Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: Our calling is this radical Christianity saying, "My purpose is not my gain, not my reward, not my relaxation; my purpose is the glory of Christ. I am here to protect His name, and as I protect His name, sometimes that means that God will call me into affliction."

Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Bryan shares the second half of a lesson from John 17. In studying this passage, Dr. Chapell highlights the ultimate calling that God has placed on our lives to bring glory to the Father and point others to Him.

You can find this lesson and many others when you visit UnlimitedGrace.com. And while you're there, look for Pastor Bryan's book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis. This compelling book asks the question of the church: what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the second half of the lesson, "I Am Coming."

Bryan Chapell: I'm going to ask that you look in your Bibles there, John chapter 17, as we continue to look at this prayer of Jesus that was at the end of the Last Supper, but whose message is about God's unending care for us. Let's stand together and I will read this portion of God's word, John 17, verses 10 through 19.

Jesus is praying to the Father and he says, "All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you would take them out of the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth."

Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, sanctify us in truth; your word is truth. Take that very word which your Holy Spirit has given and so open our hearts to it that our lives would be transformed and we would be reflective of that transcendent purity of Jesus Christ, which He gave us as a gift by His grace.

Yet nonetheless, would be reflected in our lives with power that would not only change us but would change those to whom we witness of the God who sanctifies us by a cross. Would you so work the truths of your word in us that we might be the witnesses of the glory of Jesus? This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated.

What would it mean to believe deeply and fully that my witness of Christ through pain or suffering or difficulty, which nonetheless pointed glory to Him rather than goodness to me, that that were my highest goal? Some of you will know the writings of Andreas Sue Peterson, a wonderful Christian writer who's had a really tough life.

After her first husband died, some decade later, she married again and recently wrote these words: "It just so happens that my second husband has been beset by affliction ever since shortly after our wedding. This pushes all my buttons in a way that only God and I can fully appreciate. Rather than saying, 'Lord, I see your hand in all this,' I tend just to get freaked out. Why is this happening?"

One Sunday, after my husband was not able to attend Sunday school because of his pain, my frustrated desire came out sideways. I said to him, "I thought we were going to serve the Kingdom of God together." Subtext: Now we can't do any amazing cutting-edge things for the Kingdom because you're sick in bed and I have to take care of you.

I realized I was frustrated, she wrote, because I had a mental blueprint of the future. I thought that my 20-year plan of ministry was to be a duo that was indispensable to God. I was annoyed because I believed that I knew best what the Kingdom needed. And it needed a healthy husband, and it needed a wife who was engaged in lots of good Christian activity. I could conceive of the matter no other way.

So what do I do now? I can choose to rage against the dying of my dream, or I can suppress outward complaining and adopt a stoic resignation. Or I can forsake both of those wretched alternatives and I can really say, "Father, I praise you for giving me exactly the right husband at exactly the right time. For had it not been for this affliction, how could I have seen the extent of joy in my husband's faith in nothing but Jesus?"

If it had not been for this affliction, how could I have worked past the fear of man's expectations and worldly desires that have so often gripped me? Lord, your plan is better than anything I had cooked up. Beside, who wants to be 80 and pacing the floor muttering, "It's all my husband's fault," or, "It's all God's fault," or, "It's all my parents' fault," or whoever else? As for me and my partner, we have determined to take whatever adventure Jesus plans for us and glorify Him in it.

It's tough. But the world is tough. And if our only perception is, wait, Jesus promised me Easy Street, then when we face real difficulties in the world, we are going to feel absolutely betrayed. Wait, I'm a believer. I'm a Christian. I trust in Jesus. Why am I going through this?

Because He said our highest goal is not our satisfaction with the world; our highest goal is satisfaction in the world through Jesus Christ. To believe that God is calling us to be witnesses of a purpose that may be earthly sacrifice for the sake of others' eternal beach party.

Maybe that's not said strongly enough, so Jesus even says it more strongly. In verse 14, He reminds us that sanctification is not only not being satisfied by the world, it's not even being accepted by the world. Remember verse 14? Jesus, again praying to the Father, speaks of His disciples this way: "I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

Do you recognize if our purpose, our highest calling, is to live for the glory of Jesus, we are going to face pushback first from the evil one and then the world that he controls? And we should actually heads-up baseball be prepared for that. That's going to be the reality of those who are living for Christ.

You could be a baker in Colorado who decides that it is not honoring to God to prepare wedding cakes for same-gender married couples, and be told by an American judge that you will now be penalized and fined so much it will destroy your business. And we go, well, what a surprise. Why is that a surprise? I'm not justifying it at all, but I'm saying Jesus said the world will hate you if you stand for the purposes of Christ.

And that's not some ancient problem. That is the reality in which we live and the world around us experiences. Why would we think we wouldn't experience it? So that we have Christian brothers and sisters in Raqqa, Syria right now who are in a town controlled by Al-Qaeda.

As a consequence of being in that town, the Christians alone are required to pay a fee in order to be protected by Al-Qaeda. Nobody else has to pay the fee. Just Christians, in order to be protected, quote-unquote, by Al-Qaeda.

Or you could be the whole nation of Uganda. A nation that, believe it or not, has a higher percentage of Christians than this country does. And as a consequence, in recent months has passed laws formally outlawing the practice of homosexuality. For that reason, the Secretary of State in this country this last week has said, "We will deny humanitarian aid to Uganda if they don't change their laws and allow the practice of homosexuality."

That's our nation that is saying that's what Uganda must do. And you think for the Christians of Uganda, what would they think? Well, they would think Jesus was not of this world, and we're not of this world, and to live for Him is to expect that the world will hate you.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the one-year death of Jeremiah Small. Christian English teacher, 33 years old, serving in Northern Iraq in a Christian school. A year ago yesterday, while he was teaching his English class, one of his students walked to the front of the class and shot him in the head and chest.

Now you must know that the student who shot him was the grand-nephew of the President of Iraq. Jeremiah Small knew it was likely to occur. A week before that happened, he actually said to friends, "I have a student in my class who wants to kill me, but I am willing to have earthly sacrifice for the sake of the eternity of others."

It wasn't just Jeremiah; his whole family was of the same perspective. And so when it came time to have his funeral a year ago, they did not bring his body back here to the United States. But in order that the Muslim students could hear of Jesus Christ, they decided to have his funeral in Iraq and invited not only the Muslim students but the family of the one who had murdered him so that they would all hear the name of Jesus.

Because they said, "Our purpose is the glory of Jesus." That is my life's highest goal. It is not ease, it is not even another day of life if that is my calling. My calling is to glorify the name of Jesus. That is my highest and greatest purpose.

Let me tell you just one more piece of this. Here we are a year from that time. There are now roughly 2,000 students in the Christian school that Jeremiah Small was a part of. 95% of them are Muslim, who are hearing day after day after day because of that witness and testimony and 27 other, by the way, Christian teachers, the testimony of Jesus Christ because they are not expecting the world to accept them; they are expecting to give their lives for the glory of Jesus.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era when 90% of Americans identified as Christians. These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils.

At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular pluralistic culture. These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye.

In his new book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis, Dr. Bryan Chapell asks the question: what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? This practical and helpful book is backed by thorough research, revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church, and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world.

You can request your copy of The Multi-Generational Church Crisis when you donate online at UnlimitedGrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. And now more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: Did you catch what Jesus was saying? He said not only was His goal to be sanctifying His people, but to be sending them. Verse 18: "Father, as you have sent me into the world, I have sent my disciples into the world." He recognized full well that there would be hostility in the world, but the answer is not evacuation or isolation.

Jesus, if my disciples' highest goal is my glory and they will face pushback and the evil one and the hostility of the world, what should they do? Go dead into it. Our calling is this radical Christianity saying, "My purpose is not my gain, not my reward, not my relaxation; my purpose is the glory of Christ. I am here to protect His name, and as I protect His name, sometimes that means that God will call me into affliction."

And he will call me into sacrifice for the sake of others to financially help others, to steward the witness of a church that's been here for generations. It may be hard and tough and difficult, but that's what I'm called to do. Not to evade the difficulty, but to go into it. I am sent to be a witness of the glory of God. That is my calling.

Jeremiah, just weeks before his death, wrote these words: "Even the things that don't feel good are good because God has purposed them all to accomplish His good for His glory." Jeremiah didn't know in that moment he was talking about his own death, but it's exactly what happened. It was being arranged for Christ's glory and ultimately for the good of many, for the eternity of others. That's what he was living for.

Why would he do that? Why would he say, "My chief goal is to protect the purposes of Jesus"? Because he's part of that family. Fundamentally, deep down he knows that's my family. I am protecting the name of Jesus and all who call upon His name. That is my purpose.

It's higher than any other. It's not about being goody-two-shoes. It's not about living separately in such a way that people say what a nice, friendly, whatever you are. It's about saying, "I am living for Jesus and that glory is my highest purpose." That's what I'm sent to do and that's my calling.

How do I do that? How do I fulfill that calling? By recognizing our greatest power is knowing what we're called to do. Isn't it interesting that Jesus, who said we're called to be this sanctified witness in the world, tells us how it's going to happen? Verse 17. He prays to the Father: "Sanctify them, these disciples, sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."

If we are going to be living for the glory of Jesus, how do we do that? Well, part of the answer is just knowing what to do. And that's what the word of God is about. It's telling us as we're facing the challenges of the evil one, as we're facing the pushback of the world, what are we supposed to do?

The standards of living and the standards of loving and the standards of caring for others and resisting evil, they are in God's word. I love it. I love it that this church is willing to post on the video wall and parents encourage their kids to be well-versed kids.

Because what we've said deep in our hearts is we know this word of God is protection for all that life is going to throw at our young people. And they are well prepared if they simply know what to do. "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path."

But in that same Psalm, the psalmist writes: "If I had not meditated upon your law, I would have perished." There's too many things to devastate us, to worry us, to be inexplicable in this world. If we don't have the word of God that says ultimately we live according to what God says because we know there is a greater purpose than we can explain.

God is calling us to protect the name of Jesus for the eternity of many, and that's what we're living for. As we finish today, I want you to just let your eyes fix on verse 19 for a moment. Jesus is at the end of this portion of his prayer saying, "For his disciples' sake, Father, I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." What does he mean, consecrate himself?

To consecrate means to put aside for a holy purpose. What is Jesus consecrating himself to do? To love us, sinful, weak, and frail; to love us enough to die for us. To put his life in holiness aside for the sake of our eternity.

And when I know that, that He has consecrated himself to sanctify in His truth, what He's saying is, "I'm showing them how great is my love for them, so they will love being part of the family, and they will love being one with others who are part of the family, and they will actually love living and if necessary, dying for the family." Because they know how great is my love, they love me back.

Listen, you know the word of God. How many of you, perhaps much of your lives, you know what's right and wrong, all those things, but what we struggle with is actually living what we know. And so Christ ends this great portion of his word on sanctification by saying, "Ultimately, Father, what they have to focus upon is that I love them and gave myself for them." Because what motivates us to walk after Him and to live for Him is ultimately hearts filled up with His grace.