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 6 through 13.

Tony Clark: Oh, the best way for us to overcome the world is by number four, manifesting the Father to those around us like Jesus did. Oh, the best way to do this is by spending time with the Father in prayer and Bible reading and studying. And when we do, you will hear them say to you what they said about the disciples in Acts chapter 4 verse 13. It says that they knew that they had been with Jesus. Can people say that about you? When they come around you, they should say, you know what? I can tell that you've been with Jesus.

Or when they come around you, they can say, I can tell you've been with the bottle. Or I can tell that you've been with the drugs again. Or I can tell you've been around the fellows or around the girls. Hey, let me tell you something. No matter who it is we're around, people can tell who we've been around. But can they say when they look at our lives after spending some time with us that they can tell that we have been with Jesus? And the only way to overcome this world is by manifesting or revealing the Father to those around us.

And we do this by spending time with the Father in prayer and Bible study. It reminds me of what 2 Corinthians 2:15 says. It's not on the screen for you note takers. It says, for we are to God the fragrance of Christ. And when we have spent time with Jesus, we will smell like him. Or or or our attitude will be pleasant. It will have a pleasant smell about our temper. We'll be sweet. We'll be a a a pleasure to be around. Oh, just look at your life presently. Do people like to be around you?

Or are people constantly avoiding you? When we spend time with the Lord, we we carry the fragrance of Christ with us. And people like to be around you. Oh, this is what we see here. And the only way we can manifest or reveal who God is to this world is by spending time with them. And when we spend time with them, then the Lord kind of rubs off on us. Or we saw this in Moses' life, didn't we? As Moses was up getting the Ten Commandments, when he came down, he began to glow. Oh, why did he glow?

Because the Bible says God is light and in him is no darkness at all. So you around God, then his light will rub off on you. And that's why Moses was glowing. When we're around the Lord, let me tell you something. Some of the Lord rubs off on us. That's why they told the disciples they can tell that they have been with Jesus. The next statement in verse 6 is critical for us to grasp and to understand. And notice how Jesus acknowledges that the disciples belong to the Father first and then was given to Jesus the Son.

Jesus said, notice in verse 6, they were yours. Oh, I try to get pastors to understand this fact all the time that the church is not their church. The people are not their people. The money at the church is not their money. It belongs to God. You are called the people of God. You are not my people. Now, you know, I joke and say you my people, but you know I'm just joking. I I I didn't die for any of you. Jesus did. So you belong to him. He purchased you with his own blood according to Acts 20 verse 28.

However, you belong to God the Father first, then was given to Jesus the Son. Then he said at the end of verse 6, and they have kept your word. Oh, is Jesus talking about you? Are you keeping his word? Now, the word in the Greek is logos. And it refers to the divine teachings of God as a whole. So are you keeping the word of God being taught to you? Oh, now I'm not saying that we will not sin or that we can reach some kind of state in our walk with God where we're living in perfect obedience.

I'm not talking about that, not at all. But are we presently keeping God's word? And we know that Jesus isn't referring to perfectly keeping his word because he's talking about the disciples. And we know from the gospel the disciples were a mess just like we are. But at the end of the day, they were trying to keep God's word. Look what it says there in verses 7 and 8. Now, they were uh now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you. For I have given them uh the words which you have given me and they have received them and have known surely that I came forth from you and they have believed that you sent me.

Now, in verse 7, Jesus says that he told the disciples everything the Father wanted them to know. Then Jesus continues in verse 8 that I have given them the words which you have given me. Oh, the Greek word for words is not logos, it's rhema. And it refers to a specific uh individual sayings of Jesus to specific people. For example, in John chapter 4 with the woman at the well, you remember, Jesus told her in uh John 4 in verses 16 through 18, he says uh go get your husband. She said, I don't have a husband.

He said, you're right, you don't have a husband and the one you living with is not your husband. Oh, can I pause right here and say the one you living with is not your husband? The one you living with is not your wife. Stop going around saying my wifey and my husband. It's not unless you got a ring and a piece of paper that says that you all married, that's not your wife. That's not your husband. I don't care what the common law says. In the eyes of God, that is not your husband. Oh, Jesus said that here.

And so Jesus gave her a rhema, a specific word for her in the form of a word of knowledge. Then in verse 14 of this chapter, Jesus says, I have given them your word. And in this verse, he uses logos. So Jesus is saying, Father, I have given them the logos, the teachings of your word and I've given them the rhema, a specific word for their lives. Or this leads to the fifth way that we can overcome the world is by number five, giving them the world, the logos, the teachings of Jesus and the rhema, a specific word from God's word.

It is hard for us to be conformed to this world while giving them God's word. Nothing is worse than someone professing to be a Christian, drinking alcohol and doing drugs and trying to talk to his or her buddies about the things of God, trying to sound all deep and spiritual. Well, see God. Pass me another brew. See the word. It's they sound foolish. And I've seen it a bunch of times, bunch of guys drinking, getting drunk, trying to talk about spiritual things. That is the worst. That is the worst. That's not what we talking about because your actions is erasing everything you're saying verbally.

And as you evaluate your ministry to your family and to those closest to you, are you giving them God word? If not, then I guarantee you that they, the world is giving you their words and you are slowly becoming just like them. Oh, see, this is something we have to see. We have to see is that you're either giving them the word of God and conforming them to becoming a Christian or they're giving you the words of the world and getting you to go back to your old life, back to your old ways and conforming you by giving you the world's words.

And I guarantee you one or two is happening. Somebody's getting conformed. Either you're conforming them with the word of God to become more like a Christian or they giving you the words of the world and you becoming like the world. One something is taking place. Oh, look at the ministry to your family, your co-workers and friends. Who's giving who the word? I guarantee you. All you have to do is listen to your speech and I can tell you who you been conformed to. If I hear you saying, well, you know, you say that that might offend them and everybody's offended and they or if you say that that 's hate speech, I'm going to say you you conforming to the world.

Cuz that's the language of the world that you mention anything biblical, that's hate speech. You're becoming like the world. But I'm telling you right now, one of the two is taking place. You be you either conforming them to becoming a Christian or they conforming you to be like the world. Somebody is being conformed. Who is it going to be? That's how you can tell what is happening in your own life. Look what it says there in verses 9 and 10. Says, I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me for they are yours.

And all mine are yours and yours are mine. And I am glorified in them. Then Jesus makes an amazing statement in verse 9. He says, I pray for them, referring to the 11 disciples. I do not pray for the world. Now, what in the world does he mean by that? Now, this doesn't mean the world of humanity of people that John 3:16 says. He's because he came to die for the sins of the world. So he's not talking about the world of humanity nor is he talking about the world of the trees and the rivers and streams and the sky.

The world that Jesus is referring to is the world system that is opposed to all that is godly. This system must be destroyed and judged and not saved. And this is what Jesus is referring to, this world system. However, he is praying for those who have been taken out of this world system through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Oh, we know this to be true because verse 9 continues by saying, I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me out of the world for they are yours. Or then he makes an amazing statement in verse 10.

He says, I am glorified in them. Oh, as we have seen um last week, the word glorify in Greek is doxazo. And that's a word that means to magnify or to extoll or to to praise. So Jesus is saying that he is praised and magnified in his disciples. No doubt this is referring to the lives that they will live for him that we see throughout the book of Acts that all of them except John gave their lives for him. And I just was thinking about this and I wonder if Jesus can say this about us today when he looks at our lives.

Can he say can he say I am being magnified and praised in the life of Tony or in the life of Jane or Bill or whatever your name is? Are we living lives that are manifesting Jesus Christ to this world? Oh, I pray we are. Keep in mind the word magnify means to make large. Are we making Jesus large so this world can see him? Or we trying to make ourselves large? We trying to glorify ourselves. We trying to put ourselves out there and all people are see is us. If magnify means to make large, then are we making large Jesus Christ by our lives?

When people look at our lives, it they saying, whoa, there's there is something godly. There's something about like Jesus about them. Jesus said when he looked at his disciples, he says, I am being magnified in my disciples. I just wonder can Jesus say that about us? When he looked at our lives, are we magnifying him or something else is going on? Look at verses 11 and 12. I can answer that question. All I got to do is just look at social media. Are we forever magnifying ourselves? Oh, we see this all the time. My goodness.

I I social media has just brought out the unholy trinity, me, myself and I. Oh, it has brought it out. All I see is just selfies and just stuff and uh uh Good gracious. Oh, we magnifying ourselves. I can answer that question. I don't have to put it in the form of a question. I can put it in the form of a statement. We're magnifying ourselves, not Jesus. All I got to do is you can say, well, no, I'm magnifying the Lord. All I have to do is say, let me see your social media. Oh, well, no.

There's a few pictures I need to take down, Pastor Tony, for you. We are so into us. And you know why the Bible says in the last days one of the signals and the characteristics of the last days in in 2 Timothy 3, men will be lovers of themselves. And we see it plastered on social media from this to this. We see it plastered from country to country, from nation to nation. Lovers of themselves. So I can answer the question. No, we not magnifying the Lord. We magnifying ourselves. Look at verses 11 and 12. It says, now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world and I come to you, holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me that they may be one as we are.

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me I have kept and none of them is lost except the son of perdition that the scriptures might be fulfilled. Now, in these verses, we see that the time of Jesus departing from them was near. And this is why Jesus said in verse 11, now I am no longer in the world and I come to you. Oh, Jesus longed to be with the Father because being on earth brought about certain limitations such as being in one location at one time, being sleepy and thirsty and hungry.

And the list goes on and on the the limitations associated with Jesus put in on human flesh. So he speaks in verse 11 as if he is already gone by the phrase, now I am no longer in the world. Then Jesus prayed that the Father would keep those given to given to him. Now, Jesus says in verse 12, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. On this leads me to the sixth way uh we will overcome the world which is by number six, allowing the Lord to keep us.

In in 1 Peter 1 verse 5 it says we are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation. Oh, that Greek word for the phrase who are kept is uh and and it means to post spies at a gate, to be a watcher in advance, to protect with a garrison. It was a military word. It means that our salvation is kept by God and he is standing post over our salvation. And with him standing watch, who is able to steal us away? Then Jesus said in verse 12 that those whom you gave me I have kept and none of them is lost except the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled, which is a reference to Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus.

He chose by his own will to betray him. He chose the course of action that led to his destruction and as a result led to the scriptures being fulfilled. See, God is not going to make anyone stay with him. If we want to be kept, God will keep us. If we want to walk away, God will spend time. He I love how some people put it. If we want to walk away, God will send the hounds of heaven after us. He will send people to come after us. He will use a message on the radio or TV.

He will use a sermon at church like this one to get you to turn around and come back to Jesus. But if you're insisting on walking away after all of this like Judas did, then you too will experience a destruction in your life, which is what perdition means. Perdition means destruction. It means wasteful. Maybe you hear today and you are experiencing a destruction in your life. It seems like your life is wasting away. Since you have gone astray in your heart, your career is experiencing destruction, your marriage, your family going through some kind of destruction seem to be wasting away.

If this is the case, let me plead with you to turn away and run back to God, the God who loves you and wants to keep you. He wants to bless your life and not destroy it or see it waste away. Come back to him while there is still time. God wants to fill your life with joy. He wants your life experiencing a joy. You said, well, how do you know this? Oh, look at verse 13. Says, but now I come to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

Oh, once again, Jesus is longing to be with the Father by saying, but now I come to you. As Jesus is praying to the Father, he is wanting them to experience the joy he has for being obedient to the Father. Oh, you have to understand there is a joy we experience by being obedient to God's word. I have found in my own life personally when there's a sadness and a depression and a sense of despair, I I guarantee you it's because I I'm being disobedient to the word of God. Every time I'm disobedient to the word, there's a sadness, there's a depression, a despair that come upon my life.

And I am happiest when I'm obedient to the word of God. When I'm obedient to the word of God, there's a joy unspeakable, full of glory. There's a joy that is my strength, like the Bible said, the joy of the Lord is my strength. There's a joy that I can't even imagine. I'm blown away by it. But whenever there is that sadness and that depression and that sense of despair, I began to evaluate my life and say, ah aha that thing. And that and I'm please, don't write me some kind of letters and send something talking about I'm not talking about some clinical kind of depression kind I'm not talking about that.

So please save your letters and all that stuff at this state in ministry. I will not read them. I'm going to tell you that now, will not will not read them. So I'm not talking about that. But I I'm talking about the depression and sadness associated with sin. That's what I'm talking about. And whenever there's a a a sadness and depression and despair in my life, it's because I'm being disobedient to God in some area. Guarantee it. And that's how it's been in my life. What else did Jesus pray? Well, we got to pick it up next week in verse 14.

I wanted to get to verse 19, but I wasn't able to. Wasn't able to. Let me let me let me conclude with this. In this study, we saw three more ways we can overcome the world and number four by revealing the Father to those around us. So spend time with God and his word so that those around you can tell that you've been with Jesus. You want you want and here's the thing. They also can tell when you have not been with Jesus. So spend time with God and his word. And I guarantee you the people around you would know that you've been with Jesus.

And number five, given the world God's word. Spend time this week in God's word and God will use that word that you've been meditating on to minister to those around you. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in Matthew 4, Luke 4, Jesus defeated him by using the word of God. He quoted uh Deuteronomy 6:13, Deuteronomy 6:16, Deuteronomy 8:3. If you notice that is a small section of scripture, I guarantee you Jesus had been meditating on Deuteronomy chapter 6 and 8. And that was the word God used to give him the victory in his life.

And that would be the very word God used to give you the victory and give you a word for those around you. I guarantee spend time in the word of God. And if I go around and say, what is the one thing you need to do more, all of you will say, I need to be in the word more. Duh. Satan knows when you get in that word, now you have the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, that you can do some damage against his kingdom. That's why he would do all he can to keep you out of the word.

Spend time in the word of God. The last thing, number six, is allowing the Lord to keep us. If you want to be kept, God will be around you like a military garrison. And he will keep you. But if you want to insist on walking away, God will come after you in a variety of ways. Why? Because he loves you. But if you insist on walking away, there will be a destruction that will come. And God is trying to keep this from happening to you. God knows what happens when destruction, the consequences of our bad decisions.

He knows what happens. There's a destruction. He wants to keep that from happening to you. So this is why if he's pleading with you, that's why the Bible said, for we are to God ambassadors of Christ as though God were pleading through us to be reconciled to God. And God is pleading through me to you, come back to God so the destruction can stop, so it can stop. And God is speaking to some people today. We're going to have some people available to pray with you up front. Afterwards, this is your opportunity to come back to him.

Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for this time in your word. We pray, God, that you would just do a work in our hearts, that you would write this word upon our hearts that we might not sin against you. And Lord, I pray for those who are experiencing some sort of destruction in their lives today. Lord, I pray God that you would draw them to you. I pray for those who are experiencing a sadness or a depression because of sin. I pray that they would confess those things to you. And finally, Lord, I pray for those who've never repented of their sin and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.

I pray that today will be the day of salvation for them that you would draw them to you like you've done for many of us here. Do a work, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

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