Sermon Preached at Grace Community Church (EPC)
Sun City Grand, Surprise, AZ
Sunday, May 29, 2011
by the Reverend Cooper McWhirter
“Praying … Not Preying: The High Priestly Prayer” [Part Four]
John 17:6-19
One of the most heartening experiences a person can enjoy is to be prayed for by someone else. And even more comforting is to have that person pray with you. When someone prays on your behalf something wondrous happens! A bond is established between you and that other person, but there’s also a sense of intimacy between you and God. It’s as though you are being ushered into the very presence of God!
Yes, prayer can be an effective conduit in establishing and nurturing relationships among Christians. Praying …as opposed to preying helps to ensure harmony and peace within the church. When a congregation prays together, it helps in preventing any unseemly attempt to incite discord or strife.
But did it ever occur to you that Christ, as our Lord and Savior, also is praying for you and for me? He goes before His heavenly Father with intercessions on our behalf. And He does so especially in times when we are weak; when we are most vulnerable or susceptible to Satan’s evil ploys!
Someone once said: “If I could hear Christ praying for me, I would not fear a thousand demons knawing at my heels!” Yes, when it comes to intercessory prayer, time and distance no longer are a factor. It is enough for us to know that our beloved Savior is praying for us at all times and in every way!
So, this morning I invite you to join the other eleven disciples as they walked alongside the Lord as He led them down to the Kidron Valley and up the sloping hillside to the Mount of Olives where Judas Iscarot would dare to betray our Rabboni with a kiss!
In this segment of Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” you and the other disciples discover [that]: CHRIST PRAYS FOR YOUR PROTECTION. Secondly, CHRIST PRAYS FOR YOUR SANCTIFICATION. And finally, CHRIST PRAYS FOR YOUR UNITY WITH FELLOW BELIEVERS.
First of all, CHRIST PRAYS FOR YOUR PROTECTION (repeat).
In Hebrews 7:25 we read: “Consequently He (Christ) is able for all time to save those who approach God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Similarly, the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans: “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” [Romans 8:34].
In verse 12 Jesus proclaims that all of His disciples, except for the “son of perdition” (referring to Judas), which the Father had given Him, have been guarded, or protected, by Him.
Jesus goes on to say that the world hates His disciples because they are not of this world, just as He Himself is not of this world. And yet, Jesus does not ask His Father to take them out of the world. Instead, He prays that you and the others will be kept from the evil one.
When I think of protection I’m reminded of an ancient ritual observed by many Native American Indian tribes. Before a young brave could achieve manhood in the eyes of the tribal counsel he had to endure one final initiation.
Since childhood the boy would have been taught by the elders of the tribe to hunt, to fish, and to track wild game. As the boy grew in stature he would have become adept with the use of a knife and a bow and arrow.
On the night of his initation the boy would be led away blindfolded to a remote dense forest where he would have to fend for himself alone in the woods. During his childhood the young brave would have experienced the relative safety of being among his fellow tribesmen. But now, perhaps for the first time in his life, he was alone with no one to protect him.
The sounds of the night echo an eerie feeling. The rustling of branches can frighten the stoutest of brave hearts especially when one begins imagining a wild animal on the prowl. Then, after a long and harrowing sleepless night, the dawn finally breaks through the glistening forest with rays of sunlight. And as he peers around the young brave discovers to his astonishment the towering figure of a man standing only a few feet away, armed with bow and arrow. It was the young warrior’s father who had kept watch over his son all through the night!
Dear ones, we must always remember that although God is invisible, God is also invincible! God is strong and mighty to save even the most fragile and weakest of hearts. We do not need to see Him in order to to know that He is with us … always!
But Christ not only promises to protect you, CHRIST PRAYS FOR YOUR SANCTIFICATION (repeat)
In the Greek the word sanctification is which literally means “to be set apart.” For just as God is holy, those who worship Him must also be holy!
This is not to suggest that we are somehow void of sin. Yet, God’s Word continually reminds us that we are not rendered powerless against sin. What it does mean is that as followers of Christ we come to loathe sin; for it is our desire to do nothing more than to be Christlike in all our ways.
Someone once said that “Sanctification is not about avoiding or escaping the world around us; for none of us are impervious to the trappings of this world. Why even the most chast among monks who may dwell in a remote monastery cannot possibly escape from the world outside.
When we experience a spiritual rebirth, and although we are set apart, we should not think of ourselves as being shelved like some Christmas ornament. But rather we should think of ourselves as being used of God in service to Him whatever and wherever He may lead us.
Sanctification is not so much an emotional, or behaviorial pattern. Rather, it is a genuine act of contrition or mortification towards that which is unholy. You’ve heard me say it before: “Sanctification is an outward expression of an inward condition.” God bestows His grace and mercy not because we are good, but because God is good! In a word, we are not to be in conformity to the ways of this world for just as Jesus said: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of this world, because of this the world hates you” [John 15:18].
Put simply, if the world loves you and you love the world, then you must get down on your hands and knees and pray for God’s mercy! But, if the world hates you because you are not of this world, then you, too, must be on your hands and knees in gratitude to God for His saving grace!
The best way, and perhaps the only way, to be in this world but not of it, is to be anchored securely in God’s Word. In verses 17 and 19 Jesus speaks of our having been sanctified by Thy truth and that truth only comes by way of God’s Word for just as He says: “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth” [John 17:17].
But not only does Jesus promise to protect us and purify us, CHRIST PRAYS FOR YOUR UNITY WITH FELLOW BELIEVERS (repeat).
In verses 6-9 Jesus speaks of His disciples having been given the certain knowledge that He was sent from God and that God’s Word has been kept by them. Then, too, in verse 11 Jesus pleads with His heavenly Father where He says: “Holy Father, keep them in Thy Name, the Name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We are.” And one of the results of our being united in Christ, and with each other, is when we experience “the fullness of joy” just as does Christ Himself.
Unity in this sense does not mean that we must always think alike. In spite of what you may have heard Christians are not robots; we are not mindless creatures! But when it comes to the core beliefs enshrouded in the Christian faith, there must be absolute unanimity. For just as the motto of the EPC says: “In Essentials Unity; in Non-essentials Liberty; In All Things Charity; Truth in Love”.
In late June Sammie and I will once again join with other commissioners as we gather together for the 31st General Assembly outside of Memphis, TN. In years past these three days of meetings have, at times, been contentious. But, in the evening worship services our hearts and minds become harmonious. Over the years the EPC has followed this one simple precept: “We agree to disagree … agreeably; especially with respect to peripheral matters. But when it comes to embracing the “Essentials of the Faith” we are, and I pray we shall always be in one accord!
In his book The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer poises this question: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same tuning fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard … a higher standard.”
And so it is with those of us who call ourselves “Christians”. As followers of Christ we are preserved, protected, consecrated and made holy. Furthermore, we strive for unity amidst diversity while in a fallen world as we endeavor to complete the work Jesus has called us to do. So help us … God!
Let us pray …
