The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Word Made Playing, with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, pastor Tony is teaching in the book of John. Please open your Bible to John chapter 17 verses 20 through 26.

Tony Clark: Father, as we come in the name of Jesus, Lord, we come to let our request be made known to you. Lord, hear the prayers of your people now as they're crying out to you. And Lord, your word says that your ear is attentive to our prayers. And so Lord, thank you that you hear us. Thank you Lord, that you guided us here Lord, and we just pray as your word goes forth that Lord, you will speak into our hearts, that your Holy Spirit would teach us the truths of the word of God today. Lord, thank you for who you are.

Thank you for allowing for us to talk to you. And Lord, to let our request be made known to you Lord. So now we pray that you would speak into our hearts in Jesus name. Amen. All right, turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 17 as we continue to go verse by verse, chapter by chapter through the Gospel of John. We find ourselves in chapter 17 looking at verses 20 to 26 or we're going to finish up this chapter. And the title of this message is, can we all get along? As we look at the wars and rumors of wars in our world today, many people are asking, can we all just get along?

With the violence occurring in homes between family members and the violence throughout the cities, throughout our country and around the world, many people are crying out, can we all just get along? With the disagreements between churches on positions of theology and how to worship God and through what uh uh genre of music to worship God through and how to do church, many people are saying, can we all just get along? So what people are wanting is a sense of unity. But what is unity based upon? And Jesus is going to pray for unity uh uh in the rest of this chapter.

And then he is going to tell us what unity is based upon. Look at verses 20 and 21. It says, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one as you Father are in me and I in you, that they may also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. Now in these verses, we see Jesus extend his prayer to another group of people outside of the disciples that he just finished praying for in verses 6 through 19.

He is now praying for those who will believe in him through their word according to verse 20. Jesus is praying for everyone uh who will believe in him down through the centuries. See, Jesus saw a community of believers who would believe in him all the way until he returns again. And what is he praying about? That they all may be one according to verse 21. So Jesus is praying for unity between believers, a sense of oneness. Now don't forget that Jesus talked about truth in verse 17. He says, sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth.

So here in verse 21, he is praying for unity. So in other words, unity is based upon truth. Oh, we saw last week that truth comes in a three volume set. Number one, the Bible in verse 17, sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth. Number two, by Jesus. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. And the third volume is the Spirit. John 16 verse 13 calls the Spirit the Spirit of truth. See, I can't have unity with someone who denies this three volume set. I cannot have unity with someone who said that the Bible is not the word of God.

I cannot have unity with someone who says that Jesus was not God in human flesh who came to die for the sins of the world. I cannot have unity with someone who denies the power and the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers today. I didn't say I couldn't talk to them or anything like that. I just said I couldn't have unity with them. Unity is based upon truth and truth in this three volume set. All the last part of verse 21 says that the world may believe that you sent me. When our unity is based upon truth, the world will see our unity and our oneness and believe the message of the Gospel that the Father sent the son to be savior of the world like John 4 verse 42 says.

See, I can't have unity with people who say that Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer like the Mormons do. Or that Jesus is Michael the Archangel like the Jehovah Witnesses do. Unity must be based upon truth, truth and who Jesus is, truth and who the what the Bible is, truth and the Holy Spirit. Oh, look what it says there in verses 22 and 23. It says, and the glory which you gave me, I have given them that they may be one just as we are one. I in them, you and me, that they may be made perfect in one that the world may know that you sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.

Jesus prays in verse 22 that the glory that the Father gave to him, he is now given to us. What an incredible thought. The glory is the radiant presence of God. And it is this glory that Jesus is given to us. Why? So that we can show the world what God is like. Just like Jesus when he came to this earth, he came to this earth to show us what God is like. So Jesus is now saying, I'm giving you that glory so you can show your world what God is like. Oh, we saw this glory in Matthew 17 verse two where it says that Jesus was transfigured before them.

His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as light. Or that Greek word for transfigure is And it means a change of condition. It is where we get our English word metamorphosis, which is that biological process that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. So the deity of Jesus was shining through his humanity. So it is this glory that Jesus is given to us that we should show this dark world the light of God. Or we saw this in the life of Moses in Exodus 34 in verse 29 when he came down from the mountain after being in the presence of God.

The Bible said that his face was glowing. Why? Because 1 John 1 5 says God is light and in him is no darkness at all. So the longer Moses was in God's presence, some of who God is, light rubbed off on him. Or this is why Jesus said in Matthew 5 in verse 16, he says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. However, there was a time when Moses put a veil on his face. Why? Because he didn't want the Israelites to see that the glory was fading away according to 2 Corinthians 3 7.

Oh, I have to ask us this, what kind of veil are you wearing today? Notice when Moses put his veil on when he came around the people of God. Oh, the same is true in our lives. We come to church with a veil on our faces so that no one can tell that the glory is fading or that it is no longer there, that we have not been in the presence of God lately and we don't want each other to know about it. So we come with a veil. Oh, I can tell when the veil is on.

Or I can look and tell when the veil is on. We don't want people to know that we haven't been in the presence of God lately and we try to put on a smile. We trying to smile and and is and we and we try we trying to smile because we we we trying to radiate the joy of the Lord. So we trying to, you know, open our eyes wider and trying to look perky and and trying to look a certain It's a veil. All it is is a veil. We don't want people to know that the glory is fading or that the glory isn't there at all.

And we do the same thing Moses did and he only put the veil on around the people of God. And so we come to church with a veil on knowing that we haven't been in the presence of God all week. And we come and we trying to show each other that we have the presence of God in our lives and it's just a veil that we see. I love the second part of verse 22. He says that they may be one just as we are one. And this is another way we are one in the body of Christ when we see each other glowing.

Oh, I say this because Jesus said, and the glory which you gave me, I have given them that they may be one just as we are one. And what I find interesting is is that Jesus gave Peter his glory and he is about to deny the Lord three times. He gave the rest of his disciples his glory and they're about to run for their lives when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus. And yes, Jesus will say that is true. And the same glory he is given to us as well. In Romans 8 verse 30 it says, whom he justified these he also glorified.

I'm so glad that the Father doesn't see me and all of my frailty and carnality and stupidity, but he sees me glorified in his son. How great would it be if we looked at our children and our spouses and our co-workers in their glorified state the way that God sees us. Think about the person who gets on your nerves the most. Or they could be sitting right next to you. Ask the Lord to show you how he sees them. Uh and some people may say, well, are you talking about uh blind love? No, no. Love isn't blind.

Love sees more and chooses to see less. And we need to pray, oh Lord, help us to see people the way you saw Peter. You remember in John chapter 1 and verse 42, Jesus said, you are Simon, just as unstable as water. But you shall be called Peter which means rock. See, Jesus didn't look at Peter as the person who would later betray him, but as the one who would later become the rock of the early church, the one who brought stability to the other disciples. And we need to pray that the Lord will help us, help us to see each other not with veils on our faces, but as people that has been given the glory of God.

Oh, Paul understood this principle when he said in 2 Corinthians 5 16 is not on the screen for you notetakers. He says, I regard no one according to the flesh. He refused to see people in their fleshly ways and tendencies. He saw people through the eyes of God. And I'm like, Lord, help us to see people this way. Then in verse 23 uh Jesus prays again that we are made perfect in oneness so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. I'm like, wow, what a verse.

Jesus is praying that we would experience a oneness. Why? So that the world may know that he was sent by the Father to this world and so that the world can know that the Father loves the son. Wow. Oh, the question we have to ask ourselves is how are we doing in this area? And someone say not too good. Remember unity is based upon truth. Some people want unity at any cost. That's called uniformity. That's not what the Bible is talking about. No, true unity is based upon truth. And when we base our unity around the truth of the Bible, the truth of Jesus Christ and the truth of the Spirit, then we can truly show the world what unity looks like.

Oh, look what he says there in verse 24. Says, Father, I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which you have given me for you loved me before the foundation of the world. What blows my mind about this part of the prayer of Jesus is that he desires that we may be with him where he is. Oh, that Greek word for desire is and it means to wish or to desire or to want. So it is the desire or want of Jesus for us to be with him in heaven.

Oh, you remember what he said in John 14 in verses 1 to 3. He says, let not your hearts be troubled. So you believe in God, believe also in me. Say, in my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. He says, I'll go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. Here it is that where I am, there you may be also. In 1 Thessalonians 5 10 it says, we shall live together with him.

So this means that we're going to heaven, that one day we're going to spend all eternity with Jesus Christ. So what are you presently going through? What has your heart troubled today? Always remember that you're going to heaven if you have repented of your sin and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I'm not one of those people uh that just going to assume that everyone in here has done that and I'm just going to just blanket statement just say everybody in here, you going to heaven. Oh, the devil is a liar. No, unless you repent it of your sin and accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you haven't done that, you're not going.

I 'm not one of those one that you stressed out horizontally in front of the church right here and I just throw you all in the heaven like many preachers do. I get tired of going to funeral. They ain't put everybody in heaven. Everybody going. Everybody not going. Unless you repent of your sin and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you haven't done that, you're not going. So I just had to say that. And this is why Jesus said, let not your heart be troubled. Why? Because for those who repented of their sin, accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, one day you're going to heaven.

Oh, just think about it. You who are here, no matter what you're going through, no matter what's happening with the children, no matter what happening what's happening on the job, no matter what's going on in our world today, how our cities and stuff is in chaos, one day you going to heaven. One day we're going to heaven. Oh, this is a this this is why we have to go and spread the message. This world is in a hot mess of a condition because of their rejection of the truth. They have believed the lie. See, many of them don't have a hope of heaven.

And so they think all they have is what's on this earth. So that's why they cling to what's on this earth. They cling to possessions. They they put their hope in in political people and politicians and presidents and all this sort because all they have is here. For those of us who have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, hey, we're we're in this world, but we're not of it. One day we're going to heaven. That's why it says, let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid. Oh, I love it how Jesus prayed at the end of verse 24.

He says, for you have loved me before the foundation of the world. What an incredible statement. Did you know that this is how long God has loved you from the foundation of the world? And you're saying, really, how is that? Oh, watch this. This is a great verse. Revelation 13 8 calls Jesus a lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So before the actual events of the crucifixion that took place approximately April 6 AD 32, Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world. In eternity's past, God saw us in need of a Savior.

So this means that God has loved us before the foundation of the world. God knew that Adam was going to bomb out. He was truly the first Adam bomb. He bombed out and God knew he was going to do that. So Jesus was a lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Oh, I say this because many people think that God started loving them when they accepted Christ into their lives. No, God loved you before the you were even born. He saw you in need of a Savior and loved you so much that he sent Jesus to die for your sin.

Oh, what an incredible thought. Look at verses 25 and 26. Says, oh righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you. And these have known that you sent me and I have declared to them your name and will declare it that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them. Now in the closing part of the prayer of Jesus, he starts off verse 25 by calling God notice righteous Father. This means that everything God does is righteous. It is right. Whether we agree with it or not, it is right.

So this is why he is called righteous Father. Oh, this means that even in his judgments that he brings upon the world, he is righteous. Oh, 1 Peter 2 verse 23 talks about us committing ourselves to God who judges righteously. So Jesus is saying righteous Father. The world has not known you, but I have known you and these have not uh these have known that you sent me. Oh, I love it how Jesus said in verse 26, I have declared to them your name. Oh, we saw in verse 6 that Jesus said that he manifested the Father's name to them which involves living it out.

Declaring his name involves speaking it out. Oh, Jesus said in John 6 35 he says, I am the bread of life. In John 10 9 he says, I am the door by which you enter in to be saved. In John 15 1 he says, I am the vine. In John 14 6 he says, I am the way, the truth and the life. In John 8 12 he says, I am the light of the world. Jesus was saying, I not only manifested or illustrated these things, but I declared these things to you as well. We're called to do these two things as well.

We are called to manifest God's name to this world which means to live it out. And we're called to declare God's name to this world which means to speak it out. Most believers will do one or the other. Either people are manifesting God's name by living like Jesus, but watch this, but the world doesn't know the source of your good life unless you tell them. I'm living this way because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. They would never know it. They would just conclude, uh that's a good person over there. They're they're a good person.

They won't know why you're loving on though that person over there who's considered your enemy. They they don't know why that you're doing the things that you're doing. Why? You you you you're such a hard worker because you're doing your work as unto the Lord. They don't know the source of your goodness if you never opened your mouth. Or you have others who are declaring God's name, but they're not living up to the words that they're saying about God. The world will conclude, uh they just a bunch of talk. They just a hypocrite. They talk about God, but they don't live it.

They were with us this weekend partying with us this weekend. And they they they will they take you as a joke. We're called to both manifest God's name and to declare it as well. I'm telling you, here's the thing we have to understand. You're on your job to do your job. You're not the company chaplain nor are you to stand in the break room on the table and and and preaching to those who are there. You're there to do your job. However, you have to pray that God give you the wisdom because those people on the job he he has you there because he wants you to win them to the Lord.

And you have to pray for the wisdom on how you to do it today. The Bible says be wise as serpents, harmless as lambs. So so so you you you to be wise, but you're to be harmless as well. It's it's a balance that's there and you have to pray and ask God for the wisdom on how he wants you to reach those people on your job. I don't want you going to your job and and and preaching up a storm. They about to preaching and they fired me. What is it? Don't don't come back on me and say, you told us to go.

No, I said you pray. And ask God to give you the wisdom on how to do it on your job because see, Satan is very crafty. Oh, that's a subtle dude right there, boy. He is a crafty one. So he has done all he could to condition this world to silence the Christian, to silence the Christian. Everyone can talk about their exploits over the weekend, what girl they slept with, what guy they were with, how drunk they got, how many drugs they took. They can talk about who won, what sporting event, what this thing. But you mentioned the name of Jesus.

Is something about that name? I'm telling you, folks, flip out. They flip. So then they trying to call you in the office. They trying to do all this kind of stuff. See, Satan has conditioned the world to silence everyone outside of only the Christian. Everyone else can you can talk about Islam. You can talk about whatever religion you want to talk about. You bring up that name.

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