Dec. 17, 2017 PM Service What We Need God’s Glory by Pastor Josh Sheldon

Jesus begins what is rightly called the high priestly prayer, John 15 and 16, as we've gone through those we see he speaks to the disciples about what is about to come.

He speaks to the disciples about where they're going to find their strength and where they're going to find their hope.

Of course that is in him as branches connected to the true vine and such teaching like that.

And now finally he comes to this break and prays as it were about himself.

This high priestly prayer where the whole tone and the direction of this discourse in the upper room the night before his crucifixion takes a change.

John 17 the beginning of verse 1 and we will attend ourselves this morning to the first five verses.

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 since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all you have given him and this is eternal life that they know you the only true

God and Jesus Christ whom you sent. I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do and now father glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

May God bless the reading and now the hearing of his word. So I ask you what is it that you need in your

Christian walk? What is it that is necessary to you as you think of persevering in the faith of enduring in this world where we are pilgrim and pilgrims and sojourners?

What is it that you need? Now some might answer a question like that say well I need more time in prayer.

Another might take stock and say well I really should study the Scriptures more consistently more often and yes says another that'd be good but I mean more depth

I need to see the deep things of the Lord I need to delve into the more wondrous things of God's revelation of himself and these are good more prayer can only benefit us get us closer to the

Lord Bible study whether it's more in content or more in depth can only bring good to our souls and mold us more into the image of our

Savior these would all be good and right answers but what is it we really need?

Those previous suggestions can help us in our pilgrimage here but the answers

I just proposed all of which I've heard at different times these things are all things that I need to do and there are things that we need to do we do need to pray more

I need to pray more you do need to study the Scripture more as do I you need to know the

Lord better by knowing his revelation of himself in the Bible better as do

I we all need those things and these are our duties these are things that we do

I will offer you from the verses here before us in Jesus beginning this high priestly prayer a slightly different answer not that there's anything wrong with those others no criticism of them they're good answers here's another but perhaps this answer that I will propose is a bit more foundational what we need before any of these other things what we need is for Jesus to be glorified by the

Father and for him to glorify the Father before any of these activities that bring good to us and bring more sanctification and more of the image of Christ in us by the power of the

Holy Spirit by the study of his word through prayer through submission to his will before all these things all of them being good things there is this we need

Jesus to be glorified we need Jesus to be glorified by his father and we need his father to be glorified by him this precedes anything we might do that glorifies

God which according to first Corinthians 1031 is the purpose for which God has even given us breath whatever you do do all for the glory of God an instruction from the

Apostle which tells us that we can do things do stuff I you all whose faith is in Christ can glorify

God but of course this glorification of God is secondary to this this glorification where the son glorifies the father the father glorifies the son must precede all without that there's no other glory to be even concerned about or reduced to self -serving works but such is not the case because indeed as we will see

God did glorify son the son did glorify his father that precedes anything that we might do our great high priest does for us what the priests of old never could and what is that he makes the glory of God accessible he makes the glory of God accessible he makes it something real and something practical something we can stand before and we were speaking of it this morning in the morning's message we don't have to run from the glory of God we're able to be in the presence of the glory of God the very glory of God and not depart because it's too much for us to handle we spoke this morning about the reason for that being a mediated glory it's mediated by the

Lord Jesus Christ and therefore we can stand in it as we glorify

God even in our worship here this afternoon the disciples saw this so the glory of Jesus they saw it on the

Mount of Transfiguration Peter James and John went up there and remember Jesus was transfigured before them and his clothes shown white as the

Sun and they looked upon that glory what glory was that again from the morning's message not a different glory not that the

Sun has a glory different from what the Father has or from what the Spirit has they saw the glory of God and lived and far from having to run out of the tabernacle as did the priests of old

Peter said let's build some huts let's stay here this is a good place to be standing in the presence of God there wasn't a glory yet to be seen then the ultimate sign of the glory is what was waiting which is the cross

Jesus perfect life of total obedience was about to accomplish the goal of it all the salvation of sinners and here is what is meant that the

Father has given the Son authority over all flesh for you have given him given me really he's saying but he speaks of himself in the third person there given him authority over all flesh the cross is where God's servant will be pinned helplessly to the tree and there his blood would be poured out in place of ours and there his death will satisfy our proper punishment

God's wrath will be poured out God's wrath will be emptied upon him and he will suffer in his body in his soul to what was deserved by others there's a distinction here between all flesh you've given him authority over all flesh and then what he says the people whom you gave me out of the world in verse 6 we didn't read it in the reading just a moment ago but that's who he refers to next first is all flesh in the next verse the people whom you gave me out of the world all flesh of course means everyone everyone all humanity through all time without distinction everyone he has authority over them this is by to him by the

Father it is he who has that authority is he who has that right is he who will sort out the sheep from the goats it is he at whose direction the angels will sort out the good from the bad fish he

Jesus not the angels but the Lord Jesus Christ is the one with that authority over all and within that larger pale which within the larger group of all humanity there's a smaller group as a smaller group no one knows who it is but God God alone knows how small or how large it is but we have some pictures of it don't we this larger this smaller group within the all flesh the people whom you gave me out of the world revelation pictures them for us as myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands

Jesus speaks of them as those who entered by a narrow gate that only a few were able to find who's he talking about the redeemed of the

Lord saints you me everyone with faith in the

Lord Jesus Christ is one of these those whom God the Father gave God the

Son from out of the world chosen before the foundations of the world were put in place these by name are the

Father's bestowment to the Son so with eyes to his ultimate place which is heaven it says he was looking upwards looking upwards to the throne that the one that he left for our sakes the one he soon to return to with glory he asks the

Father for what it is we need most we need

God's glory we need God's glory in verse 2 we find the basis for this mutual glorification between Christ and his father sort of the endgame for Christ's universal authority to give eternal life to all you have given him again speaking of himself in the third person

God the Father gave him authority over all flesh and he gives he has that authority he alone has that right to give eternal life to those he has given him and then the next verse those are the ones who

God the Father gave God the Son from out of the world and so as Jesus begins the end of this discourse the beginning of the high priestly prayer which ends this last discourse he's anticipating the completion of the transaction he will be glorified by the

Father by what by obeying him to the death even the death of the cross and that of course that reference

I just alluded to is Philippians 2 8 where Paul sets forth the humility of obedience that was exemplified by Jesus and that has but one trajectory apostle writes therefore

God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord to the glory of God the Father of course the Apostle here speaking of the end result of Jesus Christ humbling himself even to the death even the death of the cross let this mind be in you also of course the beginning of that think like Jesus other serving humility in submission to God the

Father's will and by that he exalted lifted on high returning to the

Father's side and there waiting for his return and for every need about him and confess that he is

Lord he and he alone to the glory of God the Father who gave him the people for whom he died

Jesus is going to give eternal life to those chosen by and given to him now they are his but we don't just get handed to him and then

Jesus doesn't just hand out passports to heaven eternal life which is salvation which is everlasting joy in the presence of God as we read in the psalm that's something to be earned not by you not by me not by any works of our hands not by any person who's ever lived but Jesus not by us but for us for you and for me

Christ the next day will earn this for us at the cross the wages of sin is death what are the wages of the cross by faith in him life eternal life eternal joy in the presence of the

Lord what is this eternal life he's speaking of what is this wonder set before the

Sun and accomplished by him for us well in verse 3 he tells us is to know both the

Father who gave you to Christ and Christ who accepted you from his hand what is eternal life to know you the one true

God and Jesus Christ his son your son whom he whom you sent spend just a moment here

Arthur Pink points out here I quote the knowledge spoken of your knowledge of the

Father the knowledge spoken of here is not speculative but practical not theoretical but experimental not intellectual but spiritual not inactive but saving in other words to know

God as Christ means here to know him saving Lee is an intimate and determined and trusting knowledge of him and who he is it's a knowledge that believes what

God says of himself and lives on that basis he's the only true

God not one out of a panoply where men fill their pockets with the deities that suit them not like a man looking at Amazon and seeing gods for sale over here and some with free shipping and then just before completing is where he says well a

Christ might be nice how much would that be oh that's too much he demands repentance he demands a life of obedience

I'll put him back take him out of my cart and these others that remain there those are more to my liking well there's only one true

God God the Father whom God the Son is here praying to and as we will see as we finish these this part of Jesus prayer in the next few weeks he consecrates himself to them whom

God gave him no Jesus means the only true

God the one who says of himself declare and present your case let them take counsel together who told this long ago who declared it of old was it not

I the Lord and there is no other God besides me a righteous

God and a Savior there is none besides me this is the only true

God this is God the Father who Jesus is praying to this is God the Father who makes the determination of who his son will die for those whom he

God the Father gave him from out of the world it couldn't be more clear Christ means the

Lord who speaks and whatever he speaks happens he means the only true God the one who mocks idols and beckons them to speak or act to do anything except that one thing they are able to do which is to lead men and women astray do anything good speak something tell us what happened yesterday tell me what happened five minutes ago and what's gonna happen in the next two minutes the challenge from God to those idols is that mocking it's almost that absurd to think that an idol can do anything like that no there's but one

God this God who our Savior consecrates himself to for the work of the next day

God the Father excuse me eternal life what

Jesus is speaking of here that he's going to give eternal life to those whom the Father gave him it's defined according to its giver who is of course

God if men proceed to define it for themselves they're gonna run amok as they always have and then they will set for themselves what is needed to have it they will decide it for themselves as they always have it's an idea of knowing

God then this is eternal life they know you the one true God the true and living God how do we know

God no one has ever seen God the only God who was at the Father's side he has made him known we spoke of it this morning as Jesus explained him that's how we know him as Jesus who came and explained who exegeted who narrated

God who presented God the Father if you've seen me you've seen the Father that's how we know him if pinks exposition gives us some practical guidelines here we have the body of knowledge

I'm not gonna go over it of course except to say that the Bible is our explanation of who and what

God is he has seen in his works he's understood in his words his works in history are consistent with this person and his words are his self -testimony and his commitments the things that God himself of his own volition has committed himself to in the context of this high priestly prayer

Jesus consecrating himself to the next day's work his passion as we call them call it sometimes what does he committed himself to he has committed himself

God the Father has committed himself to actually in fact and truly save those for whom his son will die the next day actually in time and space in history at the cross really to save that people who he gave him paired with knowledge of God the

Father is equally to know God the Son that you know him that they know you the one true

God and Jesus Christ whom you sent the word and you the true

God and Jesus Christ that and is bigger than it's three letters might imply it could almost be an equal sign one without the other is not the only true

God meaning God the Father without the God the Son that's not the God of our Bible the Father without the

Son has no one to send the Son without the Father has no one to save if God glorifies the

Son and the Son the Father how can there be any glory if one of them is left out and if no one has ever seen the

Father how can God have dwelt among us if God cannot be seen who is it who was seen on the cross and then not seen in the tomb and then seen alive after before before he ascended back to his father see we worship a thrice holy

God that's the true God that Jesus says this is eternal life to know you the true

God and though the Holy Spirit is not much in view right here he is prominent in the

Lord's discourse elsewhere just not right here we affirm with one voice that the only true

God is one God in three persons Father Son Holy Spirit so what did the and tell us if someone says there is one without the other then he is not speaking of the only true

God he is not speaking of eternal life let's now John explains us in his first epistle first John chapter 5 everyone who believes that Jesus is the

Christ has been born of God and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him by this we know that we love the children of God when we love

God and obey his commandments for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that is overcome the world our faith who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the

Son of God and so Christ goes on I have glorified you on earth he says in his prayer to the father this prayer of self -consecration

I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work you gave me to do and now father glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed in the briefest exposition of these five verses what it means what

Jesus is speaking of here who is this God that Jesus says to know this

God to know God is to have eternal life what do we need we need to start where Jesus did we need him to bring to his fullest expression the glory of God we all know first Corinthians 1031 a precept that too often simply makes us feel inadequate to the task and all you do do all to the glory of God but by God's grace we're actually not we're actually not insufficient to the task by the power of an indwelling spirit we can and we do bring glory to him now

I'm not saying we're little gods making the true God anything the Lord condescends to notice and take pleasure in the things we do in his name and for the sake of his honor and has chosen of himself that these things should bring him glory the works we do in his name the works we do so that he will get the credit the works we do that make little of me and much of Jesus the things we do where somebody says that was a great thing you did and you give all the praise to Christ our

Savior like it or not you are bringing glory to God not the kind of glory

Jesus speaks by where he says glorify your son in the storm glorify you that that's a whole different paradigm this is

God in the process of sanctifying us to himself growing us in the image of his son saying that the things you do in my son's name that are truly by faith in his name

I have chosen to be glorified by that that's what we mean

God's glory is his chief concern he does everything for his glory the heavens declare the glory of God I mean in regards to judgment of sin was a scripture say among those who are near me

I will be sanctified and before all the people I'll be glorified after destroying native

AB and Abihu for having profaned the just erected tabernacle when

Jesus healed the paralytic and forgave his sins what does it say when the crowd sought they were afraid and they glorified

God who had given such authority to men in regards to the purpose of his people's gathered worship as we are this afternoon as we were this morning as God willing we will be again

Wednesday evening and God willing again next Sunday in regards to that assembly go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified says the

Lord Jesus prays for the mutual sharing of glory between him and the father his glory ranks with holiness among his most jealously guarded qualities towards the end of Jesus prayer he's going to say father

I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory the glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world this refers it seems to that time when eternal life begins when we stand in the presence of our

Savior Savior when we will see him as he is because we will be like him then we're going to see this glory the same that James and John and Peter saw on the mount for now while the

Lord tarries while we remain here we trust that this glory is in store for us that God will keep his word to his son and Jesus's word to us so what do we need what do you need tomorrow when you go about your work a day life what do

I need tomorrow when I come back to this office and begin studying for next Sunday's message what is the youngest believer need what is the most elderly believer me need what we need is

God's glory God's glory seen in his son Jesus Christ to have that always set before us this is our greatest need to see