I'm going to begin exactly where I left off regarding
this beautiful communion that Jesus was having
with the Father. This very personal thing, this
holy thing, this sacred thing. It's recorded
in the 17th chapter of John, and I pray that
this portion of the Word of God will never again
be something very ordinary to you. It'll be something
that'll be very sacred. Study it. Reverence it.
Read it often. I shall begin with the ninth verse.
of the 17th chapter of John, for now we have
come to this place when Jesus is talking about
those who have been born again, those whom the
Father had given unto him. I pray for them. Now,
whenever he says, I pray for them, I believe
that he is saying to the Father, now, These are
the things that I desire for them. We talk about
praying, but praying really is a desire. When
we come before the Father's throne, we are expressing
a desire. We say we pray. But prayer is the desire
of a human heart. When I come before the throne
of God, I say I am praying. Prayer is worship.
It's adoration. It is expressing a desire. It
is never a command. Always know that. That's
the reason I fear and I tremble sometimes when
I hear some people who are praying and it is
as though they are demanding. god to do something
they literally sound as though they are commanding
god to carry out something that they want be
very careful how you approach the throne of god
who are we frail creatures of the dust To demand,
to command God to do anything. When we're dependent
on him for his mercy, for every drop of rain,
for every sunbeam, for the next beat of our heart,
just sit there a moment and consider something
as vitally important for just a moment and something
a few people really stop to consider. Every man.
who is a part of humanity this very moment, regardless
of his high position, his prestige, his wealth,
his influence, he's dependent on God for the
next beat of his heart. And that heart can stop
any second. And all the money in the world, all
the influence in the world, the whole medical
profession cannot keep it going after God puts
a finger on it and it stops. And yet we act as
though we are ruling God. Be careful how you
pray. Prayer is a desire that's expressed when
you come into the presence of the Father. So
that when Jesus is saying here, I pray, remember
it's in terms of I desire for them. And this
is the desire that Jesus had for us. for the
world. Now remember something. Do not get the
wrong impression here. There may be those who
feel as though Jesus is not concerned about those
who are lost because there are only two classes
of people in the world. Those who have found
the Christ as their Savior and those who are
still outside of the kingdom of God. The regenerated
and the unregenerated. Now, in the sight of God,
they're all only two classes. It's not a matter
of whether you're black or whether you're white.
It's not a matter of whether you're Catholic
or whether you're Protestant. It's not a matter
of whether you're Jew or you're Gentile. It's
have you accepted the Christ? Have you accepted
the Messiah? Have you been born again? I haven't.
Now, when he talks about the world, I pray not
for the world. He's talking about now the desire
that he is expressing for his own. His love for
all mankind was so great that he died for all.
The unregenerated as well as those who have accepted
the Christ. He's not willing that any should
perish. If you are still a part of the world,
that's not his will. It's because you had chosen
to still be outside in the world. If when death
comes, you are still lost, your soul being damned,
you have no one else to blame but yourself. You
had... been damned in spite of everything that
the Father has done for you, in spite of everything
that Jesus has done for you, in spite of everything
that the Holy Spirit has done for you. You have
taken that will and you are mastered by your
own will. Remember, you are a kingdom unto yourself.
Every man, every woman is a kingdom unto himself.
You control, you say whatever you want to. You
can blame it on somebody else and say, I'm controlled
by someone else. Oh, no, you're not. You're a
free moral agent. You have a will separate apart
from the will of anyone else. And remember, you
can exercise that will under all circumstances.
You make the choice. When you stand before the
judgment seat of Christ, you have no one else
to blame but yourself. Every man, every woman
makes his own choice when it comes to these things,
when it comes to spiritual things, when it comes
to God. So when he says here, I pray not for
the world, of course he's talking about the unregenerated,
but after this time he is expressing his... desire
for his own, even though in just a matter of
hours he would be dying for all the sins of the
world. When he died on the cross, when he gave
his life, he did not die for just a few. He did
not die for just those who've accepted him as
a savior. He literally died. Died for the world.
He gave his life for every man. And if you're
still in the world, it's because you have made
the choice. You desire to still be in the world.
And it's in spite of and not because of. All
right? So now remember, as we go a little deeper
into this... Posting his prayer, he's expressing
to his father his desire for these that the father
had given him. Three desires. As I told you before,
they were so different than probably the desire
that I would have expressed. I would have said,
don't let suffering Don't let any pain come to
them. How often in dedicating little babies and
I hold that little bundle of flesh in my arm
and I'm dedicating to the Lord. If people only
knew my thoughts. Over and over, I think, oh
dear Jesus, don't let this little child have
to suffer in his lifetime. Keep this body so
well. Just touch this mind. May it be a good
mind, a healthy mind. Keep this baby healthy.
Don't let anything happen to his little limbs,
his little body. I'm human. And that's what I
pray. Because my emotions are involved, you know.
Do you realize that Jesus didn't say to the Father,
Father, I desire. That they're never hungry.
I desire that they should never be in one. I
desire that they should never suffer. He didn't
say that at all. Watch his three desires. First,
keep them in thy name. Oh, that's thrilling.
That's wonderful. Keep them in thy name. He knew
that there would be false religions, false Christs,
false gods. He knows human nature better than
anyone who's ever lived. He knew the treachery
of Satan. He knew the deceptiveness of Satan.
And wherever there is a genuine, there's always
a counterfeit. Always, wherever you'll find the
genuine, you'll find the counterfeit. And lit!
Truly, there have been thousands of counterfeits
down through the generations. There's only one
name, his name. Jehovah God. Know that. Anything
else is a counterfeit. Anything else is supposition.
Anything else. He knew the deceptiveness of Satan.
He knew it. Keep them in thy name, his name,
Jehovah God. And we come boldly before the Father's
throne in the name of Jesus, the very Son of
the living God. There is no other name by which
man is saved. There is no other name by which
there is eternal life. None. There is not eternal
life through the name or the person of Confucius.
There is no eternal life through the name of
Buddha. There is no eternal life through the
person, of anyone else save the person, the son
of the living God, Jehovah God. And if we are
kept in his name, God first, then all these other
things shall be added unto you. And we won't
have to worry about the suffering. We won't worry
about the other provisions. We won't have to
worry about the material things. If we are kept
by him, keep them in thy name. Oh, my friend.
What does the name of Jehovah God mean to you?
I know what it meant to Abraham. I know what
it meant to Moses. I know what it meant to Elijah
when he stood there literally challenging the
prophets of Baal. courage to stand there and
challenge the false prophets because he had confidence
in Jehovah God. His name. His name. His marvelous
name. confidence Abraham had and because of his
confidence remember down to the generations to
this very hour in which we are now living that
name is still giving power and security dying
And there is no other name by which men can be
saved. What's the second thing? That they may
be one. Even as we are. Consider that. That's
so deep. That's so marvelous. That oneness, that
glories, there's nothing that can equal oneness.
If I could only have the ability to convey to
you the full meaning of these things in relation
not only to the spiritual, but in our everyday
living, this oneness that he's talking about.
If there can be that oneness between husband
and wife, there would be no divorce. I'm saying
something. I don't care what happens. If there
can be that oneness that there is between the
father and the son, never. Our divorce courts
would be empty. There would be no divorce. Because,
you see, troubles will come. And there will be
misunderstandings. Because we're a part of humanity.
We're still in the flesh. There's still witnesses
of the flesh. No man is perfect. No woman is
perfect. If you're looking for the perfect woman
to marry, then you better not get married. If
you're looking for the perfect man to marry,
the perfect man for a husband, forget it. Don't
get married. Because there's not a perfect man
living, there's not a perfect woman living. If
you're looking for a preacher who is perfect,
if you're going around looking for a perfect
man to be your pastor, then you better not look.
Any further for a pastor? If you think Catherine
Kuhlman is perfect, I can sit here the rest of
the day and tell you all my imperfections. I
am not perfect. Only one who ever walked this
earth was ever perfect. The Son of God. Remember
that. But in spite of the... imperfection that
you may see in your wife or the imperfection
that you see in your husband. There are weaknesses
in every life. If there is a oneness between
the two of you, nothing would be able to shake
your confidence in each other. There'll never
be a divorce. Never. It's when there's no longer
that oneness that trouble begins. In a family.
Now, follow me very closely. Because all of this,
what is true in the spiritual, is also true in
everyday living. It's just like that. See, that's
the reason Bible principles, we've got to live
according to the Word of God. We've got to live
according to the laws of God. We've got to live
according to God's principles. That's what's
wrong with the world today. We're trying to throw
the whole thing out, do away with it. And having
done away with it, we find ourselves in such
a big mess now, we can't cope with anything.
We cannot. cope with a thing. We can't cope with
ourselves. We can't cope with our families. We
can't cope with our children. We can't cope with
world affairs because we've thrown God's principles
away. We've thrown morality away. We've thrown
ethics away. We've thrown God's laws out of the
window. We're trying to make laws of our own.
We think we're smarter than God and we find out
what fools we really are. This is the second
thing that Jesus asks for his own, that they
may be one even as we are. If you can be one
with your husband, one with your wife, one with
your son, one with your daughter, one with your
children, that's what's wrong with the home.
The children and the parents are no longer one.
And that's where the trouble is. When they were
all with one accord, the Holy Spirit came and
descended upon them. Remember the importance
of oneness.