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“SEVEN PETITIONS OF CHRIST"JOHN 17:1-26INTRO: Recorded in the Scripture are seven crisises in the life of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ. Before each one of these crisises, we see Jesus at prayer. His disciples were so impressed by the LORD'S prayer life that they desired of Him, "Lord, teach us to pray!" Our Lord thought it important to pray, shouldn't we? Jesus, Himself said, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint." Prayer does change things. In our text, we see Jesus lifting His eyes to Heaven to pray. His eyes and heart were fixed on God, the Heavenly Father. His full attention was on God and things above, not on things below. This is where our attention should be when we pray! David, the Psalmist, wrote, in Psalm 121:1-2—“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help, my help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." This prayer of our Lord is the longest recorded prayer we have in the Scripture, while He was here on earth. This is His prayer just before Judas betrayed Him with a kiss, just before His own disciples forsook Him and fled, and just before He walked the Last mile to Golgotha to be crucified and bring His earthly ministry to a climax! But still considering all that, it was a prayer without selfishness, praying more for others than Himself. Jesus, says, as He lifts His eyes toward Heaven, "Father, the hour is come..." (v1). This is the hour when the Lord Jesus would terminate the work the Father sent Him to the world to do, the hour when He would terminate His life by death on the Cross, the hour when He was made sin for us, and it was the hour Christ would cry out, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Let us look at this intercessory prayer of our Lord. The title of the message today is, "Seven Petitions of Christ." In our text, Christ offers seven petitions to God. In each God is glorified! Is this how we offer our prayer to God? A PETITION THAT:(1) THE SON OF GOD, WHO GLORIFED GOD, MIGHT BE GLORIFIED JOHN 17:1—“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:”A. THE REALIZATION. “…Father, the hour is come…”. From the beginning of Christ's public ministry, until He cried, "It is finished!", His one desire was to glorify God and finish the work God gave Him to do! For Jesus life had a climax, and that was the Cross. To him the Cross was the glory of life and the way to the glory of eternity. "The hour has come," he said, "for the Son of Man to be glorified" (Jn 12:23). (William Barclay. Daily Study Bible. e-Sword. Version 9.6.0. Copyright 1990-2010. Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide). B. THE REQUEST. Here, Jesus prays, "Glorify Thy Son..." In other words, "Father support me through the sufferings on Calvary, and afterward, deliver me from the grave, and give Me my rightful seat beside You on the Throne." Friends, one day, even those who now mock His name, will bow their knee before Him and give Him glory! Philippians 2:9-11 tells us— “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” “…one day?every knee will bow before him.?Those in heaven refers to the angels;?those on earth means all humanity;?those under the earth refers to the underworld—possibly to unsaved people who have died or to demons. Those who love Jesus will bow in adoration and worship; those who refused to acknowledge him will bow in submission and fear (Ephesians 4:9-10;?Revelation 5:13). This will take place at Jesus’ second coming when the forces of evil will be completely defeated and God will form a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 19:20-21;?21:1). Paul purposely quoted?Isaiah 45:23 here and in?Romans 14:11. In so doing, he applied those powerful words to Jesus Christ. Isaiah, proclaiming the unique greatness of God, had said that the same God who would not share his glory with another would receive the homage of every living being. Paul equated that position of God with Jesus’ preeminent lordship.?John 5:22- 23 says that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Again Jesus’ true deity and oneness with the Father are revealed.” (Life Application Bible Commentary: Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon. Copyright ? 1995 by The Livingstone Corporation. All rights reserved. Life Application is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright ? 2002, Parsons Church Group, a division of , Inc.).(2) THE SON OF GOD'S ETERNAL GLORY BE RESTORED JOHN 17:5—“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”A. HIS PLEA. Our Lord Jesus desired to be restored to the glory He had with God before the world began. Jesus desired three things of the Father:"Glorify Thou Me". Christ was looking forward to His finished work the Father gave Him to do, to how He had pleased the Father, now He desired the glory due Him! Looking beyond the Cross to his resurrection and ascension, Jesus asked the Father to restore the glory he had enjoyed with the Father?before the world existed. In saying this, Jesus gives us a glimpse of his relationship with the Father before the beginning of time. Jesus wanted to return to the glory he had with the Father before the world was created (John 1:1,?18). Jesus would enter into that glory as the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus’ return to God was not simply a return to his preincarnate state, since Jesus would have his resurrected body. Jesus’ resurrection and ascension—and Stephen’s dying exclamation (Acts 7:56)—attest that Jesus’ prayer was answered. He returned to his exalted position at the right hand of God. (Life Application Bible Commentary: John. Copyright ? 1993 by The Livingstone Corporation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved. Life Application is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright ? 2002, , Inc.).“With Thine Own Self". Christ desired not just to be glorified by God, but with God--equal with the Father!"With the glory which I had with Thee before the world began". Christ desired restoration of the glory He had with the Father before the world began. There could not be a more distinct and clear declaration of the pre-existence of Christ than this. It means before the creation of the world; before there was any world. Of course, the speaker here must have existed then, and this is equivalent to saying that he existed from eternity. (Albert Barnes. Albert Barnes’ Notes on The Bible. e-Sword. Version 9.6.0. Copyright 1990-2010. Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide).B. HIS POSITION. John 1:1-5, 9-14 tells us—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not…That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ is the Light! But not only that He is “the light of men.” Light means understanding and moral insight, spiritual vision. But more than just shining or reflecting, the light of Jesus penetrates and enlightens hearts and minds. Everyone who comes into contact with Christ can be enlightened. Christ is the one universal light. There is no other...When Christ’s light shines, we see our sin and his glory. We can refuse to see the light and remain in darkness. But whoever responds will be enlightened by Christ. He will fill our minds with God’s thoughts. He will guide our path, give us God’s perspective, and drive out the darkness of sin. (Life Application Bible Commentary: John. Copyright ? 1993 by The Livingstone Corporation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved. Life Application is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright ? 2002, , Inc.). (3) THE SAINTS OF GOD MIGHT HAVE SAFETY JOHN 17:11-16—“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in he world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”SAFETY FROM: A. THE WORLD (v11). Friends, we live in world laden with sin. 1 John 5:19 tells us—“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” Just because we are in this world we do not have a license to become like this world. We must not “love the world, live like the world, or look like the world.” We must allow Christ—not the world—to define who we are.B. THE WICKED ONE (vv. 15-16). Jesus here prays for our protection from the wicked one. We must not allow ourselves to fall prey to the devil. The Bible encourages us in 1 Peter 5:8-9—“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”(4) THE SAINTS OF GOD BE SANCTIFIED JOHN 17:17-19—“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them intothe world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might besanctified through the truth.”A. THE PURPOSE OF THE TRUTH. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth.” Jesus prayed first for our safety, here He prays for our sanctification—that we be made more holy! God’s Word works as a divine cleansing agent that God uses to bring about our sanctification. (Life Application Bible Commentary: John. Copyright ? 1993 by The Livingstone Corporation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved. Life Application is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright ? 2002, , Inc.). Psalm 119:9-11 says— “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” The Scriptures say, "Be ye Holy, for I AM Holy"B. THE POWER OF THE TRUTH. We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-23—“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul in v23uses the word "wholly". It is translated from a Greek word that means “In every part; completely.” Friends, that is what the truth does! (5) THE SAINTS OF GOD HAVE SPIRITUAL UNITY JOHN 17:21a—“That they all may be one…”A. THE IMPORTANCE OF UNITY. Four times our Lord in this prayer mentions unity (vv. 11, 21, 22, 23). So it must be important to Him! Amos 3:3 asks the question—“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” The obvious answer is NO. B. THE IDENTIFICATION OF UNITY. Paul exhorted the believers at Colosse, in Colossians 2:2—“That your hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love...". Friends, there is the key—“hearts…being knit together in love.” Without love there is no real Church. Methods of Church government and ritual are not what matter. These things change from time to time and from place to place. The one mark which distinguishes a true Church is love for God and for the brethren. When love dies, the Church dies. (William Barclay. Daily Study Bible. e-Sword. Version 9.6.0. Copyright 1990-2010. Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide). (6) THE SINNERS IN THIS WORLD MAY BELIEVE JOHN 17:20-21b—“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word… that the world may believethat thou hast sent me.”Notice: A. THEIR CONDITION—“Sinners"B. THEIR POSITION—“the world"C. THEIR SOLUTION—“may believe". Luke 19:10 tells us—“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (7) THE SAINTS OF GOD MIGHT BE WITH CHRIST IN HEAVEN TO SEE AND SHARE HIS GLORYJOHN 17:24—“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thouhast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of theworld.”A. THE PLACE WE LOOK FOR. In JOHN 14:1-3 Jesus made us a great promise—“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” B. THE PERSON WE LONG FOR. The Lord prays here—“…that they may behold my glory…”. Romans 9:22-23 asks—“What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.” To what lengths will our sovereign God go to make his glory known? We may assume that God will show his anger before his mercy. Consequently, when unexpected hardships come, we may think that God is punishing us for something. We find it difficult to believe that God would allow us to experience pain in order that we might grow in our understanding of his mercy and himself. ( Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans.?1992 by The Livingstone Corporation. All rights reserved Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright ? 2002, Parsons Church Group, a division of , Inc.). Jesus prayed—“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am…”. Friends, I long to see my Jesus! What about YOU? The joy we have now is only a faint foretaste of the joy which is to come. It is Christ's promise that if we share his glory and his sufferings on earth, we shall share his glory and his triumph when life on this earth is ended. What greater promise could there be than that? (William Barclay. Daily Study Bible. e-Sword. Version 9.6.0. Copyright 1990-2010. Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide). CLOSING: OUR Lord Jesus prayed in this prayer for our safety, our sanctification, our unity together, and for us to be in glory with Him. Each of these four petitions were made to make believers more like Him!! Are you striving to be more like Jesus each day? He is alive and still interceding for us today. Will you live for Him?PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING. ................
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