Beyond the Rote: Praying with Heart and Truth

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:06:33] Thank you, handbells. And guess what? There's an encore. Isn't that exciting? And you're invited to join them if you want to. They would love to have some people join them. They've got lots of bells. Come play.
[00:06:46] So good morning. My name is Kelly Voorhees. For those of you that don't know, I serve here as our volunteer and mission coordinator. And we're so happy to have you here this morning.
[00:06:55] For those of you joining us online, we are grateful that you are here as well and pray that you are able to worship freely and enjoy being part of this body of Christ.
[00:07:04] So a couple of announcements.
[00:07:05] One, I get to remind you to fill out the attendance pads.
[00:07:08] Those are the little red notebooks that are in the back of the pews.
[00:07:11] Sign yourself in, pass those down the row, and let everybody get signed in.
[00:07:16] And then also I wanted to say a special thank you for our board of trustees and for all those that were here yesterday to help beautify our property.
[00:07:27] What's the word?
[00:07:28] property. I don't know if you noticed, we had a mound of mulch that was as tall as I was, I think, and it's all spread out everywhere and it looks great. So if you know whoever was up here yesterday
[00:07:38] or you were part of that, make sure to give thanks to God for the work that was done.
[00:07:42] We like to be good stewards of what he's given us. So there are so many announcements already in the bulletin, but there are a few announcements that are not in the bulletin. And so I want to
[00:07:50] highlight those for you. For those of you who normally attend primetime, that is back in full swing. Primetime is a fellowship for 60 years and older where you bring a potluck dish and share it
[00:08:01] and have good time. It is tomorrow at 1130. So if you are wanting to join in with that, plan to be here. And two, we have two meetings after church today. How exciting. One is for our disaster
[00:08:13] response team. So for all of you that signed up when Kerrville happened, we weren't able to respond immediately. However, if we put together a disaster response team and have the proper training, we can respond when another disaster comes. And eventually it will come, although we
[00:08:30] hope not, right? Today, our friends at Texans on Mission are here to speak to us about that and how we might form a team. If you are wanting to be a part of a future disaster response, please plan
[00:08:40] to be at that meeting so you can find out what it involves and what you need to be doing in process to prepare. We also are putting together our Costa Rica mission team, which goes out in September,
[00:08:51] but this is our first information meeting, and we're really excited. If you're planning to be a part of the Costa Rica team, or you just want more information about what that even means, we have a meeting right after church. Now, if you want to do both, that's great. You can do both.
[00:09:06] Go to the DRT meeting. Make sure that if you're going to Costa Rica, you sign up on the Connection Center, so I know you want to go to Costa Rica, and I will follow up with you. Deal?
[00:09:17] Thank you.
[00:09:18] That's awesome.
[00:09:19] I knew you'd get it.
[00:09:19] So, and lastly, today is the day we start our 40 days of prayer for the Spirit and Truth weekend coming up in May.
[00:09:27] You guys, God is wanting to do amazing things and we get to be a part of it and it starts today.
[00:09:32] Well, it started a long time ago, but actually it starts today for our prayer vigil.
[00:09:36] So pick up your prayer guide.
[00:09:38] It's out on the patio.
[00:09:39] There's a table that says Spirit and Truth.
[00:09:41] Pick up your guide.
[00:09:42] Follow along starting today.
[00:09:43] every day. We're going to say a prayer together in our homes, in our prayer time, so that we can let God be active and alive in our church and move our hearts and the hearts of those around us.
[00:09:52] Good deal? Excellent. You're doing a great job. Let's go ahead and do our call to worship and continue preparing our hearts for God. Stand, please. I'm going to make sure you're awake here.
[00:10:05] The Lord reigns. Let the nations tremble. He sits enthroned between the cherubim.
[00:10:11] let the earth shake. The king is mighty. He loves justice. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool. He is holy. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain. For the Lord
[00:10:28] our God is holy. Thanks be to God. If you want to have a seat, the handbells are going to continue

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:10:33] to focus our attention. Thank you so much, handbell choir. Congregation, if you would, take a moment to greet one another as we transition from the handbell choir to the band thank you congregation i appreciate y'all getting quiet on your own i'm going to go ahead and lead us in
[00:17:28] prayer and then we will start our worship and song lord god above all we glorify you in this service lord god my prayer this morning is that all elements in the service the beautiful music from the
[00:17:47] handbells, our worship and song, the prayers being lifted to you, the word we'll hear from Pastor Barnes that all of those things God, reach your ears with sweetness that all those things go to glorify
[00:18:02] the only God who is worthy of our praise, Lord we lift you high in this time and place I pray you pour out your Holy Spirit make this place holy that we cannot dare leave unchanged by the revelation of your presence and who you are. In Jesus' name,
[00:18:23] amen. Please stand as you are able.

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:19:00] From a throne of endless glory to a cradle in the dirt.
[00:19:13] He's the, he's the sweet or suffering.
[00:20:06] No, we miss our salvation or take you down.
[00:20:57] Tell that stone and the church, take, take myself.

[00:31:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:31:12] You may be seated.

[00:31:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:31:19] Let us go to the Lord in prayer.
[00:31:29] Lord, there is not a soul among us that does not need you.
[00:31:33] at every moment of our lives.
[00:31:37] In the morning when we rise and in the evening when we lay our heads, we need you, just as we need you all moments in between.
[00:31:47] And so, Lord, we do consecrate our lives to you.
[00:31:51] For life, eternal life, is found only in you.
[00:31:56] And this is eternal life, to know you and to know your Son, Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
[00:32:04] so Lord we pray that we would be found in you that we would hide ourselves in you that you would hide ourselves in you that we would be kept safe from all the schemes of the evil one
[00:32:22] Lord for we do endure much in this life we endure the brokenness of this world that even though Your kingdom has come in part. It is not here in full. And so we see the brokenness
[00:32:39] that sin has caused in this world. We see suffering of all kinds. We see hatred of all kinds, violence of all kinds. And Lord, if we are truthful, we always do not love our neighbor as
[00:33:03] ourselves as we should and we can be changed by you and so we need you at every moment to be with us to have your spirit fill us and to guide us and to lead us in the path that you would take us
[00:33:21] in the path that lead to life and so we ask that you would be our refuge lord that you would be present here with us this morning and you would be present with us as we go from this place and so
[00:33:34] Lord, we do pray the words of the psalmist to you this morning who expresses our longing for you, our need for you, and our hope in you so well. We pray that you would keep us safe, O God,
[00:33:48] for in you we find refuge. We say to you, Lord, apart from you, we have no good thing.
[00:33:55] We say to you, Lord, you alone are our portion and our cup. You make our lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for us in pleasant places. Surely we have a delightful inheritance.
[00:34:12] Oh, we will praise you, Lord. You who counsel us at night, even our hearts instruct us with your word.
[00:34:19] So we keep our eyes always on you, Lord, because when you are at our right hand, we will not be shaken. Our hearts are glad and our tongues rejoice no matter what happens to us, Lord.
[00:34:35] our body will also rest secure because you will not abandon us to the realm of the dead nor will you let your faithful ones see decay no you make known to us the path of life
[00:34:48] you will fill us with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand where christ jesus sits oh lord this is the hope and the promise we have in you we will not be shaken and so we pray to you the needs of the people who have been raised this
[00:35:09] morning from that place of hope and from that place of trust knowing that you care for us and that you hear us and so lord we do pray for carolyn sutherland who is fighting cancer and has
[00:35:25] radiation therapy lord we know that is a tough battle with days more days perhaps than not where she feels ill and not well. So we pray that you would be with her, that your presence would go
[00:35:40] before her and guide her through this time of trial. And Lord, we pray for Erin Bunch, whose parents are Kevin and Betty Lee Wilson, who will be having cancer surgery on April 10th.
[00:35:57] And likewise, we ask that you would go before her and prepare the way for her.
[00:36:02] Let her know that you are with her and that you will walk with her every step of the way.
[00:36:06] and we ask that you be preparing the operating room you would be preparing the surgeons and the nurses and all who will take care of her who can reassure her and do their very best under
[00:36:17] the guidance of your own hand we pray for good outcome we pray for all the students who will be having star testing and other standardized tests a bunch of tests and finals coming up and we pray
[00:36:33] that you would be with them because this is an important time in their lives lord when they are learning skills needed for the rest of their lives. We thank you that they are taking it
[00:36:45] seriously enough to bring it before your throne this morning. We ask that you would remind them of your presence during these times. And Lord, we do pray for Gilman and his family upon the death
[00:36:59] of Kathy Mann. And we ask your presence with that family and to bring comfort and peace to them in the times of grief and the waves that seem to come over and over again.
[00:37:14] Remind them that you are with them and that you have taken Kathy to your side and that she lives out the hope of the psalmist that we read this morning.
[00:37:26] Lord, we praise you for who you are, and yet we know we could never praise you enough.
[00:37:31] And yet we bring our prayers to you this morning in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us how to pray, saying, our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done
[00:37:47] on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from
[00:38:04] evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen at this time our kiddos and there's a bunch of them out there i see y'all you can go back for children's church with miss
[00:38:19] tina and mr malik and miss marcel and have y'all selves a good old time and as the children make

[00:38:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:38:31] their way back even now as you've worshiped the lord with your singing voices would you stand and worship the Lord by affirming our faith by reciting together the historic statement of the Christian faith known as the Nicene Creed.
[00:38:47] We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
[00:39:06] God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.
[00:39:19] Through him all things were made.
[00:39:22] For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human.
[00:39:33] For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate He suffered death and was buried On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father
[00:39:51] He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead And his kingdom will have no end We believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord the giver of life who proceeds from the Father and the Son
[00:40:08] who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified who has spoken through the prophets we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church we acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins we look for the resurrection of the dead
[00:40:28] and the life of the world to come Amen. You may be seated. This morning, I'd like to open the message not by telling you a story or by sharing a piece of history or sports trivia, but by saying a few words about a prayer
[00:40:53] that most of us pray on a fairly regular basis, which is the Lord's Prayer. And I'd like to do that because the bulk of this morning's message, the meat of the sermon, is going to be about a
[00:41:06] second prayer, not a prayer like the Lord's Prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, but a prayer that Jesus prayed himself. And I refer to what is often called Jesus's High Priestly Prayer. And so I
[00:41:23] believe the Lord's Prayer is worth studying a little bit for its own sake, but I also believe that if we look at these two prayers together, we can learn more about prayer and more about Jesus
[00:41:37] than if we studied these prayers separately. So first, regarding the Lord's Prayer. Jesus' followers, having noticed how often that he prayed, came to him and asked him to teach them to pray.
[00:41:54] And so Jesus gave them what is this basic prayer that most of us pray at least every week if we're in church, but which many people probably don't really understand. And I say that many people
[00:42:08] don't understand the Lord's Prayer because the tendency we have is to treat the Lord's Prayer as if it were words we should simply recite and repeat instead of a prayer that we should pray from our hearts, which means we can treat the Lord's Prayer like the grace that maybe many of
[00:42:27] we're taught to pray before meals as children. There are different variations, but something like this, God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen. You know, I think at some
[00:42:41] point many of us probably found ourselves repeating those words or words like them, like children reciting the alphabet. Okay, God, I'm going to pray. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P.
[00:42:55] That's how it goes. And that's better than not praying at all, because even when we're just mindlessly repeating words like a parrot, we usually have at least one eye looking up towards heaven, and sooner or later, a lot of us start to wonder, what were those words that I used to say
[00:43:16] all about? For instance, when I was really young, I used to think that when I prayed, God is great, God is good, I was saying, I knew this couldn't be true, but it felt like I was saying God is losing it.
[00:43:33] You know, he used to be great, but he's not great anymore.
[00:43:37] But he still is good.
[00:43:39] I mean, to a seven or eight year old mind, it works that way.
[00:43:43] And it never made sense to me that that was what the prayer really meant.
[00:43:46] But when later I learned that God's greatness referred to his power and what we sometimes call his sovereignty and his goodness reflected on his character, then I was glad that I had been taught to pray those words I didn't used to understand.
[00:44:02] But my point is, the Lord's Prayer, and really every prayer, but the Lord's Prayer is not intended to be a series of religious sentences that we merely repeat.
[00:44:12] No, we are meant to actually pray the Lord's Prayer.
[00:44:17] And even more than that, the Lord's Prayer can be a pattern that helps us to pray even deeper prayers.
[00:44:24] Here's what I mean.
[00:44:25] The Lord's Prayer begins, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed or holy is your name.
[00:44:36] And that's true.
[00:44:37] But having prayed that, we can go on from there to praise God for other reasons using our own words.
[00:44:45] and then the Lord's prayer moves to the big ask that Christians everywhere should regularly ask God for God, may your kingdom come and may your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven
[00:45:03] and if you pray that from your heart it might inspire you if you've been watching the news at any time at all to lift up other concerns regarding our world and Lord may your kingdom be manifest here
[00:45:16] and you would use your own words and after praying for the world then it's okay to pray for ourselves God please give me what I need to live give us this day our daily bread
[00:45:32] or our daily pizza and oh yeah remind me to eat my vegetables because I should but I don't want to and forgive us our debts forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us
[00:45:52] you know sometimes I change that part too and please forgive me based on Jesus dying for me on the cross and teach me and help me and remind me to forgive other people in the same way
[00:46:10] you know I think when I make that little alteration it doesn't break the heart of God that I did it and then Jesus taught us to pray and lead us not into temptation and we should maybe add
[00:46:24] and help me not to go there on my own or maybe this part of the prayer is about persecution some say Jesus' words here are better translated and save us from the hour of trial
[00:46:36] which could be what the early Christians faced in the Roman Colosseums or it could mean that Jesus wanted us to pray lead us not into temptation save us from temptation and from trial but in any case the
[00:46:51] prayer ends deliver us from evil actually a better translation from the greek might be deliver us from the evil one for thine oh god is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever All of which is to say, when you pray the Lord's Prayer,
[00:47:14] you should pray it at home alone.
[00:47:17] And don't just recite the words like there's some sort of religious poem or passage of scripture you memorized, something like Awana, if you did that program.
[00:47:26] Instead, treat the Lord's Prayer as a prayer outline that Jesus gave us, intending for us to pray it regularly and faithfully, while also filling in some details of our own.
[00:47:39] Now, moving to the second prayer, what we call Jesus's high priestly prayer, this is a prayer that Jesus prayed himself shortly before going to the cross. And understand, this is not a prayer that he taught us to pray
[00:47:56] because I don't think we really can pray the whole thing. You see, Jesus was speaking here to God, the Father, out of his unique relationship to him and regarding his unique purpose in going to the
[00:48:10] cross. So there are things in Jesus's high priestly prayer that we cannot rightly pray because we are not Jesus. And if we did pray them, it would be vain, maybe even blasphemous if we knew what we were doing. So that doesn't mean that there are not things in this prayer that we can
[00:48:30] learn from, things that should inspire our worship, but not the whole prayer is something we can pray ourselves. So this morning, in the hope of encouraging you to know Christ better and to pray more often and to pray more deeply and in keeping with his will, I want to share with you
[00:48:55] Jesus's high priestly prayer, which is the prayer he prayed on the night before he died. So would you pray with me now, and then we'll turn to the Word. Heavenly Father, we can be so foolish.
[00:49:14] We will tell people that it is a great privilege that we can go directly to you in prayer, and then we will neglect doing it. And maybe that is because deep down we doubt that you are
[00:49:29] listening, or deep down we are lazy, or deep down we don't know how to pray. But we pray this morning through looking at Jesus' example, you would inspire us each to pray to you a little bit more
[00:49:49] or a lot more.
[00:49:53] This we ask in Jesus' name.
[00:49:56] Amen.
[00:49:58] So Jesus' high priestly prayer is written down for us in John chapter 17.
[00:50:06] And it can be neatly divided into three parts.
[00:50:09] By the way, you could use this prayer as a pattern to the parts as an outline without praying it exactly as he did.
[00:50:16] But you see, first, Jesus prayed for himself, which is okay to do.
[00:50:22] God would want you to pray for yourself.
[00:50:24] And then second, Jesus prayed for his first disciples, the people who followed him 2,000 years ago.
[00:50:34] And then, finally, Jesus prayed for everyone who would ever follow him, which hopefully includes all of us.
[00:50:43] so first Jesus prayed for himself and this is what we're told about this after Jesus said this remember in last week's sermon which was from John 16 Jesus said at the end of the chapter
[00:50:58] in this world you will have troubles but be of good cheer because I've overcome the world well after he said this he looked up to heaven and he prayed father the hour has come glorify
[00:51:13] your son, that your son may glorify you. Now, you know you can pray the second half of that prayer.
[00:51:22] God, help me to glorify you. But probably you can't pray so much the first half. And God, would you glorify me too? You might be tempted sometimes, but that's probably not a prayer we should pray. If I know anything, I know that, Lord, we shouldn't be going around saying, oh God,
[00:51:44] would you give me glory, please? I just think that doesn't work well. Now reading on, Jesus prayed, for you granted the Son authority over all people, that he might give eternal life to all those you
[00:51:58] have given him. And Jesus continued, now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God. And Jesus said, and that, pardon me, and that they know me, that is Jesus the Christ whom you
[00:52:17] have sent. Now this too is something that we cannot pray exactly as Jesus prayed it. We can pray about the ideals, but if we prayed the words as Jesus prayed them, referring to ourselves, oh this is
[00:52:32] eternal life that people know me, well, we would be insane or possessed. Anyway, Jesus continued, I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Now, this is something
[00:52:47] we should strive and pray and hope that we can say one day when we are reaching the end of our lives on earth, that we can say to God, I have finished the work you gave me to do.
[00:53:00] We couldn't quite say it as Jesus is praying it, but close enough.
[00:53:05] Only that's not true at all with what he prayed next.
[00:53:08] He prayed, and I always am struck by these words, and now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
[00:53:22] That prayer is above our pay grade.
[00:53:26] Doesn't matter if you have 10 PhDs and you're as rich as Bill Gates, it is above you.
[00:53:33] Now, before going any further, let me say something I really, truly, deeply believe.
[00:53:42] I believe the most important question in the world is who is Jesus, really?
[00:53:49] And of course, I say that as a Christian, and to me, Jesus is the Lord, the Savior, the Son of God, our one true hope.
[00:53:59] But even to the non-Christian who doesn't believe in him, They may say that Jesus is not important, but he often still is, especially if we're from the West.
[00:54:11] For instance, Jesus makes atheists try to explain how they have a hope just as good or better or more real than he offers. And when atheists do that, they often come up with what is plainly
[00:54:25] a Jesus substitute. Only like salt substitutes, it's not the same thing. I mean, Marxism, communism. It is supposed to be an atheistic philosophy, but it is so clearly the product of a mind that was raised in the church and rejected the messenger only to want to hold
[00:54:45] on to a lot of the message. I mean, Marx taught there is no God, and religion is the opiate or the drug of the masses. It gets in the way. But then he said, if you listen to me, everyone is
[00:55:00] going to learn to share. They're going to all work together and share everything equally.
[00:55:05] They're going to love sharing so much and get so good at sharing that the government will fade away because it won't be needed anymore. And beyond that, they'll be willing to fade away.
[00:55:18] And then when that happens, mankind will be not in heaven because there is no God, but will be in utopia, which is like heaven without God. So Marx pretty much prophesied that this is what would happen if we followed his economic and political prescriptions,
[00:55:35] which makes me want to say, and they call Christians religious nuts. I mean, I don't know what I find funnier, the part about everyone sharing of their own free will or the part about the government fading away. I just don't see it happening. So I want you to appreciate what Jesus
[00:55:51] prayed in the first part of his high priestly prayer. If you or I were to pray some of the things he prayed, the only reason for not accusing us of blasphemy would be pity. He or she is crazy
[00:56:05] as a loon. But don't stone them to death or put them in a home. Just leave them alone. Everybody knows they're crazy. No one takes them seriously. They can't do any harm. But Jesus did in fact pray
[00:56:21] these types of things about himself. And so you cannot escape the fact that in answering the question, who is Jesus Christ? He plainly spoke as if he was God and equal to God. By the way, just
[00:56:37] someone here may need to know, the claim that Jesus claimed to be equal with God is found not only in John, but in all four Gospels and throughout the New Testament. People say it's found only in John, but that's just because John, if I put it this way, in places where other folks
[00:56:58] just implied things, John wrote his truth in bold font and sometimes in all caps so that you couldn't miss it. Anyway, here we have Jesus. And let me ask you, what do you make of him? Do you believe
[00:57:16] he is all that for real? Not just saying it, but do you believe it for real? And beyond that, what would Jesus make of you? Do you believe what is written in Paul's letter to the church
[00:57:33] in Philippi, that he who began a good work in you will be faithful to carry it on to completion so that you will be what God created you to be?
[00:57:47] I mean, he may not be done when you hit the grave, but there's life beyond that.
[00:57:51] Do you believe he will finish the work he created you to be in so that you will be what you were meant to be?
[00:58:00] Well, Jesus goes on to answer that question, first by praying for his original disciples, and then by praying for all of us.
[00:58:07] So first here, what Jesus prayed for the original Big 12, not the football conference, but his 12 disciples. Jesus prayed to God. Jesus said to God, I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours. You gave them to me
[00:58:23] and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.
[00:58:32] And Jesus continued, for I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.
[00:58:37] They knew with certainty that I came from you And they believed that you sent me And Jesus prayed on, I pray for them I am not praying for the world But for those you have given me
[00:58:50] For they are yours All I have is yours And all you have is mine And glory has come to me through them And with that Jesus prayed I will remain in the world no longer
[00:59:05] But they are still in the world and I am coming to you Holy Father protect them by the power of your name the name you gave me so that they may be one as we are one
[00:59:18] while I was with them I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me and none of them has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that scripture would be fulfilled which was Judas
[00:59:34] so take note Jesus is praying here not for the world in this case but for his followers who are called out of the world and this points to an uncomfortable reality that we can't escape there is a choice that every one
[00:59:53] of us has to make you might say between two homes this world with all of its gold gossip and glory temporary glory and the kingdom of God with all of its grace truth and love
[01:00:08] plus eternal glory and the choice matters the choice matters forever the choice matters more than anything and with that truth in mind Jesus prayed on regarding those who belong to him I am coming to you now Father
[01:00:27] but I say these things while I am still in the world so that they Jesus' followers may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word, and the world has hated
[01:00:41] them, for they, my followers, are not of the world. Jesus prayed any more than I am of the world.
[01:00:51] And my prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.
[01:00:57] they are not of the world even as I am not of it sanctify them by the truth and your word is truth as you sent me into the world I have sent them into the world
[01:01:11] for them I sanctify myself that they too may be sanctified now the disciples, the apostles were not as we understand the word commonly perfect they became complete in Christ but they were still human and they got it right
[01:01:36] and that is why we remember them that is why the church is on every continent but the question for us is if we also are followers of Jesus what does it look like if we get it right
[01:01:50] if God gets it right in our lives how are we to end up being different so that we are not of the world even as Jesus was not of the world I mean, hear the prayer again.
[01:02:02] They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
[01:02:05] Sanctify them, make them holy by the truth.
[01:02:09] Your word is truth.
[01:02:10] Well, what does that look like?
[01:02:12] Well, remember, to be sanctified is to be called out for a purpose, to be made holy, which means to be made like Jesus.
[01:02:22] And to give you a real-to-life, modern picture of what that can look like, let me share a story from the news about a family from Georgia.
[01:02:31] Jason Hughes, husband and father of two children, a respected teacher and coach at North Hall High School in Georgia.
[01:02:39] And North Hall High School had this tradition of when students were juniors and seniors, they would do friendly pranks on the teachers that they liked.
[01:02:50] And Jason Hughes was expecting and looking forward to some sort of prank coming from some of his students.
[01:02:56] And so he was ready when five young men, including one jayden wallace who he was mentoring he was ready when they came to uh tp or decorate his trees with toilet paper a fine american tradition well hughes went out to catch the
[01:03:14] young men in the act and they got into jayden's truck to drive away but it had been raining and somehow jason hughes slipped and fell in front of jayden's moving truck and he was killed can you
[01:03:30] imagine? Prosecutors in Georgia charged Jaden Wallace with first-degree homicide. They charged the other four young men with trespassing. After all, whatever the intent, you know, homicide means someone was killed. Well, someone was killed. But we Christians, we may bleed and weep, but not always
[01:03:55] as everyone else. We become different because of Christ. So Jason Hughes's widow, Laura, who no doubt felt many, many, many different things. She said this to ABC News, we are thankful for the outpouring of prayers and support as we grieve the loss of Jason. We ask that you continue to
[01:04:19] pray for our family and also for the students involved in the accident along with their families. So here's a phrase, please join us in extending grace and mercy to them as Christ has done for us. Yeah. She continued, this is a terrible tragedy and our family is determined
[01:04:39] to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, which would be ruining the lives of these students.
[01:04:45] And then she said this, this would be counter to Jason's lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children. After that, the prosecutors in Georgia did pretty much the only thing they could do. They dropped all charges. Jaden Wallace, who was driving the truck that killed his teacher,
[01:05:04] is still grieving, but has said that he intends to move forward and live a life that would make his former teacher proud. His funeral took place last Saturday, the 14th, and you read about this
[01:05:17] and you almost have the idea that there are people in that family that think and believe they will see him again in a better place and on a better day. Now, you know, the world can mock
[01:05:31] that hope. They can say it's not true, but they can't match it. And if it's true, then there will be things in all of our lives which we will one day look at and say, well, this is terrible. It
[01:05:45] really is terrible. I'm not supposed to pretend that it's not, but all's well that ends well.
[01:05:53] And even this terrible thing will end well in the end. And I understand some people, maybe some of you cannot see how anyone can think that way. I mean, here is a husband and a father, and he's
[01:06:08] gone. But if you believe that God is real, if you believe that Christ is risen, if you believe that God is with you now, if you believe that therefore death is not a period but a comma, then there is
[01:06:23] real pain that comes into our lives when people die. But there is not only pain, and no matter what, there are things to hold on to which the world cannot take away. Anyway, I think it's right
[01:06:38] for us to read ourselves back into Jesus's prayer for his first disciples, because he didn't only pray for them that night, he also prayed for us. Hear what Jesus prayed next. Now, this can hurt.
[01:06:48] My prayer is not for them, the original disciples alone. I pray also for those who believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
[01:07:01] May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me, so that
[01:07:15] they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am
[01:07:27] and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you and they know that you have
[01:07:40] sent me. I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and that I myself may be in them. Now let me just highlight one part
[01:07:54] of what Jesus prayed, because it hits us where we live sometimes when we want to follow him.
[01:08:00] When Jesus prayed, when he taught us how to live, definitely when he died on the cross for us, he gave the impression, the rather strong impression, that following him was not meant to simply be a hobby like golf. It was meant to be a lifestyle, a way of life, the way to life.
[01:08:23] And you might first grasp that as meaning, well, this is between me and God. It is a vertical thing.
[01:08:31] And so it is. But then, because this is something that everyone seems to agree about or doesn't dare speak against, we should also care about everyone, all of humanity in general, and especially the outsiders, like Jesus, who went to outsiders. So there's a horizontal component
[01:08:47] to our faith. But Jesus is adding something else here, another point of emphasis, that the people who say they believe in him, he prays that they all be one, even as he is one with the Father.
[01:09:02] I pray also for those who believe in me, that all of them may be one, then the world will know you sent me. That is part of our witness. Nothing impresses atheists and unbelievers like watching
[01:09:16] Christians fight with each other, right? A few weeks ago, I officiated at a funeral service for Alice Villarreal. She's a great lady who was a member of this church. And during the service, her relatives shared how Alice had been raised Roman Catholic. But then she had a spiritual
[01:09:33] awakening, and she left the Roman Catholic Church, and she joined, I think, the Church of the Nazarene.
[01:09:38] and then she joined our church and she really loved our church and all that and i liked hearing that because hey it's a church i serve but you know when we are sharing christ and when we're
[01:09:50] living for christ it's not the church brand or label but the nail prints on his hands and the empty tomb so during the service i looked at the crowd i knew they were i sensed they were largely
[01:10:03] christian i could have guessed they probably all didn't go to the same type of church and so i made a point of saying that you know if we are in Christ we're all on the same team I actually a
[01:10:17] week or two later got a letter from a lady at that service who thanked me for saying that well Jesus's high priestly prayer also contains a letter to us to remind us of that fact we're on the same
[01:10:34] team no matter what we think of the other church or the person who sits next to us who we're bothered by at the moment. And sometimes it may feel like Jesus needs to send us multiple copies
[01:10:47] of the same letter because it's easy to look at people who go to other churches as being like people who shop at another store. Well, I go to the Gap. Well, I go to this. Is American Eagle
[01:10:58] still a thing? I don't know. I go to this store. I go to that store. Actually, I try to go to no stores, but that's another matter. Or we can look at them like people who root for another football
[01:11:06] team, or maybe fight in the enemy's army, and that's definitely wrong. If we are in Christ, we are all on the same team, even if we don't have the same brand on our church.
[01:11:23] So not all of you need this reminder, but some of us no doubt do, and some of us need constant reminding. Some of us need to pray, Lord, help me not to embarrass you too often. Help me to
[01:11:41] only hate the Catholics when we're playing Notre Dame, and then I'm sure you're on our side.
[01:11:50] But the rest of the time, help me to love them. And oh yes, the Baptists too, unless we're playing Baylor, and then you understand. One day maybe the Methodists will have a team worth hating,
[01:12:02] I don't know. My point is, Christ is everything, and everything that is of God is in Christ.
[01:12:13] May you, may we be in Christ as well, that the world may know that our hope is real.
[01:12:23] That's what Jesus prayed for. And even though we are not Jesus, we should pray for the same things.
[01:12:30] Would you pray with me now? Lord, people say growing old is not for sissies, and neither is following Jesus.
[01:12:48] It's not a hobby.
[01:12:52] Help us to know you.
[01:12:55] Help us to follow you for real.
[01:12:59] And Lord, teach us and educate us down to the last scruple about what it means to follow him.
[01:13:09] This we ask in Jesus' name.
[01:13:12] Amen.

[01:13:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:13:14] Please stand as you're able.
[01:13:15] Something isn't adding up This wild exchange you offer us

[01:13:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:13:32] I gave my worst you gave your blood seems hard to believe you're telling me you chose the cross

[01:13:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:13:47] you're telling me I'm worth that much well if that's the measure of your love how else would I

[01:14:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:14:00] But completely sold out, sincerely abandoned I'm completely to the ceiling enamored And my wife and ever to match your surrender To mirror and I will be yours Oh, I'm completely, please me, abandoned I said, I just can't get over it
[01:14:55] What kind of self-control You had angels at your fingertips But on the cross you remained Can't repay that kind of love Fazed with everything I've got Since death had all its power Then just like the grave
[01:15:25] I'm completely sold out

[01:15:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:15:30] Sincerely abandoned Best of my soul

[01:16:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:16:23] At your base of my life Within my lungs Consider it yours, Lord Failures I hide Victories I don't Battles I fight The crown that I hoard Consider it yours, Lord All the glory Pray that you will
[01:16:59] Be abandoned Sir Just a closing thought.

[01:18:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:18:18] you know there's a lot of stuff we do that's Christian read books do things, sing songs probably the one thing that matters most that we do the least is praying I just encourage you to pray to God
[01:18:34] and to believe that if he saw even the sparrow fall and said metaphorically he noticed the number of hairs on our head I don't know that he cares but I do believe he hears our prayers
[01:18:46] and God will hear you would you join me in the sending forth All need to be saved All can be saved All can know they are saved All can be saved to the uttermost