Sermon for Sunday 5th September, 2021, “The Lord’s Prayer”, (John 17: 20-25) (Please Read Psalm 133 and John 17: 1-26)
There are no perfect people in the church – in case you didn’t know! Every church should put out a sign, “No perfect people need apply. This is a place only for those who admit they are sinners, need grace and want to grow.” Jesus chose disciples who were far from perfect. They had different personalities; they often squabbled and vied for power. The ugly truth was that they all would soon scatter in fear and disbelief, and abandon Jesus to die alone. The LORD knew this. He loved them for all that. He loved them to the end…
He left them His promise of the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ would build His church with people who were far from perfect. He created, strengthened and taught his church through prayer, through the “Lord’s Prayer”. The last teaching before the Cross will come to us in the form of a tripartite prayer of John chapter 17.
I encourage you to spend time in this “sanctum sanctorum” where - Jesus prays for Himself (John 17: 1-5), where Jesus prays for his disciples (17: 6-19); where Jesus prays for all believers (17: 20-26).
Jesus prays for His disciples: that they will be protected “in the Name” (against a hostile world, the flesh and the devil); that they will be sanctified (set apart from the world but to live and work in the world); that they would be united in a love which reflects and participates in the perfect love between Father and Son and:
Where Jesus prays for all believers: 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that 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. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 “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.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I 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.”
How amazing! With all that Jesus has to face, the great bulk of his prayerful concern is for those the Father has entrusted (and will entrust) to Him. What encouragement for us this morning – that he prayed for those who would believe in Him through the apostles’ teaching; that he prayed for you and for me!
So why was unity between believers within His church so important? Unity is the very first thing Jesus prays for.
UNITY is the churches top priority: The church is fellowship. Fellowship is not what we do but what we are: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”. (Acts 2:42)
UNITY is the armour plating of the church: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace.” Promote peace, whatever it takes. As we have been learning recently in our zoom bible study on the Beatitudes, Christians (those in His church) are already committed to the pursuit of peace with God, with others and in themselves. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God!” (Mt 5:9)
Anything that causes disunity is sin. We need to make sure we are regularly checking our attitudes. Does what I do make for unity within the church? What about my mouth, my words? Are they uplifting, helpful? Unity is the top priority for us. Why? Because the LORD JESUS CHRIST said so!
This unity has a purpose:-
Unity is a witness to the world: Then (when the church is one) the world may believe that You have sent me… (The world) will know that you sent me and have loved them (the disciples) even as you have loved me.
John 13:34-35: “Jesus said, ‘By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another.”
When members of a church love one other there is unity and harmony. Visitors will walk into the service and say “There’s something going on in here that I want.” Unity is not about agreeing with each other on every “jot and tattle”. Like any family we may not see “eye-to-eye” on every issue but like any good family we will still wish to walk “arm-in-arm”.
Our differences may be many but our faith in the One God cuts across those differences. How often we major on the minor things! We need to accept that people cannot always be what we would like them to be. We cannot insist that everybody agree on every minor detail. There will always be “disputable” matters so we need to maintain an attitude of acceptance. “Accept one another”, says the apostle Paul. We should be glad we’re not all alike. God loves variety. What unites us should transcend anything that divides us. As the old hymn goes, In Christ there is no east and west…
Jesus prays because he knows the “world” is a strong foe which hates Him and His Church. God has created the church as a sign against the world; the world knows that the church is not like it. The world is a place known for conflict and division. No matter how hard people work at it (in their own strength) unity always eludes the world.
If we are no different to the world, the church has nothing to offer the world. If the enemy doesn’t hate you, chances are you’re not doing your job…
Jesus prays because he knows the “Evil One” is the enemy of the church and while the devil is clever enough to know that God is stronger than he is, he will make it his business to attack spiritually and divide the people of God, to discourage them. He loves it when people refuse to have “communion” with one another…who refuse to acknowledge one another… because of divisiveness; the devil loves it when people will not work towards resolving their personal conflicts.
The enemy tells big lies about God and often the people of God listen! Hence Jesus’ prayer of protection for the disciples in His Name - “The Name of the Lord is a strong tower…” (Prov. 18: 10).
Jesus prays this because he knows that unity will be the toughest task of all!
There will be no greater witness to the power of God or the truth of Christ than the way His people are together united. We do not give the devil a foothold.
Unity will lead to blessing: “All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”.
The Psalmist (Ps. 133) knew this. No amount of money, fancy strategies/sermons or “bums on seats” will lead to blessing. We need the oil of gladness, the Spirit no less. We can talk all we like about mission but it will be the creating of a loving community that will be most attractive to a watching world. Our unity is the key to reaching the unchurched – to fulfilling our mission.
If being together, here and with one another; if that (togetherness) is not something we really want, how can we expect others to want it too? I believe that we do want to pray together and break bread together and listen to God’s word together. But first, you have to turn up and keep turning up if you want to enjoy the favour of all the people…if we are to have any hope of adding to our numbers those who will be saved.
I believe we well know that unity is our top priority; that unity is the most effective witness to the reality and character of God… to the world; that in unity there will be blessing in the church on earth as it is in heaven. This should encourage us and challenge us as individuals and as a church to speak kindly of (and to) one another.
With God’s help and His Holy Spirit, it is our duty to help protect the church’s unity. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace.” Promote peace, whatever it takes. We are blessed in order to bless others.
Churches are made up of people who are far from perfect (like us), people whose best efforts fall short; but take heart because the One who loves us and chose us is perfect and he has overcome the world.
Let us give thanks for the church of Jesus Christ.
Let us give thanks on this day that he died to pay our ransom; let us give thanks during this day that there is a man in heaven who is God who lives to intercede for his church here in Higher Cloughfold and elsewhere.
MFR
Prayer of Petition
(inspired by John 17)
Jesus,
just as you prayed for your disciples so long ago
Pray for us,
Pray for our wellbeing,
Pray for our protection.
Pray for your joy to be made complete in us.
Pray for our spiritual growth.
Pray for your truth to be made complete in us.
Jesus,
We often do not know how to pray,
So pray for us,
Pray with us,
That we may be one with you,
One with each other, and
One in ministry to the world.
Jesus,
Pray for your weak ones,
Your strong ones,
You ones who are have illnesses,
Your ones near death,
Your ones who breeze through life,
Your ones who struggle in life.
Jesus,
Pray for those who have lost loved ones,
Those who have especially loved ones in past wars.
Those who have lost ones in the present wars.
Those who fear theirs may die in these wars.
Jesus,
We join you in these prayers for all your people,
Amen. — written by Rev. Abi,