a part of every Christian’s life:
Joy
Holiness
and evangelism
2. However, the great tragedy of our day is that so few Christians portray these qualities!!
There are too many Christians running around that seem so miserable...
no joy!
There are too many Christians that seem to struggle with sin...
NO consistency in their Christian life...
it is like a big roller coaster...
one minute they are up...
the next minute, they are down.
If more Christians would find this second blessing we call sanctification...
Christians would be more consistent in their Christian life.
And finally, evangelism...
too few Christians will even invite people to come to church...
let alone witness about what Jesus Christ means to them!
3. This Christmas season, we are celebrating Christ’s foreign missions trip...
in some ways...it was a very successful trip!
Starting with 12 disciples...
now, 2,000 years later, there are millions of Christians...
But in some ways...the success of that mission has been less than successful...
not because Christ didn’t do His part...
but because Christians have grown complacent about spreading the Gospel...
and while there are millions who are saved...
there are untold millions who are lost...
Perhaps it is too difficult to think about the millions that are lost...
then maybe we could just think about the 1 or 2 that are lost that live next door!
4. As we go into our prayer time...
and considering this glorious time of year...
let’s honor Christ and Christmas...
by redoubling our efforts in these 3 areas...
let’s be joyful CHristians...
let’s be holiness Christians...
let’s be evangelistic Christians.
