{"id":31510,"date":"2024-06-13T22:00:54","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T05:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-17_1-12-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T14:17:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T21:17:40","slug":"john-17_13-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-17_13-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear the Heartbeat of Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 17:13-26\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 17:13-26.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 17:13-16 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-16:\u00a0 In a world where followers of Jesus will have trouble (John 16:33) and will be misunderstood by many (John 15:18), Jesus does not pray that the Father remove his followers from this world.\u00a0 Rather Jesus prays that the Father would protect them from the evil one (v15).\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 heart is that his disciples would have the full measure of his joy within them even as they go through hardship (v13).\u00a0 What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

First,\u00a0the joy that Jesus has and wants to give to us (v13) is not dependent on our circumstances, but is greater than our circumstances<\/strong>.\u00a0 Just as Paul could greatly rejoice even when he was in prison (Philippians 1:18), so we can find joy in our relationship with God even when the circumstances around us are difficult and trouble surrounds us.<\/p>\n

How do we experience this joy?\u00a0 We do so by drawing near to Jesus and hearing what Jesus says about us. Notice the context of Jesus\u2019 words here: most likely Jesus\u2019 disciples are hearing Jesus pray these words to the Father.\u00a0 The disciples are hearing what Jesus is saying about them.\u00a0 Likewise, because Jesus loves us like no other, there is a certain joy we experience when we hear what Jesus has to say about us.\u00a0 To hear what Jesus says about you, draw near to Him.<\/p>\n

Second, just as Jesus prayed that the Father would protect the disciples from the evil one (v15), so we must\u00a0remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12).\u00a0 Our ultimate enemy is not people but Satan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Third,\u00a0don\u2019t expect to win many popularity contests in this world if you are a believer in Jesus (v14)<\/strong>.\u00a0 The fact is that the world, influenced by our enemy Satan, is bent against Christ and against Christ followers (v14), and we do not belong to the world just as much as Christ did not belong to this world (v14, 16).<\/p>\n

John 17:17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 17:\u00a0 People will sometimes argue that truth is relative.\u00a0 In contrast, Jesus taught that there is absolute truth and equated the Father\u2019s word with truth (v17).<\/p>\n

John 17:18-19 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-19: \u00a0In this prayer of Jesus in John 17, we get to see how much Jesus identifies with his disciples, and how much he treats his disciples the way that his Father treats him.\u00a0 He sends his disciples just as the Father sent him (v18).\u00a0 So that his disciples can be sanctified and made holy (v19), Jesus says, \u201cI sanctify myself\u201d (v19).\u00a0 How can Jesus, who is already the Son of God and perfectly holy, sanctify himself?\u00a0 Most likely what Jesus means by \u201cI sanctify myself\u201d is that he is setting himself apart for the Father\u2019s purpose even to the point of death, and that in setting himself apart this way, he will make sanctification and holiness possible for all his disciples.<\/p>\n

John 17:20-23 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 20-23: \u00a0Starting at verse 20, Jesus prays for you and me: \u201cfor those who will believe in me through their [the disciples\u2019] message\u201d.\u00a0 Notice that Jesus prays for our unity, that we would be one just as Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus.\u00a0 He also prays that we would be in the Father,\u00a0\u201cso that the world may believe that you have sent me\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(v21).\u00a0 In other words,\u00a0Jesus understood that if the world would come to believe in him, it would require that his church, his messengers, be united in love with one another and with God\u00a0<\/strong>(v21, 23).\u00a0 According to Jesus,\u00a0the way we love one another internally within the church will in many ways determine how effective we will be in reaching the world externally with the Gospel.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus is absolutely right.\u00a0 How it saddens and frustrates me whenever I hear one Christian speaking negatively and carelessly about another Christian or another church in the presence of a non-Christian.\u00a0 No matter how right that Christian thinks they are, the biggest message they\u2019re sending to the non-believer is: \u201cChristians are so divided.\u00a0 If they can\u2019t get along, why should I join them?\u201d Be careful how you speak about other Christians and churches to your not yet Christian friends.<\/p>\n

John 17:24-26 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I 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.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-26:\u00a0 Here we see more of Jesus\u2019 heart for us: how he wants us to be with him where he is (v24), to see his glory (v24), and to reveal to us who the Father is so that the Father\u2019s love, indeed Jesus himself, would live in us (v26).<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, through Your prayers to the Father we can see how beautiful is Your heart, how devoted is Your love for us, and how committed You are to the mission the Father gave to You.\u00a0 Today I echo the prayer You prayed here.\u00a0 I pray that Your church would be fully united so that the world would know that You are the Son of God who died on the cross so that all of us could be sanctified, made holy and reconciled to You.\u00a0 \u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 17:13-26.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!
\n\u00a0
\nJohn 17:13-16 (NIV)
\n13\u00a0\u00a0“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
\n14\u00a0\u00a0I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
\n15\u00a0\u00a0My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
\n16\u00a0\u00a0They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.<\/p>\n

On verses 13-16:\u00a0 In a world where followers of Jesus will have trouble (John 16:33) and will be misunderstood by many (John 15:18), Jesus does not pray that the Father remove his followers from this world.\u00a0 Rather Jesus prays that the Father would protect them from the evil one (v15).\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 heart is that his disciples would have the full measure of his joy within them even as they go through hardship (v13).\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31510"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31513,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31510\/revisions\/31513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}