Sunday
Morning Bible Study
February
20, 2011
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the
broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a
decision
Jesus is on His
last evening with the disciples.
He's been giving them lots of instruction, preparing them for the tough
days ahead.
And now He
stops to pray.
This is not
what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He doesn’t come to the garden
until after this prayer (18:1).
This prayer has
been called the “High Priestly Prayer”.
Some call this
“the Lord’s Prayer” because this is how the Lord prayed for us.
Some call “Our Father who art in heaven …” the “disciples’ prayer” because
it was how Jesus taught His disciples to pray.
In the prayer,
you see three sections:
·
Jesus prays for Himself (:1-5)
·
Jesus prays for His disciples (:6-19)
·
Jesus prays for future believers (:20-26)
17:1-5 Jesus prays
for Himself
:1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify
You,
:1 lifted up His
eyes to heaven
Lesson
Focus on prayer
Prayer should be done with our eyes on heaven.
Too often we have our eyes on other things when we are trying to “pray”.
Our eyes can be
on others:
(Mt 6:5 NKJV)
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the
hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners
of the streets, that they may be seen by men.
Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Sometimes we are trying to impress others with our ability
to pray.
Sometimes we are trying to “send a message” to someone by
saying it in a prayer over them instead of just telling them.
Our eyes can be
on ourselves:
(Lk 18:9–12 NKJV) —9 Also He
spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and despised others: 10
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a
tax collector. 11 The
Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other
men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast
twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
I think that if we’re not careful, we can find ourselves
simply talking to ourselves. We’re not
looking anywhere but in the mirror.
Our eyes should
be on heaven.
I don’t think it necessarily means that we have to have
our eyes open and looking upward.
It means that our hearts are pointed toward heaven.
In a prayer that Jesus commended, the praying man couldn’t
lift his eyes:
(Lk 18:13–14 NKJV) —13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his
breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his
house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Illustration
The Best Position
To Pray Is…
Three preachers sat discussing the best positions for
prayer. A telephone repairman who was working nearby happened to overhear the
conversation. “Kneeling
is definitely best,” claimed the first minister. “No,” the second pastor
contended. “I get
the best results standing with my hands outstretched toward Heaven.” “You’re
both wrong,” the third preacher insisted. “The most effective prayer position is lying prostrate,
face down on the floor.” The repairman could contain himself no longer. “Hey,
fellas,” he interrupted, “the
best prayin’ I ever did was hangin’ upside down from a telephone pole
after my safety strap broke.”
It’s not the position of the body as much as it is the attitude of the
heart.
Point your heart toward heaven.
:1 the hour has
come
Through the gospel of John we’ve seen this phrase about an “hour” that was
“coming”.
(Jn 2:4 NKJV) —4
Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour
has not yet come.”
(Jn 7:30 NKJV) Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him,
because His hour had not yet come.
(Jn 8:20 NKJV)
—20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no
one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.
The “hour”
started back in John 12 after Jesus rode into
Jerusalem on a donkey.
(Jn 12:23 NKJV) But
Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come
that the Son of Man should be glorified.
This is an “hour” that will last a week. It started on the Sunday that Jesus
rode into Jerusalem. It
will end on a Sunday with Jesus rising from the dead.
:2 as You have
given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many
as You have given Him.
:2 authority – exousia
– power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; physical and mental
power; the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege); the power
of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be
submitted to by others and obeyed)
just as you gave to Him authority
over all flesh, in order that all whom you gave to Him, He should give to them
eternal life.
:2 to as many as
You have given Him
This theme of “the ones that the Father has given to Jesus” is found
several times throughout the entire prayer (vs.2, 6, 9, 11, 12, 24)
There is a sense in which we have eternal life because of the act of the
Father choosing us and “giving” us to Jesus.
Lesson
Chosen
One of the great mysteries of the Bible to me is that we have been chosen
by God.
Jesus said we couldn’t even come to Him unless the Father chooses us first:
(Jn 6:44 NKJV) No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
“But I thought that we received eternal life when we made the choice to
believe?”
After all, the Bible says -
(Jn 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life.
How does this all work? Who chooses who?
(Jn 6:37–40 NKJV) —37 All that the Father gives Me will come to
Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down
from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of
the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who
sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting
life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Here we see the two ideas side by side.
The Father “gives” a person to Jesus. God chooses us.
But eternal life comes when a person responds by choosing
to believe in Jesus.
I think we make a mistake when we choose to focus too much on either idea.
Some folks choose to only think
that God chooses us.
They will say that
God didn’t love the whole world by sending His Son for it, but only those who
have been chosen.
This kind of
thinking can cause a person to stop reaching out to the lost – after all, if a
person is “chosen”, then God will take care of it (they say).
Some folks refuse to acknowledge
that God makes choices.
They will have a
hard time with some of the verses we’ve looked at.
The fact is that both sides are taught in Scripture.
The Bible teaches that God chooses us.
The Bible teaches that we need to make a choice.
Charles
Spurgeon used to describe it this way: In heaven there’s a big sign hanging over the
gates of heaven that reads: “Whosoever will, come”. But once you pass through the gates, if you
turn around and look back you will see another sign on the inside of the gates
that reads, “Chosen before the foundation of the world”.
I’d rather teach the fact that the Bible says that both are true, even if I
have a hard time understanding how they can both be true.
How do I know if I’ve been “chosen” by God? I only know of one way of
finding out – by choosing to believe in Jesus.
:3 And this is
eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
You have sent.
:3 eternal life
When we think if “eternal life” we often think of heaven.
Heaven seems to get connected to a lot of things …
Burger Heaven –
Is this where good burgers go when they die?
Motorcycle
Heaven – it looks
like they have “free delivery”
8-track heaven –
where those old tapes went to die
Cigar heaven – though
I thought cigars
would be in the “other” place
Hollywood
sometimes makes heaven to be some foggy place where people walk around on
clouds and play harps
Jesus said that eternal life was about knowing God.
Eternal life =
knowing God
Heaven is a part of the deal, but our focus ought to be on knowing God.
:3 may know
– ginosko – to learn to know, come to
know
This is a
knowledge based on personal experience as opposed to just intellectual
acknowledgment.
How many of you
know who the President of the United States is?
How many of you
personally know Barack Obama?
This is
speaking of have a relationship with God.
God doesn’t just want you to know about Him, God wants you to know Him.
Lesson
Knowing God
How does this happen?
It’s helpful to understand why knowing God is such a difficult thing.
Mankind has a huge problem when it comes to knowing God,
and until you understand the problem and how to deal with that problem, you
still have a problem.
The
problem is that we are all sinners. Every one of us.
(Ro 3:23 NKJV) for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Our
sin carries a high price, separation from God.
(Ro 6:23 NKJV) —23
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you are employed at “Sin Incorporated” (and we all work
there), then at the end of the day you get your wages – death – which is
separation from God.
For
God’s justice to be met, someone must pay the price of your sin.
You can pay it yourself, but that would involve going to
hell. Forever.
The wonderful thing about God’s justice, is that He allows
for someone else to pay for you, as long as they are qualified to pay.
To qualify, that person must be sinless – if they had sin,
their death would only pay for their own sin.
If you wanted that death to cover more than one person’s
sins, then that person has to have more than a regular, finite, human life –
they must be more than a man.
There has only been one person in history who fits those
qualifications – Jesus Christ.
(2 Co 5:21 NKJV) For
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.
Just because Jesus died for the sins of the world doesn’t
make the world automatically saved.
God offers to the world the gift of salvation, but like
any gift, it doesn’t do the recipient any good unless it is received.
If you gave your kids the world’s greatest video game for
Christmas, but here in February it is still sitting wrapped under the Christmas
Tree – is that gift any good to them? No.
We
need to receive God’s gift of salvation.
(Jn 1:12 NKJV) But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe
in His name:
We
receive salvation by faith.
(Eph 2:8–9 NKJV) —8 For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone
should boast.
What does that look like? It is about opening your heart. It’s
about making a choice. It’s about choosing to believe that Jesus died for your
sins. It’s about putting your life into His hands.
:4 I have glorified
You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
:4 finished
– teleioo – to complete; to
accomplish; to carry through completely
This is related to the word that Jesus cried out on the cross:
(Jn 19:30 NKJV)
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
:5 And now, O
Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You
before the world was.
:5 glorify
– doxazo – to praise, celebrate; to
honor; to make glorious, clothe with splendor
Lesson
Glory Road
Our passage gives us a little clue as to what “glory” is all about.
We have our own ideas about what “glory” is all about.
Play
“American Idol” David
Cook clip
Heaven
Part of the glory that Jesus is talking about is the glory that He
previously had in heaven, the glory that He was going back to.
Before being born in a manger, Jesus lived in heaven:
(Jn 1:1–2 NKJV) —1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
After the cross, Jesus would go back to the glory He had before:
(Php 2:6–9 NKJV) — 6
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with
God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and
coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and
became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him
the name which is above every name
Note that Paul connects God’s glorifying of Jesus not with
the resurrection, but with the cross.
Jesus came from glory. Jesus would be going back to glory.
Finished work
Jesus already prayed,
(Jn 17:4 NKJV) I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me
to do.
God is glorified when you finish the work He’s given you.
But
... we live in such a disposable society.
We
eat off of paper plates so we don't have to do the dishes (not a bad idea!)
We
put disposable diapers on our kids so we don't have to wash the dirty diapers
(not so bad either!)
But
some things aren't meant to be thrown away -
Your
life
Sometimes we catch ourselves entertaining the idea of
suicide, of throwing our lives away. God wants you to finish the race.
Friends
or Family
I see a disturbing trend that some people would rather
throw away their friends or family, than learn how to forgive or apologize.
We need to finish
the work that’s ahead of us. We need to
keep going until we learn what we need to learn.
Play
“The Force” Volkswagon
Commercial.
Quote:
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up.”
-- Thomas A. Edison
We need Jesus' attitude of finishing the race before us:
(Heb 12:1–3 NKJV) —1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let
us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who
endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and
discouraged in your souls.
Jesus finished His race. If we look to Him, we can finish
too.
Illustration
I like the example that Dick Hoyt sets as a father. He has learned to finish his race, even when
it’s difficult.
Play
“Team Hoyt”
I like that “together thing. We are together in this race. We are also “together” with Jesus.
The cross
Even though Jesus hasn’t been crucified yet, His greatest “finished work”
was on the cross.
Remember Paul’s connection in Philippians 2
of the cross with glory?
(Php 2:8–9 NKJV) …became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him …
Even though the resurrection is VERY important, Paul connected glory with
the cross.
Paul also wrote:
(Ga 6:14 AV) —14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
I find this interesting.
I
would think the glory of the Son is all about parades, trumpets, and
such.
But
in reality, the greatest thing that Jesus ever did, was dying for
mankind.
Warren
Wiersbe: “From the human point of view, Calvary was a revolting display
of man’s sin; but from the divine point of view, the cross revealed and
magnified the grace and glory of God.”
When Jesus died on the cross for us, it showed us God’s
great love and compassion for us, by taking care of our greatest problem, sin,
in the greatest way possible, by having someone die in our place.
Greatest hurt / Greatest glory
Could your greatest hurt be your greatest good?
We like to think that the greatest glory comes from
winning an Olympic gold medal in front of 100,000 cheering fans.
Could it be that in God’s way of doing things, our
greatest glory might actually come from our greatest pain?
Paul wrote:
(2 Co 12:7–10 NKJV) —7
And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I
be exalted above measure. 8
Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might
depart from me. 9 And He
said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ
may rest upon me. 10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in
persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am
strong.
vs. 9 KJV
has “glory” instead of “boast”
In Paul’s life, his great thorn in the flesh was the thing
that brought him closest to the Lord’s grace.
And for this, he was grateful. He “gloried” in it.
Think twice beloved before cursing the thing that’s “holding
you back”.
Maybe it’s the thing God wants to use the most in your
life.