John 17:15-19

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” (John 17:15-19)

In John 17:14, Jesus acknowledged that the world is a place that hates His disciples. So part of the anguish He went through in the Garden of Gethsemane, was knowing what persecution and temptation they would be facing - and what we would be facing. So,as Jesus continued to pray for His disciples, He focused on their need to be set apart from the world they would live in. This world is filled with sorrow, turmoil, and evil! The disciples would be IN it, but not OF it. They were set apart, or sanctified, for God’s holy purposes. They would be Christ’s ambassadors to a lost and dying world - and in order to be kept from being polluted by it, they would need to be sanctified while in it.

“Sanctification” is one of those big theological words that describes a lifelong process, yet is also something we have the minute we receive Christ as our Savior. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God has already “seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” We are already set apart for God. Yet we are being transformed more and more into His image as we grow in Christ.

It’s ironic that this sanctification, or being set apart from the world as holy and wholly for God, is specifically for the purpose of sending us forth INTO the world - to make a difference for Christ. He has not called us to a life of separation from the world, but to be light and salt in the world. How do we do this? How can we be sanctified in the midst of it? By the power of God’s Word - the Truth!

Jesus said that we are sanctified “by the truth,” which is His Word. As we read and study His Word, we are progressively being changed into the people God designed us to become. And as we learn His Word, we become more shielded from the enemy in this world, Satan.

I know that I cannot go out into the world each morning, ready to face spiritual warfare, without arming myself first in His Word. On those days that I attempt it, I’m feeling nearly defeated almost from the time I arrive at work. My heart fills up with resentments and I’m overcome by impatience, and, basically, rendered useless for God. But when I begin my morning in His glorious Word, getting His viewpoint for the day, I’m filled to the brim and more able to face the onslaught.

Weather to the contrary, we are now entering the fall season. It’s the time when new Bible studies are starting up again. If you haven’t already done so, find one at your church or at a friend’s church. Or check out Bible Study Fellowship - there is bound to be a class near you! Make a commitment to put on the whole armor of God daily, that you might be increasingly sanctified for God. My church is starting next week in Beth Moore’s new study of the book of James, one of the most practical books on living out the Christian faith. If you are in the South Orange County area, check it out: Crossline Women's Bible Study

Tomorrow, we will begin the last section of this precious prayer time of Jesus with the Father, in which He prays specifically for you and me! Can’t wait!

In the meantime, I want to share what, Carrol Velarde, one of here, wrote me yesterday after reading about Jesus' prayer that we might have the full measure of [his] joy (John 17: 13). She had heard a great definition of joy at church that she wanted to share: “Joy is an inner attitude of the heart given to everyone who believes the Gospel.  Joy is produced by the Holy Spirit through obedience to the Word.  It emerges through suffering.  It is experienced in fellowship with other believers and is based on the hope of future glory. So my prayer today is that you all be filled with the joy of the Lord!” Thanks, Carrol!  

John 17:11-14

I’m backing up a verse to start our study this morning, as a reminder of the concern Jesus had for His disciples as He prayed for them:

“I will remain in the world no longer, 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.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 

“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.  I 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.” (John 17:11-14)

I believe that Jesus anguished over what His disciples would face in the world: the persecution, beatings, imprisonment, and even death. So He asked the Father to protect them. More than physical protection, I think He was asking for spiritual protection, because He referred to how He had protected them while He was with them, and, except for Judas, none was “lost.” They remained in the faith. I think Jesus wanted their hearts protected no matter what they would suffer in the world. Jesus had promised they would have trials in the world, but he knew that the real danger would be in the spiritual realm.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

I love that Jesus said that He was praying for them “so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” Even though they would face hardships, Jesus said they would have JOY! As a new Christian, 36 years ago, one of the first things that struck me was that I was suddenly aware of joy. I had not used that word in my personal vocabulary - even though I was very happy with my life. But joy wasn’t something I really thought about. But once I gave my life to Christ, I experienced that inner joy and peace that only He can give. And I found it was NOT dependent upon my circumstances.

Even in the midst of the worst trials of our lives, we can have Christ’s full measure of joy, because we now have an eternal perspective:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

This is the view that Jesus wanted His disciples to maintain. It’s what He prayed for. And it was an eternal perspective that sustained their joy and sustains ours - even in a world that hates Christians! Yesterday we talked about how our unity is a witness to the world. Well, so is our joy! If we don’t have joy, why would anyone want what we have? Jesus prayed in anguish that we would have the full measure of His joy. Can people see that in us?  

Update on Jacob and recommendation

Good morning, friends!

Don and I went to visit Jacob yesterday after school - after what should have been his first day of high school! We stayed a short time, because he is in ICU and had family there. It was so good to see him! He was feeling a little better yesterday, although nauseous. He was waiting for the delivery of a taco, so the fact that he had an appetite was good.

Jacob will remain in the hospital for a few more days, and he will be out of school for four to six months. He will have a home teacher from the district. This has been such a shocking change of direction for their family! His mom, Lori, has three other sons (two in elementary and one in middle school). She is having to learn a whole new vocabulary and adjust to a new routine, while remaining calm and supportive, when she, herself, needs support. It was good to see that she has her extended family around (her parents were both there, and we left as Jacob’s other grandparents arrived).

One of the sweet things for me to see as his former fourth and fifth grade teacher was the visit of a former classmate from that class, Andrea. She arrived with a giant “get well” card that she had made and that was signed by many classmates. Andrea has been hospitalized herself before and knew what it would mean! No wonder that class has such a special place in my heart! She is planning a class reunion once Jacob comes home and is ready for such a visit.

Thanks for your continued prayers. This will be a long ordeal for Jacob and his family! Now - because I’ve got parking lot duty at school this morning, and need to rush out the door, I wanted to point you once again to my daughter, Molly’s blog this morning - a great reminder about letting God have HIS way! Enjoy: Foot Stomping and Pouty Faces

Stay tuned for great things in our next look at John 17!  

John 17:6-11

Yesterday, we looked at the first part of Jesus’ prayer, in which He prayed for Himself - that the Father would glorify the Son, so that the Son would glorify the Father. We need to remember that this is the same prayer time that is mentioned in Luke 22, Matthew 26, and Mark 14. It was prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. According to Courson, Gethsemane means olive press, where olives are crushed to release their oil. Courson writes, “The crushing, the pressing Jesus endured in Gethsemane as He was about to feel the wrath of His Father for the sin of all humanity, so far exceeds anything we can even begin to comprehend that it is rendered incomprehensible.” (Courson P. 407)

We know from these passages that Jesus prayed that the Father would take away the cup of suffering He was about to drink. But He also prayed, “Yet not as I will, but as you will...” In Luke it says, “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (Luke 22:44) I believe that Jesus was in anguish, not just because of what He was facing personally, but because of what He knew the disciples, and all believers would face. So, as we look at the rest of this passage in the next few days, let’s keep that in mind. He was so impassioned about what He was praying, that He was in anguish.

After praying for Himself, this is the first part of His prayer for the disciples:

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.  Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.  For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.  I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.  All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.  I will remain in the world no longer, 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. (John 17:6-11)

What jumps out at me immediately is that Jesus specifically said, “I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me.” Jesus was focused on those who believe - in this section, the disciples. Although we know, from John 3:16, that “God so loved the world...” Jesus was only praying for those the Father had given Him - the “whosoever believeth” from the rest of that verse. The whole world does NOT believe in Jesus Christ, and this is NOT a universal prayer here.

And more importantly, what is it that He prayed? That “they may be one as we are one.” This is what He agonized over for us. Unity within the Church is a huge part of our witness. Our unity is found in our understanding of who Christ is and what He accomplished on the cross. Most other issues are the minor things we not only disagree about, but what we form churches around! They are they things that divide and destroy our witness to the world(baptism, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, what day to worship, how to worship, how to take communion, what communion means, etc.).

Years ago, when I was new to the interdenominational group, Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), our teaching leader asked everyone to shout out the names of their particular churches. It was massive confusion, with an unintelligible sound. Complete discord! Then she asked us to shout out the name “Jesus Christ.” It was a clear, beautiful act of worship! When we unify around the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God the Son, our witness is powerful. But when we let denominational arguments get in the way, we make anything but a joyful noise to the world! Jesus agonized over this, because He wants us to glorify our Father in heaven!

More tomorrow, but I want to give a tremendous praise report. I asked you to pray for Celeste, a fellow teacher friend who was hospitalized in great pain, because scar tissue was blocking her intestines (by the way, her previous surgeries that lead to the scar tissues were for cervical, not breast cancer, and C-section). Anyway, God heard and answered our prayers! The problem is gone, and Celeste is home. She texted me this message this morning, “Thank you so much! I am so humbled and thankful for everyone’s prayers and kind thoughts. The week was scary and yucky, but each day I tried so hard to stay in prayer, keep reading His word, and have faith that He would heal me. Praise God! What a lesson I learned in faithfulness! I can’t thank you enough for keeping me in your prayers...” Thank you, God!!! I am going to visit Jacob this afternoon, so I will give you an update later. Thank you, prayer warriors!!!
 

John 17:1-5

This morning we come back to John’s Gospel at a most precious place. When we last left this book, Jesus had just completed His last teaching to His disciples. There was an urgency in the teaching, because Jesus knew He was about to die. Now, in this chapter, Jesus turns to His Father. This is the prayer of a dying Savior. How blessed we are to be able to listen in to the most intimate prayer of the Son. We know that what He says here is of eternal importance, so let’s pay especially close attention.

According to Jon Courson, in his Application Commentary: New Testament, this passage was the favorite of the Scottish reformer, John Knox, who called it the “Holy of Holies in the Temple of Scripture.” Courson writes, “So much did Knox love this chapter, as he lay on his deathbed, he had it read to him over and over again.” (P.572)

As we look at this amazing prayer, let’s think about another point Courson makes: “Prayer is not the way to get God to do our will in heaven. Prayer is the way to get man to do God’s will on earth.” And Jesus was all about doing His Father’s will. We will spend some time in here, so let’s first just look at the initial verses:

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: 

“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.  For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.  Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.  And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:1-5)

The words “glory” or “glorify” appear five times in this short passage. It is really what Jesus’ entire life and ministry was all about: glorifying the Father on earth - revealing or illuminating His nature and person to the world. Even in asking that He, the Son, would be glorified, His purpose was that God the Father would be glorified through it - even though it meant a horrific death on the Cross.

I’ve underlined the second and third sentences in my Bible, because the statements seem so significant to me: Jesus is the one who gives eternal life to those whom the Father has given Him. First, Jesus is not just a messenger or teacher - He’s the Giver of eternal life! And second, it is not given to everyone - but to those whom the Father gives to the Son. John stated in the first chapter of his Gospel, “Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed on his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) You aren’t born naturally as a child of God; you become a child of God by believing in Jesus Christ.

In fact, that is the exact statement Jesus made in this prayer in the third verse, when He said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Knowing God, having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - THIS is eternal life. Jesus is saying in these first verses that He glorified the Father by making Him known to those the Father gave the Son. That was His number one purpose: making the Father known. And He asserts in the opening of His prayer, in the fourth verse, that He had completed that work! He had COMPLETED it!

I see two very important applications here: first, we are to glorify the Father, NOT ourselves, in all that we do; and second, we are to complete the work He has given us. Courson reminds us that Jesus said, “Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) Whatever you do for the LORD should point people to Him, so that they think, “Wow! God is amazing!” It’s why He chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things!

Finally, when we know God has given us a task to do, we need to complete it. Jesus was able to say He had completed all He was supposed to when He was on the cross. He said, “It is finished!” - not, “almost done!” Don’t we want to be able to say that on our death beds???

So much here, and we’re only getting started! So glad to be back in His Word!  

Much needed prayer!

Hello, dear friends! I am somewhat overwhelmed today by the needs for prayer that I’ve been faced with in the past few days. I hate to burden you all, but for those of you who are prayer warriors I just thought I’d share some special needs:

First, two former students of mine, both high school freshman now, have serious health issues. Gavyn, whom I’ve mentioned before, continues to be plagued with kidney problems. He as been in and out of the hospital and a few weeks ago was back in because his transplanted kidney is not working well. Please pray that he will be completely healed! And I just received an email last night from Jacob’s mom telling me that Jacob was just diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s! He is currently in CHOC in Orange, receiving massive chemo. Again, Jacob needs a miracle, so pray that Almighty God will touch Jacob’s body and completely restore his health. Pray for the families of these two boys (especially the moms), as the stress and worry naturally overwhelm them. Pray for peace and rest as they look to God to provide all they need.

A sweet teacher friend, Celeste, who joins us for Bible study here, was treated a couple of years ago for breast cancer and is in remission. However, she just went into the hospital a few days ago in great pain because she has scar tissue from the surgery that is actually invading her intestines. Please pray for wisdom for her doctors and for relief from pain for Celeste.

Speaking of kidneys: Karen, one of my favorite former parents (I had her older daughter, Kristen, in first and fifth grades – now 25) learned last year that her kidneys are only working at 10%. She has been on the transplant list at UCLA, and just learned that Kristen is a match and will donate a kidney to her mom at the end of this year. Please pray for them both as they prepare, and pray that Karen’s kidneys will remain stable while they wait. Karen, too, is a reader with us here.

Please pray for the husband of my dear friend, Marie. Greg had knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus last week and was doing really well, until he started feeling “cramps.” Luckily he thought to take himself to the emergency room Thursday, while Marie was in her classroom preparing for school in a room that had no cell coverage! Turns out he has some deep vein blood clots! So now Marie is the “nurse” giving him heparin shots twice a day to break up the clots! Greg will be taking coumadin for the next six months. I told Marie that I’m sure he feels like he’s sitting on a ticking time bomb, but my husband assures me that the heparin therapy will do its job. Please pray that the clots completely dissolve QUICKLY and that Greg and Marie will have total peace!

Another sweet friend (remaining nameless to all but God), just found out she has cancer in the uterine wall. She will be seeing an oncologist this week for further testing and to plan for her surgery and treatment. Pray for wisdom for her doctors and for peace for my friend.

Baby Royce continues to need our prayers although he is growing well and is a very happy baby. He has a long road ahead, but God has been so faithful.  I will get an update on Valen for you this week.

Finally, I have asked for prayers for my sister, Jodi, for a year and a half now. You may remember that last year, within 24 hours, she learned she had multiple myeloma (a form of bone cancer) and that her 35 year old son, Justin, had died of sudden cardiac arrest. She spent all last summer in isolation in the hospital as she went through a stem cell transplant and chemo, while trying to somehow come to grips with the tragic loss of Justin (he left a beautiful wife, Stephanie, three precious young boys and had a daughter on the way – who was later born last August). She was back in the hospital this summer for a second batch of stem cells and more chemo, and recently returned home extremely exhausted. In the meantime, she has lost two very close friends – one just last week. It’s all just so much! Please pray that this last treatment will complete the job of healing. Pray that God will continue to lift her up and be her strength, hope, and joy. And because her immune system is so compromised right now, please pray that the LORD will protect her from any bugs! So many needs, but one HUGE God!  

Summer is over! School starts Wednesday!

Where have I been??? Spending lots of time with family! Although the weather doesn’t show it, fall is definitely here! The smell of “freshly sharpened pencils” is in the air (that’s a quote from the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks movie, “You’ve Got Mail”)! School starts next Wednesday, and we will be starting back in the Gospel of John. We will begin in John 17, and I can’t wait!

God has been teaching me so much this summer, but the main theme has been to trust Him! I argue so much less with Him than I used to, because I have seen His faithfulness proved over and over. I will be teaching a new grade level this year (fourth instead of fifth), and can see God’s hand so clearly in moving me. I will remain at the same school and in the same classroom, so the changes will be just curricular. This old dog is ready to learn new tricks!

As I start the school year, I’ve been thinking about all that goes on within a classroom and on a playground, so when my daughter, Molly, asked me to write a guest blog on her blog site, I reached back to when she was in school to offer some tips to moms about letting God be God in their children’s lives. Please take a look: click here for Let God Be God in the Life o Your Child
Meanwhile, I’ll be meeting you in the morning again starting next week! So much to learn!