080606

What on Earth Are You Doing for Heaven’s Sake?
Set Apart by God


John 17:1-5 (Monday)
“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (NIV)
1) Take the time to go back and read over Chapter 13. What is taking place and what is Jesus trying to explain to His disciples?
2) “Glorify your Son”. Jesus spoke these words to the Father as He was preparing to be nailed to a cross—with sinners and for sinners. How would this act glorify the Son and at the same time, bring glory to the Father?
3) Have you had times of suffering in your own life that you feel brought glory to the Father?
4) How did Jesus say He had brought glory to the Father? Oh, that we would be able to lift our faces to our Father and be able to say those very same words! Not that we were perfect--sinless, as was Christ, but that we would have accomplished what God had pre-planned for us to do during our life times! I’m sure all of us desperately long to hear the words, “Well done, thy good a faithful servant!” “Enter thou into the joy of the Lord!” Wow! That has got to be the ultimate! (Sorry, I just love the King James Version)!
5) God is God, the Creator of the galaxies, the universes, the heavens and the stars, the planets and this world we live upon. Why was authority over all people only now granted to Jesus?
a) Who did God originally give dominion of the earth to? (Genesis 1:26)
6) What happened to man’s rule? (Genesis 3)
a) I don’t know if anyone has all the details, but God has given us glimpses of what took place in His word. Prior to man’s fall, there was a mighty battle in heaven. Imagine, the angels—a third of the heavenly host—actually tried to lead an assault against Almighty God—their Creator! Of course, they had a ring leader, Lucifer, who was the most beautiful of all angels and the very angel appointed as guardian to the Triune Godhead. His fall, and that of his followers, was terrible (Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-16; Luke 10:18 and Revelation 12:1-10)! It was Lucifier, now satan, who tempted Eve in the garden and it is satan who tempts and accuses each and everyone of us to this day.
7) i) It was also satan who tempted Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). Note that in verse 9, satan offers to give all of the world to Jesus. Jesus did not refute that it was satan’s to give. It was! Sin had transferred the “deed” given to Adam over to our arch enemy--satan! I can’t imagine why God doesn’t just disintegrate satan—poof! Truly, I wish He would—that seems so much easier to me, but our God “plays” by a righteous, just, and fair set of rules and, so, the authority and dominion over man and earth had to be “legally” won back by man—the God-Man, Jesus Christ! Jesus was only able to reclaim man and this world by fulfilling God’s righteous standard of complete and utter holiness and unwavering, unquestioning obedience—something you and I could never, will never be able to do! Jesus agreed to come to this earth, live a spotless, sinless life (all the while being truly tempted in every way, just as we are tempted)—dying an unjust death on the cross, taking our due punishment on the cross and, with His own precious shed blood, Jesus stamped satan’s claim on us and this world as “Paid in Full”! You see, in fulfilling this great act of love, Jesus actually became “sin” for us! Jesus, who is God and who was with God from the beginning, for a period in time was separated from God the Father—the Father He loved and Who loved Him! God is so pure, He cannot look upon sin, so when Jesus hung on that cross and became our sin, God turned His back on His only begotten Son! Jesus cried out more from the separation than from the pain! Is hell fire, torment and agony? Yes, yes! But, more it is separation forever from our Abba, Father—far, far worse! Yes, glory to God and glory to the Son!
(a) Here are just a few names for satan:
(i) prince of this world (John 12:31; John14:30)
(ii) the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4)
(iii) angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)
(iv) the great dragon (Revelation 12:9)
(v) accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10)
8) The angels rejoiced at Jesus birth (Luke 2:6-15), I like the KJV, “a great multitude of heavenly hosts”. Just think, the heavens opened for a few moments at Christ’s birth and the shepherds heard the angel’s glorious refrain. Now, imagine the crescendo of angelic praise as they beheld Jesus the Christ, God the Son, triumphantly returned to His rightful place in heaven, having died and risen again to glorious life! It is this same Jesus, who through His death on the cross, justly rescued fallen man and reclaimed all the authority so rightly due Him! It is finished, indeed! Glory! I just hope God gives us a little instant replay on that one!
John 17:6-12 (Tuesday)
“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” (NIV)
1) Read Matthew 6:9-13. Most people call that particular passage, “The Lord’s Prayer”. However, in those verses Jesus was giving His disciples a “model” of how to pray. John 17 is actually “The Lord’s Prayer”! Jesus’ prayer for His disciples and for you, beloved!
2) How did Jesus reveal or “show” His disciples the Father?
3) How does anyone know “for a certainty” that Jesus came from God?
4) What seemed to be Jesus’ main concern for His disciples?
5) How did Jesus receive glory from the disciples? How does Jesus receive glory from you and me?
6) What name protects us?
7) How would you interpret “destruction”?
John 17:13-19 (Wednesday)
“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. 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. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” (NIV)
1) As you take time to reflect on “The Lord’s Prayer”, what are some of the ways Jesus’ words bring you a sense of joy? Share.
2) Jesus specifically prayed that we would be protected in this world and from the evil one. Does this mean that we will never suffer, face persecution, even death? Explain.
3) Are you ever shocked at someone’s hatred of you because of your faith in Jesus Christ? Does it help you to know that they hated Him first? How so?
4) What does it mean that we are “not of the world?”
5) Sanctify! Don’t panic—this word means “set apart”! As believers, we are “set apart” for God’s purposes and God’s glory! Scary word and thought, because being “set apart” is a process. Oh, sweet child of God, please know that sometimes pain and suffering is a part of that “process”! After all, we are being transformed into the image of our Lord, Jesus Christ—and who knows suffering through obedience better than Christ?
6) How does knowing God’s truth set us apart from the world?
7) Jesus was sent and, so, He sends us! We have a mission, a purpose—Jesus intends for us to go forth into the world (The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few)! Do you know what your mission, your purpose is? Are you seeking to fulfill God’s purpose in your life? (And, no, I’m not talking about going to Africa, or some other unpleasant place (unless, of course, that is God’s plan for you!)
8) Jesus was willing to go all the way to the cross and the grave for us—to pull us away from satan’s death grip and to bring us back into right fellowship with God the Father! Are we willing sacrifices for sanctification (being set apart for His good purpose) and bringing glory to God?
9) What holds us back?
10) How on earth could/did Christ “sanctify” Himself?
11) What an awesome prayer! Talk about specific, right down to the very detail, heart-motivated, and in God’s will prayer! Oh, that we would pray every prayer in such a way! Let’s see, Jesus prayed to God the Father in His children’s behalf so that :
a) they would know God, and Jesus Christ whom God sent into the world
b) they would be protected while “in” the world, not “of” the world by the power of Jesus’ name
c) they would be kept safe—none would be lost
d) they would have a full measure of Christ’s joy
e) they would be protected from the evil one
f) they would be sanctified by God’s truth
g) they would complete their purpose by being sent out into the world, just as Christ Himself was sent into the world
h) they would be one
i) they would be brought to complete unity
j) the world would know that God sent Jesus Christ and that God loved His children just as He loved Jesus
k) they would one day be where Jesus was and behold His glory!
l) they would be brought to complete unity
m) they would be protected from the evil one
n) they would know they were loved as God loved the Son
o) God would one day bring us to Himself and we would behold the glory of Christ
p) God’s love would be in them
q) Christ would be “in” us
12) Do you think God honored and still honors such a prayer?
John 17:20-23 (Thursday)
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
1) This, dear one, is where we come in! Over 2000 years ago, Jesus was praying for you and me! We have heard the disciple’s message and, praise God, we believe!
2) What did Jesus mean when He said, “also be one in us”? On this subject of oneness and unity, I have to quote from our “Life Truths” Leader Guide:
“Community is important, even crucial, for believers. Jesus prayed for the community, the oneness, of all believers, which is for the well-being and witness of His church. Believer’s oneness with Christ is their union with Christ as Savior and their uniting with Christ in witnessing to a world that desperately needs salvation.”
“The model for Christian unity is the oneness of God the Father and God the Son. This unity serves as the pattern for unity among believers. Unity does not mean uniformity, where everyone looks and acts like one another. God made us different, yet we share a common life and a common destiny. The oneness displayed to the world by believers will testify concerning Jesus’ mission and the love God has for the world. Then the world may believe You sent Me, Jesus prayed.”
“The unity that characterizes the relationship of the Son and the Christian, and the Father and the Son is glorious. The glory God gave to Jesus and that He gives to believers is not Jesus’ preexistent glory but the glory that marked His mission on earth. Jesus now prayed that believers share in the glory that marked His ministry including His death on the cross. The implication is that the believer’s path involves suffering in the world and lowly service to the world.”
“The oneness for which Christ was praying is more than an ethical unity. It is intimate, personal unity of faith, hope, love and life itself. Together believers make up the one body of Christ. The church, thus united, makes a powerful influence on the world. Thus the world of unbelievers, when they see this oneness, will regard it as a work of the Father’s love, a love that is the same as the Father’s love for the Son. The world will know that God sent Christ, and that God loves the world as He loves His Son!”
3) Christ in you—the hope of glory! That is how the world sees and believes! You shine with His glory! The world may hate you, but they hate the Christ in you more! They will either be repelled or drawn—so shine, shine, shine!
4) Larry P. sent this question along: “With so many Americans professing to be Christians, why haven’t we had a greater influence on our culture?”
5) How unified is the church today? I’m talking all denominations? Why do you think this is so? Share your response and reasoning.
6) What way(s) does a lack of Christian unity impact the world today?
7) This one is hard for me because it is hard for me to fathom being loved by God as much as He loves His only begotten Son. How does this truth strike your heart?
John 17:24-26 (Friday)
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (NIV)
1) Yes, yes, yes! I want to see Jesus in His full glory, don’t you? How do you think Jesus will be the same as when He walked this earth? How do you think He will be different?
2) How does Jesus continue to make God known to us today?

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