Again today, for a very few minutes, you and
I are going to listen in, as it were, to that
sacred hour when Jesus was talking to the Father.
I pray that you would have received as great
a blessing as I have been receiving. in just
talking about this beautiful portion of the Word
of God as found in the 17th chapter of John.
These words spake Jesus. He spoke the words audibly.
Those near enough to him heard the words. And
they saw him as he lifted up his eyes to heaven
and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy
Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee. Now,
in previous Heart to Heart Talks, we saw that
the very first thing that Jesus said when he
began this wonderful prayer with the Father,
this conversation with the Father, and wouldn't
you like to know what some of the other conversations
were that Jesus had with the Father? Because
every time that he withdrew from the crowd, going
into the wilderness, going alone, we know that
he spent time talking to the father. But this
is a glimpse into the very heart of their relationship.
And the first... thing that he reminded the father
of was his position as son glorify thy son that
thy son may glorify thee and then he leaves that
relationship and speaks of himself as i have
manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest
to me out of the world Now we come to the third
part. And we see him as he is talking to Father
about us. I pray for them. And when he spoke
of them, he was talking about those who were
born again. Christians. Those who have accepted
the Christ as their Savior, the Redeemed. I pray
not for the world. Remember I reminded you that
when he said, I pray not for the world, what
he was saying, I am not at this moment in this
prayer. Praying for the unregenerated. I will
be giving my life. I have come for the salvation
of all men. He's not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to eternal life.
But he said, after this moment, Father God, I
am praying for those who will carry on the work
that I have been doing. Those who will take the
responsibility. Those who will represent me.
I'm leaving now. In the expedient that I go away,
for I take a new position, the position of great
high priest. And the same Holy Spirit has been
so faithful in strengthening me. The same Holy
Spirit who has given me the power to overcome
temptation. The same Holy Spirit who has performed
miracles through my life and in my earthly ministry.
He will come. He'll be the same strengthner to
them that he has been to me. I leave them not
alone. I leave them not orphans. I leave them
not in a state of frustration and confusion.
I pray I desire Father God. that they too shall
live this same glorious, victorious life that
I have lived. And I am giving them, leaving with
them, the greatest gift that is possible for
me to give to my church, to these that thou hast
given me, the one who has not failed me. I am
giving them that gift, and that gift is the Holy
Spirit. And then he continues. And all mine are
thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified
in them. In other words, Jesus is glorified through
you. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is glorified
through my life. As a Christian, as an heir of
God, as a joint heir with Christ Jesus. Think
of the responsibility that is ours. Jesus himself,
in speaking to the Father, reminded him that
he will be glorified in us. And now I'm no more
in the world, but these are in the world. In
other words, I'm leaving and taking the position
of great high priest. But these are yet in the
world. You and I are still in the body of flesh.
We are still in the world. And I come to thee,
Holy Father. Keep to thine own name those whom
thou hast given me, that they may be one as we
are. While I was with them in the world, I kept
them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I
have kept, and none of them is lost but the son
of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled.
And now come I to thee, and these things I speak
in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled
in themselves. And we're seeing something, that
when he prays for us, His desire for us is threefold.
He says to the Father, keep them in thy name.
We've already discussed that. The third desire,
that they may be one even as we are one. Oh,
to me that's so vitally important. That is so
vitally important. This glorious oneness in the
spirit. What did he mean? Simply this. In order
that I may reach the world, I'm not for the moment
praying for the world, but for those through
whom I am going to reach the world. He was praying
for the instrument he was creating through which
he would reach the world. And this instrument,
that is, You and I, born again Christians, were
to reach the world, we must be kept in his name,
and we must also be as one. His words to Father,
as we are one. First of all, that is vital and
essential oneness. He was one with the Father,
vitally, essentially. And now he prayed that
these, kept in his name, may be one in exactly
that same way, having a vital relationship. Not
the oneness of sentiment or intellectual opinion,
but the oneness that is living, one in life.
therefore one in light, and therefore one in
love. He and the Father were one in essential
life. He and the Father were one intellectually,
in all light, in all understanding. He and the
Father were one in love. Keep them there. Keep
them in the name that I have revealed and manifested
to them. Keep them there. That they may be one
as we are one. One in life. One in light. One
in love. You've heard me say it over and over
again. Referring to the three persons of Trinity.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Absolute
deity. Absolute divinity. This very moment, even
I'm speaking to you. There's God the Father.
I always like to think of him as the big boss,
seated upon the throne, and there is only one
throne in heaven, that's the throne of God. God
is seated upon his throne. At his right hand,
the Son of God, the great high priest, the one
who ever lived to make intercession for you and
for me. In the world, this very moment, is the
Holy Spirit, the mighty power of the Trinity.
How vitally important is this mighty third person
in the world today? Literally, he is the one
who's holding the whole thing together after
this moment. The great convicting power, the
great strengthening power. But never forget,
The Holy Spirit never works separate and apart
from Jesus Christ the Son or from God the Father.
Never once when Jesus walked on this earth, not
for a second, did he ever work separate and apart
from the Holy Spirit and from God the Father.
Not one member of the Trinity ever works separate
and apart from the other. That's why recently
when I talked about prayer, and I told you at
that time that very often, you know, every one
of us gets to the place when we know not how
to pray, seeking God's will, and yet it is so
hard sometimes to know the perfect will of God.
At a time like that, When you get to the place
where you have no will of your own and you turn
it completely over to the Holy Spirit, it's at
that time that he, the Holy Spirit, who knows
the mind of God, he who has perfect knowledge
and perfect wisdom, knowing the perfect will
of God, will intercede for you before the throne.
But you can only... Get the perfect will of God.
You can only know the perfect will of the Spirit
and the perfect will of the Son when you get
to the place where you have no will of your own
and your will is surrendered to the will of God.
You become one in Him. When Jesus walked this
earth, as much man as though he were not God.
Never once did Jesus ever seek to do one thing
that was separate and apart from God's will for
him. They were so much one. The Father was so
much one with the Son, and the Son was so much
one with the Holy Spirit. that the three were
one. And in his desire for his own, this is one
of the things that he prayed for, that they may
be one even as we are. I cannot begin to tell
you how much I desire that. Nobody in the whole
world knows how many, many times I have stopped
and looked up, knowing that I had to have the
guidance, the leadership, the wisdom of God.
Oh, did I have the wisdom. Wisdom of God. More
and more and more, I realize how often the wisdom
of man fails. I must depend on the wisdom of
God in making decisions. Just one little decision
that I might make can affect the lives of...
of people. I dare not lead on my own understanding.
I dare not. I dare not seek my own desires, my
own wishes. I dare not live for self. I dare
not. The responsibility is too great. There's
too much at stake. In fact, there's everything
at stake. And if it be that only one person's
life was at stake, and I made the wrong decision,
that one life in the sight of God is the most
valuable thing in the world. Therefore, I must
seek to carry out His desire for me and for every
one of His children that I be one in the Spirit
with Him even as the Son and the Father were
one. Consider that. Just consider that. You say,
all right, how is that possible? Paul understood.
He understood perfectly well. When enclosing
one of his letters, he wrote, the mercy of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God and the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit. There is a closeness. There
is a fellowship. Do you know what I'm talking
about? Do you really know what I'm talking about?
There is a communion. perhaps not an audible
word is spoken. There is a constant communion
that I do not have the vocabulary or the ability
to express because it's something that is spiritual.
And some of these spiritual experiences, one
is unable to express in audible words. It's something
that's there. It's something that's so sacred.
It's something that you just don't tell the whole
world about. It's like displaying the most priceless
gem possible. You don't put it on display for
the whole world, but it's there. It's precious.
It's priceless. There can be such a oneness in
the spirit between an individual, between a child.
and his parents. Between the spiritual child
and the Heavenly Father. Between the Holy Spirit
and the Christian. That constantly you're conversing
with him and yet a word is not being spoken.
You're being guided by the Holy Spirit. When
he guides, you follow. Remember, he is our guide.
The Holy Spirit guides. He leads. And when you're
led, you always follow. You know, inside of you,
there's peace, there's joy, there's fellowship.
And he gives wisdom. And he gives faith when
faith is needed. And he gives strength when strength
is needed. That's what Jesus was talking about
when he said that they may be one even as we
are one. That, my friend, is the... greatest
experience a Christian can have.