The Time Has Come...to Pray #4 Series

October 29, 2003

Title: The Time Has Come...To Pray #4

Text: John 17:6

Introduction

1. As we look on, with those early disciples, we have a wonderful opportunity to observe Jesus as He is praying to His Father.

We have seen how He approaches His Father with such ease...

which only comes through regular, habitual time spent with the Father.

Him pray for Himself...

not selfishly, but so that He might give glory to God...

and as we watch and listen to Jesus as He is praying...

it encourages us to have that same type of relationship with God OUR Father.

And that relationship...just like it did for Jesus...only comes through regular, daily time spent with our Father.

2. In this next section in our study of the Lord’s Prayer...

we see that Jesus turns His attention to praying for His disciples.

and I would like to draw your attention to just the first verse in this section for tonight’s study.

Read Text: John 17:6

Body

1. In verse 6, Jesus said, "I have revealed You"

A. Jesus has revealed God the Father to His disciples.

Other versions say

I have shown them what you are like. CEV

I spelled out your character in detail MSG

I have made Your Name known" ALT

I have manifested Your Name" KJV

The word for "revealed" or "manifested" means "to make known by word of mouth".

Jesus revealed God to the disciples with His words...and His teachings.

Through His miracles

through His life...

B. In the Jewish religion, God’s Name is so important and holy, that they wouldn’t even pronounce the word "Yahweh" or "God" in their worship.

In fact, in Jewish writings even today, you will see the word "God" spelled out G-d.

But when Jesus came, He revealed God...

He made God known to those early disciples in a much more intimate way...

In the process, God didn’t lose any of His holiness...

The disciples still retain their awe and humility before All Powerful God...

But it adds a new dimension to the relationship...

An intimacy...

an approachableness...

a familiarity...

Yes, God is still God...and that commands our deepest respect...

But God is also Father...which means we still have great respect for Him...

but we also can draw near to Him...

we can call Him "Abba Father"...

We can call Him "Daddy"

Yes, God can still discipline us...

He may need to "take us to the woodshed" to use a phrase from earlier days...

but we can also run and jump into His arms...

and receive His love and fellowship in an intimate way.

All of this occurred because Jesus came and revealed God to the disciples.

C. This is important to us on several levels...

1. First of all, Jesus not only revealed God to those early disciples...

But He reveals God to us in the same way...

through His teachings...

through His words...

through His miracles...

all recorded right here in our Bible...

This contains everything we need in order to know God...

It contains everything we need to find salvation...

and to come to that intimate relationship with Holy God.

2. On another level, Jesus is an example for us to follow.

We too, need to reveal God to others...

How do we do that?

Through our words...

through our example...

they way we live...

a couple weeks ago, we talked about that "ease of access"...

how we could tell that Jesus was close to His Father, just by hearing this prayer...

In the same way, people can tell when WE are close to God...

there is something special about that person...

a countenance...

a glow...

and you can just tell that they love the Lord.

3. I remember when Kay and I were dating...

not everyone in her family approved of me...

and it was stressful sometimes...

because we really loved each other...

and were planning to get married.

I will never forget Kay’s Grandmother...

she was always so supportive...

not only to us...

but to the other family members on our behalf...

and the reason she was so supportive was she said that I "had a nice countenance".

And I have never forgotten that compliment...

nor her support.

It means so much to me even today...

perhaps even more, since she passed away 8 years ago.

4. Through our time spent with God...

we can reveal God to others...

We can do it through our countenance...

through our deeds, our "acts of righteousness"

As St. Francis of Assisi put it eight centuries ago: "Preach the Gospel all the time; if necessary, use words"

And you can certainly preach the gospel through your actions...

and your countenance...

but sometimes, we need to use the words...

sometimes we need to share the story...

the story of what God has done for us...