OUTREACH Brochure: “Our convention can change the future of your church.”
“I am a man who deals with pride and in pursuit of humility.”
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Humility vs Pride
        1. John Stott said, “Pride is our greatest enemy” – humility is your greatest friend.
        2. Pride is demonic – first sin, cause satan to be kicked out of heaven vs. humility which is represent throughout Jesus’ life.
        3. Pride is the encouragement to compare ourselves to other people vs comparing to Jesus.
        4. Pride covets the success of other people vs humility causes us to rejoice in their success
        5. Pride is about me… what I deserve, what I want vs. humility that is to say it is all about Jesus.
        6. Pride is about my glory… Do respect me?, Do you want to be like me? vs. patterning your life after another… learning to be like Jesus.
        7. Pride - I am God vs. celebrating the fact that God has lovingly served me.
        8. Pride is arrogance, cockiness, smugness and is repugnant vs. humility leads to confidence.
        9. Point of pride is independence (doing what we want) vs. acknowledging that we are dependent on a Savior to lead and guide us through life.
        10. Augusta, “Pride is the mother of all sin, the root of all sin” vs. humility is the root of all joy.
        11. Pride is something we can achieve in this lifetime vs. humility is something that we pursue through this lifetime. “I am proud to report that I am now humble!”
What would our presidential campaign be like if it were based on humility?
What about athletes? What about rap music?
Today’s truth is counter culture…
CHRISTIAN HUMILITY
PHILIPPIANS 2
1 If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
 - Paul knew what some church workers today do not know, that there is a difference between unity and uniformity.
 - True spiritual unity comes from within; it is a matter of the heart.
 - Uniformity is the result of pressure from without.[1]

Basics of the Exchanged Life

1. We are created with a body, soul & spirit
2. Sin nature is problem
3. New nature is in sin nature is out
4. Law was an act of grace
5. Law came so you would sin more
6. New Covenant came in Acts 2, everything prior was law
7. Forgiveness is complete at the point of salvation
8. Behavior is a function of your nature
9. Sanctification is both past tense & present tense.
10. Jesus lives through you
11. You have the mind of Christ
12. Contrary thoughts are from the power of sin
13. Adversity leads to perseverance, perseverance proven character, proven character hope that doesn't fail
14. Hope leads to opportunities to make a defense for the hope you have

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.

• How does pride break out in the church?
  Leavener specifically?
• Proud people only care about what they care about… humble people care about the needs of others.
• Family first, but not the only exception.

CHRIST’S HUMILITY AND EXALTATION
5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
as something to be exploited.
7 Instead he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a servant,
taking on the likeness of humanity.

• Only Christians have the opportunity to understand real humility because Jesus is the perfect example of humbleness.
• Chili con carne – carne=meat;
• incarnation – God becomes meat
           God became a man
           Creator entered into creation
           Timeless/eternal enters into time
           Omnipresent enters into place
          Seated on a throne but chooses to be born in a cave
           Surrounded by angels in glory but comes to be mocked and abused by sinners
           Living in heaven but comes to live in poverty on the earth
  Doesn’t mean that God ever quit being God to become man.
   - He set aside his divine attributes to be like us to live a full human life.
          - Gave up His wisdom to grow in wisdom
          - Emmanuel = God with us

And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death--
even to death on a cross.
Jesus’ death on the cross is the most humble act.
It was my sin that put Jesus on the cross.
It was Jesus who humbled Himself to die as my substitute.
The Great Exchange:
2 Corinthians 5:21 - He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.[2]
9 For this reason God highly exalted him
and gave him the name that is above every name

The most beautiful name of all… Jesus
Jesus came to reconcile all sinners.
The name of Jesus is the one we should exalt.

God has exalted Him
 
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow--
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth--
11 and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.[3]

 - Nero was the greatest leader of that time
 - Every public event, the citizens would bend their knee and proclaim that Nero is the greatest leader of all time.
 - Paul is saying that EVERY KNEE WILL BOW…
 - You can try to straighten it out… but every knee will bow.
 - My name does not matter, “Leavener” does not matter… The only name that matters is Jesus.
 - It is not about us or our ministry!
 
1) God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13 - To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.[4])
2) God humiliates proud people (Proverbs 16:5 - Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the Lord;
be assured, he will not go unpunished.[5])

Proverbs 16:18 - Pride comes before destruction,
and an arrogant spirit before a fall.
19 Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble,
than to divide plunder with the proud.[6]

3) God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble
Proverbs 3:34 - He mocks those who mock
but gives grace to the humble.[7]
(James 4:6 & I Peter 5:5)
 
CJ MeHaney
        1) Follow the truth where ever it leads.
        2) Invite and pursue correction and counsel. (Don’t blame shift)
        3) Learn from everyone… including your enemies and critics
        4) Repent quickly & thoroughly (tapout)
        5) Seek and celebrate other work in other Christians
        6) Cultivate a spirit of thankfulness
        7) Listen to Scripture more than yourself
        8) Exalt the name of Jesus in whatever you do
        9) Laugh – proud people cannot laugh and cannot laugh at themselves.
 - We sat around dinner last night with friends and laughed about all the ways I pronounce different words. “What’s the big deal about saying ‘Here’s the dill.’”?
            (You are ridiculous… you are great comedic material, don’t waste it… redeem it)
        10) Sleep like a believer
 
I apologize in my failure…
I boast in what Jesus has done in me
(Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord)

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 73). Victor Books.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 5:21). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Php 2:1–11). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Pr 8:13). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Pr 16:5). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Pr 16:18–19). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Pr 3:34). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• We come now to an important dividing point in this letter. The first three chapters contain doctrine, the last three, exhortation.
• In brief, God says in chapters 1–3, “I have made you a saint.”
• In chapters 4–6, He says, “Now, live a saintly life.”

 
UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
EPHESIANS 4:1-10
1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,

• Unity is not uniformity.
• Unity comes from within and is a spiritual grace.
• “Therefore” reaches back to all the blessings and exalted positions in salvation which the saints enjoy (ch. 1–3), and reaches ahead to the byproduct with such privileges put upon the saints.
• The word “worthy” (axiōs) means “equal weight”; one’s calling and conduct should be in balance.
• The word “calling” in English sometimes means “occupation” as, “His calling was that of a shoemaker.”
• But it is not so used here.
• Paul’s thought is that sinners were called into salvation and made saints.
• They are to be obedient to that heavenly calling or summons to be saints, and live saintly lives. (Wuest)
• Matt Chandler – Suspended – inappropriate behavior
• As an overseer, be above reproach
• Reproach - a cause or occasion of blame, discredit, or disgrace.

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

• 1) Humility - lowliness
• 2) Gentleness - Meekness is not weakness - It is power under control
• 3) Patience - long-suffering - long-tempered - ability to endure discomfort without fighting back
• 4) Forbearance - accepting one another - a grace that cannot be experienced apart from love
• 5) Love - Fruit of the Spirit
• We are to bear with one another “in love.”
• It is in the sphere of the love that God the Holy Spirit produces in the heart of the yielded believer (Gal. 5:22), that we are to be patient with each other as misunderstandings arise, as cutting words are said, as unkind actions are done.
• The love shown at Calvary was a forgiving love.
• Ours should be the same.

3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

• 6) Endeavor - diligently keeping unity of the Spirit - maintain or guard
• 7) Peace - When the peace of God rules in our hearts, then we build upon unity.
• Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?
• They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.
• So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in better tune to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.
• Social faith is perfected when private faith is purified.
• The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier.
• The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life. (Tozer)
• Blessed is the congregation that has found the spiritual maturity and understanding to honestly confess, “Our congregation is so keenly aware of the presence of Jesus in our midst that our entire fellowship is an unceasing communion!”
• What a joyful experience it is for us in this church age to be part of a congregation drawn together by the desire to know God’s presence, to sense His nearness.
• Unity in Christ is not something to be achieved; it is something to be recognized.
• Peace is the binding factor which will preserve the unity which the Spirit has produced.
• Peace means… sometimes it is better to just shut your mouth.

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope, at your calling--

• Unity built on anything other than Bible truth is standing on a very shaky foundation.
• Paul names here the seven basic spiritual realities that unite all true Christians.
• 1) One Body - The body is the invisible Church, the Mystical Body of Christ composed of believers saved between Pentecost when the Church was formed and when Jesus returns.
• 2) One Spirit - The Holy Spirit that indwells every believer.
• 3) One hope of your calling - Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.[1]

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

• 4) One Lord - Jesus Christ - It is difficult to believe that two believers can claim to obey the same Lord, and yet not be able to walk together in unity.
• 5) One Faith - “Faith” is not the Christian Faith as a system of doctrine and its respective responsibilities.
• It refers to the principle of faith by means of which all the saints enter into salvation.
• 6) One Baptism - There was and is one common placing into the Body of Christ. (Jews & Gentiles)
• 1 Corinthians 12:13 - For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.[2]

6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

• 7) One God and Father - We are children in the same family, loving and serving the same Father, so we ought to be able to walk together in unity.
• For Paul the unity of the church reflects the unity of the Godhead: One God, One Lord and One Spirit.

7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

• A spiritual gift is a God-given ability to serve God and other Christians in such a way that Christ is glorified and believers are edified.
• One having it in larger measure and another in smaller, but each getting it from the same Hand and with the same purpose.”
• We must be careful to note that this grace has to do with the exercise of special gifts for service, not the grace for daily living.
• The former is limited, and is adjusted to the kind of gift and the extent to which the Holy Spirit desires to use that gift in the believer’s service.
• The latter is unlimited and subject only to the limitations which the believer puts upon it by a lack of yieldedness to the Spirit.
• The context here, (4:11-12), is one of service, not of general Christian experience.
• Every believer (each one) has been given a spiritual gift to use for the purpose of the body of Christ.
• This is where the Church gets you to take a spiritual gifts analysis and then assigns you an assortment of tasks and committees to serve as part of the church programming.
• What is your spiritual gift? Most of you, I could tell you what it is because I can see it.
• Be involved in the fellowship and figure out what your gift is… something that edifies Christ through the people or body of Christ.

8 For it says:
When he ascended on high,
he took the captives captive;
he gave gifts to people. (Psalm 68:18)

• or "He lead the captives"
• The word here is not charisma (χαρισμα), referring to special gifts such as the gifts noted in I Cor. 12:4–11, but doma (δομα), a general term for that which is given.
• These gifts are the gifted men mentioned in 4:11.
• Christ gave these gifts to the Church when He ascended to Heaven.

9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.[3]

• During the OT time, the souls of the dead went to a place in the lower parts of the earth referred to as Sheoul (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek).
• Sheoul/Hades had two sides (Luke 16:19-31 - Rich Man & Abraham). The saved side is known as Abaraham's Bosom or Paradise (Luke 23:43). The lost side, hell, was a place of torment for the unrighteous dead.
• When Jesus physically died his body was placed in a tomb.
• His soul & Spirit went to the saved side of Sheoul/Hades known as Paradise.
• Jesus made a proclamation to the spirits on the hell side (1 Peter 3:19).
• God would not allow for Jesus to remain in Sheoul (Psalm 16:10) so he was joined with his resurrected body and ascended to heaven (Acts 1:1-11).
• That is one interpretation.
• What if it is in reference to Jesus descending to earth as a human being?
• What if it is in reference to the Spirit being sent to live in each believer? (Acts 2:4)
• Paul taught that Christ is the Giver of these gifts, through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:8–10).
• He ascended to heaven as Victor forevermore.
• The picture here is of a military conqueror leading his captives and sharing the spoil with his followers.
• Only in this case, the “captives” are not His enemies, but His own.
• Sinners who once were held captives by sin and Satan have now been taken captive by Christ.
• Even death itself is a defeated foe![4]
• No matter what, you have a Spirit living in you.

You have been gifted by this Spirit to love one another, therefore edifying God the Father, Jesus the Son through the work of the indwelling Spirit.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 1:13–14). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (1 Co 12:13). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 4:1–10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 37). Victor Books.

UNITY IN CHRIST
EPHESIANS 2:11-22
11 So, then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands.

• But since the hour that God called Abraham, God made a difference between Jews and Gentiles.
• He made this difference, not that the Jews might boast, but that they might be a blessing and a help to the Gentiles.
• God set them apart that He might use them to be a channel of His revelation and goodness to the heathen nations.
• Sad to say, Israel kept this difference nationally and ritually, but not morally.
• Genesis 15:6 - Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.[1]
• Genesis 17:1-8 – When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless. 2 I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”
• Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: 4 “As for me, here is my covenant with you: You will become the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. 7 I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. 8 And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession, and I will be their God.”[2]
• Genesis 17:9-12 – God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant. 10 This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you, which you are to keep: Every one of your males must be circumcised. 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you., 12 Throughout your generations, every male among you is to be circumcised at eight days old—every male born in your household or purchased from any foreigner and not your offspring.[3]
• Romans 2:28-29 - For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. 29 On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter. That person’s praise is not from people but from God.[4]

12 At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.

• Kenneth Wuest - 5 Things were true about uncircumcised Gentiles:
• 1) They were "without Christ"‎ - The Ephesians worshiped the goddess, Diana, and, before the coming of the Gospel, knew nothing about Christ.
• 2) They were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel" - no rights - ‎A Gentile could enter the nation as a proselyte, but he was not born into that very special nation.
• Genesis - Theocratic Kingdom
• God had complete authority over the universe.
• Adam (man) was given dominion over the earth.
• The fall came and power was given to Satan.
• God chose the Jews to reestablish His theocracy.
• 3) They were "strangers from the covenants of the promise"‎.
• While the blessing of the Gentiles is included in God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3 – The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.[5])
• God did not make any covenants with the Gentile nations.
• The Gentiles were “aliens” and “strangers”—and the Jews never let them forget it.
• 4) They had "no hope"‎
• Historians tell us that a great cloud of hopelessness covered the ancient world.
• Philosophies were empty; traditions were disappearing; religions were powerless to help men face either life or death.
• 5)  They were "without God in the world"
• The heathen had gods aplenty, as Paul discovered in Athens (Acts 17:16–23).
• Someone in that day said that it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens.

13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

• The Gentiles, through faith in Jesus, now have access to the Father anytime they like.
• A privilege that no Jew possesses while living under the Law in his lost condition.

14 For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh,

• Picture of the Temple and the Gentile Court.‎
• Description found at Herod's Temple in 1871 - "No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death."
• Enmity - deep-rooted hatred. “15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.[6]” (Gen. 3:15).
• The friendship of the world is “enmity with God” (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15, 16).
• The “carnal mind” is “enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7).
• Galatians 3:28 - There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.[7]

15 he made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.

•  “He made no effect” - "Abolish" - To make in operative or inactive
• Jesus did away with this ceremonial Law to free all believers to live by grace.
• "one new man" - A new creation in Christ.
• The old man inherited by Adam was crucified and eradicated in Christ's body.
• Peace replaces enmity and unity prevails as the byproduct.

16 He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by which he put the hostility to death.

• It was not a question of the Gentile becoming a Jew to become a Christian, but the Jew admitting he was a sinner like the Gentile.
• “since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God[8]” (Romans 3:22–23).
• ‎The same Law that separated Gentile and Jew also separated men and God, and Christ bore the curse of the Law.
• Paul reminds us that unbelieving Gentiles were under the Law as well. (Romans 7:4 - Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another.[9]).
• Once in Christ, any disunity between Jews & Gentiles is a direct result of sin, not a result of the previous barriers that existed under the Law.

17 He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

• He came into the world to serve as the mediator who would restore peace between God and man.
• "far away" - Gentiles
• "near" - Jews

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

• As God's children, who possess His Spirit, we can enter into the Father's presence through the avenue of Jesus Christ anytime we like.
• Hebrews 4:16 - Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.[10]

19 So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household,

• Through Jesus, Gentiles "are no longer strangers and aliens".
• Saints - All believers of all time... from Genesis 1:1 - Revelation 22:21 - All saints are members of God's household.
• ‎Sin has divided mankind, but Christ unites by His Spirit.
• ‎All believers, regardless of national background, belong to that “holy nation” with citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20–21).

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

• The apostles being ones who lived with and were trained by Jesus.
• The prophets being those equipped with the message of the apostles during the formative years of the church.
• The cornerstone binds the structure together[11]
• This reference to the temple would be meaningful to both the Jews and the Gentiles in the Ephesian church: the Jews would think of Herod’s temple in Jerusalem, and the Gentiles would think of the great temple of Diana.
• Both temples were destined to be destroyed, but the temple Christ is building will last forever.
• Now referring to the Church which is believers in Acts 2 all the way up to Christ’s return.

21 In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

• "in Him"
• These stones are the believers that are being fit together today.

22 In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.[12]

• Oswald Chambers - It is one thing to have participated in regeneration and sanctification and quite another thing to enjoy the knowledge that your body is “the temple of the Holy Ghost.” That is not an experience, it is a revelation, and a revelation which takes some believing, and then some obeying.
• Who inhabits the temple? The Holy Spirit.
• ‎I have to see that I instruct myself regarding these revelations which are only interpreted to me by the Holy Ghost, never by my natural wisdom.

God's masterpiece!

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 15:6). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 17:1–8). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 17:9–12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 2:28–29). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 12:1–3). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 3:15). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Ga 3:28). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 3:22–23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 7:4). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 4:16). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 25). Victor Books.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 2:11–22). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

John 17
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

• Believers deal with sin differently – we are separated from non-believers.
• 1) “Sanctified” – God sanctifies our person (spirit & soul)
• 2) “Sanctifying” – God has given us the ability to overcome the power of sin.
• 3) “will be sanctified” – In the future, we won’t even have to deal with sin. Total sanctification in our behavior.
• Who does the sanctifying? God or the Truth?
• God sanctifies us with the tool of the Truth.
• Psalm 119:9-11 - 9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word.
• I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands.
• I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.[1]
• It is God who changes us… not the Truth.

18 As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

• He came to model living His life by another… and wanted the disciples to do the same for the world.
• Surrendering your will to His.
• Believing that Jesus is going to do this in me.
• You consciously know that He is going to do it through you.
• It is not a “feeling”
• What does it mean living life by another?
• When you get to the point of saying “I can’t do this anymore.”… you are in a great place.
• Pressure is off.

19 I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

• He didn’t sanctify Himself for his own purpose
• He yielded to the Father’s life because the disciple would see it.
• John Bisagno as seminary student wrote 60 names of peers in ministry in the back of his Bible when he graduated from seminary.
• As his peers burned out, failed or simply walked away from full-time ministry he would mark their name out of the back of his Bible.
• When he retired in his 60’s… he had 6 names in the back of his Bible… 1 out of 10.
• If you show up on Sundays, hang out with me or be my friend… you need me to live my life by another…
• I love you… I am learning everyday what this means.

 
JESUS PRAYS FOR ALL BELIEVERS
20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word.

• He is praying for ALL of us!

21 May they all be one,

• Religion will never accomplish unity.
• Our country is becoming more divisive by the minute… or tweet.
• Unity finds its origin in God the Father…
• They are the source of love… God is love.

as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.

• You have a Spirit, and you have a Spirit, and you have a Spirit… how many Spirits do you think are in this room? ONE

22 I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.

• You can have all the bells and whistles of a huge organization but it will not prevail unless there is unity through the body of Christ.
• If love is absent… it will fail
• What is the glory of God?
• The awesomeness of the character of God which is the expression of the presence of God and which only draws attention to the person of God.
• Colossians 1:27 – 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.[2]
• If that glory lives in me… I have access to that person. Just as you do.

23 I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.

• Jesus lives in me… and the Father in Jesus…
• God loves me just as much as He does the Son.

24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation.
 - Two places at once… My citizenship is in heaven.
 - 2 Corinthians 3:18 - 18 We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.[3]
 - 2 Corinthians 3:14 - 14 but their minds were hardened. For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside only in Christ.[4]
 - What is being transformed? Our behavior
 - Making us into more spiritually mature humans.
 - Are we more holy? No… just in our behavior.
25 Righteous Father, the world has not known you. However, I have known you, and they have known that you sent me.
 - The whole world knew the Father sent the Son because of the unity in the Church that is displayed.
26 I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.”[5]

• They know some now but not as much as they will after Acts 2 – the Spirit coming.
• How confusing would this be for them?
• Jesus would be in them.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ps 119:9–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Col 1:27). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (2 Co 3:18). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (2 Co 3:14). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jn 17:1–26). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

• Jesus has done everything He could in teaching His disciples.
• Now, all He can do is pray for them.
  
  

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIMSELF
John 17
1 Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,
 - So Jesus could glorify the Father.
2 since you gave him authority over all flesh (people),

• God gave Jesus the ability to do miracles and continually escape the Pharisees in order for people to see that He truly is the Messiah.

so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.

• Jesus gave us eternal life but it originated through the Father.

3 This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.

•  The essence of eternal life is the ability to know intimately the heart of God the Father and God the Son.

4 I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

• He glorified the Father by allowing the Father to work through Him.
• Every word that Jesus spoke was the Father’s word.
• Jesus knows even the hours to come are going to happen that He refers to them in past tense.
• The crucifixion, resurrection and ascension are included in these works.

5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.

• Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.[1]
• Philippians 2:6-7 - who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.
• Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, [2]
• Jesus Christ possessed the Glory of God from eternity past.
• This Glory that Jesus has always had was witnessed at the Mount of Transfiguration and will be witnessed again at the resurrection.
• Otherwise, the rest of Jesus’ earthly presence, the Glory that is His has been veiled.

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS DISCIPLES
6 “I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

• Jesus has revealed Himself to the disciples.
• Jesus defends the disciples even though the chapter before he tells them they are going to scatter when Jesus is arrested.
• Jesus sees what they are going to do through the Spirit before it happens.

7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, 8 because I have given them the words you gave me. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

• It’s like when a pastor just preaches a message and then closes the message by repeating the message and pleading with the audience to do as he taught them.
• Even though the disciples didn’t know (at that time), Jesus knew that they were going to know once the Spirit came.
• So pray as if you know what is to come.

9 “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they are yours.

• This verse destroys any universalist theology.
• When were they given to Jesus?
• The moment they believed they became “in Christ”.
• Once you are “in Christ” you are there from eternity past to eternity future.

10 Everything I have is yours, and everything you have is mine, and I am glorified in them.

• Everything that belongs to the Father belong to the Son.
• Psalm 24:1-2 - The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord;
• 2 for he laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers.[3]
• “Them” – the disciples
• “glorified” – past tense… it already happened… even though they were going to scatter and didn’t understand what He was truly saying.
• Jesus saw their future and spoke about them because of their future.
• This totally opposite of our society, you make one mistake or even say the wrong word then you are cast aside.

11 I am no longer in the world (The crucifixion, resurrection & ascension is so for sure that Jesus speaks about it in past tense), but they are in the world (unredeemed world that is controlled by Satan), and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your name that you have given me (they are equal in character – same name), so that they may be one as we are one.

• How did Jesus keep the disciples in the Father’s name?
• Because He taught them about the Father.
• He didn’t give them 3 points and illustrations.
• He didn’t give them “responsibility”
• He didn’t give them Law.
• He taught them about His Father.
• If they know the Father’s Name… they would take on the Father’s character.
• If they take on the Father’s character then they become united.
• We try to create unity for the sake of unity rather than just knowing the Father.
• My friend Dale from Camp Zion drove 8 hours to hang out with our group for 3 hours because he saw something different in our group of people.

12 While I was with them, I was protecting them by your name that you have given me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled.

• Jesus was not surprised by Judas leaving the 12.
• He called it back in John 13

13 Now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy completed in them.

• Jesus taught them things they could not understand.
• But He knew that one day it would be revealed to them.
• This gives me, as a teacher, much hope.

14 I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

• If the Holy Spirit reveals these things to you, you will not respond as the world responds.
• You will not set people aside.
• You will be considered “weird”, “a harborer of sinners”, “a sloppy thinker”, “a teacher/follower of a twisted Gospel.” (irony in that).

15 I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

• All these disciples were martyred.
• He is asking that they never falter in what they believe or teach.
• Suffering will occur… but keep them faithful.

16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

• Separated from the world – sanctified – holy – set apart.

17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

• Who sanctifies you? The Father.
• What does the Father use to sanctify you? Truth
• My person (soul/spirit) is sanctified.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Col 1:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Php 2:6–7). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ps 24:1–2). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.