The Word Made Plain

Announcer: Welcome to the Word Made Plain 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 1 through 5.

Tony Clark: So when it is your time to be glorified, the question that we have to ask is who's going to get the glory? Will it be you or will it be God? Only time will tell because you can easily sit here and say, oh, I want God to be glorified. But when the moment happens and the moment comes and they are praising and glorifying you, are you going to be oh, yes, keep it coming? Or are you going to say, oh, you know, God bless you. Thank you. But you know, I am what I am by the grace of God.

Are you going to give him the glory? Look at verses 2 and 3. As you have given him authority over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. And this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Now in these verses, we see Jesus continues his prayer to the Father by acknowledging that he gave him authority over all flesh. Why? That he shall give eternal life to as many as you have given him, Jesus says. And this authority was made possible by Jesus going to the cross.

So from verse 2 alone, we can see that eternal life is through Jesus Christ and that he made possible for us by going to the cross. He's given us eternal life by him going to the cross. Then Jesus makes it plain in verse 3 when he said, this is eternal life that they may know you. Notice how he describes him. The only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Oh, I love these words Jesus uses to describe God. He calls God the Father the only true God as opposed to the false gods in this world.

Or the word know is gnosco, but it's in the certain tense that is used is gnoscosen. And it implies not just mere intellectual knowledge, but a deep intimate love relationship. It presents knowledge as a growing experience. Then Jesus called the Father the only true God. Only in the Greek is manos, and true is alethinos. And these attributes are are ascribed to only God throughout the scripture. They said God apart from all the false gods in the world. Or the question we have to ask ourselves is do we have a personal relationship with the only true God?

Which is a relationship that is based upon a growing relationship, not a relationship that's based upon we for us to come and sit in the chair whenever it's convenient for us. Do you have a personal relationship with this God? The only true God that is a growing relationship with him. Or do you worship the false gods of this world? Oh, there are many false gods out in the world that people are worshiping. In 1 Corinthians 8 and verses 5 and 6, it says, for even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there's only one God, the Father of whom are all things and we for him, and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we live.

So there are many false gods in the world. But for us, there's only one true God like Jesus tells us in these verses here through whom we have eternal life. The question that we have to pose to ourselves is what false God are you worshiping today? You say, well, what do you mean? Well, in biblical times, the false gods that the world worshiped then are the same ones people worship today today. Oh, let me give you an example. For example, there was Baal or Baal who was the God of power and control. And many people today, especially men, bow down to the altar of Baal today for power and control.

So you look for positions where you can be in control, you can be in charge. You you you run your house by the the worship of Baal through power and control. Or ladies, oh, you worship Baal as well. You use your body or your children to fight with in order to get your way and to have control over your husband or ex husband. Well, I've seen people worship at the altar of Baal all the time. So the worship of of Baal is alive and well today. Then there's the worship of Asterus. Asterus who was the goddess of sensuality and pleasure.

And many people bow down to her today. The phrase that is used by her worshipers is if it feels good, do it. And many people bow down to pornography and the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh and many sexual partners and the list goes on and on. The worship of Asterus is definitely alive and well today. The pornography industry is a multi-billion dollar industry today. If they just took the money from from pornography alone after a few years, it would erase the the deficit in America. And within a few years. So the worship of Asterus is alive and well today.

Oh, it continues. How about the God of Mammon? The God of Mammon was the God of money and prosperity. This mentality has even crept into the church through the false prosperity teaching that we see many televangelists on TV uh uh giving out this sort of false teaching. All we got to do is listen to what Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:10. He says, for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil for which some, watch this, have strayed concerning the faith and in their greediness pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

More money just means more sorrows to come into your life. More relatives, more co-workers, more friends wanting you to give them more and more. We read about and hear about all the time of kids from the from the inner city. They make it to the NFL or to the NBA. And there's a whole slew of neighborhood folks and friends and family members that that's on the payroll. More money means more sorrows. More money means more taxes that you pay. The very the very thing that brings sorrow into your life today, more money just means more sorrows, more of it.

And this is why the Bible is very clear when it comes to these kinds of things. Very clear. It's noticed it says, for which some have strayed concerning the faith. Oh, how I have seen many people stray from the faith all in the in the name of the love of money. And we see this all the time how the love of money has destroyed people's lives even in the church where people of my ilk dipping their hands in the money box like Judas did. And and deacons and folks and mishandling of money all in the name of the love of money.

So the worship of Mammon definitely you change jobs all because of the love of money. Not because of that career. No, you want the job that's going to pay you the most. And so you look for the job, not a job that you're going to love that it's a part of your passion. No, you look for the job that's going to have the most dollar signs to it. Oh, we the worship of Mammon is alive and well today. Alive and well today. And we and there's nothing wrong with education. We should be educated, but you get you want more and more education so you can get a better better higher paying job with more money.

It's all driven by the love of money, not because you want to better yourself through education. No, you want to get educated so you can get the job with the biggest dollar signs. The the worship of Mammon is alive and well today. Oh, we still have one more. Then there's the worship of Moloch. Moloch was the God of convenience. And to have the blessings of Moloch, you had to sacrifice your children on the altar of Moloch. And how many people are worshiping Moloch today, sacrificing your children on the altar of abortion and neglect all in the name of advancing your career?

And many people worshiping at the altar of Moloch, they say in their heart, well, you know, once the job is secure and I I've made it to the top, then I will reconnect with my wife and children. But the problem is kids grow up fast and time is lost and the opportunity dies on the altar of Moloch. So Jesus said, this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. And if you're worshiping any of these other false gods, you will not have eternal life. All you will have is more sorrow.

So Jesus was able to overcome the world because he was number one a man of prayer. If that's the case, how is your prayer life? If you are a person of prayer, you will also be a person who overcomes the world. If not, then you will not overcome the world. Your life will be filled with tribulation like Jesus said. All you got to do is look at your prayer life. Look at your prayer life. Do you only pray when troublesome times come your way? And then in times of plenty, in times of good, in times of success, then you know, God never even hears from you Oh, these are things we we have to look in our own lives and search our hearts about.

Look what it says there in verse 4. I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given me to do. Jesus prays in verse 4, I have finished the work which you have given me to do. Jesus was able to overcome the world because number two, he finished the work God gave him to do. See, God is glorified by obedience. We bring glory to God by allowing him to move in our lives and conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. In order for us to overcome this world like Jesus did, we must finish the work.

He gave us to do. It is one thing to finish the work God has given us to do. The real question is have we even started the work? Do we even know what it is God wants us to do? Oh, these are some soul searching questions we must ask ourselves. Do you even know why you're here on this earth? When I was out of town, I was speaking to the church and I I said some people think that it there is a the spiritual gift of sitting in the church chair. And some people have that gift very well.

You sit very well. And God bless you. We appreciate you sitting in a seat. But do you think that that's what God he will see you and heaven says, well done, my good and faithful servant. You sat in that seat so well down on earth. So come on up here and sit for a few zillion years. I don't think that's what's the case that's going to be the case. In order to know what God has called you to do, you must know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Once you have an intimate growing relationship with the only true God, then he will reveal to you what work he has for your life.

And the way that he will reveal it to you is by placing his will upon your heart. Uh Philippians 2:13 said, it is God who works in you both to will, that's desire, and to do the power to carry out his good pleasure. I am a pastor today because God placed this desire in my heart prior to me giving my life to the Lord. You couldn't pay me to be a pastor. For me, I saw a pastor is somebody up in church screaming at me at the folks there yelling, screaming and pacing back and forth and all that kind of stuff.

And while I sat on the back pew, went to sleep. That that was a and I you couldn't pay me to be one of those. Why am I a pastor today? Because when I gave my life to Jesus Christ, he placed his desire in my heart and the desire was to become a pastor. That's who I am. That's why 1 Timothy 3:1 says, if a man desires the office of pastor, he desires a good work. God placed that desire in me and God is so humble and so so so humble that he made it he made it think that he made me think that it was it was my desires.

And it was, but who placed it there? It was God. And I would think, you know, ah I I I would like to be a pastor. And I'm thinking it's all because of me and all. God said, I put that in you. I put it in you. If a man desires the office of pastor, he desires a good work. And now that I am a pastor, I want to finish the work God gave me to do. What about you? What about you? What stirs your heart? What passions do you have? What is it that you can do at the church for the kingdom of God that every day will seem like Christmas for you?

That's what God is calling you to do. And if every time you hear a a a plea for for opportunities to help in the children's ministry, if your heart stirs, that's what he's calling you to do. That's what he's calling you to do. If God is not calling you to do that, don't you get back there with those kids. We don't want you back there. Oh, shut up. Get over here. You know what? No, we don't want you back there. Come on over here. Find we'll get you do something else. But back there with those kids, you're not going.

Mm-mm. We had a security come to escort you out cuz that's not your calling. But the great thing about it, whatever it is God has called us to do, he will give us his Holy Spirit to empower us to do it. Now Acts 1:8 tells us and it says, and you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The Greek word for power is dunamis. It is it means miraculous power or ability. It is where we get our English word dynamic or dynamite.

It means that God will give us his dynamic power to finish the work he has given us to do. I'm only able to do what I'm doing because of God's dynamic power that's working in me. In order naturally speaking to do four Sunday morning services, that's only God's miraculous power enabling me to do four, enabling the worship team to do four. That's only God's miraculous power enabling and empowering us to do that. Look at verse 5. And now, oh Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was.

Oh, what a powerful verse. Jesus asked the Father to glorify him alongside of God with the glory which he had with him before the world was. Oh, Jesus is saying that he existed with the Father before the world was. Many people only think Jesus existed when he became a baby in Bethlehem. No, Jesus has always existed with the Father. Oh, John 1:1 tells us, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. And then verse 14 says, and the word became flesh speaking of Jesus Christ. And Jesus constantly tried to tell the the people this and each time they tried to stone him for blasphemy.

On one occasion in John 8 verse 58, Jesus said, before Abraham was, I am. Jesus was telling them that he was the God who spoke to Moses through the burning bush passage in Exodus 3 verse 14 and said, Moses, you want to know who to tell the people sent you, tell them I am that I am. Tell them I am sent you. And so the Jews thought that he was blaspheming God by making such a claim. But Jesus was saying now the great I am is here in human flesh to die for the sins of the world.

And so now Jesus is saying, Father, I have finished the work you have given me to do on this earth. Now, Father, glorify me. Give me the glory that I had with you before the world was. Oh, we got a glimpse of this glory in in Matthew 17 and verse 2 where it says that Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as light. Oh, that Greek word for transfigured is uh metamorphoo. And it it means a change of condition. It is where we get our English word metamorphosis from which is that biological process that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.

The deity of Jesus was shining through his humanity. And this leads me to the third reason Jesus was able to overcome the world is because number three, he was constantly being transformed. The same thing will happen to us if we want to overcome this world. Romans 12:2 says, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by, watch this, the renewing of your mind. Or the Greek word for transform is metamorphoo. And how are we transformed? Notice in our minds, in our thinking. The world wants to conform us to its mold by changing the way that we think from a biblical worldview to a worldly world worldview.

And God wants to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ by changing the way we think from a worldly worldview to a biblical worldview. So the question is, are you being conformed or transformed? And all you have to do to know which one is happening in your life, all you have to do is just listen to your speech. You say, what do you mean? Do you talk like the world or do you talk like the Bible? Your answer to this question will let you know whether you are being conformed or transformed. The first place transformation shows up is in our speech.

In in Matthew 12 verse 34 is out on the screen for you notetakers. It says, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So if Christ is in our hearts like Ephesians 3:17 says that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, if Christ is in our hearts and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak, the first place transformation shows up is in our speech. This was the first thing God cleaned up in my life when I accepted Christ in my life, in my heart. That was the first thing he began to clean up.

I had a dirty potty mouth. And God began to clean that within one week. Boom. All the four-letter words that I laced every sentence with, he began to clean all that up and after a period of time if one slipped out I was like I was horrified. This is the first place. So if you still four-letter four-letter words, you using all that kind of stuff and bees and this and you're not transformed. You're being conformed. Because a person that is transformed the first place it shows up is in this this thing, the speech. And so if that's if that's you, if you leave out of here you getting the car and you stringing a letter, stringing together a four-letter words, you're not you're not transformed.

I want to tell you that right now. You're being conformed and you just deceived yourself in thinking that, oh, because I came to church today I'm I'm being transformed. Oh, you being transformed some by sitting under this word. But I'm telling you what, all you got to do is listen to your speech. Listen to your speech. So what else did Jesus pray? Well, you got to stay tuned to next week and we'll pick it up in verse 6. Let me conclude with this. How do we overcome the world? Number one, by becoming a person of prayer.

So take time this week to exercise the muscle of prayer this week. God desires to speak to you face to face. And if you cannot look up into the heavens and speak to God face to face, whatever it is that's hindering that, whatever sin, whatever you are involved in, repent of that. There's going to be some people available to pray with you about these things. Number two, the way second way we can overcome the world is by finishing the work God has given us to do. This is done by starting the work. Starting. Have we even started?

Have we even started the work God has given us to do? And this starts by giving our life to Jesus Christ and watching him put his desires in our hearts. The third way that we are able to overcome the world is by constantly being transformed in our minds, by saturating our minds with the word of God. If we don't do this, this world will conform us, squeeze us into its mold by changing the way that we think from a biblical worldview to a worldly worldview. Finally, remember that eternal life is only by knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.

Do you know the only true God today? But you can. You can today. And as we close in prayer, there's going to be some people available to pray with you about these things. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your word. We pray, God, that you would Lord, we pray you would write this word upon our hearts that we might not sin against you. Lord, now I pray that your Holy Spirit will cause people to be drawn to you. This is this is your people's time to to respond to the word. And Lord, I pray that they will respond to you.

Lord, if anyone here has never repented of their sin and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, Lord, I pray that today they will believe that you died on the cross and was buried and rose again. And your word says, if they confess this, they shall be saved. Draw people to you today in Jesus' name. Amen.

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