Jesus' Prayer for You | Your End of the Bargain

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When you subscribe to pastor Greg daily depots. Learn more and sign up@harvest.org. We all know people who made a commitment to follow Jesus and they mysteriously burned well with someone like Doug Holloway, Charlie to you today pastor Greg Laurie points out just how secure we are, the more that is, if we want you want to be saved in the protective arms of Jesus and you will be you are you are saying why you don't help one is our choice to be safe or not.

Today on a new beginning for Greg Laurie points out, we have a choice whether you are so safety and security, we find in Jesus world is a scary place. We know it all too well.

Find out how to look beyond this world for help is a message from John Tyler my message is Jesus prayer for you, so here's the question what does Jesus pray when he intercedes for us is revealed to us here in John chapter 17 that we often referred to the very familiar prayer our father who art in heaven how it would be her name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and so forth as the Lord's prayer. The Bible never calls out the Lord's prayer but we do. I think if we are really accurate.

We might call it the disciples prayer because to the point that was not a prayer that Jesus himself ever pray that was a prayer given in response to the request of the disciples who said Lord, teach us how to pray as John the Baptist talked to his disciples to break.

So Jesus said okay. After this manner or in this way, pray our father who art in heaven, and so forth. So that is not really the Lord's prayer, Jesus never prayed. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sinned against us.

Jesus had no sin to be forgiven up okay so that's the disciples prayer here in John chapter 17. This is the real Lords prayer. This is a prayer that only Jesus could pray.

So it really gives us an insight into his desire for us. Verse seven. They have known all things which you have given me are from you private given to them the words you have given me and they have received them. They have surely know that I came forth from you and they have believed that you sent me.

I pray for them. I do not pray for the world. But for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

All mine are yours and yours are mine, and I'm glorified in them. Not no longer in the world, but these are in the world I come to you. Holy father keep through your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are.

While I was with them in the world. I kept them in your name those whom you gave me. I've kept and none of them is lost except the son of perdition at the Scripture might be fulfilled.

There and so here's what Jesus prays for us.

If you're taking notes you might want to write this down. First, he prays for our preservation point number one he prays for our preservation. Verse 11 holy father keep through your name those whom you have given to me, that they may be one as we are, he prays for you to be preserved. Now we all know people who made a commitment and maybe I'll use that word in quotes. They made a commitment to follow Jesus and they mysteriously crash and burn. He saw them in church week after week, maybe even for a time month after month, and all of a sudden there God you can't find them anywhere you call them, then they change your phone number.

All they don't respond to emails anymore. That there just gone where they go. What happened to them and then you find out that they fell away spiritually, their marriage fell apart.

Maybe they went back to the old life again doing things I used to do, but they just no longer had any interest in following Jesus and it freaks you out a little bit because you think it well. If someone like that could fall away in my next it could be in the next world. Here is my answer to your question and may actually surprise you. That's entirely up to you.

Do you want to be next you want to fall well you certainly can, because God's given you a free will. Do not want to follow you want to be saved in the protective arms of Jesus. And that's exactly where you will be listen. God wants you say, but you have to do your part.

There's God's part and there is your part, because the moment you failed to move forward spiritually is the moment you effectively begin to go backwards spiritually overnight and do a trade is, you know, rolling down the tracks at full speed on the cut power. The train doesn't just suddenly stop that you not if you do the brakes on it will begin to stop if you cut power. It'll still go very quickly the vector so much momentum you won't even notice it at first, it will be very quickly and on them is a little slower slightly sore just a little bit slower than a little slower than even slower and then it rolls to a slow stop.

That's what backsliding is like for most people it's not overnight futile call up your Christian but it's a he did want to backslide tonight just totally abandon our faith in ruin everything you okay with you will start you there might be some idiot out there that's done that that's not generally how it works.

Here's how it works. One kind of busy.

I can't really get to reading the Bible this morning because I spent an hour on Facebook right or I got generally I can make in the church others. Other things going on beside my favorite TV series just started number where you know they give football games are back on again. We had a follower team or whatever it is it's a sort of relaxing my grip here relaxing my grip there a little bit less over here a little bit less over there and it starts the process of slowing down so if you want to be close to the Lord. That's entirely up to you. Listen, God will do his part, God will keep you would have your yanking your hand out of his hand.

That's a bit of a problem, sort of like when you take a small child in maybe you're crossing the street. You gripped their hand or maybe even the wrist a bit tightly, so you have control of them and God is holding on to you. But the question does not is God holding you. The question is are you holding on to God. God will keep you told up his end of the bargain. Someone 21 says a lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved.

He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will not slumber or sleep.

The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade at your right hand know if I want to be in the shade of God. Just what I need to be close to him. If you want to walk in the shade of another person you up to be close, sort of like drafting you road bikers know about this right if you're out riding in and does someone's ahead of the pack. If you get right behind them. You can drop, which means they help to pull you a little bit right so if you want to draft behind God. If you want to stand in the shadow of God, you need to be close to God.

And if you're far from God or distant from God that creates the problem the Jewish priests were told to pronounce his blessing over the people of Israel repeatedly. You know it. Number 624 the Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. The Lord bless you and keep you.

Then, in the New Testament. First Peter 15 sales were kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time Jude 11 says to those who are called sanctified by God the father and preserved in Jesus Christ. Listen, you are You are safe.

By the way, that phrase preserved to be translated continually kept your continually kept by the Lord. It's a continuing result of a past action let's say that you're the good fortune to actually buy your home and pay off your mortgage, you no longer have to make payments on your home anymore.

It's your home so enjoy it. Don't keep making payments unless you're stupid, you own it enjoyed living this and that salvation is paid for you to make payments on it.

It's purchase for you. It's given to you as a gift from God so limited.

Enjoy it.

You know, let it affect everything that you do and so you're not going to lose it.

You can enjoy what God has given your preserved in Christ Mr. Greg Laurie will have the second half of this message just a moment. We really enjoy hearing with Pastor Greg's teaching and preaching are impacting lives. Pastor Greg, I grew up with a Christian father. He told me about God's love for me when I was 16 my dad died at that moment I said how can a God of love do this to me so I walked away from God.

Over the next 11 years, God sent people in my life to nudge me back to faith and that about a year ago I was listening to you on the radio in my car at 4:30 AM one morning and finally I prayed with you leading me to ask Jesus into my life. I started listening to your podcast every day in meeting the new living translation Bible for me as well. Thank you for doing God's work. Bless you were encouraged. We hear stories like that because it helps us know how these messages are impacting people. Pastor Greg studies God's word touched your life. If so, would you let them know drop an email to great@harvest.org that's great@harvest.org. What were talking about the security found in Christ, Pastor Greg has been explaining how we are preserved in Christ.

He continues his message now called Jesus prayer for you that here's an interesting twist on this Jesus mentions Judas Iscariot in this prayer.

Verse 12 of John 17 while I was with them in the world.

I kept them in your name.

Those who you have given me I have And none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled, the son of perdition is Judas, and by the way, that can be translated, the son of wastes and by waste, we mean excrement which I think the really good name for him. Don't ever name your kid Judas heard don't call your kid, the son of perdition. This is not a good title yeah that God he's just like waste I am and lost him. Why did he not lose them because Judas was never a believer to start with all yes he was an apostle in good standing. All yes he was handpicked by Jesus all yes he could even legitimately say he was a friend of Christ because Christ addressed in his friend in the garden of Gethsemane, but the fact is, it was not a reciprocal friendship.

He took whatever Jesus offered, but it was always in his heart to betray Christ and ultimately the Bible says Satan entered the heart of Judas Iscariot seek Jesus keeps his children, but Judas was never one of his children were told of her. In the book of Jude. Keep yourself on the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ is comes back to God's part in my part, I don't keep myself saved but I keep myself safe. Does it make sense I don't keep myself saved. God saves me I am say it's a done deal. So that's established, but I keep myself safe and what that means is I want to keep myself in the love of God, though God's love is unsought undeserved, unconditional, it is possible for me to be out of sync with God. So when Jude says keep yourself in the love of God is effectively saying keep yourself away from those things that are unlike him. Keep yourself from any influence that violates his love. Keep yourself in a place for God can actively show his love to you because we all know some places that if I go to that place. I'm not really in a place where I'm keeping myself on the love of God. I know certain people. I can hang around with that I hang around with those people that is not to encourage me to keep myself in the love of God so go to those places where you can keep yourself in the love of God and avoid those places where you can't and run with other people that share this desire will be just illustrated really simply how many of you are going on a diet right are you gonna die more of you should be raising him drink from what I'm seeing. I'm thinking anyway I digress. I digress and insult simultaneously severely diet interview trying to lose weight don't hang around and donut stores right don't hang around the pizza parlor whenever so that's an obvious illustration but there's those other things I can feed sin. This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said the Lord's prayer that we are to pray lead us not into temptation, basically using Lord help me to not put myself in a place where I could fall in to sin. So he prays for us. He prays that we will stay close to him. Point number two Jesus prays for our consecration.

He prays for our consecration delegate John 17 verse 13. Now I come to you in these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I've given them your word and the world's hated them because they are not of this world.

Just as I'm not of this world.

This is interesting.

I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of this world. Just as I'm not of this world, sanctify them through your truth. Your word is truth. We live in the world. What is that me. I think Christians get confused sometimes there's a earth and there's a world all right. The earth is made by the Lord, the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof.

They thought talking about planet Earth.

When the Bible talks about the world is talking about a mentality it's talking about a culture it's talking about a way of thinking. It's talking about the whole planets or system under the control of Satan. That is why the Bible calls the devil, the God of this world and that is why first John 216 says all that is in the world, the lust of the flash, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father of the world. The new living translation puts it this way the world offers only lust for physical pleasure and lust for everything we see and pride in our possessions. These are not from the father. They are from this evil world, so Jesus is a number 14 the world hates you. Let some fun. No one wants to be hated. We want to be loved. We want to be like we want to be appreciated.

We want to be a firm because we've always been number one right just for showing up.

We got a participation trophy and everything and then you become a Christian and people just hate you. I wouldn't hate hate you I hate what you believe. I hate everything you stand for what you just became light in the dark place and we ask you question when you're in a theater and waiting for the movie to start. You like it when someone fires up the old cell phone and starts texting a little like turning off to start throwing M&Ms. Adam don't do that because I did it and it was bad no idea, but you know that line it's irritating that bothers him watching this movie and all I'm saying is you texting or doing whatever you're doing on your phone seriously will that's how you come up to people who are not believers earn their little dark place enjoying their little dark life and you come in and you're like, get out of here.

I don't want you here. I'm not saying anything. I know you are but it's just you because I know what you stand for Jones be insulted by that where it is a badge of honor that the Christian Jesus said blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for so persecuted the prophets that were before you. I love that he says falsely. Make sure it's falsely no other words don't have people get mad at you because you're just weird or obnoxious or obtrusive or insulting or whatever else it just let it be because you're a follower of Jesus. So Jesus is look.

The world is going to hate you, and I find it fascinating that he says I'm looking to take them out of the world you know Jesus wanted to he could have ruptured you on the day of your conversion to mechanical just pray this prayer, Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I commit my life do I choose to follow you from this moment forward in Jesus think well wow. That doesn't happen doesn't he leave this here to live in this world.

Why does he leave us here. Why doesn't he just take us home because he wants to reach this world through us. I don't know why but God's chosen to primarily reach nonbelieving people through believing people he has chosen to communicate his love and spread the gospel through us doing it specifically through our verbal communication of it, but some of us want to keep as much distance as we can from nonbelievers, a sort of live in a believers bubble from sunup to sundown. You know we get up to me we get ready for work that day and were listening to Christian radio, which is great. Then we go read our Bible and we little Christian devotion and then then we can our karma listening to Christian music. You know, in the Christian car that we got from a Christian car dealer with everything is Christian then wearing Christian close that I get to the place for a workman surround myself only with Christensen. I ignore all the nonbelievers you know and I'm in and I'm not making fun of anybody listening to Christian radio. We often have a radio program or reading Christian devotions are obviously reading the Bible. This is all good but your objective is not complete separation from all nonbelievers. How can they be reached if you're not out there among them, influencing them so we have a number of choices out how we can live in this world. One is isolation isolation. What we have little or no contact with nonbelievers optimistic because the Bible says, how will they hear someone tell number two. It's insulation turn a blind eye them. I don't care that they're not Christians that's their problem. I got my salvation. Why should I bother with. There's another is imitation, where I become like the world and not the Lord but the best one is permeation and infiltration is not isolation. It's not insulation it's not imitation its permeation and infiltration. So without compromising my values and I go into their world and I shine the light of Jesus Christ that were Greg Laurie biblical insight today on how were to leave our bubble and reach out to those around us who need the light of Christ. Glad you joined us today here on a new beginning for a study called Jesus prayer for you and I were so happy to be making available a book that has some wonderful insights well researched insights into heaven and the afterlife at Pastor Greg is speaking to his friend Lee Strobel, the best-selling author of this new book, so Lee Strobel you are 70 years old. Yes I am. I'm an old man. Well, I'm right behind I am when I'm 69, but you've just written a book about have an effect is called the case for heaven.

You know we all leave a legacy are all remembered for something. How would you like people to remember you while well that's a great question, Greg Ike and II think of us, and I what what what I want to my tombstone you know and I think I'd wanted something along the lines of he dragged his many people to heaven with them as he could let you know I mean God can't Redeem me he changed me transform you gave me a mission you give me purpose in life and I just want people experience that I will people have what I had which is the joy in the adventure and the wonder of knowing God personally. Through Jesus Christ and experiencing than a daily basis of being enriched by Scripture and ended that the wisdom and the, the stories in the that the insights that we get from Scripture. I just want people experience a and I think of my father-in-law was an atheist and he had a stroke and the doctors told us he was going to die soon and so we had them at our house and lazy boy chair and I said I said to my wife, and his wife was a Christian I said, you know, give me one more shot and they went out to do something in and I was just me and Al and I looked on. I said Al you realize you die your I want to be in heaven without you while your daughter, your grandchildren, your wife, we want to be in heaven without your help please and height for 45 minutes I cajoled in my reason with them. I explained the gospel again and again and then I began to seek tears in his eyes and I said you want to receive Jesus right now don't you and he nodded and at the age of 87, 87 years old.

Atheist is whole life. Unbelievable. He prayed he received Christ and then my wife came back and his wife and and wished we had a celebration we're going to cook a dinner and have a party to celebrate Ayla coming home to God.

But then we notice him was wrong, it is left side was sagging. He was having another stroke we call an ambulance. Leslie, my wife got in the ambulance with them went to the hospital. I got in the car she got to the hospital and they put him on a gurney and they were wheeling them into the emergency room and he looked up at Leslie and he said I tell you. Thanks. While and he went in and that stroke ended up destroying his mind and he lingered for a while and then he dies you got in under the wire under the hive.

The last cogent conversation of his life and he received Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and I will spend eternity in heaven with him and that's the the wonder of God's grace. That's Lee Strobel you're hearing from everyone and he has a brand-new book out called the case, for heaven, subtitled a journalist investigates evidence for life after death they were sending it to you for your gift of any size to help us continue to teach God's word and proclaim the gospel because we likely want to drag as many people they have this weekend and is it in fact our mission statement is knowing him and making him known.

That's the heart and soul of what we do and we love hearing when others taken the time we heard from a listener who talked about recently sharing Christ with a family member which can be a little challenging. He said I shared the gospel and it truly felt amazing Pastor Greg you felt give me the confidence I needed to talk with her tonight so thank you so encouraging to hear and good confirmation that people are being helped and encouraged and confirmation that your investments in this ministry are making a real difference. And when you invest right now will be glad to thank you by sending you a copy of this brand-new book, the case for heaven so call us at 1-800-821-3300. You can reach us any time. That's 1-800-821-3300 or write a new beginning.

Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or go online to harvest God for next time. More from Pastor Greg message called Jesus prayer will consider the Lord's appeal for unity.

Yes, even in the midst of this divided culture join us here on a new beginning. Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie everybody thinks or listening to this podcast to learn more about harvest ministries follow the show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org and find out how to know God personally go to harvest.org and click on know God