To the Praise of His Glory Part 1 John 17: NCBC, December 11, 2016

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1 To the Praise of His Glory Part 1 John 17: NCBC, December 11, 2016 Main Point: The glory of God is the ultimate purpose of upward ministry. Purpose: The Glory of God (1-5) Path: Doctrinal Soundness (6-12) Path: God-Directed Mission (13-19) Path: Relational Wholeness (20-26) matter how long your soul has been locked in the dungeon of sin, God s love is a rescuing love. God s love is the key that unlocks the prison of sin and changes your very heart so that you might be able to really love again. We gather to worship God today because He has first loved us. He showed us the full extent of His love when He sent Jesus Christ to the cross to die in our place even while we were running away from Him in our selfjustified sin. Application: Delight in the beauty of Christ s holiness. Opening Announcements: Christmas Program Next Sunday during ABF hour. That s what this Christmas season is all about we remember and celebrate together how God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son to come be born as the God-man so that He might become our sinsacrifice to bring us safely into God s family. <<Hallelujah, What a Savior>> So now please prepare for the public reading of Scripture from the John chapter 17. The love of God is stronger than a warm feeling. The love of God is stronger than someone caring for you. The love of God is a transforming and rescuing love. No If you don t have a Bible with you this morning, please catch the attention of the ushers now. You are welcome Page 1a of 12 Page 1b of 12

2 to take this Bible home as our gift to you, or just simply return it after our service by placing it on the table in the back of the room. Remember how last week I showed you some photos from model of the Tabernacle? Well today we all have a tremendous privilege for we get to consider a Scripture passage that many commentators have called the holy of holies in all of the Gospel accounts. In John 17, we get to listen to God the Son pray to God the Father yes even for us. The words are simple enough for a child to understand yet the message is profound and incomprehensible in all of its glory. For in this chapter we listen in to the true Lord s prayer. We don t know for sure where Jesus prayed this prayer. It s possible He may have prayed it before they all left the upper room. Or He prayed it on the way. But this we do know Jesus prays for Himself, He prays for His disciples, and He prays for the church to come. Yes that means this chapters provides us with a hint of Christ s continuous intercession for you as revealed in Romans 8:34. And what a summary this prayer is of all the teaching that Christ has taught the disciples on this fateful night before His arrest. You will find our text on page in the giveaway Bibles this morning. In honor of God s Word, I d invite you to stand as I read from the ESV translation of John 17: 17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the Page 2a of 12 Page 2b of 12

3 world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 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. 12 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. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 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. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. This is our Lord s prayer for us. Please be seated. Let s Pray. Glory. What do you think of when you hear the word? Some might think of a movie by that title. Some might think of the old American flag. And others might think of the highest praise they ve accomplished on this earth. Glory. The word has fascinated my attention in recent weeks, as I ve started to notice it all over the Scriptures. Psalm 19:1, the heavens declare the glory of God. 1 Peter 1:24, All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the grass Romans 3:23, All have sinned, and fall Page 3a of 12 Page 3b of 12

4 short of the glory of God. And then in this prayer 8 different times, Jesus speaks of glory. Like John Owen said in his highly recommended book on The Glory of Christ, The Gospel of John is well acquainted with glory. 1 In John 1:14 we learn that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. At the first wedding in Cana in Galilee, Jesus was said to have manifested His glory with His first miracle. 2 In John 8:54, Jesus answers the Jews saying, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me In the Upper Room we ve already encountered this word. In chapter 13 after Judas leaves their midst, Jesus says in verses 31-32, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him at once. Then in chapter 14:13, Jesus assures the disciples that He will answer their prayers so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. In chapter 15, Jesus taught the disciples that the Father is glorified by their bearing of much fruit, and then in 16:14, Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit will glorify Christ, for He will take what is His and declare it to His disciples. So here in Jesus prayer we again encounter the glory of God. Why the emphasis on glory in Jesus prayer? Remember, Jesus wanted to encourage them. 1 John 1:14; 2:11; 5:41, 44; 7:18, 39; 8:50, 54; 9:24; 11:4, 40; 12:16, 23, 28, 41, 43; 13:31, 32; 14:13; 15:8; 16:14; 17:1, 4, 5, 10, 22, 24; 21:19. 2 John 2:11 Jesus was not concerned that his disciples should merely see how glorious He was, but that the beholding of His glory might bring encouragement, strength, satisfaction and blessedness to His disciples.. The Lord Christ desired that His disciples should see His glory in order that they might be filled with joy and happiness for evermore. Only a sight of His glory, and nothing else, will truly satisfy God s people. I believe our Puritan friend John Owen has much to teach us on this point. For according to Isaiah 43:7, God created you and me for His glory. And so no other glory can ever satisfy our souls. We were made to see and to savor the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 3 Jesus prays for glory because that s both the source and aim of the Gospel of God. The glory of God is the ultimate and defining purpose for all things. And so for today and next 3 2 Corinthians 4:4-6. Page 4a of 12 Page 4b of 12

5 Sunday as we close this preaching series by meditating on this prayer, we must conclude that, The glory of God is the ultimate purpose of upward ministry. Every church. Every ministry. Every person who was ever created has the defining purpose by the Creator to bring glory and honor and praise to God through our response to the revelation of Jesus Christ. And while no self-respecting Christian would ever argue with our main point this morning, we must confess that often the glory of God is not the driving purpose behind our practical living and ministry. We can become gloryrobbers seeking to honor our own names more than the Name above all other names. Or sometimes, we just get misguided in our efforts. Our ministry compass can start pointing us in the wrong direction after being overwhelmed by strong magnetism of this world. Remember this diagram from our study of chapter 13 back in October, Some churches and ministries can become mancentered when they neglect the glory of God and only focus on the love of God. The love of God demands a first-cause. It will either be the worthiness of man, or the glory of God. Man-centered ministries suffer an earth-bound blight that fails to satisfy souls who were made to be staggered with the supremacy and sufficiency of God in all of His glory. So as we conclude this year s focus on spiritual leadership development may Christ s prayer from John 17 serve to awaken our hearts with a fresh zeal for the glory of God. The glory of God is the ultimate purpose for our lives, and for our ministry. New Castle Bible Church ultimately exists for the glory of God. Perhaps a diagram will serve us well as we work through this prayer from this angle. Page 5a of 12 Page 5b of 12

6 The glory of God is the ultimate purpose for all upward ministry. This is how Jesus starts His prayer in the first 5 verses, and this is the theme at the end of His prayer in verses 22 and 24. So today our focus is going to be entirely on this purple box on the glory of God, and what this means for our practical lives and ministry. But the rest of this prayer highlights the three necessary means, or paths, that lead to God s glory. These will be our focus next Sunday, but for now, I want to introduce you to the wisdom of God s design for His people and their lives. In verses 6-12, Jesus prays that the disciples would be kept in God s Name. That they would receive His Word, believe His Word, proclaim His Word and keep His Word. This part of Jesus prayer summarizes the necessary means of doctrinal soundness. In order for a church to bring glory to God, it must be aligned to the teachings of Scripture. In verses 13-19, Jesus continues to emphasize the role of His Word in the disciples sanctification, but in verse 18 He prays, As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. Here Jesus is praying that the disciples might faithfully walk on the path of their Page 6a of 12 Page 6b of 12

7 These 3 orange boxes which reflect the content of Jesus prayer in John 17, represent the biblically necessary means of God-centered ministry. Let s make sure you get this. God-directed Mission. In order to live and minister for the glory of God, you must have missional faithfulness. And then at the end of this prayer, Jesus prays for the church who would come through the ministry of the apostles. And how would you summarize this part of His prayer? That all who believe in Christ be one. Unity. Relational wholeness. God s glory necessarily requires doctrinal soundness, faithfulness to the God-directed mission, and relational wholeness, or love. Could you imagine a church that progresses far down the path of Doctrinal Soundness, or Truth, but fails entirely at relational wholeness, or Love? Sure. But such a ministry falls short of the glory of God. Or consider a ministry that leaves the God-directed mission of making disciples who observe all that Christ has taught us, and instead adopts a different but well-meaning humanitarian, or ecological, or political mission upon which to focus their energies. Although they may have a good doctrinal foundation, and though they may excel in relational wholeness, their ministry no longer glorifies God as He has intended. For they ve ceased to serve as the Holy Spirit s witness for sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. And what about the church that just becomes unconscious of the purple purpose altogether. Without Page 7a of 12 Page 7b of 12

8 this true north of the glory of God this church will make one of its means, its end. Disciple-making or the Goddirected mission may now become the purpose of the church. But making the mission of the church the ultimate purpose of the church will only make us mancentered over time. For there is no disciple-making in heaven but certainly the church has a purpose in heaven. The church with all of its individual believers has been created for the glory of God. And so it s important for all ministries to be self-aware enough to assess our true purpose. Our God-given means must not become our end purpose. Only the glory of God can truly satisfy the human soul. Only the glory of God is powerful enough to motivate growth and forward progress along each of these necessary ministry paths. Both corporately as a church family, and individually as we seek to grow more and more into the head, heart, and hands of Christlikeness all by God s amazing grace. Since our ultimate purpose in living is the glory of God, let s start by asking what is God s glory? Like I taught you back in October, God s glory is very hard to define. It s like trying to define biblical joy. It s hard to put the fullness of its meaning into words. But I appreciate Pastor John Piper s definition, Here at New Castle Bible Church, we must grow in our understanding of and appreciation for the glory of God. For it is only as we behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ that we will find the strength and joyful desire to live for God s pleasure in these last days. The glory of God is the manifest beauty of His holiness. The going public of God s holiness is the glory of God. Remember Isaiah 6, Holy, Holy, Holy, the whole earth is full of His glory. When Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem in order to reveal the holiness of God Himself Page 8a of 12 Page 8b of 12

9 to man, the angels declared together, Glory to God in the Highest! The glory of God is the very essence of God Himself. For the Israelites the Shekinah glory of God was the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night.4 But ever since that first Christmas, Jesus Christ has revealed the glory of God to mankind. Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. And Jesus taught us in John 14:9, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. In other words, the Word became flesh, and we have seen His glory for the glory of God is the display of God s character and work. So creation, Jesus, and yes even Christ s church has the purpose of putting God s holiness on display. God s holiness is His incomparable and unique Godness. God is Holy meaning He s entirely other. He s separate from everything else. There s no other being like our God and His glory is how His holiness is made known to us! How did Jesus glorify the Father? Jesus says in verse 4, I have glorified you on the earth. In other words, I have revealed your holiness the beautiful radiance of your God-ness to the world. And through this prayer, we find seven ways Jesus revealed God s character and work in the earth. So remember our boxes if we are created for God s glory then our ultimate purpose for living and serving is to put the beauty of God s holiness on display. To glorify God is to give others a right opinion of all the manifold perfections of His character. So with that introduction, let s consider Christ s prayer and ask ourselves, First, in verse 2, we see that Jesus used the authority that was given Him as the Son of God to grant eternal life to the elect. Ephesians 1 gives further testimony of how such saving grace to undeserving sinners is to the praise of God s glory! 4 Exodus 13:20-22 Page 9a of 12 Page 9b of 12

10 In verse 4, Jesus testifies that He finished or accomplished, all the work of salvation that He came to do. Here, even before His arrest, the plan was complete and finished in Jesus mind. Verse 6 probably provides the greatest summary statement of how Jesus glorified the Father through His ministry when He says, I have manifested your Name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. I ve revealed your Name in other words, your character. They knew you as the great I Am. But they were ignorant of who you really were, and what you were really like. So I came and showed them that I am the light of the world. I am the bread of life. I am the way. I am the stumbling-block. I have made known your holy goodness to the elect. the character and work of God on display. The glory of God is the manifest beauty of God s holiness. And so Jesus glorified God on the earth. He revealed the distinctive perfection, worth, and greatness of God, and honored the Father as worthy of all praise and adoration. In truth, the glory of God was the ultimate purpose of Christ s earthly ministry. And so it should be for us as well. In verse 8, and 14, Jesus gives further expression about how He glorified the Father for He gave His people God s words. And as He communicated God s words to His people, He kept all of them but Judas from falling, verse 12. In verse 18 Jesus commissioned His people to the mission of making disciples for the glory of God, and in verse 22, Jesus says I have given the glory that you have given me to the church so that they may be united together. This glory here points to His Spirit by whom His church would continue to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as the Spirit would seek to glorify Christ by declaring all of His words to His people. The glory of God needs to be the ultimate purpose and aim of all of our lives and ministry together here at New Castle Bible Church. Certainly it is easy to observe how Jesus glorified the Father. Remember what God s glory is? God s glory is The only way that we can know God today is through Jesus Christ whom He has sent to reveal Himself to us. For the only way to know God is to know His glory. And what did verse 3 say, This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Page 10a of 12 Page 10b of 12

11 We can know the glory of God today through the face a personal relationship with Jesus Christ the God-Man. If you don t love the glory of God, then you cannot say you love God Himself. For the glory of God is how we know His presence and His incomparable goodness. The glory of God is manifest beauty of His holiness. So this week, as you continue to prepare to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus Christ, be sure to don t know Christ! John 5:44 says, how can you believe, when you do not seek the glory that comes only from God? To have eternal life is to know Christ and there is nothing that is more satisfying to our souls than gazing upon the glory of God. The glory of God is more than just our purpose for living it s the very delight of our hearts, and yearning of our souls. This is in fact what Christ prayed for you and me in verse 24 of His prayer listen carefully to this. This is your Savior s prayer for you: Father I desire that [put your name here] also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me Delight in the beauty of Christ s holiness. And here s what I mean by this. Pay attention as you read your Bible every day this week. And make a note of every time you see the word, Glory. Highlight every occurrence. Maybe mark it with a crayon. But pay attention to the glory of God. To the beauty of His revelation of Himself to us. And delight in knowing God. This is what it means to be saved and have eternal life. If you are bored with my delivery of this message this morning I m sorry that s on me. But if you re bored with the content of this message this morning then you Did you catch that? Jesus is praying for your sight. Jesus is praying that you would truly see Him for who He really is in the beauty of His holiness. Jesus is praying that you would see Him, so that your life would help to show Him to others so that they also might see Him, and savor Him, and serve Him with all of their soul s delight. May those who really know Christ live and minister to the praise of His glory in His church, and throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. 5 5 Ephesians 1:12, 3:21. Page 11a of 12 Page 11b of 12

12 Let s pray our Benediction now as we are dismissed, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 Amen. Page 12a of 12 Page 12b of 12