A House of Prayer: Part 4
Priests after the High Priest
Introduction
I want to title this week’s sermon, “Priests After the High Priest”. What do I mean by that? Well, we are a royal priesthood according to 1 Peter 2:9. We, as priests, are to be priests after the likeness of our High Priest. And, as a royal priesthood we have Jesus Christ leading us as our High Priest. We as priests are to be like the High Priest. His life is the model and we are reproductions. What is in us will come out of us. Jesus’ life is a life of prayer. His life is in us. Therefore, our lives will be lives of prayer. Prayer will be the outward expression of the life of Christ in us.
Last week we began John 17, a chapter that opens up to us the High Priest’s heart for intercessory prayer. The eternal importance of this chapter has not gone without notice. Great men of the Church’s history have given some of the most revent and most grand statements about the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus Christ found in John 17. Matthew Henry said, “It is the most remarkable prayer following the most full and consoling discourse ever uttered on earth.” Philip Melanchthon said, “There is no voice which has ever been heard, either in heaven or in earth, more exalted, more holy, more fruitful, more sublime than the prayer offered up by the Son to God Himself.” Andrew Murray has called this a “precious legacy” for the disciples.
J. Vernon McGee said he “felt wholly and totally inadequate to deal with this prayer.” And I must say I feel the same way. I don’t believe any man can enter into the deepest part of Jesus Christ’s own prayer room, and after being immersed in His holiest of words, could ever come out confident that he can speak of them to men. There is such perfection and glory in this prayer - what could I add? What could I say to bring us any deeper into understanding the heart and ambition of Christ?
We know Jesus prayed all night on many occasions. We know He got up early many times to pray. But we know very little of what He said. In John 17 the heart of Christ is opened wide to us and we see that most holy, sublime, and supreme of all communion in the heavens. This, of all passages ought to seize our attention as we are allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies in prayer communion between the Father and Son.
This prayer took place on the night before He was crucified. The most terrible of suffering was upon Him and in this victory prayer Jesus focused Himself on the certainty of its passing and His entering into glory. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Such is our model. What may be upon you today? What bed of suffering have you been cast on? What wave of misery has the world rushed over you? Do not forget that the last words Jesus spoke before this prayer were 16:33, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
STRUCTURE: John 17 is traditionally divided into 3 parts: 1) The Lord prays for Himself (v1-5), 2) The Lord prays for the disciples (v6-19), 3) The Lord prays for believers of all time (v20-26).
In this High Priestly Prayer, Jesus shows us His heart. Let us learn from Him what should be the heart of our praying, as Priests after the High Priest.
Priests Live to Pray (v6-8)
Priests Live to Pray. I mean that in more than one sense. First, that prayer should be an important and ongoing part of our lives. But, secondly, Priests live to Pray means that the lives we live are godly and holy lives so that our prayers are not hindered.
Jesus Lived to Pray. If we look at verses 6-8 we will see that His life was one of submission to the will of His Father in everything. Jesus says in verse 6, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world…” Chapter 1:18 says about Jesus, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.”
This is confirmed by the fact that the disciples “obeyed His word” (v6b), “know that everything that Jesus has was given to Him by the Father” (v7), “they accepted the words of Jesus” (v8a) and “they knew with certainty” the things that Jesus told them. The purpose of Jesus in this world was to show to the world who the Father is. That was His work on earth, and that is the work that brought glory to the Father according to verse 4. “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”
What is the point of all this? How does this apply to us? What we see here is that the prayers that are heard in heaven, that is, prayers that are answered, are those prayers that are backed up by a life lived for the glory of God.
Notice the progression in this prayer here. First, Jesus begins with a focus on the glory of God (v1-5). Second, in verses 6-8, we see that Jesus has abided in the Father’s will and done the will of the Father. Then, in verses 9-26 He finally begins to intercede for the disciples. It is important to notice that Jesus does not ask anything of the Father for His disciples until verse 9. There is a progression in the first 8 verses of Jesus prayer and when we look at it we see the principles of prayer He taught earlier are reinforced. If a person is committed to the glory of God first in their life, then they will live for the glory of God by remaining in His will. That’s what we see here in verses 1-8 in Jesus’ life. Then, if someone remains in His will then they will have their prayers answered. Jesus said in John 15:7-8, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory…”
Jesus did what the Father commanded and so He had confidence that the Father would do what He asked. As priests after our High Priest, we live to pray. In other words, we live our lives in such a way that nothing will be a reason for our prayers to be unanswered. If you’re not concerned about the Father’s will for your life do not expect Him to be concerned about your will for Him to answer your prayers.
If we want to see answers to our prayers then the Father wants to see His will in our lives. The world ought to see Christ in us before we should expect to see the Father’s power work for us. Remaining in Christ, just as Christ remained in the Father, gives the basis for answered prayer and brings glory to the Father.
Priests live to Pray, just as the High Priest lived to Pray.
Requests of Christ (v6-19)
Now begins the requests that Jesus makes. Starting in verse 9 all the way through the rest of the chapter He will make intercession. Verses 9-19 specifically concern the Apostles, and verses 20-26 specifically concern all the future believers – including us today. Notice here that Jesus is not praying for the world (v9), but, He is praying specifically for the Disciples. This should make us listen up.
Why is this so important? First, because we need to see the love that Jesus has for us and this prayer is soaked in it. Second, because we need to see what our actual needs are in the Church. And third, we as the Church need to see what we should focus on in our prayers.
In these verses (9-19) we see Jesus makes 2 basic requests for the disciples: Protection and Sanctification. Let us look at Protection this week.
Priests Pray for the Protection of the Church (v11-12)
As Priests after our High Priest, we need to Pray for the Protection of the Church. Jesus prays for the Protection of the disciples. Four times in this passage He mentions their protection. There are 4 points of protection to see here.
First: We need protection from the world. Verse 11a says, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them…”
That is a contrast here in this verse: Jesus is physically leaving earth and physically going to heaven. He is leaving the realm of sin that is ruled by Satan and He is going to the realm of holiness that is ruled by His Father in heaven. But, while He is leaving the world He is not taking His disciples with Him. They are being left behind in the physical world. And while in the world physically, they are to be totally out of the world’s satanically controlled spiritual system.
The cataracts forming over the eyes of the Church today is making her blind to the fact that she needs to be protected from the world. The Church is less and less concerned with the danger that the world is to her. The Church thinks more and more highly of the world today…
What do we mean here? What am I getting at? What does Jesus mean by “the world”? He doesn’t mean the physical earth. He is asking the Father to protect them from world system and sphere of evil they will be living in. John said in his first letter, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Do not to love this world’s values and what it says is important and not important. Do not love its heroes. Don’t love what the world loves and hate what the world hates. Don’t make the sacrifices that the world makes to have what the world has to offer. Don’t try to keep up with others who own more things than you. Don’t lust after the things of this world by sacrificing the things that matter to get that promotion. Don’t do everything you can to be the best looking and most admired in the room. Don’t promote yourself and how great you think you are – whether through your career, your achievements, your kids, your looks, your “morals” or your “spirituality” or whatever else. Don’t let the world around you define what is morally right and wrong.
We need protection from the onslaught of worldly influences that will come against us. Every day the T.V, the Internet, the media, the radio, the people around us, the advertisements – everything in this world every day is working against the cause of Christ, against the faithfulness of Christians to Christ, and to keep unbelievers from coming to Christ.
Jesus says in verse 16, “They are not of the world..” That means that we do not subscribe to the ways of the Christ-less world around us. We are separate from the thinking, the believing, the living, the talking of the world around us. When we are looked upon we are seen as different from the worldliness around us. First Peter 4 says, “As a result, the believer does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what the pagans do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They [the world] think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation and they heap abuse on you.”
The world ought to think of you as strange – as a stranger – as one who is unfamiliar. The Jews were unfamiliar with Christ, and that’s because they were unfamiliar with the God they professed to know. Are you
Second Point of Protection: We need protection from Satan. Verse 15 says, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” Satan is the god of this world who seeks to destroy everything that Christ is building on this earth. Compared to us humans, he has unimaginable power to deceive and destroy. He is a liar and a murderer (Jn 8:44). He wants you to believe lies and he wants your life to be destroyed.
But, when Satan was allowed to have his way in Judas that is exactly what Judas did – his actions were deceitful and they led to the murder of the Son of God. When he was allowed to have his way in Peter the result was that Peter lied 3 times and denied he ever even knew Jesus. Lying is the output of Satan’s work in someone’s life. Telling the truth is the output of Christ’s work in someone’s life.
Second Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan is the god of this age and that he blinds the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see. He not only tells flat out lies but he keeps you blinded to the truth and he hides the truth from you. He tells lies, He hides the truth, and He presents himself as something other than what he truly is. How? Second Corinthians 11:14 says that he “masquerades as an angel of light”. In other words, he deceptively presents himself to people as one who has the light of truth when in fact he is giving out the darkest lies of hell. If we hate it when people act like hypocrites why don’t we hate Satan, the master hypocrite?
Ephesians 6:12 says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Are we living our lives as if Satan does not exist? Are we living as if he is not real, and, as if he is not at work in this world, in our community, in our church in our lives to increase deception, to increase doubt, to increase division, to increase distraction?
In 1 Peter 5:8 we are warned with these words, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Let me emphasize that Peter calls him “YOUR ENEMY!” Many of us need to WAKE UP to the fact that there are legions and legions of Christ-hating, Christian-hating fallen angels who work and work and work to destroy us. They are tireless and fanatical in their efforts to destroy the work of Christ. This church is hated. I am hated. If you are a faithful, growing, Christian you are hated. If you are a carnal, worldly, Christian you are loved by the enemy because you unwittingly serve Satan’s purposes.
We need protection from this most hateful, devious, and destructive enemy.
Third Point of Protection: we need the protection of God’s Name. Jesus says in verse 11b, “Holy Father protect them BY the power of your name – the name you gave me…” Then notice verse 12, “While I was with them I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me…”
It is the Name that must be called on and the name that saves, Romans 10:14 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”. It is the name that gives eternal life, John 20:31says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” It is the Name that brings answered prayer, “Ask anything in my Name and I will do it” Jesus said in John 14. This is the Name above every name according to Php 2:9. And Ephesians 3:14-15 says “I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole Family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” And if you want to become apart of that family with that Name, John 1:12 says, “To all who receive Him, to all who believe in His name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Only the name of Jesus Christ can keep you safe. It is the only name that can save you from an eternal hell. It is the only name that can save you from the Judgment of God. It is the only name that can save you from your sins. It is the name of Jesus Christ that can protect you from the rule of sin and Satan and death.
Conclusion
The question today is have you entered into that protection. Have you entered into that Name that is the only name? If you haven’t, maybe you need to ask yourself if Jesus was praying for you in verse 20, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” Are you one of those who will believe in Jesus through the message of the Gospel?
I was speaking to a young man this past week. He was an energetic, friendly and intelligent young man. Along the way of our conversation I finally asked him “if you die today and stand before God and he asks you why should I let you into my heaven, what would you say to God?”
At this point I could see the light-heartedness was fading and a certain heaviness was on him. He began to say that this was something that bothered him. He said he had done things when he was younger that he has been trying to make up for. He has become a moral man and is hoping that his good will outweigh his bad on that day he stands before God. I said “But you never feel like you’ve truly made up for your sins, do you? No matter how long you are a good person and how much good you do? He said yes that is true. Then I said “You never feel like you know for sure, do you?” He said NO.
And as he stood there I said to him, “What if I could share with you something right now that could give you the freedom from your past you so desire, and, the assurance that when you stand before God He will welcome you?”
He stopped, sat down next to me for the first time in 40 minutes of conversation, and he looking at me he said very soberly, “That would be a great burden lifted off of me”.
Have you had the burden lifted off of you? Have you come to Christ and received His forgiveness for your sins? Have you looked upon Him to rescue you from the Judgment that is coming and to be your protection?
Priests after the High Priest
Introduction
I want to title this week’s sermon, “Priests After the High Priest”. What do I mean by that? Well, we are a royal priesthood according to 1 Peter 2:9. We, as priests, are to be priests after the likeness of our High Priest. And, as a royal priesthood we have Jesus Christ leading us as our High Priest. We as priests are to be like the High Priest. His life is the model and we are reproductions. What is in us will come out of us. Jesus’ life is a life of prayer. His life is in us. Therefore, our lives will be lives of prayer. Prayer will be the outward expression of the life of Christ in us.
Last week we began John 17, a chapter that opens up to us the High Priest’s heart for intercessory prayer. The eternal importance of this chapter has not gone without notice. Great men of the Church’s history have given some of the most revent and most grand statements about the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus Christ found in John 17. Matthew Henry said, “It is the most remarkable prayer following the most full and consoling discourse ever uttered on earth.” Philip Melanchthon said, “There is no voice which has ever been heard, either in heaven or in earth, more exalted, more holy, more fruitful, more sublime than the prayer offered up by the Son to God Himself.” Andrew Murray has called this a “precious legacy” for the disciples.
J. Vernon McGee said he “felt wholly and totally inadequate to deal with this prayer.” And I must say I feel the same way. I don’t believe any man can enter into the deepest part of Jesus Christ’s own prayer room, and after being immersed in His holiest of words, could ever come out confident that he can speak of them to men. There is such perfection and glory in this prayer - what could I add? What could I say to bring us any deeper into understanding the heart and ambition of Christ?
We know Jesus prayed all night on many occasions. We know He got up early many times to pray. But we know very little of what He said. In John 17 the heart of Christ is opened wide to us and we see that most holy, sublime, and supreme of all communion in the heavens. This, of all passages ought to seize our attention as we are allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies in prayer communion between the Father and Son.
This prayer took place on the night before He was crucified. The most terrible of suffering was upon Him and in this victory prayer Jesus focused Himself on the certainty of its passing and His entering into glory. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Such is our model. What may be upon you today? What bed of suffering have you been cast on? What wave of misery has the world rushed over you? Do not forget that the last words Jesus spoke before this prayer were 16:33, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
STRUCTURE: John 17 is traditionally divided into 3 parts: 1) The Lord prays for Himself (v1-5), 2) The Lord prays for the disciples (v6-19), 3) The Lord prays for believers of all time (v20-26).
In this High Priestly Prayer, Jesus shows us His heart. Let us learn from Him what should be the heart of our praying, as Priests after the High Priest.
Priests Live to Pray (v6-8)
Priests Live to Pray. I mean that in more than one sense. First, that prayer should be an important and ongoing part of our lives. But, secondly, Priests live to Pray means that the lives we live are godly and holy lives so that our prayers are not hindered.
Jesus Lived to Pray. If we look at verses 6-8 we will see that His life was one of submission to the will of His Father in everything. Jesus says in verse 6, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world…” Chapter 1:18 says about Jesus, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.”
This is confirmed by the fact that the disciples “obeyed His word” (v6b), “know that everything that Jesus has was given to Him by the Father” (v7), “they accepted the words of Jesus” (v8a) and “they knew with certainty” the things that Jesus told them. The purpose of Jesus in this world was to show to the world who the Father is. That was His work on earth, and that is the work that brought glory to the Father according to verse 4. “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”
What is the point of all this? How does this apply to us? What we see here is that the prayers that are heard in heaven, that is, prayers that are answered, are those prayers that are backed up by a life lived for the glory of God.
Notice the progression in this prayer here. First, Jesus begins with a focus on the glory of God (v1-5). Second, in verses 6-8, we see that Jesus has abided in the Father’s will and done the will of the Father. Then, in verses 9-26 He finally begins to intercede for the disciples. It is important to notice that Jesus does not ask anything of the Father for His disciples until verse 9. There is a progression in the first 8 verses of Jesus prayer and when we look at it we see the principles of prayer He taught earlier are reinforced. If a person is committed to the glory of God first in their life, then they will live for the glory of God by remaining in His will. That’s what we see here in verses 1-8 in Jesus’ life. Then, if someone remains in His will then they will have their prayers answered. Jesus said in John 15:7-8, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory…”
Jesus did what the Father commanded and so He had confidence that the Father would do what He asked. As priests after our High Priest, we live to pray. In other words, we live our lives in such a way that nothing will be a reason for our prayers to be unanswered. If you’re not concerned about the Father’s will for your life do not expect Him to be concerned about your will for Him to answer your prayers.
If we want to see answers to our prayers then the Father wants to see His will in our lives. The world ought to see Christ in us before we should expect to see the Father’s power work for us. Remaining in Christ, just as Christ remained in the Father, gives the basis for answered prayer and brings glory to the Father.
Priests live to Pray, just as the High Priest lived to Pray.
Requests of Christ (v6-19)
Now begins the requests that Jesus makes. Starting in verse 9 all the way through the rest of the chapter He will make intercession. Verses 9-19 specifically concern the Apostles, and verses 20-26 specifically concern all the future believers – including us today. Notice here that Jesus is not praying for the world (v9), but, He is praying specifically for the Disciples. This should make us listen up.
Why is this so important? First, because we need to see the love that Jesus has for us and this prayer is soaked in it. Second, because we need to see what our actual needs are in the Church. And third, we as the Church need to see what we should focus on in our prayers.
In these verses (9-19) we see Jesus makes 2 basic requests for the disciples: Protection and Sanctification. Let us look at Protection this week.
Priests Pray for the Protection of the Church (v11-12)
As Priests after our High Priest, we need to Pray for the Protection of the Church. Jesus prays for the Protection of the disciples. Four times in this passage He mentions their protection. There are 4 points of protection to see here.
First: We need protection from the world. Verse 11a says, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them…”
That is a contrast here in this verse: Jesus is physically leaving earth and physically going to heaven. He is leaving the realm of sin that is ruled by Satan and He is going to the realm of holiness that is ruled by His Father in heaven. But, while He is leaving the world He is not taking His disciples with Him. They are being left behind in the physical world. And while in the world physically, they are to be totally out of the world’s satanically controlled spiritual system.
The cataracts forming over the eyes of the Church today is making her blind to the fact that she needs to be protected from the world. The Church is less and less concerned with the danger that the world is to her. The Church thinks more and more highly of the world today…
What do we mean here? What am I getting at? What does Jesus mean by “the world”? He doesn’t mean the physical earth. He is asking the Father to protect them from world system and sphere of evil they will be living in. John said in his first letter, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Do not to love this world’s values and what it says is important and not important. Do not love its heroes. Don’t love what the world loves and hate what the world hates. Don’t make the sacrifices that the world makes to have what the world has to offer. Don’t try to keep up with others who own more things than you. Don’t lust after the things of this world by sacrificing the things that matter to get that promotion. Don’t do everything you can to be the best looking and most admired in the room. Don’t promote yourself and how great you think you are – whether through your career, your achievements, your kids, your looks, your “morals” or your “spirituality” or whatever else. Don’t let the world around you define what is morally right and wrong.
We need protection from the onslaught of worldly influences that will come against us. Every day the T.V, the Internet, the media, the radio, the people around us, the advertisements – everything in this world every day is working against the cause of Christ, against the faithfulness of Christians to Christ, and to keep unbelievers from coming to Christ.
Jesus says in verse 16, “They are not of the world..” That means that we do not subscribe to the ways of the Christ-less world around us. We are separate from the thinking, the believing, the living, the talking of the world around us. When we are looked upon we are seen as different from the worldliness around us. First Peter 4 says, “As a result, the believer does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what the pagans do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They [the world] think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation and they heap abuse on you.”
The world ought to think of you as strange – as a stranger – as one who is unfamiliar. The Jews were unfamiliar with Christ, and that’s because they were unfamiliar with the God they professed to know. Are you
Second Point of Protection: We need protection from Satan. Verse 15 says, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” Satan is the god of this world who seeks to destroy everything that Christ is building on this earth. Compared to us humans, he has unimaginable power to deceive and destroy. He is a liar and a murderer (Jn 8:44). He wants you to believe lies and he wants your life to be destroyed.
But, when Satan was allowed to have his way in Judas that is exactly what Judas did – his actions were deceitful and they led to the murder of the Son of God. When he was allowed to have his way in Peter the result was that Peter lied 3 times and denied he ever even knew Jesus. Lying is the output of Satan’s work in someone’s life. Telling the truth is the output of Christ’s work in someone’s life.
Second Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan is the god of this age and that he blinds the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see. He not only tells flat out lies but he keeps you blinded to the truth and he hides the truth from you. He tells lies, He hides the truth, and He presents himself as something other than what he truly is. How? Second Corinthians 11:14 says that he “masquerades as an angel of light”. In other words, he deceptively presents himself to people as one who has the light of truth when in fact he is giving out the darkest lies of hell. If we hate it when people act like hypocrites why don’t we hate Satan, the master hypocrite?
Ephesians 6:12 says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Are we living our lives as if Satan does not exist? Are we living as if he is not real, and, as if he is not at work in this world, in our community, in our church in our lives to increase deception, to increase doubt, to increase division, to increase distraction?
In 1 Peter 5:8 we are warned with these words, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Let me emphasize that Peter calls him “YOUR ENEMY!” Many of us need to WAKE UP to the fact that there are legions and legions of Christ-hating, Christian-hating fallen angels who work and work and work to destroy us. They are tireless and fanatical in their efforts to destroy the work of Christ. This church is hated. I am hated. If you are a faithful, growing, Christian you are hated. If you are a carnal, worldly, Christian you are loved by the enemy because you unwittingly serve Satan’s purposes.
We need protection from this most hateful, devious, and destructive enemy.
Third Point of Protection: we need the protection of God’s Name. Jesus says in verse 11b, “Holy Father protect them BY the power of your name – the name you gave me…” Then notice verse 12, “While I was with them I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me…”
It is the Name that must be called on and the name that saves, Romans 10:14 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”. It is the name that gives eternal life, John 20:31says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” It is the Name that brings answered prayer, “Ask anything in my Name and I will do it” Jesus said in John 14. This is the Name above every name according to Php 2:9. And Ephesians 3:14-15 says “I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole Family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” And if you want to become apart of that family with that Name, John 1:12 says, “To all who receive Him, to all who believe in His name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Only the name of Jesus Christ can keep you safe. It is the only name that can save you from an eternal hell. It is the only name that can save you from the Judgment of God. It is the only name that can save you from your sins. It is the name of Jesus Christ that can protect you from the rule of sin and Satan and death.
Conclusion
The question today is have you entered into that protection. Have you entered into that Name that is the only name? If you haven’t, maybe you need to ask yourself if Jesus was praying for you in verse 20, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” Are you one of those who will believe in Jesus through the message of the Gospel?
I was speaking to a young man this past week. He was an energetic, friendly and intelligent young man. Along the way of our conversation I finally asked him “if you die today and stand before God and he asks you why should I let you into my heaven, what would you say to God?”
At this point I could see the light-heartedness was fading and a certain heaviness was on him. He began to say that this was something that bothered him. He said he had done things when he was younger that he has been trying to make up for. He has become a moral man and is hoping that his good will outweigh his bad on that day he stands before God. I said “But you never feel like you’ve truly made up for your sins, do you? No matter how long you are a good person and how much good you do? He said yes that is true. Then I said “You never feel like you know for sure, do you?” He said NO.
And as he stood there I said to him, “What if I could share with you something right now that could give you the freedom from your past you so desire, and, the assurance that when you stand before God He will welcome you?”
He stopped, sat down next to me for the first time in 40 minutes of conversation, and he looking at me he said very soberly, “That would be a great burden lifted off of me”.
Have you had the burden lifted off of you? Have you come to Christ and received His forgiveness for your sins? Have you looked upon Him to rescue you from the Judgment that is coming and to be your protection?
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