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The Lords Prayer Luke
17:1-26
A
little girl went to her mom and said, “Mom, I guess everybody up in
heaven must think I am dead.”
“Why would you say that?” Mom asked
“Because I haven’t said my prayers for over a week now.”
Can you identify with this little girl? Could you be honest with us
today and admit that there have been dry and weary times in your life
when you didn’t pray, or wouldn’t pray, or couldn’t pray?
I love the fact that the apostles asked Jesus to teach them how to pray
in Luke 11. It was the only thing that the Apostles ever asked Jesus to
teach them how to do. So that must mean that it is a little more
difficult than we would put on.
I have also always been enamored with the fact that the Apostle Paul
could pray all through the night, when I am honest enough to say that
there have been times that I couldn’t focus on God for 5 minutes much
less 5 hours.
Today I want to stress the importance of prayer, because I believe that
Jesus stressed it.
Before He began His earthly ministry, He went to the desert for 40 days,
for prayer.
Jesus often got away by Himself to pray. In Luke 22 we see, “He went out
to the mount of Olives as He was accustomed…”
Today we see that right before the biggest trial of Jesus’ life – His
arrest and crucifixion, He needs to pray.
Now I know that we pray. But I believe in the Lord’s Prayer found here
in the 17th chapter of John we can find what was on the Heart of Christ
and maybe what should be on our hearts as well.
Pray for yourself John 17:1-5
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and
said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may
glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to
give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal
life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you
have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that
you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence
with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Glorifying God. Verse 1.
If you are like most people, you consider prayer for yourself to be last
on the priority list of things to pray for. I want you to notice where
Jesus put prayer for Himself. It is at the beginning of his prayer. All
our work for the Lord must be bathed in prayer. If we don’t cover
ourselves in prayer, what is going to happen? I am sure that the impact
you will have on the world will be less than if you had begun in prayer.
John Bunyon said, “You can’t do anything more than pray until you have
prayed, but you can do more than pray once you have prayed. It is not
selfish to pray for yourself. It could be considered vain not to pray
for yourself. Don’t let pride enter into your prayer life. When it came
right down to the end of Jesus’ life, His prayer was that He would be
glorified so He could glorify the Father.
Listen to what Jesus said when predicting His death. “Now my soul is
troubled and what shall I say? Father save Me from this hour? But for
this purpose, I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.”
Are you willing to face opposition, oppression, or even death so that
God may be glorified in you? If not, then pray that you can stand up to
the trials you will face. Then God will be glorified in you.
Winning souls. Verses 2-3.
Do you know that you have been given authority on earth? Jesus said He
had authority over all flesh. The Greek word translated “flesh” is sarx
and it speaks of the body as opposed to the spirit and soul. It usually
refers to man’s human nature which is fallen. We have been given
authority over our fleshly nature through the work of the cross.
Jesus prayed here that His desire is to give the gift of eternal life to
as many as the Father has given Him. What should your prayer be? Have
you not been told that you have a job to do? Have you not been given a
commandment to go and share the gospel? Did Jesus not leave us with a
great commission to fulfill? Are you not adopted sons and daughters of
the King of creation? Then you have a job to do – to tell people about
eternal life.
Finishing the work. Verses 4-5.
Jesus finished His work on earth, culminating in the cross and
resurrection. But He never finished without prayer. Are you going to be
able to remain faithful to the calling? Not without prayer in your life.
Are you going to exhibit power in your life? Not without prayer. Will
you be able to be an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of
your testimony? Pray. If you have any desire to finish, then you must
take these three necessary steps. 1) pray. 2) pray! 3) pray!!!
Before you ever consider doing the work of the Lord, you must go to the
Lord of the work. Are you ready to be glorified? I find it interesting
that we often pray that we get a glimpse of God’s glory in our services.
But consider this. Jesus saw God’s glory when he was placed upon the
cross. God was glorified in the completed work that was done when the
price for our sin was paid. Then three days later that glory was
magnified in power with the resurrection. God’s glory is often seen in
our brokenness.
“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap
if we do not lose heart.” Finish your work. Glorify God. Remember to
pray for yourself.
Pray for Other Believers John 17:6-19
6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the
world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your
word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from
you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have
received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and
they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not
praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are
yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in
them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and
I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have
given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with
them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded
them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction,
that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you,
and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy
fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world
has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of
the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that
you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I
am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19
And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified
in truth.
For Revelation. Verses 6-8.
Jesus says, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given
Me…” When we trust Christ one of the things that happens is that the
Holy Spirit begins to quicken our spirits to a new understanding of
scripture.
But Paul prayed that the church in Ephesus would receive revelation.
“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and
your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you,
making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being
enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are
the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…” (Ephesians
2:8-9)
We need to pray for one another. Are we serious about seeing full-blown
revival break out? Pray for those sitting next to you.
Pay that God would reveal Himself to them in dreams, and especially His
word. Regardless of your age, God desires to use you for His purpose –
to seek and save that which is lost. Receiving revelation builds you up
so the kingdom can be built.
For Holiness. Verses 9-12.
Recognize your brothers and sisters in Christ for who they are and to
whom they belong. “I pray for them. I don not pray for the world but for
those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” Your wife/husband is
your sister/brother in Christ. They belong to God. And if they belong to
God how are they expected to act out their earthly existence? By living
lives that are holy and pleasing to God.
Can they do that on their own? You are saved by grace and sanctified in
grace. You are also kept by grace. We cannot live the Christian life
without God’s grace actively working in our lives. How can we keep a
continual flow of grace coming to us? By praying for one another.
Paul saw the need: Romans 15:30, “strive together with me in prayers to
God for me.”
1 Thessalonians 5:25, “Brethren, pray for us.”
Philemon 25, “I trust that through your prayers I may be granted to
you.” And as well as asking for prayer, Paul began nearly every one of
his letters by commending the readers and assuring them that he was
praying for them. It was not just a nice way to begin a letter. Paul
recognized the need to pray.
Prayer keeps us close to the Father in order to help us recognize our
sinful nature. It keeps us close to the cross to remember that Jesus
paid the ultimate penalty for our sin. Prayer keeps us in spiritual
contact with our brothers and sisters that we never forget to lift them
up.
For Safety. Verse 14,
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they
are not of this world…” Those who are effective for the kingdom will
experience these things;
The world will hate them. Since the world has no understanding of
spiritual things, they take every advantage to bring harm to
Christianity in the name of civil rights. Of course, we see Christians
around the world being murdered for their faith. Pray for them.
Missionaries go into dangerous situations every day. Pray for them. You
in this church face witnessing opportunities every day. Pray for one
another.
For Sanctification Verses 15-19
We have been set apart. Sanctified! Pray that the sanctification process
will continue in every one in this church. We are sanctified by truth.
That’s God’s word. “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always
in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your
fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident
of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will
complete until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Pray for those who will be saved John 17:20-26
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in
me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father,
are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world
may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I
have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in
them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the
world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me
where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me
before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though
the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have
sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make
it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and
I in them.”
For Unity in the Body. Verse 20-22.
I know without a doubt that each of us has something that bothers us
concerning others. It may be appearance. It might be the color of
someone’s skin or their accent. Maybe it is an alcohol problem or drug
abuse. Whatever it is that you don’t approve of I urge you to let God be
the judge. You just continue to pray for unity in the body of Christ.
You see, unity is not when everybody else thinks like you do. Unity is
when you see all others with the eyes of Christ. Jesus says we can be
one as He and the Father are one. We have the mind of Christ now. How
are we going to pray? That we see others through God’s eyes with His
heart.
For the Perfecting of the Saints. Verse 23
Because Jesus is in all believers, and the Father is in Him, we can be
made perfect. The word translated “perfect” means to complete,
accomplish, or consummate something in a person’s character. When we are
perfect, we will have God’s heart.
In Colossians 1:28 we read, “Him we preach, warning every man and
teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect
in Christ Jesus. Jesus has given us His glory. Glory brings unity and
perfection. Perfection comes in the cleansing power of the cross and the
blood and not in our own works. Perfection(sanctification) is an act of
grace.
For Mutual Love. Verses 23-26
Jesus prays that the Father will love believers the same way that He was
loved by Him. It is an eternal love (before the foundation of the
world). Jesus had just finished speaking to the disciples about love.
15:12-13 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s
life for his friends.”
When we look at the commandment of Jesus to love one another, we tend to
look at love as a reciprocal act. If you love me, I will love you. That
is not what is expected from Christians. We are to love with the love of
Christ. That means unconditional love.
When someone makes a mistake in their life, we continue to love them.
When someone steps away from the faith, we keep loving them.
When someone hurts you – now it’s getting difficult – we are called to
keep loving.
Jesus was so transparent with His disciples. He didn’t hide anything
from them. He did not put up walls of defense. He never rejected them.
He loved them.
So how important is prayer? When Jesus finished praying in the upper
room they left and went out to the Garden of Gethsemane and did what? He
prayed some more. If we are to ever make an impact in our world, it has
to be bathed in prayer.
1) Pray for yourself. Do you think that without praying for yourself
first that your prayer for others will ever be effective? Pray that your
life would glorify God, that you would be a soul winner, and that you
would finish strong.
2) Pray for other believers. They need your prayer support the same way
you need theirs. Prayer is mutually beneficial. Pray that the gifts of
the Spirit would be manifested through others. Pray God’s protection
over them. Stand in the gap for them as they are doing the Lord’s work.
Pray holy fire into their lives.
3) Pray for those who are yet to be saved. Persistence is the key. Pray
for the unlovable. Pray for the vile. You never know whom it is that God
is going to save. Pray that your love for all people would be
unwavering.
Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London, so they
went to hear the famed C.H. Spurgeon preach. While waiting for the doors
to open, the students were greeted by a man who asked, "Gentlemen, let
me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of this
church?" They were not particularly interested, for it was a hot day in
July. But they didn’t want to offend the stranger, so they consented.
The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and
their guide whispered, "This is our heating plant." Surprised, the
students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the
service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing
the door, the gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than
Charles Spurgeon.
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