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Sermons and messages from Pastor Jason White and others at Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Tyler, TX
We are better together. We are. We're better together. It's certainly worth a round of applause. As a matter of fact, I think you should turn to the neighbor on your right and tell them that we are better together. And then you can turn to your neighbor on your left and say, "We are also better together. And then let's just declare it all together on the count of three. Ready? 123, We are better together. We are better together. Scripture even declares so. Genesis chapter two verse 18. God Himself declares that it is not good for man to be alone. Right? Ecclesiastes four nine. Solomon says that two are better than one, and that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. In Psalm 133, King David proclaims how good and how pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity. Proverbs 27 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Romans 12, the apostle Paul writes, "In Christ, we are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other, and in Hebrews chapter 10, we are told to spur one another on towards love and towards good deeds, not giving up meeting together, but encouraging one another all the more as we see the return of Christ drawing near. So even Scripture testifies to the fact that we really are better together. But aside from all of these great passage of Scripture that remind us of that truth, I want you to see something today that that I think is truly remarkable. It's it's found in John 17, where I asked you to turn just a minute ago, and I don't, I don't know if you know this, but what we're going to see in John chapter 17 is that Jesus actually prayed for what we are experiencing today. He actually took time during his earthly ministry to pray for what you and I are experiencing today. It's actually a prayer that Jesus prayed for you. He prayed for me over 2000 years ago. And this, what we're going to see, is really honestly the true Lord's prayer. Some people try to tell you that the Lord's prayer is found in Matthew and and in Luke, where where the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and sometimes in the headings of your Bible, it may even say Lord's Prayer there. But the Lord didn't pray that prayer; He was teaching the disciples to pray that prayer during that particular time. But this prayer that we're going to see in John 17 is one that the Lord Himself actually prayed to God the Father, and we have recorded in Scripture what he actually prayed, and so this is the actual Lord's Prayer. It's a prayer that starts off with Jesus praying for himself at the beginning of the chapter. It's a long, it's a lengthy prayer, and we're not going to look at the whole thing today. But he prays for himself just before he's about to go to the cross, he prays for the disciples, the the men that he had been particip or spending life with and doing life with and discipling for over three years, and so he's praying for them. And then finally, Jesus begins to pray for you, and he prays for me, and that is where we are going to pick up today. John chapter 17, beginning in verse 20, Jesus says, "My prayer is not for them alone. Who is them? The disciples, right? I just told you that he prayed for himself, and then he just finished praying for the disciples, and that he was going to pray for you. So he says, "My prayer is not for them, not just for the disciples alone, but I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. Who is there again? Them, the disciples through the disciples' message. We know that He sent the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two, empowered them. They begin to share the gospel, and people put their faith and trust in Jesus, and then more people and more people until we got to where we are today. And for those of us who have put our faith and trust in Jesus, He prayed here for us.
We are those who would come to believe in Him through their message, and so that's why I could tell you with confidence that Jesus actually prayed for you and He prayed for me. So let's look at what He actually prays for us. Verse 21 says, "I pray that all of them. Remember, that's us. All of us may be one. Jesus prays that. We would be united together. Why would Jesus pray that we would become one? That we would be united together? Well, because Jesus knew that we were better together. How did He know that? Because He created us. He's the only one who ultimately really even knows how we were designed to live, and we were designed to live together. We were not created to be alone. We were created to be together, and so he says, "I pray that all of them may be one, that they may be united. And then he says, "Father, just as so, in the same way that you, who's that? God the Father, are in me, are in Jesus, and that I, Jesus, am in you. And so, God the Father is in Jesus. Jesus is in God the Father. They experience oneness. They themselves are relational beings, along with the Holy Spirit, three distinct persons of one essence who were united together, so together that they are of one essence. They are one, and so he prays that we would become one in the same way that they are one. But that could only really happen if, first and foremost, we were made one with Him, and that's the final part of this prayer in verse 21, where He says, "They may they also be in us. May all of those who would put their faith and trust in Me through the apostles' message, be in God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Be united together as one people. Be united together to us, and then made together as one up here. And so He says, "May they be also in us. And there's a purpose clause, so that it's not just for us, and we're going to talk about this much later. So that the world, not those who would come to believe in His name, right yet, but so that the world, those who haven't come to believe in His name, may believe that you have sent me. And so there's an outward component that we'll focus on here in just a little bit. Now, now Jesus is praying this just before going to the cross, and he knows that he was actually going to accomplish this. He's praying that God would use what he was about to do to accomplish this, and so Jesus was headed to the cross to be able to make this us be in Him together. We couldn't be in that relationship with Him because of sin. Of course, sin is a barrier between us and a holy and a perfect and a just God. He can't just turn a blind eye to sin. And so Jesus was going to take all of our sin because He didn't have any sin to pay for and lay them upon Himself and pay the penalty for them, so that they could be paid for, and he did that. And then after that death, and after his resurrection, and after the sending of the Holy Spirit, he offers us that gift of salvation that we receive by grace, grace alone, through through faith alone in Christ alone. And at the moment of belief, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, and that is the moment that this, what He's praying for right there, begins to happen with us. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, and we become in union. We're united to Him, and we are united to each other. As a matter of fact, after Jesus is praying this prayer. It's why the apostle Paul could write after Jesus's death, after his resurrection, after the sending of the Holy Spirit. This in First Corinthians chapter 12, in verse 12, he says, "Just as a body. So he's like, "I got to find a way to illustrate this to you. I mean, this is this spiritual kind of oneness thing, and I want you to I want you to know what I'm really talking about.
And everybody knows what a body is, and you know what a head is. So let me just give you a visual picture of what it is that Jesus prayed about would happen, and what actually did happen at the moment of belief. And so, just as a body, though one, it's one body. It has many parts to it, but all of its many parts again form one body. There's a oneness when they're united together as all of the parts, and so it is with Christ. It happened on the other side of the cross. So it is with Christ. All the parts were one. May they be one, Father, and it happened. Jesus accomplished what he was praying for through the cross. For we are all baptized by one Spirit. So the Holy Spirit, just as I mentioned a second ago, comes to dwell in us, unites to our dead spirit, giving life to our spirits. Regenerated in that moment and then united together so as to form one body. This is what Jesus did accomplish on the cross. Okay, so so that was just part of his prayer. He prayed that prayer. This is what ended up happening. But let's go into more depth and look at his prayer. And he describes a little bit more in detail about what was going to be happening as this happens in us. That's my bad. I'm going to read it to you. Verse 22 says, "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. If you're following along your own Bibles, highlight glory. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them, and you in me, okay. So this is this is really incredible. Jesus is talking about his glory in sharing glory. So what is the glory, right? Well, we get a little bit of a picture of that in the Old Testament, and this is found in Exodus chapter 24. Says when Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud settled over it, and watch this. Here it is. Ready? The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai for six days. The cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day, the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud to the Israelites. The glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. I mean, that was the only way they could explain it. The glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire. It was it was powerful. This was God's radiance, God's splendor, His His Majesty was dwelling on the top of the mountain. It was a consuming fire. Well, you know, if you go on and read Exodus, that the glory of the Lord moved from the mountain and actually settled in the tabernacle. So, in Exodus chapter 40, we're told then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and here it is again: the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and watch this. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter and be in the presence of the glory of God because it was a Consuming fire, his radiance, his splendor, the majesty-right? It was so weighty, so heavy, so holy that he could not go into the tabernacle. But watch this. John chapter one, he's introducing Jesus, and he says the Word, which of course, as you know, is a reference to Jesus, became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Watch this. Here is what John says: We have seen his what? His glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and full of truth. The picture that we get as Jesus shows up on the scene at the end of the old covenant is that the glory of the Lord is among them in the person of Jesus Christ. The glory that we read about on the mountain, the glory that we just read about in the tabernacle in Exodus, was here in person, splendor, radiance, majesty. So, so now go back and think of that with what he said here, which is the slide I was looking for earlier, John chapter 17 verse 22.
I've given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them, you in me. Glory. I've given them the what? The glory. The glory that filled the tabernacle that was on Mount Sinai. The glory that they saw that was in Jesus Christ is in you and me when we are united to Him, talk about being better together. Could it get any better than that? The glory of the Lord dwelling in you, the consuming fire that was on the presence that Moses couldn't even enter into, is dwelling in you and His dwelling in me as His church. That means that God is not up there in us down here. It doesn't mean that God wasn't where you were in your home, but He's here in this church building, and you showed up and finally are in God's presence. This doesn't mean even like He was praying for the disciples. Earlier, God with them because He was with them. This is different. This is God, His glory dwelling in us together as His church. So yes, we really are better together because we share His glory. I mean, just think about that. Dwell on that. But it wasn't just a glory that he was putting in us for our own benefit. It wasn't one that was coming to unite us together just to to be good for us. There was an outward, a greater purpose in accomplishing something out in the world. He already even kind of references it, but he goes on as he continues to pray, and so he says, "I in them, and you in me, so that they may be brought to complete unity. Now, what is that? Well, certainly, there's a sense in which the moment that we're united to Jesus, we want to be reminded of the truth that it's a complete unity. It's it's not a partial filling that we get of the Spirit. Jesus doesn't just kind of go, you know, I'm going to dip my little pinky toe in there, and you got part of me, and then we'll talk about the rest later when you get your act together. No, it's it's all of Jesus. We we have access to all of God all of the time. His glory is dwelling in us, and so certainly in that sense, we're brought to complete unity. But it's more than really even just that, because of what He says next. Because He says so that they may be brought to complete unity, and when that happens, He says then, so so what happens when it's complete unity? The world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. In other words, there's a visible component that will be seen out in the world. The invisible component is the spiritual union. The world can't see that, so he's not referring to just this complete unity in the invisible spiritual realm of things. He's talking about a way that it's actually seen out in the world. There's an outward visible expression of an inward reality. Jesus is praying about His glory being on display through us in the way that the world will see His love. Again, I love the way He words this. Even the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Did you know that you don't get a lesser love than Jesus has from the Father. Incredible, in that love that we get and we're filled with gets expressed through us towards each other. That captures the attention of the world out there, so that they are drawn to Him as well, and so we really are better together, not just because we get to share God's glory, but again, as we just saw, because He works through us together when we're together, when we're living in complete unity together, to show the world more and more and more about His great love for even them that we have and that we share among each one of us, and so that is why, that's ultimately why we are here together today. Because even though the Lord had accomplished this, as of even of course last time we met together last Sunday, we met in two different services, and we were still spiritually united together.
What Jesus was praying for and what Paul was writing about about being His body had happened. There was a spiritual oneness that we had already been given and granted, so we were already one in that sense. But we are coming together today to be brought to complete unity, to be gathering together as one church, not two separate churches gathering together as one church to again worship as we've been doing in one service and uniting together around one mission because we are better together, and as we continue to now live in that complete unity, then that will capture the attention of the world around us. And we're praying that more and more people will see that and be drawn to it through us, so that they can share in it as well. So, what's our response to this? I mean, this is what Jesus prayed. He brought about a spiritual unity. He's brought us together here as one church. He's done all of this work, but our response now that He's spiritually united us together and brought us physically together as one church this morning, our response then is simply to actually do life. Together now, we're better together. He's brought us together now. Our response: do life together, and as we do life together, we we we turn our attention in this next chapter to the same thing that our attention should have been in on all along the things that we've been reminding ourselves about all throughout this series of the next chapter to remind us who we are as a church, the core values that we share together, the things that we focus on as we share that life and do that life together. And if you were here over the last four Sundays, you know them. But let's walk through them again, just quickly. Not only are we better together, but the first shared value is life in Christ. What does that mean? Well, it means that we-who is we? Me and you, and the person sitting next to you, and everyone in this room-we find our life and identity in Christ, and as we live a life of dependence on Him, He expresses His life and His love through us to others. Let's let's actually say that together. Can you say that with me as His church, saying this is a shared value that we have together. This is what our focus is going to be on as we do life together. Ready, 123, We find our life and identity in Christ, and as we live a life of dependence on Him, He expresses His life and His love through us to others, may it be so. The second core value that we have as Colonial Hills, as His Church, is unity. What does that mean? That we will not let our preferences get in the way of the mission that Jesus has called us to as His body. I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of hearing about other churches, God's church, those who are in Christ, who are allowing their preferences in Satan to work his way into divide them and destroy and kill and make it smaller and ineffective in that way. And that is not who we are at Colonial Hills, and that is not who we will be. So let's say it together: 123, We will not let our preferences get in the way of the mission Jesus has called us to as His body. The third thing is authentic community. What does that mean? Well, it means that life is too short to be fake, to seek to we will seek to know others and be known by them through transparent and vulnerable relationships. Let's say it. Ready? 123, Life is too short to be fake. We seek to know others and be known by them through transparent and vulnerable relationships. We do not hide behind masks at Colonial Hills. We don't have to because our identity is in Christ. Our life is in Christ, not what you think about me based on my choices that I made last week and I need help with today. Finally, we value being a church for the community, not a church for ourselves. What does that mean? We will love and serve those in our community as Jesus expresses His life through us.
Ready, 123, We will love and serve those in our community as Jesus expresses His life through us, guys. This is who we are as Colonial Hills Baptist Church, we are those who value life in Christ, who value unity and being an authentic, transparent, and vulnerable community, and a church who is for for the community. And we are better when we are together as one church. We are better when we are worshiping together in one service. We are better when we are united around that one mission that Jesus is on in and through us to seek and to save the lost in this community. So let's do life together and let His love be expressed through us to reach more and more people with His grace. Amen, amen. Let's pray.