1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,880 Jesus prays to be glorified. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and 2 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:16,200 prayed, Father the hour has come, glorify your son that your son may glorify you. 3 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:22,480 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal 4 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:29,960 life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life that they know 5 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:37,920 you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have brought you 6 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:47,320 glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do and now Father glorify me 7 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:55,400 in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have 8 00:00:55,400 --> 00:01:01,960 revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, you 9 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:09,800 gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything 10 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:16,800 you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they 11 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:23,720 accepted them. They know with certainty that I came from you and they believed 12 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:30,360 that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those 13 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:38,760 you have given me for they are yours. All I have is yours and all you have is mine 14 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:46,280 and glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer but 15 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:53,960 they are still in the world and I am coming to you. Holy Father protect them 16 00:01:53,960 --> 00:02:00,960 by the power of your name, the name you gave me so that they may be one as we are 17 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:09,000 one. While I was with them I protected them and kept them safe by that name 18 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:14,640 you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that 19 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:22,320 scripture would be fulfilled. I am coming to you now but I say these things while 20 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:28,120 I'm still in the world so that they may have the full measure of my joy within 21 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:35,760 them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of 22 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:41,840 the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take 23 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:48,160 them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are 24 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:55,680 not of the world even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is 25 00:02:55,680 --> 00:03:03,320 truth. As you sent me into the world I have sent them into the world. For them I 26 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:11,680 sanctify myself that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for 27 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:18,120 them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message 28 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:26,560 that all of them may be one Father just as you are in me and I am in you. May 29 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:33,760 they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have 30 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:41,280 given them glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one. I in them 31 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:48,440 and you in me so that they may be brought to complete unity then the world 32 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:57,840 will know that you sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. Father I 33 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:06,080 want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory the 34 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,920 glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the 35 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:18,080 world. Righteous Father though the world does not know you I know you and they 36 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:26,320 know you and sorry and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known 37 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:32,120 to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have 38 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:40,000 for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. 39 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:59,800 Good morning everyone my name is Roy I work as a ministry intern at Vic Park 40 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:06,000 Presbyterian Church which is a pretty cool job. I get to do all the fun stuff 41 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:12,200 involved in ministry preaching the Bible leading Bible studies doing outreach 42 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:17,960 mission stuff reading nerdy books but I don't have the title pastor so that 43 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:24,840 gives me a bit of plausible deniability which I love but I it's it's honestly 44 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:28,960 it's a privilege to to work there and it's a privilege to be here this morning 45 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:34,200 I've been here once or twice before so I know a few of you I know Mikey from 46 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,120 Trinity Theological College where we spent a couple of semesters together 47 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:42,880 and it's great to be here so it'd be good if you have your Bible open 48 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,840 because I will be referring to the text quite a lot if you don't have a Bible on 49 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:51,720 you that's cool you'll manage or you can just pull your phone out Google John 17 50 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:58,760 and it'll come up straight away. So we're looking at just the final few verses of 51 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:05,600 John chapter 17 today which is commonly known as the high priestly prayer of 52 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:13,000 Jesus and this prayer it's the climax of the teaching which Jesus gives to his 53 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:20,400 disciples in the upper room on the final night before his crucifixion. This final 54 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:28,100 night together it actually began all the way back in chapter 13 verse 1 where John 55 00:06:28,100 --> 00:06:35,760 says of Jesus having loved his own who were in the world he loved them to the 56 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:43,920 end. In chapter 14 Jesus promises God's love to those who are obedient in 57 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:51,260 chapter 15 there is the promise of much fruitfulness for those who abide in the 58 00:06:51,260 --> 00:06:57,680 love of the true vine and then in chapter 16 the reassurance that the father 59 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:06,400 himself loves the disciples because they have loved Jesus and believed in him. But 60 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:13,040 interspersed with all this love on the final night is the constant worrying 61 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:23,200 refrain I am going away. On this final night more than ten times Jesus gives 62 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:31,920 his disciples the unwelcome news of his departure. So chapter 13 verse 33 where I 63 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:41,120 am going you cannot come. Chapter 14 verse 28 I am going away. Chapter 16 verse 64 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:48,400 28 I am leaving the world and going back to the father and within chapter 17 65 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:57,640 itself verse 11 I will remain in the world no longer. So this is the immediate 66 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:06,200 context. Jesus has given his final love gift to his disciples five long chapters 67 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:14,280 of intimate and personal teaching as he prepares them for his departure and so we 68 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:21,160 come to chapter 17 which we should see as the capstone of Jesus's teaching on 69 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:29,000 that final night. Jesus final prayer to the father before he goes to the cross 70 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:36,200 rises from the dead and ascends to heaven. And the final two verses of 71 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:43,200 chapter 17 we get a wonderful summary statement of the ministry of Jesus and 72 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:49,440 in particular his teaching of the past five chapters. So if you have a look at 73 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:58,840 verses from verse 25. Righteous father though the world does not know you I 74 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:06,640 know you and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them 75 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:13,120 and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may 76 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:23,200 be in them and that I myself may be in them. There it is. Jesus' statement of 77 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:31,600 mission accomplished. The word become flesh has made God known. He has made 78 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:38,560 God's love known and he pledges to continue to make God's love known in and 79 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:47,440 through his people after he goes away. Now very little of the New Testament is 80 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:55,120 written directly to us. We normally have to do some level of interpretation to 81 00:09:55,120 --> 00:10:03,640 understand how the words of Scripture carry over and apply to us today. But 82 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:12,840 this final section of chapter 17 is written directly about us. Verse 20. My 83 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:20,080 prayer is not for the disciples alone I pray also for those who will believe in 84 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:27,160 me through their message. So that's us here today. That's the church Catholic. 85 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:34,000 The universal church. That's every Christian everywhere since the time of 86 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:42,960 the Apostles. And Jesus goes on in verses 21 to 23 to kind of chain a bunch of 87 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:51,840 purpose clauses together explaining why he prays for us. He prays verse 21 so 88 00:10:51,840 --> 00:11:00,240 that all of us would be one. He prays middle of verse 22 so that we may be one 89 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:09,200 as the Father and the Son are one. And he prays middle of verse 23 so that we may 90 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:17,200 be brought to complete unity. The prevailing theme here is oneness. Unity. 91 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:27,280 Look at verse 21. Jesus prays for us so that we may all be one just as just like 92 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:33,960 the Father and the Son are one. The Father in the Son and the Son in the 93 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:40,760 Father. Jesus is praying here that all believers would be united together so 94 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:50,760 closely that our unity would reflect the oneness of the triune God in heaven. 95 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:58,240 Jesus is praying that even though he is going away there would continue to be a 96 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:07,840 physical representation, an incarnation if you like, of God here on earth. The 97 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:16,280 church is to reflect, to image the triune God himself. A multiplicity of persons 98 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:23,960 united together as one bride, one church. Just as the Trinity is a multiplicity of 99 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:33,480 persons united together as one God. So Jesus prays for our unity. That's clear 100 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:42,080 enough. But perhaps what is surprising is the how and the why. How does Jesus 101 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:49,000 bring unity and to what ends does he bring unity? Because here in these verses 102 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:57,800 what leads to unity is union. Union with the Father and with the Son. Look at how 103 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:08,440 verse 21 continues. May they also be in us. So Jesus is not just praying that our 104 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:14,360 unity would be like the unity in God. It's not just that the church on earth 105 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:20,480 would reflect the triune God in heaven but that the church would have union 106 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:28,360 with God. That we would be joined to God, bound up into the life of God. The means 107 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:36,080 by which the church is united together on earth is by being bound in union to 108 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:44,800 God in heaven. Now we got a glimpse of this before in Psalm 133. So I'll read it 109 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:59,520 again. Psalm 133. How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in 110 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:05,960 unity. It is like precious oil poured on their head running down on the beard. 111 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:11,640 Running down on Aaron's beard. Down on 112 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:17,560 Aaron's beard. Down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the Jew of 113 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:24,200 Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his 114 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:34,080 blessing even life forevermore. So Psalm 133 it uses imagery of oil poured from 115 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:42,320 above of Jew falling on Mount Zion which suggests something good coming down 116 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:48,400 from heaven. More than that the imagery of anointing with oil and water from 117 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:58,240 above are both symbols of the Holy Spirit. Just as in Psalm 133 unity comes 118 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:05,680 as a gift from God above by the work of his Spirit so too in John 17 unity in 119 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:12,520 the church comes only through God pouring it out from heaven. The only way 120 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:21,040 the church can expect to reflect God in unity is by being joined in to him in 121 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:29,680 union by the power of the Holy Spirit. So unity in the church comes through union 122 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:38,640 with God. That's the how but what's the why. For what reason does Jesus pray for 123 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:47,020 our unity? We'll look at the end of verse 21 again. May they also be in us so that 124 00:15:47,020 --> 00:15:54,240 there's the purpose statement so that the world may believe that you have sent 125 00:15:54,240 --> 00:16:02,500 me. It's a missional purpose. Jesus is praying for the church on earth to be 126 00:16:02,500 --> 00:16:10,040 united as one reflecting the unity of God in heaven so that the world would 127 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:18,440 believe in Jesus. Jesus purpose is a revelatory purpose. He is seeking to 128 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:24,560 ensure that after he goes away the church would be a mighty testimony in 129 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:32,680 the world to him. That there would continue to be in a sense an incarnation 130 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:40,760 of God in the world to testify to the love of God for the world. Just like 131 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:48,080 Jesus came into the world as a tangible revelation of God revealing his glory so 132 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:55,360 now the church will shine forth as a tangible revelation of Jesus and the 133 00:16:55,360 --> 00:17:02,440 Father who sent him. The purpose of the church reflecting God in the world is to 134 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:11,080 reveal Jesus to the world and so now Jesus has gone to heaven. The world 135 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:19,640 looks to the church to see Jesus. It's a bit like how a wife can be said to 136 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:26,880 represent her husband. If you see Tina on some level you are seeing her husband 137 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:35,440 Gary. What you say to Tina makes its way back to Gary because Gary and Tina are 138 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:44,600 bound together as one. How you treat Tina is how you treat Gary and so too the 139 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:51,640 church, the bride of Christ represents Christ and we get basically the same 140 00:17:51,640 --> 00:18:00,360 logic in verses 22 to 23. So have a look at your Bible's verse 22. I have given 141 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:07,640 them the glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one. So there 142 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,740 it is again an analogous connection between the unity of the church and the 143 00:18:12,740 --> 00:18:23,080 unity of God. We are one as God is one. Verse 23, I in them and you in me and 144 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:28,200 that's union again right? The church in the son and the son in the father. 145 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:37,780 Continuing on so that so that they may be brought to complete unity. In verses 146 00:18:37,780 --> 00:18:45,200 22 to 23 Jesus makes the same point as he made in verse 21. The church will be 147 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:54,440 united just like God is united by being joined in union to Christ and then the 148 00:18:54,440 --> 00:19:02,800 result the middle of verse 23. Then the world will know that you sent me. The 149 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:09,280 unity of the church, a unity which is so deep it mirrors the oneness of the 150 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:15,080 essence of the Trinity. A unity which is only possible because it is poured out 151 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:22,640 from heaven binding the church in union with God. This unity will be a revelation 152 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:29,800 on earth of the Father and of the Son. After Jesus goes away to heaven the 153 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:37,640 church will be a powerful tangible revelation of God here on earth. That's 154 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:44,880 the glory he says he's given us in verse 22. It is the glory which reveals God to 155 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:53,200 the world. It is the glory of the church united together bound in union with God 156 00:19:53,200 --> 00:20:01,880 reflecting God, imaging God as a kind of incarnation of God in the world even as 157 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:09,440 the incarnation himself. Jesus Christ is about to return to be with his Father in 158 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:18,160 heaven. Okay so the logic of verses 22 to 23 it's pretty much the same as that of 159 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:25,480 verse 21 but in verse 23 there is one extra element introduced. So have a look 160 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:30,240 at the end of verse 23 and see if you can pick it. 161 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:40,560 Then the world will know that you sent me and here's the extra element and have 162 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:49,080 loved them even as you have loved me. So the church reflecting the unity of God 163 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:55,200 on earth will reveal God to the world but it will also reveal that the Father 164 00:20:55,200 --> 00:21:04,200 loves the church with the very same love that he loves the Son. But what is this 165 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:13,440 love between the Father and the Son? Look at the end of verse 24. It is the love 166 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:21,640 between them since before the creation of the world. The extra element here is 167 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:27,440 the revelation to the world that the love of the Father for the church is of 168 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:35,680 the same substance as the love of the Father for the Son. By being joined in 169 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:41,400 union to the Son by the Spirit the church is loved by God with the very 170 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:47,200 same love which existed between the Father and the Son before the world 171 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:55,760 began. Now I have thought long and hard about a way to illustrate this and I 172 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:05,080 failed. This truth utterly transcends worldly comparisons. The fact is what 173 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:10,800 this passage teaches us is that the love that existed in the triune God in 174 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:16,880 eternity past, the infinite lavish abundant love of God, the love which is 175 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:23,480 so copious that it burst forth out of the infinite God inspiring him to create 176 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:29,480 the entire cosmos out of his pure joy and good pleasure and full to the 177 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:37,560 brimness. This is the very same love which has been set upon us. It has been 178 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:45,600 set upon us in the church who, verse 24, the Father has given the Son and who the 179 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:52,880 Son desires to be with him where he is as his chosen people, his special 180 00:22:52,880 --> 00:23:01,400 possession, his spotless beloved bride. And this is a brain-breaking truth. If 181 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:07,600 you can get a hold of this truth it will turn your world upside down but you can 182 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:15,600 only get hold of it by faith and even then just a little piece at a time. 183 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:25,600 Because our experience of life in this world is just so far removed from the 184 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:33,440 truth of God's cosmic love for us, isn't it? Many of us experience constant 185 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:42,600 relentless hurt and worry and insecurity. We might be pretty functional. We might 186 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:52,320 be holding it together. We might even at times feel blessed but the fact remains 187 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:58,960 that for most of us our lives are characterized by constant trouble, 188 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:07,840 uncertainty and pain. So I mentioned before that I work as an intern at Vic 189 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:13,680 Park Presbyterian and recently my boss, the pastor, he encouraged me to 190 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:18,200 systematically pray through all the members of our church on a regular basis. 191 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:27,000 And in doing so I have been struck by the number of our people who I know are 192 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:37,040 afflicted in some way, who are sick or depressed or who have a difficult family 193 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:45,680 life or other overwhelming long-standing painful problems. And I am sure that 194 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:53,080 this church is no different from mine. And I find myself wondering about God's 195 00:24:53,080 --> 00:25:03,200 love for us. I find myself doubting. How can it be true that He loves us when He 196 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:11,920 has us bear such misery and affliction, such seemingly pointless pain, the pain 197 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:21,720 of sick children, of women with cancer, of men who struggle to see a reason to go 198 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:32,040 on living. The pain of hope dashed against the rock of reality, of grief and of fear 199 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:39,320 and of constant grating, unrelenting woe which returns to us day after day, month 200 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:45,880 after month, year after year. How can there be a good loving God in charge of 201 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:56,320 our sad and broken lives? If He loves us why won't He help us? And I can't answer 202 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:06,680 that question for you today. I can't pretend to understand the mind of God. I 203 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:13,240 can't see how He's going to make all this worth it but we have His promises 204 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:20,480 that He will and here we have the words of Jesus which reveal to us the depths 205 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:29,000 of His great love for us. Jesus says that His love is set upon us immovably, 206 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:35,360 immutably. The love which binds the triune God together in His very being is 207 00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:42,840 the self-same love which is set upon us in the church. Jesus loves us so deeply 208 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:51,280 that He wants us to be with Him where He is. Jesus' heart desire is to be joined 209 00:26:51,280 --> 00:27:01,960 to us. His desire is for there to be no barrier between Him and His bride. Again 210 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:08,360 this truth transcends worldly comparisons but I'm going to give you an 211 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:15,520 illustration here which is probably too personal but it works I think. This is 212 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:23,960 your award for staying awake up to this point. It's a little bit like a number of 213 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:30,520 years ago I met a girl who I became interested in. Eventually I asked her out 214 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:36,840 and we started dating. Things were going really well and I started to like her 215 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:43,000 more and more to the point that she became the only girl that I ever 216 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:49,280 seriously considered I might like to marry one day. As I got to know her 217 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:54,520 better I became more and more aware of her imperfections and her shortcomings 218 00:27:54,520 --> 00:28:01,160 but those things they didn't matter to me. They were far outweighed by my growing 219 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:08,240 affection towards her and I can recall thinking to myself at the time if I 220 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:15,400 could I would move in and live inside of this girl's head. I don't want any 221 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:24,120 barrier between us. I want to take up residence there and never move out. Now 222 00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:28,200 there's no ring on my finger so obviously she didn't feel the same and 223 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:35,040 there was no happy ending but that desire I felt to be close to her to be 224 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:43,080 bound in union to her is some small flickering shadow of the desire Jesus 225 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:52,840 proclaims here that he has towards his church. Verse 24, father I want those you 226 00:28:52,840 --> 00:29:01,920 have given me to be with me where I am and see my glory. End of verse 26, I will 227 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:08,480 continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them 228 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:17,480 and that I myself may be in them. Here we see the heart of Jesus for his bride. 229 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:25,000 Here we see the desire of Jesus to be close to us. Jesus wants to live inside 230 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:32,720 our heads and our hearts with no barrier between him and us. Despite all our 231 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:39,960 imperfections and shortcomings, despite all our sin, Jesus has his heart stead 232 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:49,400 fastly set upon us. He wants to be with us in deepest intimacy and connection. In 233 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:56,120 some sense what we have here in the final verses of John 17 is the last will 234 00:29:56,120 --> 00:30:03,680 and testament of Jesus Christ and his final request to his father before his 235 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:11,640 crucifixion is that his bride, the church, would be bound to him, joined to him, made 236 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:20,280 one with him in heaven. And unlike my sad story of unrequited love, this love of 237 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:26,880 God set upon the church is irresistible and immovable. Those whom the father 238 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:35,160 gives the son will come to him. The happy ending is guaranteed. We will be with him 239 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:42,040 where he is, filled with his spirit, bound to the son in eternal love and 240 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:50,760 worship forever. The way this cashes out in the life of the church now is in our 241 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:58,240 unity with one another. By pouring out his spirit on us from above, we are 242 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:05,840 bound up into the love of God himself. We are united together as one, just as God 243 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:14,360 is one. And so we image and reflect God to the world. Now the Word become flesh 244 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:20,480 has gone to heaven to be with his father, but by the spirit we are already 245 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:30,720 joined to, in union to him as his bride. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says that the 246 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:37,800 wife is the glory of the husband. So the challenge for us is to display that 247 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:45,440 glory to the world. And so the church should be a place characterized by a 248 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:53,160 unique glory, a brightness, a heaviness, a greatness. It should be a place where 249 00:31:53,160 --> 00:32:00,320 we are bound together in unity, truly reflecting the character and heart of 250 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:08,000 God. It should be a place which outsiders look at and see the goodness and love of 251 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:15,280 God played out in big and little ways amongst his people. It should be a place 252 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:21,840 full of people who look like Jesus. People with lives characterized by 253 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:29,800 service and by suffering. People bent low under the weight of the cross they bear. 254 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:36,720 People who for the joy set before them fix their eyes on Calvary and live 255 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:44,880 their lives one painful day at a time, trusting in the promises and love of God. 256 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:51,480 People who bear the image of God uniquely, who live lives of weight and of 257 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:57,000 substance, not of frivolousness or flippancy. People who take one another 258 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:04,800 seriously, not perpetually solemn. There must of course be merriment and joy, but 259 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:14,960 with an awareness of the weight of the glory of the other. So practically 260 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:22,840 speaking, what might that look like? It might look like simple kindness towards 261 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:29,240 visitors and new people. It might look like sacrificial giving to the poor and 262 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:36,080 to the church. It might look like a heavenward focus and perspective. It 263 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:42,440 might look like grief and affliction shared and carried together. It might 264 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:49,240 look like lives broken and poured out as living sacrifices and more than anything 265 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:57,160 it might look like a unified focus on the mission of Jesus. If we are to mirror 266 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:04,760 and image the triune God who came in Jesus to seek and save the lost, then 267 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:12,880 despite our wounds, despite the burden of our cross, despite the weight of glory 268 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:21,000 placed upon us, which at times seems like too much to bear, we will be concerned 269 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:27,440 for our neighbor. We will seek to extend the invitation to our friends and 270 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:34,480 families to come to know God through the gospel held out by the church for 271 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:43,720 together the Spirit and the bride say come. Together the Spirit and the bride 272 00:34:43,720 --> 00:34:49,920 hold out the word preached, the word prayed and the word presented in the 273 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:59,720 sacraments in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.