 I'll begin reading to you at verse six. I'll read to verse 19 and we'll get into our study. In John chapter 17, beginning at verse six, we read, I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, you gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you. For I have given to them the words which you have given me and they have received them and have known surely 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 and all mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them. Now I am 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 have kept and none of them is lost except the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world. 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 the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world I also have sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified by the truth. And so as I was introducing this study to you the last time we were together I mentioned to you that chapter 17 here in the gospel of John is divided into three sections. We looked at verses one through five and those verses have been referred to as Jesus' prayer of consecration because in those verses he was praying and consecrating and setting himself apart for the work of the Lord. And we saw that in the Lord praying for his own consecration in verses 20 through 26 when we get together next time we'll see that. Well, verses 20 through 26 contain his prayer for future disciples. But tonight we're gonna be looking at verses six through 19. And in verses six through 19 Jesus continues his prayer but he's praying now for his apostles. And so he begins in verse six by saying I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me he says out of the world. I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world. So when he says I've manifested your name I have revealed to these men that you are the true God. Remember in verse three how he said this is eternal life that they may know you the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Well, that's what he's saying here. He's saying I have manifested, I've revealed your name. I've revealed to these men that you are the true God. These men have been separated from the world and they have been separated from the world by knowing that you are the true God. You see in a world that worships false gods he's saying I have revealed you to be the true God and I've revealed that to these men. And so these men have come to know who you truly are because he says in verse six again I have manifested your name to the men you have given me. So Jesus fully revealed to them what God was like by manifesting his name. When he speaks concerning the name as he is in this verse I've manifested your name. You need to remember that when that word name I've manifested your name. Well, that word name can refer to what a person is. It can reveal what a person is and his character actually is it reveals what they are. When you look in Exodus for example if you take notes Exodus chapter 34 verses five through seven scripture there says the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord and the Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious, long suffering and abounding in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands for giving iniquity and transgression and sin by no means clearing the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. So when the Lord proclaimed the name as it says the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him stood with Moses stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Notice how when I was reading it was speaking concerning his character was describing for us that he is merciful that he's gracious that he's long suffering he abounds in goodness and truth he keeps mercy it was expressing what God is like his character the name speaks of the character it speaks of who he is it reveals who this person is and so Jesus is actually answering the question what is God like and he does that by fully manifesting God's name to them. Remember in the beginning of John's gospel chapter one verse 18 how it says no one has seen God at any time the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him Jesus has manifested he has spoken concerning him he has revealed who God is so when the question is asked what is God like that's the reason why you can point to Jesus and say he's like this because he manifested the name and he was God in human flesh and therefore what God is Jesus is in human flesh so he questioned the question what is God like is answered by looking at Jesus Christ Colossians two verse nine says in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily so by manifesting his name his men came to know God in a different way and let me share this for just a moment his men became his men became acquainted with God who is a father God who is a father when you read the gospel of John and as we have been I've noticed this and I actually went to count out how many times Jesus in the gospel of John speaks of God and calls him father and there's over a hundred times in the gospel of John that Jesus speaks of God as father in John's gospel father was Jesus' favorite way of speaking of God so when he started speaking concerning him and would use the word father as he did over a hundred times in the gospel of John he was making it very clear that God is not some distant figure but God has become father to these men now that is revolutionary and many of us today because we're New Testament Christians 2,000 years away from when this happened 2,000 years removed from when Jesus was saying this it may not to us make that much of a difference it may not even impact us that much because that's a word that we've been taught to call God but it was revolutionary during the time of Christ for him to actually speak of God as father I was looking at this just yesterday looking for the times that God in the Old Testament is spoken of or called father and you might find this interesting in the Old Testament God was rarely spoken of as father he was mentioned as father this is interesting to me but never in a real personal way when you see him spoken of as father it is normally referring to him in a way that is impersonal speaking of him as being a creator you see that if you take notes in the book of Deuteronomy 32 verse 6 he's called there the father and the creator of the nation of Israel but that's an impersonal thing it's not like he's saying I am your father individually but he's speaking of the fact that he created Israel and that in that way he is the father in the book of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 64 verse 8 Isaiah was inspired to write you Lord are our father but he goes on to say we are the clay and you are the potter we are all the work of your hand so that's not speaking of God in a personal way really speaking of him in the fact that he's the creator that he has power and sovereignty so Jesus is actually making it very clear here that God was their father that they have a relationship with him that is tender and that takes place through faith in him that's seen most clearly when you see the Lord Jesus Christ teaching them how to pray when he speaks concerning what we call the our father again that was very revolutionary because the people of his day would speak of God as being all powerful, all present they would speak to him as God who is a healer a God who is there there were various names that would describe God but when you get into Matthew and Jesus says when you pray pray like this our father in heaven that was revolutionary that was different that wasn't what the Jews were used to doing at that time they spoke to him as one who was distant but Jesus taught us to see him as our father and he's saying God is your father through your faith in him you're not automatically a child of God you become a child of God when you're born again and so he made it clear that God loved them as a father but God loved them and he loves us because of Jesus Christ remember in John 16 he had said in verse 27 the father himself loves you but he went on to say because you've loved me and have believed that I came from God and so we have a relationship with God as our father not by virtue of simple creation but by faith in him for what he has done for us through Jesus that's what Jesus is praying when he says I've manifested I revealed your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world I have manifested your name to the men you've given to me out of the world this revelation of God being a father to those who believe as it may to everyone but it's especially clear to his men and these were the apostles and these received this knowledge from Jesus and by their preaching their writings they were the ones who spread the gospel to the whole world so the revelation was given to them but they take this revelation and they're to share it and the revelation was given to his men even while the majority were rejecting him and that's again something John made clear when he began this gospel we saw it in chapter one verses 10 through 12 how John said he was in the world and the world was made through him the world did not know him he came to his own and his own did not receive him but as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God to those who believe in his name so notice how he's speaking and he says again in verse six he says he speaks of the men whom he says you have given me out of the world the word world is used in a variety of ways in the scriptures you can be speaking of the created earth but in other contexts it's speaking concerning what has been referred to as a death system the system of the world is a death system it's a system that is ruled by Satan and it's one that opposes God and the atmosphere of the world and we're very familiar with this the atmosphere of the world is unbelief the atmosphere of the world is a rejection of God and we're warned in scripture not to desire the world in 1st John chapter two verses 15 through 17 we read do not love the world or the things of the world if anyone loves the world the love of the father's not in him for all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes the pride of life is not of the father but it's of the world and the world is passing away and the lust of it but he who does the will of God abides forever we have a Q and A kind of thing it's called moments with Marie and David and it's on Friday nights and some are watching it and today John was interviewing Marie and me for the Friday program and his context of his questioning was when can I get a raise and also his context of his questioning related to what are the things that a person should be aware of that in ministry, you know because it was a ministry context because Marie and I being in ministry and all that was the ministry context of the question but it also pertains just a practical application of people in marriage in general but what are the things you guys needed to be aware of what is it that you had to be careful with what is it that you're on guard against and I shared this perhaps some of you might take the time to watch on Friday to see more full a full conversation related to it but my mind was this my answer was you know John that's become famous by Billy Graham this thing that I'm about to say but it's really a biblical thing you see in scripture I just read it to you 1 John 2 15 through 17 because Billy Graham was asked what is the thing that a minister needs to be most careful about what do you guard yourself against he said money, he said pride and he said women less of flesh, less of the eyes, pride of life these are the things that you guard yourself against the other three basic things guys that the enemy used when he introduced Eve to the temptation of sin it was fruit from a tree of knowledge it would make one wise, it was beautiful to look at it was something that you can see encapsulated in less of the flesh, less of the eyes and the pride of life all the way back in the book of Genesis when the first failure is recorded when the woman yields to the temptation of the enemy those are the three areas that he used and those are the same three areas he uses now he used those three things against Jesus himself when he was tempting him there in the 40 days that Jesus had been fasting he used those three basic temptations against the Lord himself and those are the temptations he uses against you three basic things, less of the flesh less of the eyes and the pride of life he'll get you one way or another he'll get you one way or another if it's not because you're proud it's because you may be greedy if it's not because you're greedy it's because you're lustful but he'll get you he'll get you in one of those ways every human being, all of us understand that temptation that's what's in the world and that's what John says, love not the world neither the things of the world for all that is in the world and he speaks concerning those three things it's not of the Father it's of the enemy and so the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking concerning this world system it's an anti-God system it opposes everything that God holds dear it opposes everything that he would have man to know and to believe and hold fast to it's a system that rejects God it's called the world it's a world system energized by the enemy and it works against us and Jesus is speaking about this death system a death system because it doesn't produce life a death system that opposes God that has as its atmosphere unbelief the world that's in rejection of God and earlier Jesus had spoken about this he had told the apostles in John 15 verse 19 if you were of the world the world would love its own yet because you're not of the world but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you and if we don't think that the world hates us all we need to do is go and stand on a corner and start talking to people about Jesus that's all you have to do is go to one of the family get-togethers and sit down and when they ask you what have you been up to and you begin to share well you know what I'm following God really and see how happy grandma gets you know because there's an opposition you know that if you don't know that yet you will know that it's inevitable because all that is in the world is opposed to God and when you bring out light and shine the light in darkness people who are in darkness don't appreciate it and that's what happens you see if you're serious about the Lord you will be rejected by others I believe that this truth is being revealed very clearly even right now it seems that many are not aware that they are going to be treated harshly you know we try so hard to be liked and accepted but that doesn't work it really doesn't I don't think we should be obnoxious and arrogant I don't believe we should be bullies and pugnacious I don't believe you should go to work and and pick fights with people you know of course not but once you begin to share and you begin to be known as somebody who does some of you understand what I'm saying you discover that you're not the most popular person anymore you discover that people reject what you have to say and sometimes they reject you Jesus said it like this in Luke's Gospel in chapter 6 verse 26 he said what do you when all men speak well of you for so did their fathers to the false prophets we need to remember that if we're serious about Jesus we will be rejected by others we need to remember that that's because darkness rejects the light but those who reject darkness will walk in light in Ephesians 5 verse 11 Paul said have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them and you expose them not simply standing on a street corner with a sign you expose the unfruitful works of darkness by a life that is in the light and by contrast the way that you live is exposing the way darkness is that's how it works you can speak and should speak you should explain of course that's what happens when we share the gospel and explain what God has done in our life but the quality of our life should be of such nature that there is going to be a distinction that's made between the way you and I the way we live as Christians and the way those who don't know God the way they live you see the world as we know does not necessarily value Christians and they don't necessarily value our contributions I've heard it more than once where well let's face it even with this coronavirus pandemic when decisions were being made concerning the things that were essential where was the church and all of the things that are essential and with bars and tattoo parlors they were essential but churches were not and ministry was not that tells you that is so clear it should be clear that tells you the value that the world places on the church and the answer to that obviously is there is no value the world doesn't see us as valuable so thank God that I'm not looking to the world to you know to know what my value is thank God that my value comes from what he declares me to be because the world isn't going to say necessarily a lot of good things about the church because the world doesn't necessarily value us and they don't necessarily value our contributions well these these apostles as Jesus is praying well they kept his word because they laid it up in their hearts and and they obeyed it in their lives in 1st John chapter 2 verses 3 and 4 it reads now by this we know that we know him if we keep his commandments he who says I know him and does not keep his commandments as a liar the truth's not in him he says in verse 6 he says they were yours you gave them to me they've kept your word they were yours they were genuine believers in God and they already were genuine believers in God before they heard the gospel message they were what we would call Old Testament believers they already belong to him God knew those who are his and and they belong to him and what had happened in their faith in God is God was preparing them to receive Jesus because they first truly followed after God and this is what made them open to the message of Jesus Christ they they first belong to God and then they became followers of the one whom he sent in John 3 verse 35 Jesus said said the Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand which included these who were followers of him and notice again in verse 6 and I'm spending a lot of time in verse 6 you're probably wondering are we going to get to verse 19 I think so we'll see he says you gave them to me and they have kept your word you gave them to me from among the unbelievers to be my disciples and they kept your word personally and they will share your word with others the word kept when it says they have kept your word it speaks of them taking it of believing it and practicing it by the way they lived in John 14 24 he who does not love me does not keep my words the word which you hear is not mine but the fathers who sent me if you don't love Jesus you don't obey him it's really that simple and they kept his word they took it in by faith they trusted him and they lived it out and that's why in John 15 verse 3 he would say you're already clean because of the word which I've spoken to you so they took it into their life and it purified the way that they live and so he says in verse 7 now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you they've come to understand his mission is from God and that he always obeys God you see salvation through Jesus is God's plan for man and they're finally now seeing that clearly for verse 8 I have given to them the words which you've given me and they have received them and have known surely that I came forth from you and they have believed that you sent me notice Jesus gave they received they were convinced and they acted on their convictions they received his words as from God they didn't reject them as others were rejecting him they knew surely that Jesus came from God recognizing his divine origin and they believed they put their faith into Jesus in response to what they heard and what he was teaching and by the way received knowing and believing these are things that identify a genuine believer receiving Jesus receiving his message results in a different kind of life a new kind of life if somebody were to ask and on occasion I am asked this question but if somebody were to ask what is one of my burdens right now for the church it's that I believe that the the visible body those who show up for church services are claimed to be Christian is filled with tears is filled with people who who are only claiming to be Christians but are not living for Christ quite a number of people perhaps you've been of that sort in the past I have there have been times when I as a person I'm professing to know Jesus but I'm not really living for him I'm not really putting it all out on the line for him and and it seems to me that it's become much easier now to do that than before and there are quite a number of people I think that are well they believe everything they read except the Bible and that concerns me we get we we believe everything that people say except what Jesus is and so instead of our life being built on the rock and having a firm foundation and and remaining strong when the storms of life begin to hit the foundation that we've built for ourselves is sinking sand and and when the the trials come and the different difficulties come and the fears begin to to to to attack we kind of withdraw we're afraid we we don't realize that the stories in the Bible that we have were written for our exhortation that we might have strength and belief and our faith might be real so when you like a moment before we began to teach up we're singing about David and David and his Goliath and and that's one thing for me to be seated in this relatively comfortable room speaking about you know I'm like a David I'm going to beat Goliath but I haven't encountered any nine foot nine people lately you know and and I haven't been I haven't really been there it's it's it's one thing for me to say this is what I would do but it's another thing when given the opportunity to do that and and I've seen that quite a number of us just really aren't prepared for that we're just not really prepared the way that I've seen the church responding to the difficult times that we're having tells me that it tells me that and many believers are living in fear I think there's a wisdom in us not to be presumptuous and not to not to to test the Lord of course but many are very very fearful right now and it's sad to see that in the body of Christ sometimes when I'm watching angry unbelievers I I say to myself they believe more in their unbelief than we believe in the truth of God you can see it just by the way they're so sure of what they're saying and so sold out to what they believe and then we as believers well our faith is shown for what it is because we stumble so easily and fall away so quickly so I'm greatly concerned about that and if somebody were to ask which none of you did but I told you anyway that's what I'm concerned about because right now what the Lord I believe is doing is he's shaken the tree he's awakening us I believe there's a purging that is taking place in the body of Christ and with this with these weeks that we were unable to meet we all dealt with it differently obviously you know for me it was it was difficult in a different way because as a pastor naturally I'm concerned in a different way than the average person would be in the church I'm supposed to be having different reactions but I was asked what do you think's going to happen and I said well when the doors open up again yes what do you think's going to happen well one I think there'll be people who are hungry for the word they'll be there here you are there'll be people who are hungry for fellowship in the word of God they're going to be there they want to be there because even before we opened up again people were starting to show up on the church grounds I mentioned it on Sunday that I mentioned I'm here on the grounds nobody knew that so I mentioned it I put it in Facebook I'm here on the grounds like to say hi to you people began to show up and as people were rolling in and talking to me and Marie as they would do that there were many tears there were many people crying you know I miss my church I miss my fellowship I miss being here and so it was a beautiful time to talk to people they would share their hearts and that's why eventually what we did is I just brought them in here and I said let's let's just worship the Lord and let's have a time of worship and a devotion that's why I did that so I'd bring them in here and we would have fellowship and these are people who are aware some of you perhaps were amongst them who were aware and that's what we did on Sundays so people came when the first day of church opened the church is open again people showed up but I asked a lot of other guys in different churches I've spoken because I have friends in different states and their churches or were allowed to begin to meet again earlier than the California churches and so I asked you know a friend of mine in New Mexico his name is David I said so what's going on he says about one-third of the church or less is showing up he says we're having two services he said the first service is maybe one-third of the seats are taken he said the second service he said there I think they have several hundred seats he said we may have had 50 people in in total he says they are not coming and so that was about two weeks or three weeks before we opened up so I was asking other pastors who were opening their churches what are you seeing and they said maybe a third of the population is showing up now and so I was prepared and I thought what are we going to see happen when we open and that's what happened we saw about a third of the church right now that's coming which is pretty much on par with what is taking place throughout the nation then there's a second a second group would be here if they could right now I have people who are watching me that I'm speaking to directly because I know they would be here they've been writing me and they say I'm in a certain age or I'm in a certain health category and I would be there if I could but I can't and so there's a large group of people in a certain age in health category who are not coming right now and so that's why we continue the online teaching that's why we're encouraging them because we want to minister to them and we love them and then there's another group that basically has just dropped off the face of the earth there were people who would come when they wanted to when it was okay it was not a commitment of any sort they would go from one place to another if at all and we've seen that too and that's what I'm referring to I think that that's a purging that that that when the rubber hits the road you make decisions to do what you think is best and some people come some people wish they could come and others don't care to come so in the church today there's a larger segment right now of people who don't care and then there's the lukewarm and then there's a small portion that's saying I am totally committed and so as I read my scriptures and as I give my studies it's never with an intent to bring a condemnation of any sort but really I use the scripture as it is intended in one way to be a mirror and I look at myself in it and I and I ask myself where am I in all of this Lord and what condition am I in if I didn't have to be here I'm the pastor you have to come right if I didn't have to be here you know frankly Wednesday night I was getting kind of spoiled because I had my Bible study I was doing my Bible study for Wednesday night I was doing it on Tuesdays at noon and we recorded it it was done so on Wednesday night there I was with my pajamas and you know just I got kind of spoiled so I understand that I really do but if I didn't have to be here would I be here I answered my own question by telling you a moment ago I was here every Sunday every Sunday of quarantine I was here my wife Marie and I couldn't stay away from here even if it was simply speaking to our friends who were in the parking lot we're talking to some of the staff who showed up to do whatever they did I had to be here why because I love the Lord and when somebody was asking me why are you there you don't have to be there I said no I'm there because I want to be there I'm there because for all these years 39 years next month we've been doing this church we've been pastoring this church we've been loving those who call this church to home why wouldn't I be there right and we are the ones that Jesus called out of the world we are the ones who believed his word we're the ones who have trusted in his name and these are the ones that he's speaking to his apostles but by application we too and we'll see this next time we're together are the ones that these apostles are going to minister to through the preaching of the word and that will travel generationally till it hits our heart and we too are going to be recognized as genuine believers who receive the Lord love his message and live a different life he says in verse 9 I pray for them I do not pray for the world but for those whom you have given me for they are yours now when he says I do not pray for the world it isn't that he doesn't care for other people but he's praying for them and particularly because salvation depends on their witness preaching is a holy task and and those who do so must have a solid character because those who present the word are represented in another kingdom a kingdom that is not of this world and we're working alongside of the Lord who empowers us and gave us a message to go out and do a work and and if their ministry is going to be effective Jesus prayed for them because prayer has to be lifted up on their behalf Paul said in Ephesians 6 18 and 19 praying always with all prayer and supplication and the spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me he's asking for prayer and for me that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel pray for me Paul said Jesus was praying for them pray for me Paul said that I might speak with a boldness that I will not compromise and that I will not hold back pray for me that I might have courage and confidence because the world hates the message of Christ and the world hated Jesus so much that they hanged him on a cross so pray for me that I might speak he's saying and Jesus was praying even here notice in verse 10 all our mind and all mine are yours and and yours are mine and glorified in them now the world saw nothing extraordinary about them but God made them vessels of glory and that's still true to this day by the way the world doesn't see anything necessarily extraordinary about us as believers but but but Jesus said that he's glorified he's glorified in his apostles he's also glorified in you and and when you take his word out and live for him glory is brought to him verse 11 now I'm no longer in the world but these are in the world and I come to you well his work is so near completion that he speaks of it as a finished work I'm no longer in the world he's saying I will not be with them so Father protect them guard them by your power in Psalm a rather Proverbs 1810 the scripture says the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run to it and are safe so keep them strengthen them verse 12 while I was with them in the world I kept them in your name those whom you gave me I have kept none of them is lost except the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled you see while I was with them I could protect them but now I'm leaving so I give them to you I always think of this out loud when I when I read scriptures that are saying that what do you think it would have been like to walk around with Jesus Christ but you've been afraid of anything ever anything not as long as he's next to you not as long as he's walking by your side no you wouldn't be afraid of anything why would you be what would Jesus be afraid of you ever read a scripture where it says and this demon possessed guy came out and Jesus cried because he was so scared do you ever see anything like that in anything anything in the bible that ever a storm was so bad that Jesus fainted do you ever see anything like that no why not because nothing made him afraid and when nothing made him afraid guess what it would have been like to hang around with him he's never afraid because nothing can overpower him I'm with him and so in him and with him I'm safe I'm always safe because I'm with him when I'm with him he protects me and Jesus is saying that I was with them and while I was with them I protected them but I'm leaving now so I'm saying father you protect them see that one point guys they would walk almost by by sight because they could see what he was doing they knew what he could do there were times when he would do things where they would say never have we seen anything like this I can't imagine what it would really be like to have actually seen the things he did I mean you know start thinking of some of the miracles that you're aware of the feeding of 5000 that by itself would have been amazing the feeding of 4000 that by itself would have been amazing walking on water imagine that for just a moment imagine that for just a moment we can't you ever try and walk on water I haven't but I'll tell you what if I saw someone walking towards me on water I would kind of freak me out and so these they would see that and then the epitome of that when they when he went with his men to a tomb and his dear friend Lazarus who had been dead for four days and the only thing they could really say to him is he's been dead for days he stinks by now think about that but a descriptive way to speak of it they weren't embalmed they just put certain spices on them and within four days the body began to corrupt and being inside of a tomb a rock that was hewn out with the stone over it just imagine how putrified how smelly that would be after four days everybody knows and he stands there and he's weeping at that tomb and and people are saying behold how he loved him they have no idea and so he says roll away the stone let me let me you know you've been gone for a while Jesus let me be the first to tell you he's been in there for days he stinks roll away the tomb roll away the stone from the tomb what would you have done I know what I'd have done I'd have taken a few steps back covered my face this is gonna this is gonna be ugly it's gonna be this is gonna smell ugly it's gonna be ugly I know what I would have felt like when they rolled away that stone try and put yourself there for just a moment then they rolled away opened up that opening and here comes this man Lazarus out what do you think that would have done to you my grandmother when she was a little girl went to a funeral one of our relatives they didn't embalm the deceased and my mom told me the story how that my grandmother was there and it was a real warm day in that little church and they were there inside the church my mom said and rigor mortis hit the body of the deceased and the dead person involuntarily through some kind of spasmodic thing in the muscles I don't know what happened the dead person sat up now what if someone would have been crying there oh god please bring him back and he sat up what would you do a miracle are you kidding me my mom said my grandmother ran so fast out of that church that's what I would do in that what you would do I think so they roll away the opening is opened up and he comes forth and what is Jesus said unloose him set him free Jesus brings people to life but we help them to learn to once again live and to walk set him free take those bindings from him help him to walk as a living person the church does that all the time when people get saved we help them to learn to walk in freedom because they've been in bondage all their lives right but what would you have felt like if you saw that would you be afraid of anybody when the intellectuals came and spoke to Jesus the the phd's phd's of his day and he would look at them and he'd say you're supposed to be a teacher and you don't know these things and you are there thinking these guys are so far beyond me intellectually and scholarship wise and yet Jesus is telling him go and learn what this means which was really a direct insult to a scholar it was a way of saying you're ignorant so he says go and see what this means I desire mercy and not sacrifice if you had to really know what Scripture says you wouldn't be doing what you're doing right now that was Jesus so you saw him as one who can cleanse a leper you saw him as one who could bring the dead back to life he did it three times it's recorded in Scripture you saw him who could give the most wonderful preaching that anybody ever heard all you need to do is read the Sermon on the Mount and you see a masterpiece of a message you saw him debating the scholars of his day you saw him doing miracles no man had ever done the blind were seeing the lame were walking as long as I am with them I was with them I protected them there's no one could get to them but now I'm going away so father you be with them guess what he's with you too don't ever forget that he's with you too Jesus says I will not be present with them but father you be with them father you protect them you guard them I have kept them in your name and I've guarded them and I've protected their safety I was their shepherd as well as their teacher and none of them is lost except the son of perdition the son of perdition is Judas remember Judas received the same message the same protection but Judas wandered away on his own and Jesus calls him the son of perdition the word perdition speaks of destruction a son of destruction a son of waste when he says he's a son of perdition perdition speaks of his nature and his character non-perished he says except the one whose nature was to perish and Judas's life was characterized by his lostness and to the end he resisted Jesus's overtures he chose to betray him to his own destruction even that night he refused Jesus's final offer and he chose his own path and it led to his death and he says this is what Scripture had spoken of because Scripture spoke of a betrayer and Judas fulfilled that prophecy and it wasn't a surprise to Jesus in John 6 verse 70 he said have I not chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil in John 13 18 he said I'm not referring to all of you I know those I've chosen but this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture he who shared my bread has turned against me and later on in the book of Acts in chapter 1 verse 20 it reads 4 said Peter it's written in the book of Psalms may his place be deserted let there be no one to dwell in it may another take his place of leadership Judas followed his own path he is a man with no character and he ended up judged in verse 13 but now I come to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves my words given to them are intended to bring them comfort encouragement and joy and it is joy that supported Jesus in the sorrow and loneliness of his mission it was a joy that was rooted in his fellowship with his Father producing joy is what God's word is intended to do in us in John 15 verse 11 these things I've spoken to you that my joy may remain in you that your joy may be full one of the things that I'd like to remind you of is that the enemy likes to undermine the word of God by taking away your hope remember that always it's propaganda during world war two there was propaganda that was going out in print as well as on the airwaves they had somebody called Tokyo Rose and Tokyo Rose would speak to the military and she would say in the Japanese army has already taken this island what are you fighting for you're going to lose these are things that are taking place right now and you Americans have no chance you ought to give up she was propagandizing she's giving false information she was trying to steal the heart from the soldiers from the sailors from the military personnel she was bringing this negative so that they would be afraid and that's what's going on right now that's going on right now there is no hope you're not going to make it it's nothing but despair we've got 330 million Americans not every city is rioting oh we think that every city is why because that's what you see on the news if you watch the news right and then you have the doomsday people who come on and tell you how bad everything is and it's a 24-7 propaganda machine there's some spiritual reality to that they're trying to undermine our hope they're making us feel that this world is lost and guess what and this sounds like a cliché but it's true with me at least I read the last page of the last book of the bible we win you know we don't lose we're more than conquerors in Jesus Christ we win we're on the winning side and all we need to do is remain faithful hold fast have I been bummed yeah am I saying that this corona thing hasn't bothered me no I wouldn't lie to you and say that it has and it has it discouraged me to see this and sometimes when I come out I say to myself Lord I'm concerned for the people what's going on with our church I don't see them I want to see them but I always go back to what I know God is doing I know God has a way to do what he wants to do and so I trust him people ask you know how do you get through I get through like you do one day at a time and I like clichés and I'll use this one you know I may not I may not know what tomorrow holds but I know who holds tomorrow and that's that's how I actually live I am a victor in Jesus Christ we will we will see God move we will see what God can do we will stand still and we'll watch the victory of the Lord we are more than conquerors through him I am not going to give up and I'm not going to lose hope I'm going to hold fast to Jesus Christ and I'm going to see what God can do I believe that weeping endures through a night but joy comes in the morning and and I believe that that's how I get through that's how I do because if I looked at the world I would say it's going to hell in a hand basket and it is isn't it it's going to hell in a hand basket well we ever seen crazy like this and it is forgive me someone may get hurt I shouldn't say crazy nuttiness I mean when you've got the supreme court saying that men can compete as women in athletics I don't even want to go into all the crazy I've been hearing lately right but guess what I have met I've met many were in ministry who at one time were fully fully convinced that there were one persuasion that the Lord Jesus Christ saved them set them free and I've seen God change lives the gospel is powerful transforms people that's the gospel we were given that's the message of hope that we have does it really matter I'll tell you every day is is the day that I trust him in and I know ultimately I know my redeemer lives and I know that I will see him one day face to face and that's all that matters to me and that's what has happened over the years I've learned how to trust him I've learned to follow him and I and my my hope is fully in him and what else could it be he never fails and so Jesus is making it very clear the joy comes from knowing that again these things I've spoken to you that my joy may remain in you that your joy may be full in Jeremiah 15 16 your words are founded I ate them your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart I'm called by your name oh Lord God of hosts in 1 John 1 4 these things we write to you that your joy may be full so he says in verse 14 I've given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world I have given that word given is a Greek word that speaks of a revelation it's a gift a revelation of God's word the revelation of God is not a natural possession God gives us revelation and there are natural witnesses but God supernaturally reveals himself by his word but I have given them your word I have revealed your word to them but what is the result the world has hated them hatred and opposition to this revelation from God is what happened in Proverbs 29 27 an unjust man is an abomination to the righteous and he was upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked he says in verse 15 I don't pray that you should take them out of the world but that you should keep them from the evil one these are messengers not monastics they're to take the message to the world not avoid it and one of the things in the church that took place and within a few centuries of its birth was what was called a monastic movement where believers were actually moving out into the wilderness they lived out in the desert when you go into Israel to this day and you're going past the city of Jericho you'll be coming from the city of Jericho from the north and you're going south towards the city of Jerusalem and we used to take this particular road to get there and we went through Jericho there is a monastery that's still there that's been there for many, many years and it reminds me of what was called the monastic movement in early Christianity where people began to remove themselves from the world they would take themselves out of the world and they began to live in seclusion I remember reading of one particular person who had themselves bricked up bricked up in a cell bricked up and there was only a small opening at the bottom where the bricks had they had put the bricks all the way to the ground they had closed up the door of the cell and they would receive their food through that particular slot on the floor they isolated themselves and for years lived in that way because they wanted to be out of the world away from its influence and Jesus never told us to do that how is the world going to be saved if the church removes itself and so he said no they're not removed from the world they're supposed to take this message to the world he crazed that they would be kept though from the influence of Satan and temptation of sin Satan may tempt and he may sift and he may buff it and he may oppress he may afflict and he may grieve someone but he cannot take your life and he cannot steal from that person the salvation that God has given to them and then finally he says in verses 16 through 19 and we'll close they are not of the world just as I'm not of the world sanctify them by your truth your word is truth as you sent me into the world I also have sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified by thy truth sanctify them by your truth your word is truth God's word sets you apart God changes the way you see your world and when you apply it to your life it changes the way that you live if I would not have come to faith in Christ I would have been because I was already an extremely and I'll use the word liberal extremely liberal in my view of life I already was before I got saved extremely liberal I didn't care what you did I didn't care about anything I would very easily have been very much like anybody is today who's of that of that that opinion but what happened is and I'll close with this very briefly what happened was and I think it may have happened to many of you too is my opinions were changed they weren't changed by human argument they weren't changed because people said you ought to believe this because frankly my rebellious nature I wasn't one you could argue into something I just wasn't I wasn't that guy that you could come and argue oh yeah you're right I'll follow you that wasn't me at all it's totally rebellious I had a tough time in the military I never talked about my army service time because I was a rebel I was still getting you know getting it together and I hated being told what to do you know I was not I was not your model soldier you know I wasn't a bad person per se I just didn't like being told what to do so I had trouble sometimes in the army but I got out because I was a brand new Christian when I got out I started reading more started actually teaching and as I began to teach I had to begin to understand and apply so in 1973 when I gave my first Bible studies I started seeing hmm this is what Jesus wants for me that changed my entire way of thinking my entire way of thinking was changed by the word of God it was not changed by people's arguments it wasn't changed by the tears of my mother because my mother used to weep and she would tell me you've got to stop this you can't be that way my mom would do that and I would look at her and I'd say you know just leave me alone leave me alone you live your life I'll live mine leave me alone that's how I would speak to my mom I was not a very respectful person as a kid I wasn't I'm not going to do what you say just because you say to do it am I going to do it I'll do what I want and then I started reading the Bible and the Bible changed my mind and that's why I've said this to you before that's why people say well that's because you're brainwashed the Bible brainwashed you right and that's why I say indeed it did my brains were dirty and the blood of Jesus Christ washed them so yeah I'm brainwashed and thank God for that because I've been washed by the blood of Christ and the spirit of the Lord has made alive his word to me and what pleases him has become what pleases me his truth set you free and part of the reason why church people can be so confused about what's going on is they're not in the Word and they're not spending time studying God's Word and praying through God's Word and going to their Bible studies and doing their devotions and just growing in the things of the Lord you see the Word of God changes your worldview as you apply it in your life and Paul finally said this in Romans 12 1 and 2 he said I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service do not be conformed to this world be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God I began reading the Bible the day I got saved I started to learn to read it and began then and I've never stopped for 40 almost 49 years 50 years actually this upcoming December 27 and the Word of God being filtered through my dirty little mind has cleansed the way that I think and it happens to you too doesn't it when you get into God's Word you say so that's what pleases the Lord that's what I want to do because I want to please him that's how it works and so Jesus is speaking and he said I gave him your word the result is the world hates them but your word is truth and I pray that you will sanctify them by your word because they're living in the world but they are not of the world because they belong to you and so we are not of this world we belong to him too